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.

It sort of reminds me of that very buxom bar/restaurant that was sued several years ago. The chain of prime rib restaurants, Lawry's, has been sued for discrimination in hiring. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the class-action suit in Federal court in Los Angeles this week accusing the Pasadena branch of the restaurant of continuing the policy of using women servers only - a policy that dates back to 1938.

One of the attorney's for the Commission has said that the practice denies men of the higher-paying jobs of serving, relegating them to lower-paying jobs like busing tables.

Do the mean really want to wear those mud-brown dresses and silly bonnets?!

On the restaurants scene, chefs are taking cobblers and crisps to the next level. SIV goes for midnight munchies at Magnolia Hollywood, then writes about camera-equipped kitchens for bi-coastal chefs. Tropicalia Brazilian Grill sizzles.

In the kitchen, a recipe for the chili from downtown Walt Disney Concert Hall and many ways with the artichoke. Giada de Laurentiis' new cookbook makes elegant dinners.

The Wine of the Week is 2003 Domaine de la Begude to perfectly pair with an Easter leg of lamb, but don't forget about the Greeks. Passover begins next week, so a few choices beyond Manischewitz.

[photo: LA Times]

You might not know exactly where the Beverly Hilton is in Beverly Hills, but you certainly know about the Beverly Hilton if you watch the Golden Globe Awards, which are hosted there every year. The "new" owner, who purchased the hotel from Merv Griffin two years ago, has planned to tear down some existing structures on the hotel's property to build condos, including the old-school Trader Vic's restaurant. Apparently, the legendary Polynesian restaurant, famous as the godfather of the Mai Tai, is one of the hotel "elements that no longer work."

Who serves the best sushi in Los Angeles? Coming from New York--I moved here two weeks ago--I am determined to find out where to go for great sushi. Everyone I ask has a different opinion, but the majority of people agree that the small sushi joints, the ones tucked away in the strip malls, are the best. Earlier this week, I ate at Ike, located in Hollywood. It came strongly recommended from in-the-know LA foodies. They knew what they were talking about. The fish was amazingly fresh; the giant clam was shockingly good, and tasted just like the sea. Sit at the bar when you go.

Sushi Ike
6051 Hollywood Blvd #105
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 856-9972

In the April 2006 issue of Food & Wine magazine, Kate Krader outlines a week-long road trip she did around southern California, starting in LA, through Santa Barbara, with a quickie side trip to San Diego. While she does dine at some top-notch spots like Spago and Providence in Los Angeles, it's not all about high-end dining. A recap of her whirlwind food and wine tour through La La Land:

• An LA institution, Pacific Dining Car (that just went to 24-hours), for dry aged beef
• Norman's on Sunset for their Friday night whole roast pig
• The Regent Beverly Wilshire's new restaurant, The Blvd
• Providence for fish, obviously
• Dinner at Sona
• Late night at the Hungry Cat in Hollywood
• Old school Greenblatt's Deli that has a remarkable wine list
• Sushi at Shibucho, where Bordeaux and Burgundies are better than sake and beer
• Silverlake Wine for the Monday night tasting event
• The Lodge Steakhouse
• Spago, which she says is her favorite place

I love Indian food, but I still have a lot to learn about the nuances in the cooking from region to region, ingredients, and technqiues. The best way to learn of course, is to keep eating it!

Recently, I have been enamored of a small restaurant in Santa Monica. Chandni is a vegetarian restaurant. Now I'm not vegetarian, but that doesn't mean that I can't have an incredible meal there. There are standard dishes that you will find in the "vegetable" section of any Indian restaurant's menu like saag paneer, bengan bhartha, and gobi aloo. However, I have been forcing myself away from these standards to try things like bindhi masala (okra) and khumb (mushroom) curries. The best thing I've had at Chandni is the bhara mirch, a bell pepper that has been stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes (similar to what's inside a samosa) and simmered with a rich, creamy, spicy tomato-based sauce.

Chandni Indian Vegetarian
1909 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA
(310) 839-0482

Though the big St. Patrick's Day hype and parades are elsewhere in Chicago (a green river!) and New York, you can still don your green leprechaun tights in and around LA for food or drink or both (just expect some strange stares if you really do dress up like a leprechaun) Plan ahead,and get there early - it's going to be a mob green scene:

1. Finn McCool's (food and drink), 2702 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405, (310) 452-1734
2. Ireland's 32, 13721 Burbank Blvd, Van Nuys,CA (818) 785-4031
3. Irish Times, 3267 Motor Ave, Los Angeles, CA (310) 559-9648
4. Joxer Daly's, 11168 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232, (310) 838-3745
5. O'Brien's Pub & Restaurant, 2941 Main St, Santa Monica, CA (310) 396-4725 
6. McMurphy's Tavern, 72 N Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena, CA (626) 666-1445 
7. Molly Malone's Irish Pub, 575 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA (323) 935-1577
8. Tom Bergin's, 840 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA, (323) 936-7151

The 21st Los Angeles Marathon is this coming Sunday, March 19, 2006. The race begins and ends in downtown and LA, and since one of the events associated with the marathon is the traditional "carb-loading" dinner the night before, the official carb-loading dinner will be hosted by the marathon's organization at the Wilshire Grand Hotel Ballroom. It costs $20 per person, with one seating at 5:00 pm, one at 6:30 pm. 

If you're planning to race, or even if you're not, and want to do some carb-loading in the downtown area, Fodor's has listed a few Italian eateries where you can get your fill of bread and pasta: Ciao Trattoria (815 W. Seventh St., (213) 624-2244), Tesoro Trattoria (300 S. Grand Ave., (213) 680-0000) , and Zucca Ristorante (801 S. Figueroa St., (213) 614-7800).

But the race is a few days away, so don't forget your protein today!

I would say that compared to the average person, my palate is fairly well-travelled. However, in the grand scheme of global cuisine, I've got a long way to go, baby. I've hit up the majors, but Bosnian was something new to me.

It's not all that different from cuisines native to the same Mediterranean and Balkan regions, but it does have its own quirks that make it unique. Bosnian cuisine shares things like pita bread, feta cheese, various meze, and the use of flaky phyllo dough with its neighbors around the Mediterranean and Middle East. However, the phyllo dough is used to make Bosnian burek, a pastry filled with a spiced meat or cheese mixture, then rolled into a long tube that is coiled then baked. The spices are similar to those used in Greek moussaka.

Bosnian cuisine also has kebabs and sarma, which sound exactly like Greek dolmades wrapped in grape leaves. However, sarma can be wrapped in sour cabbage and served with sour cream, making them more Balkan and eastern European.

I've only come across on Bosnian restaurant in Los Angeles, called Aroma Cafe. It's a small, bright place, that, like many of the lesser known "ethnic" cuisine restaurants in the area, has a small corner dedicated to the sales of Bosnian gourmet food products.

Aroma Cafe
2530 Overland Avenue (2 1/2 blocks south of Pico)
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 836-2919
www.aromacafe-la.com

It's winter (well, sure doesn't feel like it in LA), so turn to dried fruits, in particular, dried figs and dried plums. Oh, alright, prunes. Bread pudding with prunes and apricots, prune and armagnac ice cream, and poached pears with spiced figs sure make dried fruit almost sound...sexy.

If you're craving Persian food and live in LA, then you're lucky. With the largest Iranian population in the country, LA and OC boast more than 60 Persian restaurants. The article has a top 10 list of restaurants, a mini-glossary of menu items and recipes for zereshk polo (rice with dried tart barberries) and torsh kebab.

In wine, Russ Parsons tries to undertand the terroir of the Santa Rita Hills through Clos Pepe Vineyards and Winery. SIV calls 2003 Poggio Antico Rosso di Montalcino a "beautiful Tuscan for less than $30."

Out on the town, or at least, in the town of Palm Springs, SIV gives 1½ stars (*) to Mister Parker's at the Parker Palm Springs hotel, and City Bakery in the Brentwood Country Mart is finally open. Yes, finally.