Gold Dig #69 Le Comptoir is one of the most intimate experiences on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. There are only two seatings per night, in which 10 lucky people get to sit at the counter watching Chef Gary Menes prepare and plate the 8-course set menu. He starts with an introduction describing that…
Category: Gold Digging
Broken Spanish Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #68 Broken Spanish is one of the Mexican restaurants on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. The wide rectangular space has a glass front wall and large bar in the center. It feels mostly modern, but has some rustic touches like a side wall hung with family photos and shelves full of clay…
Manuela Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #67 I think Manuela makes Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list as much for its atmosphere as for its food. Located downtown in the Hauser & Wirth building, the restaurant blends into the art galleries with specially commissioned lighting and artwork of its own, and a patio that looks out onto the sculpture…
Kismet Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #66 On Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurant’s list, Kismet is referred to as a “neo-Middle Eastern bistro”. The all-day eatery (open 10am-11pm) has the sleek, modern feel recognizable in Jon and Vinny establishments. Located in Los Feliz, it was a long trek for me from the west side, but I talked a friend…
Rosaline Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #65 Rosaline is the only Peruvian restaurant on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list at the time of this writing. Located in the prime eating area of West Hollywood, the front room has a bar and somewhat of an open kitchen where you can watch the magic happen. The back room is a…
Aburiya Raku Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #64 Aburiya Raku is a West Hollywood branch of the much-talked-about Japanese izakaya restaurant of the same name in Las Vegas. The cozy spot apparently has a very different feel from the Las Vegas original, but the food is just as good and it makes Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. Aburiya Raku…
Connie and Ted’s Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #63 Connie and Ted’s is the big place with the swooping ceiling on a main stretch of West Hollywood that on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list, he calls a “clam shack”. Inside is an open kitchen and a bar. Outside is a fantastic patio, which unfortunately looks out onto the parking lot…
Garlic & Chives Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #62 There are typically a handful of Orange County spots that make Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list, and Garlic and Chives is one of them. There is always some debate among followers of Jonathan Gold about whether or not he should be including these restaurants on his list, as the OC is…
Drago Centro Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #61 Drago Centro is an Italian restaurant located downtown in City National Plaza. On Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list, he calls it one of “the most commanding restaurants downtown”. The large, glassed-in dining room has a high arched ceiling, an impressive tower of wines behind the bar, and a great view of…
Otium Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #60 Otium is a downtown establishment that regularly sits pretty high on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. It is a gorgeous glassed-in space that opens into the kitchen (you actually walk through the kitchen to get to the bathroom), and an outdoor patio with lovely landscaping, a view of the rooftop herb…
Kobawoo House Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #59 Kobawoo House is one of the many Koreatown restaurants on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. It is super helpful to refer to his list when deciding where to eat in this area… there are so many restaurants that it’s hard to know where to begin or imagine that you’d ever be…
Republique Restaurant Review
Gold Dig #58 Republique is the French bistro on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list that he says “could turn just about anyone into a gibbering, gluttonous fool”. He is not wrong. From the moment I walked up to the outside of Republique, I fell in love with this adorable spot. You walk in and…