Taste of the town
3 new dining havens for Los Angeles foodies
LOS Angeles’ dining scene is on fire, with chefs from around the country — and globe — lured by its sunny climes, crisp produce and (relatively) cheaper rents. Here are three of the buzziest new boîtes in town.
DREAM HOLLYWOOD HOTEL Just opened last week, this mod NYC transplant and its 150,000-plus-square-feet of adjacent culinary offerings take up nearly a full city block ( DreamHotels.com/
Hollywood). Tao Group brought in heavyweights Tao, Beauty & Es
sex and Avenue nightclub along with Luchini Pizzeria (from chef Alvin Cailan of Eggslut fame) and
The Highlight Room, a poolside cocktails-and-bites spot with stunning skyline views, swanky cabanas and a major scene.
CITY MARKET SOUTH This game-changing development aims to create a romantic Italian palazzo out of former produce warehouses in the midst of LA’s gritty downtown fashion district ( CityMarketSouth.com). Bon vivants can wander from Sotto chef Steve Samson’s mouth-watering, Bologna-inspired Rossoblu (already up, running and booked solid) to the trendy Cognoscenti Coffee. They’ll soon be joined by San Fransisco hit The Slanted Door and a “deco-tropical” cocktail haven from dynamic drinks duo Steve Livigni and Pablo Moix (complete with an outdoor terrace on what was once a loading dock for bananas).
FREEHAND LA A swanky spinoff of the Miami cool-kid hostel, the
Freehand offers a mix of private quarters and shared rooms in Downtown LA — plus the popular Broken Shaker, with its playful blend of outdoor imbibing and vintage furniture, set to open next month on the hotel’s rooftop pool deck ( FreehandHotels. com/Los-Angeles). Other tasty out
lets include The Exchange (with Alex Chang’s LA-meets-Israel-meetsMexico fare) and the sophisticated
Rudolph’s Bar & Tea lobby cocktail den. Look for The NoMad Hotel (and its eponymous restaurant and bar) to soon arrive a block away.