Happy New Year! dineL.A. is back from January 11 – 25, celebrating the city’s diverse culinary scene with over 400 globally-inspired, distinctive restaurants along with great deals on specially curated tasting menus. The citywide event has a record-breaking 430 participants and will include ‘Exclusive Series’ menus will feature some of the city’s premier restaurants including mainstays such as Providence, Spago, and Mélisse, alongside notable newcomers including Tesse Restaurant and APL Restaurant. Here are a few newcomers in and around West Hollywood this year but with 65 neighborhoods representing 38 different cuisine types, there is truly something for every palate and budget this year.
NEW OFFERINGS:
Tesse, an exceptional West Hollywood eatery on Sunset with nods to French and European culinary traditions, will be offering an Exclusive Series tasting menu for dineL.A. ($99+ per person) featuring inspired dishes from the formidable culinary duo of Michelin-starred Executive Chef-Partner Raphael Francois and award-winning Pastry Chef-Partner Sally Camacho Mueller. The dynamic, continental-inspired French restaurant has quickly become one of the city’s newest anchoring restaurants, kitty-corner to Fred Segal. The chic dining experience features a finessed take on French classics, all designed with thoughtful wine—and cocktail—pairings in mind. The exclusive dineL.A. menu will feature Caviar Toast, with caviar de Sologne, purple potatoes, and crème fraîche; Scallops & Truffle, with butternut squash and wild rice; and Jidori Half Chicken, with wild mushrooms and truffle stuffed, ratte potatoes, and arbois sauce.
Dubbed by Food & Wine as one of the biggest restaurant openings in 2018, Chef-Restaurateur Casey Lane’s Viale dei Romani at the Kimpton La Peer is the newest addition to the dineL.A. Winter 2019 program. With its coastal-Italian and North African-influenced spice cabinet, Viale’s culinary offerings for lunch ($35) and dinner ($59) will include Grilled Calamaro, with Salsa Piccante, and Cecci, and a housemade Rigatoni Al’amatricina, and Grilled Branzino with Pea Tendrils, and a Three Lemon Sauce.
Cal Mare, a homage to the coast of Italy and Southern California from chef/partner Adam Sobel in collaboration with Michael Mina and MINA Group, is yet another premier restaurant featured in the 15-day dining event. The destination restaurant located on the ground floor of the newly re-designed Beverly Center in Los Angeles celebrates best of coastal Italian cuisine while featuring California’s bountiful ingredients. The $59 per person menu will include Baked Scallop ‘Casino’ with Castelvetrano Olive, Caper, Sicilian Oregano; Rigatoni Carbonara with Guanciale, Farm Egg, Parmesan; and Arctic Char, with Caramelized Fennel and Eggplant Caponata. The menu also includes “Dolci”, which will be a choice of Trio of Cannolis or Chef’s Gelato, and a glass sparkling, white, or red wine.
WEST HOLLYWOOD FAVORITES RETURN:
A rare flavor profile can be found at the modern Asian eating house, E.P. & L.P. in West Hollywood. Award-winning Chef Louis Tikaram showcases his Fijian-Chinese-Indian heritage alongside his modern South Pacific fare, combining native ingredients and ancient cooking techniques passed down from his Fijian-Chinese grandmother. The Asian eating house and rooftop will offer a lunch ($20 per person) and dinner ($29 per person) menu, including Sweet & Sour Sticky Pork Ribs, with mint, cilantro, and roasted rice and Green Curry of Hiaramasa Kingfish with Serrano chili, baby corn and Thai basil.
Connie and Ted ’s is still the go-to spot for a hearty New England-inspired seafood, including Jo’s Wicked Good Chowda’ Sampler, Deep Fried Dipped Cod Sandwich, and the Hook Burger. Inspired by Chef-Owner Michael Cimarusti’s memories of his grandparents, the restaurant pays homage to Connie and Ted’s story, love for family, and good times spent fishing and preparing the day’s catch with an uncomplicated sensibility. With its dockside charm, the restaurant will offer a dineL.A. lunch menu at $25 per person and dinner menu at $39 per person.
OTHER MUSTS AROUND TOWN:
Not too far away, on the historic corner of Hollywood & Vine, APL Restaurant–the modern steakhouse from chef Adam Perry Lang will feature an Exclusive Series tasting menu for dineL.A. ($99+ per person). Reinterpreting the contemporary steakhouse with inspiration from steakhouses of the late 1800s and early 1900s, APL Restaurant is a distinctive-but-approachable fine dining venue in the heart of Hollywood. Classic French cooking techniques meet traditional American smoke and barbecue with a world-class wine and cocktail program led by Wine Manager Evelyn Goreshnik and Beverage Director Jonathan Michael McClune. Chef Adam’s exclusive menu will include Hand Cut Filet Mignon Tartare, with Calabrian Chili and Egg Yolk; Spaghetti with Bianco DiNapoli Tomatoes; and Dry Aged Ribeye, dry aged in APL’s 1,000 sq. ft. environmental chamber.
This is also a great time to take advantage of tasting menus at the trio of Wolfgang Puck restaurants in Beverly Hills for around $100 per person (wine pairings extra). From the classic Spago to meat-centric Cut and romantic Wolfgang Cut at Hotel Bel Air, here are the 3 tasting menus below on offer this season for the dineL.A.
Spago’s Menu: https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/dinela-los-angeles-restaurant-week/34930/menu
Cut’s Menu: https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/dinela-los-angeles-restaurant-week/22318/menu
Wolfgang Cut at Hotel Bel Air’s Menu: https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/dinela-los-angeles-restaurant-week/84020/menu
This is also a great opportunity for the budget conscious to check out the newly opened The Fields LA dining hall near the USC campus and Coliseum - who also hosted a great launch party earlier this week. Here you can dine on a selection of favorites for only $15 (!) from Ms. Chi Chinesse (also check out her new cafe in Culver City with restauranteur Stephane Bombet); to CJ Boyd’s fried chicken (from Tim Hollingsworth of Otium fame and the Freeplay upstairs sports bar at The Fields space), Chef Jason Fullilove’s Barbara Jean and other beloved L.A. favorites from Coni’s Seafood to Burritos Las Palma.
