My wife and I (late 20s to early 30s) will be in LA for the weekend (in Bel-Air). Any recommendations on good restaurants (no seafood or steakhouses please). Thanks.

Very open question. How much do you want to spend? Are you also big wine drinkers, looking for a great list? Are you looking for lively, trendy places? Casual, dressy?

doc04,

Patrick beat me to it, but asking for "LA restaurant recs" is akin to asking, "LA Hotel recs": without knowing your price range and tastes, it's dificult to answer.

You've started the ball rolling by saying, "no seafood or steakhouses" but what do you like and what can you afford? And does this mean you won't eat seafood or beef in conjunction with other cuisines, or simply that you don't want "regular" steak and seafood places. Also, do you wish to stay in the Bel-Air area or are you willing to venture out?

AL

I also just realized you must not want top and trendy, as they are already fully booked for THIS weekend.

Dolce? Or, The Ivy...

Dolce or The Ivy...

Are you willing to drive a bit, or do you want it fairly close? I'm coming up with a blank on good eateries in the immediate Bel Air area, although I'm sure you can scare up a great meal in Westwood or Brentwood (both pretty close). In Santa Monica, there are reliably great places like Michael's, Capo, Chinois on Main, Ivy at the Shore, Il Fornaio della Spiaggia, and many others. In Venice Beach, there's Joe's and Amuse, to name a couple.

If you can get to West Hollywood, for example, you'll be in Swank Eatery Central. Suzanne Goin's Lucques, on Melrose, is a highly-regarded place, to name just one. L'Orangérie is a polarizing place (either Le Dernier Cri or très, très pass&eacute, but it's still very popular. Avoid Bastide (used to be the best French place on the West Coast)-- the current head chef has been practicing his clumsy brand of Extreme Cooking, and the results are basically inedible. The Los Angeles Times reduced its rating on Bastide from four stars (off the charts) to one star (Denny's level, without the food pictured in the menu).

In Beverly Hills, Spago should be a laughable tourist trap (Wolfgang Puck-- ugghhh!), but it's actually turned out to be an excellent restaurant. There are many other places there, but you might as well go there.

These are just off the top of my head. Anyone else want to take a crack at a list...?

Go to Farmer's Market at 3rd and Fairfax and graze, graze, graze at the many international food stands...or as the Hawaiians say, don't eat till you're full, eat till you're tired. There's also a bunch of fun, pretty outdoor seating restaurants to choose from in the adjacent Grove shopping center. It's hard to go wrong spending a few hours there for lunch/shopping.

love
roxy

Go to the Getty around sunset, and have dinner in the dining room. I believe it's only open at night on Fridays and Saturdays. The museum is open until 9 on weekends.

www.getty.edu

wow, rjw, think I'm going to print out your restaurant recs! Very good!

Sorry for not being specific, kind of trendy would be nice, although I understand it may be hard to get a reservation, somewhere nice but not so nice that it is stuffy and boring. Italian, Asian-fusion or California cuisine would be good. Thanks.

Well in that case some places to try in addition to those mentioned. (and rjw's list is great -- Lucques, a favorite of mine!) Your best bet may be to ask what time they have, we've often gone to Ago at 10 or so on short notice:

Asia de Cuba in the Mondrian Hotel: great views, the Sky Bar next door (but never mind, you can't get in there), super food.

Ago: boisterous, trendy, stars (Robert DeNiro is a major partner), great Tuscan food, eat anything that comes out of the ovens, not overpriced. The "stars" prefer the outside seating. I like the commotion inside and the super waiters. Smile and they'll probably bring you complimentary desserts.

Crustacean in Beverly Hills: high priced and very trendy Vietnamese with a sensational glass floor over a fish pond.

JiRaffe in Santa Monica: chic but relaxed. Amazing food.

None of the above would ever be considered boring OR stuffy!!

I second the recommendation for the Farmers' Market on Fairfax. It's a wonderful place for eating and people watching. We have often seen some Hollywood people there. It's a great place and inexpensive, too.

Yi on Third at Fairfax. Close enough, Asian-fusion, trendy and hip, yet not pretentious, complete with water sculptures and Zen decor. I like to order an assortment of the small plates and share. Just opened last summer, Yi has found itself among L.A.'s top new restaurants on several lists. One of my personal favorites.

I also like Beacon, but Culver City is kind of a ways from Bel Air.

Just saw some cool news on latimes.com-- Nancy Silverton (La Brea Bakery, Campanile) is going to partner with Mario Batali on an Italian eatery in the LA area (actual location, and opening date, TBD). Very exciting to think we'll get these two working together!!

here_today always has cool recos. I'm gonna have to try Yi now!!

I am holding reservations at Yi, Jiraffe and Ago. Any more opinions on these places?

Check www.chowhound.com

enjoylife: =D>

Have any of you tried Minibar yet? It's on Cahuenga in Universal City. It serves "small plates", kind of international tapas. It has really good food (although not cheap), happy, friendly service, a youngish crowd, and great Mojitos!