Hi! Does anyone have suggestions for a "fun" restaurant to go to in Los Angeles?

My sister is hanging out with us for a couple of days and she enjoys going to places where she can watch people make things. For example, in Canada, we found a small little restaurant that makes their own noodles by hand & we were able to watch them through the glass window by the kitchen.

We are willing to drive anywhere in LA and even Orange County. No food preferences. The focus is on watching the chefs at work. Is there any place like that in LA? Thanks!

sushi fits the bill.

Good suggestion, suze! There are sushi joints all over the greater LA area, and you can sit at the bar and watch the chefs make sushi. You can check on chowhound.com's LA board-- many of the posters there fetishize sushi to an incredible degree (which is inexplicable to me-- no matter the Zen-like tranquility of the item, for me sushi is still gussied-up bait).

How about restaurants with open kitchen areas? Doesn't Chinois on Main have one of those, to name one? Can anyone else think of some? (And yeah, I know all the California Pizza Kitchens have them...!)

There's no "chef-watching" going on, but the Restaurant at the Getty Center is a great place to take a tourist....the food is great too. Open Fri & Sat Eve until 9pm www.getty.edu

Next to Ports O'Call Village in San Pedro are several connecting seafood restaurants on the water that cater to an ethnic crowd. You'll find both Mexican and Asian style cooked before your eyes, and you get to choose the victim!

Reserve "the kitchen table" at your local Buca di Beppo. Food is o.k., but it's kinda fun to sit in the kitchen and watch them cook. They pass each dish thy serve past your table for you to see what it is.

Other restaurants have chef's tables in the kitchen. The Buca di Beppo chain is best avoided-- the ones I've been to serve the worst Italian food I've ever had the displeasure of eating.