"LA dining" news and stories

There's always a new restaurant opening in Westwood, whether in Westwood Village or further south along Westwood Boulevard. I'm not sure why the turnover in the area seems higher than in other places, but I suspect it has to do with very high westside rents battling against a very budget-conscious college market.

The most recent opening I noticed is Fresh Corn Grill, a few blocks south of the campus area on Westwood Boulevard. We stopped in for lunch.

Sushi Sasabune is famous in Los Angeles for omakase. The restaurant used to be located in a tiny shack (quite literally, a shack) on Sawtelle Boulevard in West LA, with fluorescent lighting, flimsy tables and chairs, and no atmopshere whatsoever. But night after night, Sasabune was bursting at the seams with devoted fan of the fresh fish.

Sasabune has finally moved to a much larger, cleaner, airier space on Wilshire Boulevard (the space used to be a Todai - thank God it's not there anymore). We went recently to check out Sasabune's new digs, and to see if the sushi in a larger, higher volume operation would be the same.

It's Cinco de Mayo (that's "5th of May" if you took French in high school), so don your sombreros, head out to the local cantina, and start the fiesta! LA is a veritable goldmine of Mexican joints, with everything from upscale Border Grill to the taco truck on the corner (though we're not sure the taco trucks have blended margaritas). Here are eight places around LA to celebrate the victory of the tiny Mexican militia at Puebla. Get there early, since places will fill up fast on a Friday afternoon.

1. Baja Cantina, 311 Washington Boulevard, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292, (310) 821-2252, www.bajacantinavenice.com  - Get there early. Last year, I drove by it, and kept driving because the line was full of guys in Mardi Gras beads and straw hats waiting to get in.
2. Cabo Cantina, 8301 W Sunset Blvd (@ Sweetzer), Los Angeles, CA 90069, (323) 822-7820 - There is also a second location on Wilshire Blvd on the Westside. That's where Monkey was having his margarita!
3. El Carmen, 8138 W Third St (@ Crescent Heights), Los Angeles, CA 90048, (323) 852-1552 - It's dark and moody inside, with creepy masked Mexican boxers on the walls, but their selection of tequila is incredible.  
4. El Cholo, 1121 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006, (323) 734-2773, www.elcholo.com - El Cholo also has a Westside location at Wilshire and 11th in Santa Monica. It is very popular. If I were you, I'd go there now. No, really, now.
5. El Coyote, 7312 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036, (323) 939-2255, www.elcoyotecafe.com - Margaritas are HUGE, food portions are HUGE, but the girls are tiny.
6. Lula Cocina Mexicana, 2722 Main St Santa Monica, CA 90405, (310) 392-571, www.lulacocinamexicana.com  -
7. Spanish Kitchen, 826 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069, (310) 659-4794, www.thespanishkitchen.com - I've never been, but all my friends love the place. A bit expensive, and sort of hipster-ish, but fun nonetheless. 
8. Velvet Margarita, 1612 N Cahuenga Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028, (323) 469-2000 - Like Spanish Kitchen, it's a wee bit of a hipster place, so dress nicely. The giant margaritas in fresh pineapples are sort of touristy, so stick with a regular one on the rocks and you won't look like a plebe.

Baby, you look fabulous, even after partying all night on the Sunset Strip.

The best way to blast that hangover for good so you can do it all over again tonight, though, is to go out for breakfast. Not eat breakfast, for how do you expect to shimmy your svelte little self into that strappy, form-fitting thing? Go out for breakfast. Pull back your hair and put on your Prada sunglasses. We're getting pancakes in LA.

Now, for the LA-uninitiated, the above scenario might well seem the standard, taking place right in front of The Standard. I mean LA couldn't possibly know how to make a mile-high stack of thick, fluffy, hot pancakes glistening with butter and dripping with maple syrup; and even if it could, no one would actually eat them, right? 

Ha. Uninitiated.

There are lots of places to get pancakes in LA, and not all of them serve paper-thin, fruits, nuts, and flakes tenuously held together with non-fat soy milk and garnished with low-fat air. LA joints know how to make not only plain Jane buttermilk pancakes, but pancakes that are all dressed with everywhere to go: laced with Kahlua and Bailey's, filled with Oreos, or covered with caramel. And the breakfast/brunch set certainly knows how to dive fork-first into a stack. With their Prada sunglasses on, of course.

In the kitchen, Italians celebrate Easter with a fabulous brunch of asparagus flan, crespelles filled with vegetables, and a strawberry crostata. Blanching Spring's vegetables takes only a minutes. Sea salt can be grey.

Around town on the dining scene, SIV visits the brand new Ford's Filling Station. The Hatfields, who opened Cortez in San Francisco's Adagio Hotel, are coming to LA to open a new restaurant called Hatfields. Nook Bistro shares the secret of its Caesar Salad.

In wine, drink clubs are the new book club, and if you want to do a tasting at home, you need some basics. Like wine glasses. The Wine of the Week is 2003 Domaine Olivier Pithon Côtes du Roussillon, "power with finesse" for about $19 retail.