Recent Los Angeles Restaurant Reviews

I like to consider myself a foodie.  I work out a ton so I can eat some amazing not so healthy stuff once in a while. While I 90% of the time stick to eating clean and paleo, 10% of the time I go big and eat whatever I want.  I think it keeps me sane and simultaneously allows me to stick to my clean diet as a lifestyle. I love to try new restaurants, new foods, new experiences, etc. It makes me so happy to see a new menu full of all this possibility and I wanted to share a few recent restaurants I've been to that I really liked. Here are a few picks in case you live in LA or are visiting and want to try one, these are what scored on my list recently.

Can I get an Amen!!

Pizzeria Mozza 

Pizzeria Mozza is a bustling, urban, burst of flavor vibrant place. It truly can be a great atmosphere for any occasion. It kind of reminds me of some of the cute restaurants I've been to in Soho in NYC. It has a small neighborhood vibe to it, the lighting is perfect and I love to sit by the pizza oven and watch all the chefs at work preparing fresh pizzas from the wood burning ovens and seeing all the different options, it can make your head spin.

The wine list is extensive, the food is magnificent and it is probably one of my top 3 favorite places I've been to here in LA. You dont come here for the view or the scene, you come here for some unbelievable food with a great vibe. The celeb chef Mario Batali really does know what he's doing...and it shows.

My must have's:

The tomato burratta salad was cray. The little tomatoes were still on the vine; sweet like candy. The cheese was milky and delicious.

Starters: Fried squash blossoms with ricotta, Shaved purple Brussels sprouts with walnuts & avocado and marinated baby peppers with tuna.

Pizza: Egg, bacon, Yukon gold potato & Bermuda onions, Fennel sausage, panna, red onion & scallions

Dessert: Meyer lemon gelato pie with Champagne vinegar sauce & candied lemon zest


Mercato Di Vetro

New West Hollywood Italian resto Mercato Di Vetro delivers more than just a celebrity sighting. The restaurant has three open kitchens: one for cocktails (with fresh produce and house-made syrups), one for antipasti (hen-of-the-woods with aioli and Parmesan), and one outfitted with a wood-burning oven for pizza and al forno plates (branzino, lamb with rosemary honey) and a vintage Rosito Bisani pasta machine for dishes like tortelloni with burrata.

It is packed..it is trendy..it is very LA..but it is also delicious with lots of fresh ingredients and good cocktails. It has an open market feel and two levels. Perfect dinner with your friends. Small plates so you aren't super stuffed and bonus ..you still look good in that dress your wearing by the time you leave.

Put in your belly:

Burrata and Peaches Salad..white balsamic..cant get enough...

or..The butter lettuce salad with smoked trout is also pretty divine

Raw Hamachi

Sausage and egg pizza

MUST GET-- hanger steak...nuff said.

The Lamb Bolognese will leave you wanting 5 more servings..

Eveleigh

The Eveleigh is set back from bustling Sunset Boulevard and is in one word..charming. This restaurant and bar’s exposed brick, raw wood beams, and roaring fireplace keep things welcoming, rustic, and low-key.

Start small with the seasonal, California market-inspired plates like butter lettuce salad with warm egg yolk and garden herbs and wild white shrimp with souce vierge, bacon, cauliflower and peppered pecorino.

Move on to hearty braised beef cheek or jidoori chicken. 

Finish with a poached peach with brown sugar ice cream or a warm, bitter-chocolate cake with chocolate sauce, crème fraîche sorbet and salted honeycomb for dessert.



Tinto Tapas

Transport yourself from West Hollywood to Spain in seconds when you enter Tinto Tapas. It has authentic tapas, traditional large plates, wine and homemade Sangria. The interior is authentic and true to the Andalusian and Moorish flavor that embodies Spanish Architecture including a stone wall that pays homage to the famous Aqueduct of Segovia.The waiters and bartenders (who are cute and have heavy spanish accents ) are decked out in traditional red San Fermin scarves that are worn in Pamplona during the festival of the running of the bulls. 

My fave is their happy hour... $5.00 Happy Hour Specials on M-W(5-10pm),  Th-Sat (5-7pm). Thursdays is my pick because of their flamenco spanish guitar playing duo, it  irresistably puts a smile on your face. Great Sangria...bonus!!  Perfect place for a bite with friends or a small dinner with a significant other.

My picks:

Tabla de Ibéricos - 4 kinds of regional Spanish cured meat: Chorizo, Catalana, Lomo Embuchado & Salchichón. Served w/olives, capers and garlic

Gambas al Ajillo - Shrimp sautéed in white wine w/ garlic, chili flakes & parsley.

Cogollos de Tudela con Atún y Boquerones - Butter lettuce hearts w/ bonito tuna & white anchovies in an infusion of olive oil.

Arroz Negro - Spanish rice & calamari cooked in squid ink.

Paella del Mar - Saffron Spanish rice w/ clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari, scampi & red bell peppers.