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Every Friday our editors compile a trusty list of recommendations to answer the most pressing of questions: “Where should I eat?“ Here now are four places to check out this weekend in Los Angeles. And if you need some ideas on where to drink, here’s our list of the hottest places to get cocktails in town. For a Bakersfield Indian food adventure: Punjabi Dhaba With the election frying our collective brains this week, why not go on a totally random adventure to Bakersfield for Indian food? If getting away sounds good right about now, set the GPS to Punjabi Dhaba for a delightfully comforting meal that may or may not provide more clarity about the state of the world.
Located in a desolate truck stop off a two-lane highway, the family-owned mobile operation prepares a succinct menu full of stick-to-your-bones gravies and griddled flatbreads. Order the whole shebang, especially the samosa chaat, because the leftovers travel exceedingly well. For those wondering if a weekday lunchtime jaunt to Bakersfield is at all possible, the answer is yes.
The trip takes just under two hours one-way from Downtown LA, which means one can drive to Punjabi Dhaba and back in time for a 2 o’clock meeting or after-school pick-up. 99 Exit 13, 16020 Costajo Road, Bakersfield, CA 93313. — Cathy Chaplin, senior editor For the closest thing to New York’s Via Carota in Los Angeles: Osteria Vera I’ve heard a few people say they wish there were something like West Village’s charming Via Carota here in Los Angeles, an every day Italian restaurant that feels casual enough to waltz into any night of the week but polished enough to impress a date.
I might suggest Osteria Vera, a six-month-old restaurant from seasoned chef Nicola Mastronardi, a jolly gray-haired cook who seems to relish this second tenure in Brentwood. Recall that Mastronardi was the chef of the neighborhood revered Vincenti for 22 years, serving grown-up pastas and other pan-Italian specialties to the tony neighborhood. With Osteria Vera, he’s opted for a lovely little brick-lined space that was Pecorino for 17 years, a fully open kitchen where he and five cooks plate excellent starters of roasted beets with burrata, roasted octopus legs, and tempura shrimp with tomato agro dolce.
The chitarra pasta is tossed tableside in a wheel of pecorino cheese for a textbook cacio e pepe while the lobster paccheri is so delicious you won’t want to share it with the table. The only slight miss of the evening was the branzino, but the night’s special of roast duck with a sweet glaze felt like the ideal autumn entree. Even on a Monday, Osteria Vera’s dining was close to full, not a single tune of music playing, just the simmering chatter of happy diners.
11604 San Vicente Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90049 — Matthew Kang, lead editor For vibey seaside dining: Si! Mon While summer is gone, luckily Los Angeles’s beach season never truly ends. Even on socked in evenings when a gray haze hangs above the Venice canals, its hard to complain. Luckily, the chillier weather has not cooled the vibes at Si! Mon, a Panamanian restaurant a block from the beach.
Though the building may look unassuming from the outside, a verdant, softly lit atrium await just inside the entrance, with an attached fully indoor dining room and bar, plus a bungalow in the back with a few more tables. Even on a Monday night, the restaurants is brimming with guests splitting plates of crispy fried chicken, pork belly over beans, and cocktails. The uni shooter is a can’t miss, mostly for the flavor, but also for the fun of doing a savory shot at the table.
60 N. Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291. — Rebecca Roland, associate editor For delightful sandwiches from a trusted source: the Sammiche Shoppe in Inglewood A post shared by RE:store (@re_store.
info) When seeking out sandwiches, stick with the smaller operators; they put time, effort, and care into layering the best ingredients. That typically happens in the coziest of spaces with locals that usually know others by name. That type of familiarity occurs at the Sammiche Shoppe in Inglewood.
It’s also near many other noteworthy spots with Hilltop Coffee one half block away, Martin’s Cocina, and a slew of charming facades on Market Street. LA local Willie Jenkins opened this spot in 2018 because he wanted to offer delicious non-fried options for the Black community. At the Sammiche Shoppe, he delivers on his mission.
While there, order the turkey pastrami or the Lucy Mae sandwich with air-fried chicken, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, and cucumbers on ciabatta. Always ask for the spicy mayonnaise to kick up the flavor. The turkey chili is as good as it gets in the City of Angels.
By the way, the business is named after Jenkins’s grandmother’s pronunciation of the word “sandwich.” 222 E. Regent Street, Inglewood, CA, 90301.
— Mona Holmes, reporter Related Sign up for our newsletter. Check your inbox for a welcome email. Oops.
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