Since the "Eating Like A Local In L.A." thread has grown quite cumbersome (and a little dated), I thought we might try compiling a guide for those visiting So. Cal (and those of us living here) featuring restaurants we've actually gone to recently. From San Diego to Los Angeles to Santa Barbara to Bakersfield to Palm Springs, let's put together some of our favorite restaurants. Maybe it will work…maybe not, but all I can do is try.

Here is a place I've been to twice this month. AltaEats in Pasadena features shared appetizers and some terrific main dishes. Just about every dish we've had here is a winner. I put together a little report with photos on my website (link below).

Obviously, you don't need to go into this much detail, but it would be nice to get a fresh take on some of your favorite restaurants in So.Cal both for visitors and locals alike.

AltaEats
1860 North Allen Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91104
626.794.1162

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/Tom_...0_Entry_1.html

I have a ton a favorite restaurants, but will just recommend two so others can also chime in.

1. Tapenade (French)
7612 Fay Ave. La Jolla, CA 92037
(858)551-7500 www.tapenaderestaurant.com

2. Phil's BBQ
3750 Sports Arena Blvd,
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 226-6333 www.philsbbq.com

My current Santa Barbara favorite is Scarlett Begonia. We also had a good lunch at Arch Rock Fish recently.

Scarlett Begonia
11 W Victoria St #10
Santa Barbara, California 93101
http://scarlettbegonia.net/wp/

Arch Rock Fish
608 Anacapa St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
http://www.archrockfish.com/

We were just in San Diego and places that we had very good meals include:

Toscana (lunch and dinner) in the Gaslamp
Cafe Sevilla(dinner with small group) in the Gaslamp
Tin Fish((lunch) across from convention center, not sure if it is technically in the Gaslsmp

Cafe Italia(coffee and breakfast) in Little Italy
Zia's Bistro(lunch and dinner) in Little Italy
Bencotto(dinner) in Little Italy

Tent City (lunch) on Coronado

Nice start, especially since I spend a lot of time in San Diego, and Santa Barbara is my next mission to explore. Let's keep em, coming.

maitaitom,
where will you be staying / visiting while in San Diego?

When I go and stay, I like the Sofia Hotel, however I have a lot of college buddies down there, so one of them usually puts me up after an Aztec game.

Okay I will play-another obsessed foodie here.

So in LA, Langers is still our not-to-be-missed-only open til 4PM and the number 19 is what they are known for:

www.langersdeli.com/

Our favorite Italian at the moment is in Santa Monica:

Hostaria del Piccolo

606 Broadway
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Santa Monica

Great homemade pastas: www.hostariadelpiccolo.com/

In Pasadena we really enjoyed the made on the spot pizza place called Blaze. It is a chain but pretty decent:

www.blazepizza.com/

Those are the ones that come to mind firs but I will add more as I think of them.

@Jpie, I've eaten at Hostaria del Piccolo twice. Food was good, & I liked their signature drink, the Mammolo. The atmosphere isn't as warm & cozy as I might like, but it's fine. I heard one of the customers speaking Italian with the staff, & I started talking to him. He said when he first came to LA from Italy, he ate at Hostaria 3 times a week, because it was the most like food from home. So that's a pretty good recommendation!

Yes I agree about the ambiance if you are talking about the SM location. Have you tried their location on Rose? I haven't but have driven by and it looks a bit more cozy, so we may try to check it out next.

Some other LA favorites;

Akasha in Culver City www.akasharestaurant.com

Bako Mercat in downtown http://bacomercat.com/

Maccheroni Republic downtown Last time I was there they didn't have alcohol but they had a super cheap corkage as I recall and they have validated parking. Here is a Jonathan Gold review

http://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-go...#axzz2uS2ViC7J

We are going to Baco Mercat next month and just read about Maccheroni so it's now on the short list.

Maitaitom, I'm curious to know what you think of Baco Mercat. Except for the caesar brussel sprouts, I didn't love it at all.

Santa Barbara: La Super Rica - delicious Mexican food, no atmosphere, cash only I think.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot, but in LA I'd recommend:

Near downtown: Langer's Deli

Silver Lake: Barbrix

West Hollywood - Mid City: Son of a Gun, Connie and Ted's, AOC, Dan Tana's (great steak and atmosphere), Plan Check

Culver City: Father's Office, A Frame

West LA: Nanbankan, Plan Check, Apple Pan (hickory burger w/ cheese), Picca, Sotto

Santa Monica/Venice: Father's Office, Tacos por favor, Bar Pinxto, Musha, Gjelina, Tasting Kitchen, Via Veneto, Huckleberry, Tar and Roses, Milo and Olive

Malibu: Malibu Seafood, Nikita, Nobu, Lilly's (breakfast burritos)

"Maitaitom, I'm curious to know what you think of Baco Mercat. Except for the caesar brussel sprouts, I didn't love it at all."

Have reservations later in March. The menu looks a bit weird, but fortunately we have a gift card, so it won't be too bad if we don't like it.

By the way, we love Barbrix!

Yes the brussel sprouts are really yummy at Baco. I will admit we went twice-one time was better than the other. Whereas the Langers number 19 is always reliable

Wow, where do I begin? My husband and I are foodies who like to plan our lives around the best restaurants!

This thread will be too wide spread to easily find recommendations for specific locations. We need to start one for each city! That would be the best way.

I will add a few favorites of ours that we highly recommend.

Michael's On Naples in Long Beach. Absolutely fantastic. We have eaten here a few times and each meal was excellent. We did their "Dine LA" menu this last time and it was also wonderful (and a great deal!).

For a special occasion, Spago's Beverly Hills never disappoints. Last time we were there Wolfgang Puck came out to greet the customers. That was a nice surprise.

A great happy hour (and in general) is Kincaid's in Redondo Beach. A beautiful location on the pier and the happy hour food is an especially good deal. We like finding places that serve good food at a good value during happy hour. We've enjoyed the Sunday brunch here too!

Those are my suggestions for now. Let's start some threads for individual cities which I think would really help us foodies looking for good restaurant recommendations!

Terry...good idea...maybe I will start one for the San Gabriel Valley. I just posted this on the L.A. thread:

"Hit another home run last night...

Claud & Co. Eatery on the corner of Allen and Villa in Pasadena.

Place was packed (seats 40). Menu changes each month. This month is Pinot Madness.

Dishes we tried included Filet Mignon carpaccio, Mixed Green Salad with Shaved apple, Mustard and Tarragon crusted lamb rack, hazelnut crusted scallops, Spiced Chocolate lava cake with (fantastic) espresso gelato and Cinnamon apple fritters in caramel dipping sauce.

Going back later in month. Have to try the blue cheese polenta.

Bonus star sighting...John de Lancie ("Q" from Star Trek" The Next Generation) was seated nearby."

DH ate (w/o me) at The Tavern in Brentwood last week and he said it was great! He had duck and though he often orders it with high hopes, he is often disappointed. NOT here!! One of the best he has eaten. A very expensive meal that he luckily was able to enjoy on someone else's dime.

I have only eaten at Spago twice and I have shaken hands w/Wolfgang both times. My son's friend says that i have the best luck with chef's as we also had a 10-15 min. conversation with Ming Tsai back at Blue Ginger (Wellesley, MA) in its early days.