aussie pie kitchen

santa monica, ca

website

meat pies! ever since jenny and i went to pie minister in oxford, england, i've been trying to find a similar spot stateside. these meat pies are australian, but i can't tell the difference. it's hard to go wrong with meat wrapped in pastry. my favorite is the classic aussie - ground beef marinated in red wine, braised in mirepoix, herbs & spices. placed on top of mashed potatoes and covered with gravy. these pies are also great to take home - reheat in the oven until the buttery crust gets brown and flaky. so good.

ludobird @ staples center

los angeles, ca

website

sports arenas have gotten fancy with their concessions. i was just excited to see jeremy lin play for the lakers at the staples center. (i was possibly the only person in the stands hoping that kobe would get out of the way so i could snap a photo of jeremy). i wasn't expecting to also be wowed by the food. wandering around the various concession stands, i noticed ludobird. could it possibly be related to celebrity chef ludo? i had no idea if his food was any good - i only knew him from anthony bourdain's show. turns out his fried chicken is damn good. seriously. crispy, herbal, juicy fried chicken will help you ignore how poorly the lakers are playing.

lawry's

beverly hills, ca

website

girl's night out with cindy c, g, and L. L has a special "in" at lawry's because she got married there! brilliant. we had a great wisecracking waitress who had a lot of fun with us girls. smart wine recommendation, reasonably priced. dinner started with lawry's famous original spinning bowl salad. is it really necessary to start with salad? does the bowl really need to spin? who knows, but it's amazing. gives you a nice base in your stomach for the roasted prime rib. the meat is served off of a push cart - like meaty dim sum. for me, the redder the slice, the better. side of creamed corn. mashed potatoes. and yorkshire pudding which is like a deflated creamy popover. eat until it starts to hurt a little. waddle home. success!

morinoya

los angeles, ca

website

i had no idea that this japanese restaurant was hidden away on the 2nd floor of the olympic collection at the corner of sawtelle and olympic until m directed me there for dinner after work. their specialty is inaniwa udon - i'm not quite sure what it's made of, but it looks like thinly sliced udon. the broth was flavorful and warm. it's a lot lighter than the ramen that you get elsewhere on sawtelle. but my favorite part of the meal was the warm plum wine drink that m ordered - extremely comforting after a long day.

r+d kitchen

santa monica, ca

website

hillstone restaurants are generally reliable for good american food and excellent wine lists. r+d kitchen is no exception. on a lazy afternoon strolling along montana avenue, i sat by myself at the counter of r+d kitchen. lovely glass of crisp chardonnay. nice fresh chicken salad. solid.