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Restaurants Overview

Celebrity is big business in Los Angeles, so it's no accident the concept of the celebrity chef -- emerging from an exhibition kitchen to schmooze with an equally illustrious clientele -- is a key part of the city's dining scene. Wolfgang Puck, whose culinary empire of restaurants, food products, and cooking shows has made him a household name across the nation, epitomizes this phenomenon. And L.A. keeps coming up with fresh stars to fill its ever-expanding universe of kitchens. For instance, Gino Angelini is adding a new dimension to Italian cooking at Angelini Osteria and La Terza, while David Myers spins one of the city's most ambitious contemporary menus at Sona. Innovative Suzanne Goin manages to deliver exciting results at both Cal-French Lucques and A.O.C., her Mediterranean-inspired wine bar.

Although Los Angeles doesn't pretend to rival New York in terms of high-end dining rooms, its strategic location contributes to a varied and imaginative local cuisine. Local produce is a linchpin; area restaurants benefit from the state's incredible agricultural yields. This is the bedrock of California cuisine: fresh, seasonal local ingredients. Increasingly, intriguing produce from specialty farms shows up at L.A.'s farmers' markets, where home cooks browse shoulder to shoulder with acclaimed chefs.