I surely do love a good hotel bar. I really do. You always meet the most interesting people there, people moving through the city for business, for pleasure, from all walks of life and from all over the country and all corners of the globe. And travelers are often eager to make conversation next to whomever they're seated. It's a good time.

But generally, the allure of a hotel bar is more about the cameraderie and people than the drinks or food. Caulfield's Bar & Dining Room at the Thompson Hotel doubles down by offering dishes and a bar program good enough to entice even those not staying upstairs.

The first step inside Caulfield's makes it clear that this is no ordinary hotel bar. The interior melds old and new, transposing Art Deco themes into a slick, modern setting. It's equally easy to imagine Dick Tracy siddling up to the bar as it is to picture Bruce Wayne sipping a scotch. Past and present, and both cool as hell.

And Caulfield's offers a stellar bar program to match the stylish decor. Crafted under the supervision of manager Jeremy Back, the cocktails are creative, fun and most importantly, delicious. Take for instance, the Rye-ality (below, left), a spicy sipper composed of Templeton Rye, grapefruit, serrano pepper, cayenne preserves and yuzu Miracle Mile bitters. Another playful drink is the Bar & Dining Room (below, center), a drink that emulates something you'd be more likely to eat by combining Maestro Dobel, fig shrub, cracked black pepper foam served in a glass laced with proscuitto dust. It's like a liquid proscuitto-wrapped date and it's surprisingly drinkable. Also fun is the Bar-zillian (below, right), an enticing mix of Leblon Cachacha, lime and hrapefruit juices, egg whites and Forbidden bitters.

To complete the trifecta, the food would need to be top notch. So Caulfield's stacks the odds with chef Stephen Kalt, who has cooked under Daniel Boulud at the legendary Le Cirque and is a veteran of elevating hotel food (Corsa Cucina at The Wynn Las Vegas and Fornelletto at Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel and Casino). Kalt's food is both artful and tasty, and way better than our prior experiences with hotel bar cuisine.

It would be a mistake for anyone not to begin his or her meal with a selection of charcuterie (the options include pate Campagna, duck rillette, chicken liver pate, salametto, capicola, duck ham, bresaiola, and serrano ham). The terrines and pates are made in house and are outstanding, the artisan salumi is equally good, and the accompanying mustards, fruit pasts and jams are great.

Next, buttery slices of Pacific fluke crudo are garnished beautifully with pear, radish, coconut milk, finger lime and ginger. It's a nice balance of creamy and acidic, and it's light enough that it doesn't overpower the fluke.

Similarly, the big eye tuna confit lets the fish shine while pairing it with an interesting combination of  tomato, haricot verts, olives, new potato, white anchovy, egg and sherry vinegar.

For our second round of drinks, we knocked back more cocktails like the Lipstick (below, left) where St. George Botanivore gin cozies up with fresh beet and lemon juices, and some Bitter Truth Habanero shrub. It gets it name for the big lipsmack on the side of the glass - the product of beet juice rather than an unwashed glass. Then there's the Kentucky Kiwi (below, center) which mellows out Pure Kentucky XO whiskey with a kiwi shrub and Bitter Truth Boston Bitters. The O.K. Corral (below, right) serves up gin two ways. The first is served martini-style like a bijou with Oxley, Antica sweet vermouth and a sprits of green Chartreuse. The second way is a barrel aged treat that Back calls the Hanky Panky and for good reason: it's exactly what it's all about. 

The Little Angel pasta is both enthusiastically recommended by our server and well-received by us. Tiny  pockets of fresh pasta are filled with a delicate combination of artichoke, arugula, and peas, finished with butter, poppy seeds and nutty Montasio cheese.

Heartier and bolder is a crock of juicy and flavorful meatballs of ground lamb, bulghur, Moroccan lemon and savory tomato. It's the ideal dish for a cold night, and goes a long way in filling the space in our stomachs left by the earlier dishes.

For variety, we opt for a grilled pizzette, a satisfyingly charred flatbread topped with creamy burrata and a bright basil pesto.

Our final dish of the night features plump slices of roasted duck breast and leg confit, drizzled with a rich reduction and served with gaviota strawberries, padron peppers, potato pearls, and cipoline onions.

It would be an understatement to say that the food and drinks at Caulfield's are better than they need to be. They are legitimately good enough to stand alone and apart from the hotel, and good enough that we'll definitely be back in the future. Because I do love a good hotel bar, and Caulfield's is definitely that.

*Disclosure: this was a hosted meal. 

Hours: Seven days a week: 7:00a-11:00p

Separately, chef couple Nick Roberts and Brooke Williamson are pretty darned impressive. Roberts has worked in the kitchens of famed Union Pacific, Ducasse, and Café Boulud, while Williamson holds the honor of being the youngest chef to ever cook at the James Beard House and is currently cooking up a storm on this season of Top Chef: Seattle. It's like the two were made to be together, like...well, like great beer and fine food, which Roberts and Williamson are pairing at Redondo Beach's Hudson House and Playa Del Rey's The Tripel.

We've yet to visit Hudson House, but after a really fun trip to the Tripel a couple of weeks ago, we're putting it high up on our list. First of all, The Tripel is perfectly suited to its location - it's tiny, cozy, and laid back, just like the old beach town Playa Del Rey.

LUBRICATION the board screams at you when you walk into the Tripel. In this case, it's referring to the 'Social Lubrication' that flows out of its 12 taps - a stellar mix of Belgians and local craft brews (below, left). Along with the excellent tap list, the Tripel also offers beer cocktails like the Sour Grapes (below, right) which deftly blends sour beer with Luxardo maraschino liqueur.

And what to pair with all these lovely concoctions? How about a parade of creative small plates?

To start, a hint of coconut and red curry bring unexpected warmth to dense, crumbly biscuits (below), which are made even tastier with dollops of luscious clotted cream and orange blossom honey.

The chicken sausage stuffed dates (below) balance the sugary dried fruit perfectly against the savory elements: the well-seasoned meat stuffing, piquillo pepper, and cilantro. A really nice alternative to the ubiquitous bacon-wrapped version.

Baby octopus (below), a favorite of mine, gets a nice char, retaining a bit of bite, which is a good textural contrast to the creamy, inky coconut rice and saffron-tinged sauce.

The duck egg Florentine (below) is an interesting combination of creamed spinach, perfectly poached egg and crunchy triangles of smoked trout toast. While we might like the individual elements more than the dish as a whole, the composed dish is a good example of Roberts and Williamson's willingness to think outside the box.

Yeah, I know you don't know what chicken waterzooi (below) is. Neither did we. Order it anyway. It's a Belgian dish, and it's fantastic: a bright, hearty stew of heirloom carrots, leeks, kale, fenugreek, and gremolata, with big chunks of succulent, tender chicken, and an insanely crispy potato latka for texture.

Even the more traditional dishes get a fancy fun spin. The Tripel burger is a disco party of flavors: duck confit, pork, and aged beef, truffle pecorino, arugula, and housemade apricot jam on an onion brioche bun. It's definitely not for the faint of heart, but it's not overwhelming, either - the richness plays really well with the sweetness of the jam. It's been a long time since we've had a burger this good in LA. 

For dessert, we enjoyed a fresh baked chocolate-cherry cookie (below, right) with black tea ice cream alongside our espresso. An nice, warm, ooey-gooey finish to a fine meal.

Good food and good drink really are the perfect combination. There's no doubt you'll find us getting lubricated in Playa Del Rey again very soon. In the meantime, we'll be cheering on Chef Brooke every Wednesday on Top Chef: Seattle. 

*Disclosure: This was a hosted meal.

Twitter: @TheTripelLA
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheTripel
Hours:  Mon-Thurs: 5:00p - close, Fri: 12:00p - close, Sat-Sun: 10:30a - close

It wasn't long ago that Adam Fleischman's UMAMIcatessen opened in downtown, expanding the popular burger empire into a multi-headed beast of a delicatessen/burger-stand/bar/donut/coffee shop. When the 170-seat, table-service dining hall first opened, we scarfed down delicious shrimp burgers, brainaise-covered fries, donuts stuffed with foie gras (not anymore, thanks foie gras ban!) along with pigs ears and cured Spanish meats thanks to San Francisco Chef Chris Cosentino's involvement. 

It's been nearly a year, and UMAMIcatessen continues to evolve. Recently, we were invited in to try a number of new dishes to counter the otherwise rich, meat-heavy menu. The pork, burgers and donuts haven't gone anywhere, but now there seems to be a nice happy balance.

First, it'd be negligent of us not to mention that The Back Bar at UMAMIcatessen is worth checking out in and of itself. The bar boasts a really solid beer list, a fun cocktail list - including the Bourbon Pig with bacon-washed bourbon, sugar, bitters and crispy pig ear (below, center) and the Black Jack with Jack Daniels honey, apricot liqueur, orgeat, lemon and blackberries (below, right) - and a substantial wine list. In other words, they've got your alcohol needs covered.

But the real news is the addition of the newly launched Market Menu, featuring seasonal small plates that provide meat-eaters a little ruffage to go with their protein, and give vegetarians/pescatarians a much wider selection from which to choose.

Smoked sturgeon potato salad with fingerling potatoes, celery, and truffled creme fraiche ($5, below, left) features chunks of fish so smoky and meaty, you could almost believe it was bacon, as well as a luscious dressing. The macaroni salad ($5, below, right) is the lightest version of the dish you could hope for, with carrot, cabbage, and slivers of scallions providing heft and crunch, pickled shiitakes adding a litte tartness, and a creamy but not-at-all heavy Japanese dressing pulling it all together.

Both the colorful salad of black quinoa, chickpeas, bell pepper, tomato, and cucumber with a citrus vinaigrette ($5, below, top left) and the cilantro ginger slaw ($3, below, top right) with green and red cabbage, Asian pear, mint, and pickled chiles tossed in a traditional gingery Japanese dressing, are bright, light and refreshingly crunchy. Most interesting of the new plates is a dish of crispy Brussels sprouts leaves tossed with a generous helping of honey mustard dressing and parmesan ($4, below, bottom center) - basically sprouts with a fast-food style makeover, and I mean that in a good way.

Slightly more basic, but no less tasty are the earthy, sweet multi-colored roasted beets, served with dollops of light-as-air dill creme fraiche ($4, below).

The caramelized squash ($5, below) is also really simple, but truly outstanding: cumin yogurt, lime and smoked paprika work beautifully against the slight sweetness of the squash.

The last of the small plates, the roasted baby carrots ($4, below, top center) get an elegant dressing up with a subtle honey glaze, torn mint leaves and a smear of dark, spicy harissa.

UMAMIcatessen is also keeping its core list of salads, which are pretty straightforward, but well-executed and more substantial than the small plates: the Greek salad ($12, below, bottom left) is a combo of marinated sous vide chicken, pickled peppers, cucumbers, olives, cherry tomatoes and feta vinaigrette; the chopped salad ($12, below, bottom right) is a mélange of albacore, radicchio, endive, butter lettuce, chickpeas, red onions, and gribiche (coarse vinaigrette, with chopped cornichons and capers and hard-boiled eggs) dressing.

You may feel the need to scarf something more indulgent after all those greens, and obviously, UMAMIcatessen has got you covered. A rich clam chowder (not currently on the menu, but likely to make an appearance in the future) with thick, gilstening slices of pork belly wipes out all the good points earned from the salads, but it's delicious enough to be worth it. 

Even more intensely meaty is the P!GG Breakfast sandwich ($11, below, left), a housemade English muffin jam-packed with sausage, pig-ear bacon, cheddar cheese, hot sauce, and a maple-poached egg. You can almost feel the heart attack coming over you as the perfectly runny yolk dribbles down your chin, but the sandwich is just too good to stop. And if you want to sate your meat cravings with beef instead, the pastrami from The Cure (below, right) has got you covered.

With all the good stuff going on at Umami Burger, The Cure, P!GG, and the bar, it would be easy to forget to save room for dessert. That would be a mistake, as UMAMIcatessen's very own donut shop in the corner makes a mean whisky bread pudding donut ($5, below) topped withdried fruit and zested orange cream cheese.

So yeah, carnivores and lovers of the decadent, UMAMIcatessen is still your jam. But now you don't have to leave your vegetarian family member/friend/significant other at home when you visit. Bring 'em along - you can all get stuffed at UMAMIcatessen together. 

Hours: Sunday-Thursday,11:30a-11:00p, Friday-Saturday, 11:30a-12:00a

Generally, I am a pretty unrepentant omnivore. I love meat without shame or apology, and in the past, I may or may not have stabbed a man for the last piece of pork belly on a plate. But recently, when Los Angeles became the largest city in the country to officially endorse Meatless Mondays (a movement encouraging people to cut meat out of their diets at least one day a week), I surprised myself at how supportive I was of the City Council's resolution. These feelings are in large part due to a recent visit to Mohawk Bend to sample the new seasonal food and drink items.

First, let's talk about the cocktails. Normally, when we go to Mohawk Bend, we get awfully tunnel-visioned about the rows of amazing beers on tap. But the new seasonal cocktails are definitely worth checking out. If I could, I would swap out the typical Thanksgiving candied yams for My Yummy Yammy, with Crusoe Organic Silver rum, yam puree, and brown sugar (below left, $12) every year. It's lighter than you would expect from something made with puree, and the toasted marshmellow that tops the concoction is a perfect finishing touch. The  Drunkin’ Punkin’, with Tru Organic Vanilla vodka, FruitLab Orange liqueur, grenadine, and house made pumpkin pie foam (below center, $12, not vegan) is intensely pumpkin-y but not sickly sweet. And for those with a taste for more herby cocktails, the Thyme Bomb, with #209 gin, thyme, lemon juice, apple cider (below right, $11) is right up your alley.

Now, we've tried and liked Chef Mike Garber's food before at brunch. But this time, we put his vegan cheffing to the test, making our meal entirely out of the myriad meat-free items on the menu. And Garbs hit it out of the park.

It's almost a no-brainer that the salads were fantastic. The endive salad, with kale, pickled Asian pears, red quinoa, pomegranate, candied pecans, and a persimmon vinaigrette (below, $11) is a lovely little plate of autumn, sweet and crunchy.

The beet salad (below, $10) is great as well, hitting you with both roasted and pickled versions of the beloved root veggie scattered across a bed of arugula lightly drizzled with pickled beet vinaigrette. Slivers of apple and hazelnuts add a nice textural contrast, and a smear of earthy, creamy sunchoke puree ties the whole thing together.

The buffalo-style cauliflower with "blue cheese" dressing is Mohawk Bend's most popular item for a very, very good reason. I am not exaggerating when I say I prefer this completely vegan version to the chicken original. Chef Garber's dish hits all the notes of the classic football food - the cauliflower is as meaty as you could imagine a vegetable could be, with a nice, crisp exterior, and the sauce is tangy with just a little bit of heat - without any of the grease and heaviness of fried chicken.

Less mind-blowing, but very solid are the fingerling potatoes with a bright, herby Spanish salsa verde (below left, $7). You can add bleu cheese and bacon to the Brussels sprouts if you want, but for us, the vegan version with apples and almonds (below right, $8) was plenty flavorful.

I was honestly surprised at how much I liked the jerk pizza (below) - the riot of ingredients (sweet potatoes, roasted peppers, pineapple, black beans, and fried plantains) seems like it won't work. But the chaotic combination tastes delicious, especially with Garber's jerk sauce bringing both substantial heat and flavor to the party. 

Even better, in my opinion, is the asparagus and potato pizza (below, in mini size, $8). It throws together some of my all-time favorite ingredients - asparagus, roasted garlic, and leeks - adds slices of crispy potato and caramelized onion, and tops it off with a sprinkling of nutty-tasting nutritional yeast. If this item ever falls off the menu, I will cry and stalk the appropriate parties until it is put back on.

And nowadays, on Thursday nights you can get a little show in addition to your dinner. Starting November 1, Mohawk Bend plays host to Ben Fernebok of NITRO DREAMS. Fernebok throws a bit of flair in as he makes tableside ice cream with liquid nitrogen. Less than 5 minutes after parking his cart at our table, he was placing bowls of wonderfully creamy mango (vegan) and caramel almond (not vegan) ice cream before us. And Fernebok and his cart of mystical goodness are available for catering gigs as well.

Listen, I'm never going to give up meat completely. It's delicious and I love it and you can't make me. BUT I personally see a lot of (environmental & health) benefits to cutting back on my animal consumption. Our Mohawk Bend visit inspired me, and for the last couple of weeks Mark and I have made a conscious effort to significantly cut back on our meat-eating - almost all of our home meals have been vegetarian/pescetarian, and even our meals out have been virtually meat-free.

So yeah, Los Angeles City Council, I'm on board with Meatless Mondays. Especially if I can spend them eating food as good as the vegetarian/vegan fare they're slinging at Mohawk Bend. 

Hours: Monday-Friday, noon to 2:00a, Saturday, 9:30a-2:00a, Sunday, 9:30a-1:00a

Until recently, whole roasted chicken was strictly a weekend meal. That’s because, while I’ve made some really good recipes, I always feel like they’re so fussy. Too much work for after work. And then I discovered this recipe for blasted chicken (for which I was inspired to look after the great half-blasted chicken at Mas Malo). It’s amazing – it takes about 5 minutes of prep, a little over an hour of roasting and the chicken always turns out juicy and flavorful, with crispy skin. I’ve made it probably 4 times in the last 2 months, which is practically unheard of (I don’t usually repeat recipes too often).

And while I’ve made a variety of sauces to go with the meat, this cilantro-chili pepper sauce is probably my favorite. It’s salty, tangy, and sweet, and tastes better the longer it sits. Which means fantastic leftovers. Which means happy Angela.

• 1 3-4 lb chicken, rinsed and patted dry
• 3-4 tbsp melted butter
• Lots of salt and pepper
• A standing chicken roaster or an empty tall boy (24 oz can of beer)

If this takes you more than 5 minutes, you’ve probably got an arm or a leg or both trapped under a heavy piece of furniture. If that’s true, you should probably not be making things in the oven or on the stove. Or doing anything that could potentially result in fire.

Since I was not trapped or otherwise encumbered, it took me less than 5 minutes. I removed one of the racks from the oven, leaving only one in the lowest slot, and preheated the oven to 450 degrees. I rubbed the melted butter all over the chicken, making sure to get some under the skin and inside the cavity, then I generously sprinkled salt and pepper all over. I fitted the chicken on the beer can, then put it in the oven to roast (about 15-20 minutes per pound).

Once the skin was nice and brown all over, and the internal temperature of the meat was about 160, I removed the chicken from the oven, tented it with foil and let it sit for about 10 minutes before carving.

• 3 bell peppers (whichever color you have)
• 2 serrano peppers (or habaneros, if you’re feelin’ nasty)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt
• ½ cup malt vinegar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 green onion, chopped

While the chicken was blasting, I seeded and destemmed the peppers, charred the skin of each over a burner on the stove and let them rest in a covered bowl for about 10 minutes. This makes it easy to remove the blackened skin. After deskinning them, I gave the peppers a good rough chop.

I heated the sesame oil in a pan over medium heat and cooked the garlic for just about a minute before throwing in the peppers and a pinch of salt to cook for another minute. I poured in the vinegar, brown sugar and fish sauce, brought the mixture to a boil, then turned the heat down to let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

I poured it all into a blender with the soy sauce, lime juice, cilantro and green onion and blended it until it was smooth.

Perfectly roasted chicken and a great sauce (served with rice and these Brussels sprouts). Not just for weekends anymore.

It would be disingenuous for me to claim that I don’t fall for gimmicks and fanciness. Because I do. Man, do I love me some shiny packaging and smoke and mirrors. It’s true for beauty products, it’s true of gadgets, and it’s definitely true of food. I'm a sucker for molecular gastronomy, and minibar still ranks as one of my most memorable dining experiences.

That being said, I get that not everyone is into that. And it's not the kind of food I want to eat on a day-to-day basis. Dishes that rely on pristine flavors and tried-and-true-technique instead of crazy combinations and equipment that looks like it belongs in a science lab - that's the kind of food I return to again and again, long after the liquid nitrogen clears and the lavendar-flavored foam dissolves. And it’s the kind of food that chef Bruce Kalman is cooking up to transform the Churchill from just another bar (albeit one with a very good cocktail program) into a genuine gastropub.

And it definitely doesn't look like any old bar. In honor of its namesake (the British Bulldog), the interior of the Churchill feels like an English manor, complete with reclaimed wood, iron table tops, antiqued mirrors, Edison bulbs lights, and vintage records and books. We eschewed the more formal dining area for a table on the patio - an ideal spot to lounge before the warm fireplace while sipping one of the few cocktails we hadn't tried, a dangerously tasty Manhattan on draft.

But this visit was focused on whether the food is a good match for the revamped cocktail menu. And the answer is a solid "yes." With an extensive list of shared and snack plates, the new food menu is ideally structured for ordering bites with your libations. The chef first sets us up with two of the snack items to whet our appetites. It's a bit mean - after eating one of the doughy, airy and cheesy (gruyere) gougeres, I immediately want a basketful more. The duck fat popcorn is less of a draw, and definitely for salt lovers, but the little bowl also packs a really assertive duck flavor that so rarely comes through in items using graisse de canard.

The Churchill's charcuterie and cheese selections are really something special. The house-cured meats are phenomenal, particularly the velvety fatty guanciale and the richly flavorful duck prosciutto. The cheeses (all from California: Hopscotch Cheddar, Glacier, Pozo Tomme, and Moody Blue) are paired really well with a variety of mostardas (condiment of fruit and mustard).

Now here's where it gets a little awkward. Even though Mark was sitting across from me, I think I may have fallen in love with Chef Kalman over the pickle plate. Though the plate was loaded with all sorts of pickled goodness (cucumbers, red onion, peppers, green beans), it was the pickled Brussels sprouts that kept my attention. My mind, she was blown. I've never had pickled Brussels sprouts before, but they are amazing - like sauerkraut, but in big meaty bites instead of shreds. 

Shishito peppers are pretty common on menus in LA, but we always enjoy them. These were no exception, nicely charred with some tangy lime and refreshing cilantro, and sea salt. More memorable, though, was the wonderful, picturesque combination of plump slices of slightly sweet roasted fig, creamy jersey ricotta, honey, and peppery, fruity pink peppercorn.

Also photogenic was a straightforward and tasty salad of earthy beets, tart grapefruit, and crispy fried balls of goat cheese.

Our last shared plate didn't really seem like a shared plate at all, but an entree. The pork belly porchetta featured a substantial hunk of lovely, fatty, juicy meat, caramelly roasted grapes and hearty beans bathed in a slightly tart saba (syrupy condiment similar to Balsamic vinegar)-based sauce. If there was one complaint, its that the pork crackling on top didn't quite have the airy crunch we were expecting. But it was a small flaw in an otherwise top-notch dish.

As I noted above, the number of shared plates and snack options seems perfectly suited for causual meet-ups with friends, first date drinks, or just killing time. But the Churchill's owners are also looking to create destination dining, and from the one entree we sampled, Chef Kalman is on the right path. The casserole of duck confit is elevated comfort food - the intensely flavorful bits of pork fennel sausage are perfect with the falling-off-the-bone tender duck and roasted veggies.

We passed up the many wood-fired pizza options in order to save room for dessert. I think it was the right choice. A sprinkle of sea salt nicely rounded out the flavors of a rich, smooth chocolate budino.

And the combination of bourbon-glaze on a moist, slightly sweet apple-and-bacon-upside-down cake was equally good. My favorite part, though, was probably the thick chunks of spicy, subtlely meaty, sweet bacon brittle. Trust me.

A year after opening, and it feels like the Churchill has finally found its sweet spot. Yes, there’s a lively bar scene and good cocktail program. But with Kalman in the kitchen, the Churchill is also a spot to get great, elevated comfort food – no smoke, no foams, no spherification, no gimmicks - that I’d be happy to eat on the regular.

*Disclosure: This was a hosted meal.

The Churchill - Mid-City West
8384 W 3rd St. 
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-8384
Web: www.the-churchill.com
Twitter: @TheChurchillLA 
Facebook: facebook.com/thechurchillLA 
Hours:  Mon-Wed, Sun: 7:00a - 12:00a, Thu-Sat: 7:00a - 2:00a

Ah, the Sunset Strip. The famed mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard running through West Hollywood boasts decades of movie and rock-n-roll history, playing out against a backdrop of bright billboards and neon. It’s a quintessential part of Los Angeles, and more often than not, first time visitors to the city make it a point to at least drive through. It also happens to be home to dozens of mediocre, overpriced restaurants. Tourist traps, if you will. Which is why we don’t venture over that direction too often (also, parking is a pain).

Obviously, there are exceptions. The Strip is home to Night + Market and the Eveleigh, which we love, and you can get a pretty solid burger over at the Burger Lounge. And we’ve heard great things about Sushi Park. Now, you can add one more establishment to that list, the newly opened Osteria Drago, where “rustic elegance” is more than just a catchphrase.

It’s really no surprise that Osteria Drago is as good as it is. Celestino Drago has been serving Los Angeles diners elevated Italian fare since the 1980s at various locations throughout the area. We had an enticing taste of his cuisine at Drago Centro a couple of weeks ago. But it’s at his more casual Osteria that we really see how Drago has managed to thrive for the last three decades in an industry where chef-owners flare and burn out even more quickly than the starlets stumbling out of Bar Marmont.

Given their blood relation, it’s a little surprising how much the décor and atmosphere at Osteria Drago differs from its more formal sibling downtown. Centro is glass, dim lighting, and modernity, and the Osteria answers with wood, white walls, flower boxes and Old-World intimate charm. Another difference? The bar at Drago Centro is a monster, providing ample space for Jaymee Mandeville and company to mix up creative cocktails. Osteria Drago hosts a much cozier bar space, with its focus on the extensive wine list.

Even if the menu was limited to just salads and appetizers, Osteria Drago would leave a good impression. The starters are uniformly excellent, starting with the sapori di mare, a smooth, buttery sea urchin panna cotta topped with a heap of juicy seafood and microgreens tossed in a tangy citrus vinaigrette ($16). The custard is simultaneously delicate and decadent, and may just win over sea urchin first-timers and even haters.

The carpaccio di capriolo (venison carpaccio, $14), is just as pretty a dish. Flavorwise, it’s an interesting combination: rich, slightly gamey slices of deer, tart raspberries, toasted hazelnuts and slivers of salty white anchovies.

The tortino di farro is the most expensive small plate on the menu at $26, but it’s definitely worth the price, at least for truffle-lovers. A mound of razor thin slices of summer truffles add a glorious earthy depth to an already delicious combination of spelt pancake, a runny, creamy 63º poached egg and strips of prosciutto. 

As good as the starters are, it's the pasta menu that truly allows Drago to show off his skill. The agnolotti encase sweet yellow corn filling in an envelope of top-notch fresh pasta ($16) and are gone way too quickly. And the lush, creamy sauce begs to be sopped up by whatever means available.

The pappardelle with roasted pheasant and morel mushrooms ($16) is the essence of rusticity. The succulent meat, the woody, musky morels and the broad-cut pasta is exactly the type of dish I imagine you would enjoy at an old-school hunting lodge after a day of tromping through the forest (shooting pheasant & mushroom hunting?).

The orecchiette, with pork sausage, rapini, and pecorino ($14) is less showy, but also great. As with pappardelle, the thick orecchiette is a showcase for the quality of the pasta.

The spaghetti chitarra (fresh squid ink pasta) with manila clams ($18), is a magnificent bowl of food, both visually and on the tongue. The perfectly al dente inky, ocean-scented strands of pasta are exceptional, and the slightly briny clams are a great accompaniment.

The profitteroles ($8), warm balls of fried dough goodness drizzled in an intense mandarin sauce, are a great dessert for those with less of a sweet tooth. For a more indulgent choice, the terrina di cioccolata e arance (valrhona chocolate orange terrine) is your best bet with the citrus lightening the incredible richness of the chocolate.

Sigh, the Sunset Strip. Mostly gone are the days of glitz and glamour. These days, you're more likely to find tourists, drunken celebrities, and hoards of Juggalos (we once mistakenly planned a dinner on the strip with an Insane Clown Posse concert happening next door). But in the midst of all that, you can also find really great, elegant Italian cuisine at Osteria Drago.

Loyal readers of this blog may be asking themselves if I've forgotten how to cook over the last couple of months. The answer is yes, yes, I have. Or at least, I might as well have. Long work hours, a busy social calendar, hot weather and pure laziness made it difficult to prepare any sort of bloggable meal. But now that things have slowed down just a tad, and the cooler fall weather is making it feel like a pleasure instead of a punishment to have the oven and stove on, I'm trying to make an effort to get myself back in the kitchen. First up was a combination of these relatively easy skirt steak with hazelnut romesco recipes I found on Tasting Table and in the October issue of Bon Appetit.

Next, I toasted the almonds and hazelnuts over medium low heat in a saucepan with just a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes. Once they were toasty, I gave them a rough chop and set them aside.

The last element of the sauce was the bread, which I just tossed with a bit of olive oil and toasted for about 5-8 minutes over medium heat. 

Here's the fun/tricky part - making it taste right. I put the peppers, garlic, tomatoes, nuts, and bread in the blender, turned it on, and slowly drizzled in about 3/4 cup of olive oil. Once well combined, I turned off the blender (important step!!!!) tasted the sauce, and added in a splash or two of red wine vinegar and a little salt and pepper, and blended again. To loosen up the sauce a little, I added about 1/4 cup of water. I kept repeating this process (blend, add vinegar and seasoning, add water), until I had a sauce that was just barely thinned enough to drizzle, with enough acidity to make it tangy. I think in total I added about 1 cup of water and probably 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I mixed together 1 tbsp of kosher salt, 1 tbsp of sugar, 2 tsp of toasted ground fennel seed, 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper, 1 tsp of cayenne, and 1 tsp of garlic powder. It smelled heavenly as I rubbed it all over the skirt steak. I let the steak sit for about 10 minutes before I cooked it.

I heated a couple of tbsp of olive oil in my cast iron skillet over medium high heat, then quickly pan-seared the steak, 2-3 minutes per side for a perfect medium rare. I let the steak sit for about 5 minutes, then sliced it against the grain and served it with the romesco drizzled over top.

Romesco is new to me, but I really enjoyed the nuttiness and thickness of it. And I've never cooked skirt steak at home before, but given how quick and easy it is to cook and how flavorful, I think it's going to be popping up again and again. The sauce and steak also tasted great as leftovers in a sandwich the following day, or so Mark tells me. In any event, I'm just happy to be back in the kitchen relearing my cooking skills.

I currently live in maybe the greatest U.S. city for Thai food, particularly northern Thai food. At least once every couple of weeks, Mark and I head to Hollywood to satisfy our craving for face-meltingly spicy curries, fermented meat sausages, noodle soups darkened with pig's blood and chock-full of offal, and plates of crispy crunchy nuggets of fatty pork. We almost always try a new place, and somehow, after two years of this, every place we hit is really good. Given this, it seems strange that we would travel to Portland and eat Thai food. But the buzz on Chef Andy Ricker's Pok Pok was too strong to ignore - Pok Pok Portland is doing so well that Chef Ricker just opened up a New York location.

So how does Portland’s Pok Pok stack up? Not too bad, actually. While authenticity-wise, Chef Ricker obviously can't compete with LA's best, his menu provides a nice gateway for newcomers to the aggressive flavors of northern Thai cuisine.

We arrive just after the restaurant opens at 11:30, and there’s already a wait time of about 20 minutes. Luckily, we’ve just scarfed a couple of Voodoo Donuts, so we don’t mind standing around for a bit. We take this opportunity to take in the ultra-casual, tiki-themed décor and loads of outdoor seating.

The drink menu is impressive. Whiskey sours with tamarind, Bloody Marys with Thai chilies, Korean yuzu-honey hot toddys. And you just dont find whiskey lists this deep at Asian eateries. Given the early hour, we stick to the 'no-proof' section, knocking back a few Thai Iced Teas (below) instead. Thirsty diners will also be pleased to find Stumptown pour-overs and a selection of Pok Pok's own brand of drinking vingegars.

Even though we aren’t starving, it’s hard not to order everything on the menu. The menu reads like our Thai food wish list. We start with the Kai Yaang, a charcoal rotisserie roasted natural game hen stuffed with lemongrass, garlic, pepper, and cilantro served with spicy sweet and sour and tamarind dipping sauces. Given the ingredient list, the flavors in the hen aren't quite as bold as expected, but the pleasantly crisp skin and amazingly juicy meat make up for it.  

Any feelings we have about lack of flavoring in the prior dish is wiped away by our spicy order of Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings (we also got one order of please-please-not-spicy). The wings, marinated in fish sauce and palm sugar, deep fried and tossed in caramelized Phu Quoc fish sauce and garlic, are salty, tangy, and most importantly, spicy. It's the kind of heat that slowly builds, making us glad the wings are served with a cooling salad of pickled carrots and daikon.

Given that we only order it to have something green on the table, we are surprised at how much we like the unique Yam Khai Dao, a crispy fried farm egg salad with Chinese celery, green-leaf lettuce, carrots, onions, garlic, Thai chilies and cilantro, with a lime, fish sauce, palm sugar dressing. It's tangy, salty and refreshing, and I especially love the crunchy bits of fried egg white. 

A bit more traditional (as far as American Thai restaurants go) is the Muu Sateh, pork loin skewers marinated in coconut milk and turmeric, grilled over charcoal and served with peanut sauce, cucumber relish and grilled bread. The skewers are fine, if a little on the dry side, but with the rest of the great food heaped on the table, we quickly forget this dish exists.

More memorable is the Sii Khrong Muu Yann, a plate of Carlton Farms baby back ribs marinated in whisky, soy, honey, ginger and Thai spices, slow-roasted and served with two spicy dipping sauces. Literally finger-lickin' good, the sticky, tender, fatty meat is gone in an instant.

Finally, Chef Ricker does a really solid version of a Vietnamese staple Phat Si Ew, stir-frying fresh local wide rice noodles, bits of pork, Chinese broccoli, egg, and black soy sauce in a smoking hot wok. It's not an exciting dish, but it's executed really well.

The plates are scavenged for any remaining noodles and meat, bones are picked clean and fingers fight over the last bits of coconut rice. It is our final meal in Portland, and we've never been so thankful for the wet naps that are delivered along with our check. The next part of our trip will take us to the Oregon coast and we squeeze into the car, stomachs bursting with food. While the trophy for best Thai food I've ever had remains in LA, Portland's got a really good thing going with Pok Pok. 

Hours: 11:30a-10:00p, 7 days a week

What do you do when you only have about 12 hours in a city that is rapidly making itself known as one of the preeminent food destinations in the country? In our case, start eating as soon as you get off the plane. A few weeks ago, Angela and I went on my very first trip to her home state of Oregon for a weekend of hanging out with her family, relaxing, and of course eating our way from Portland to the coast. 

We arrive in Portland late on a Thursday night and waste no time in making our way to Grain & Gristle, a gastropub featuring cocktails, beers and food indigenous to the Pacific Northwest, and most importantly in our case, a kitchen that doesn't close until midnight.

Grain & Gristle's decor, with its all-wood furnishings and flooring (including a beautiful U-shaped maple bar) and exposed beams, effortlessly creates the feel of a rustic tavern - it's easy to imagine loggers resting here after a long day in the woods, instead of the hipsters that actually populate the place.

Poke fun at these crazy Portlandians all you want. But when I order a cocktail and it's only $8? These people just might be onto something. In LA, a craft cocktail will likely run $11 minimum and sometimes more like $12, $14 and up. Welcome to Portland, people. I challenge you to find someone mixing cocktails in excess of ten... or even nine bucks. I start with the Kentucky Iced Coffee (below), essentially a toddy made with Portland's own Extracto coffee and a healthy pour of whiskey. It's followed up with a Descender IPA from GoodLife Brewery in Bend. A complex and hoppy IPA I find to be close to on par with great California IPAs like Sculpin and Pliny. Only two in and I'm already really enjoying drinking in Oregon.

And eating in Oregon, as well. We dig in for a pork-centric dinner, starting with light and airy rinds ($4), served with a creamy, tangy “mustardy dipper.”

Next up? “Porky” croquettes ($6): succulent cubes of head cheese (if you don't know what it is, don't google it - all you need to know is that it's not cheese, it's meat and it's delicious), breaded, fried and served with the same mustardy dipper as the rinds.

Our third fried food item of the evening is a huge plate of onion rings ($4), ultra thin, crispy, and greasy, which in this case is a term of endearment. They are addictive, ideal pub food, and even though we know we have more food coming, we can't stop eating them.

We take the very tiniest of breaks from the fry fest to dig into a salad of dandelion greens, radicchio, and hazelnuts ($8), lightly dressed with an herb pistou and topped with grated cheese. It's a pretty straightforward plate, but the crunchy, slightly bitter greens are exactly what we need to justify the rest of our meal.

We revert back to our protein-focus with an impressive board of house-cured meats and pickled veggies (onion & carrots), a steal at $10.

And we haven't even gotten to the entrees yet! In our defense, we don't quite realize the entrees are entrees when ordering - with prices ranging from $10-$14, our LA-state of mind has us envisioning a sort of parade of small plates. We are shocked at how wrong we are. Angela's Lambwich ($10) with pickled peppers, onions, 'chovy aioli, and fries is subtantial enough to sate the hungriest of lumberjacks. Yet it also satisfies our foodie sensibilities: the shredded meat is full of flavor, and the fries are flat-out phenomenal.

The fried trout with fennel, lemon, and sweet onion on a bed of tartar sauce ($12) is similarly hearty, but would be equally at home in a more formal setting. Fish doesn't get fresher than this, or better cooked - the crispy skin gives way to firm, flaky meat without even a hint of fishiness.

For $11, we get a surprisingly hefty portion of tender, braised pork shoulder resting in a pool of jus along with gold potatoes and green beans. Simple and satisfying.

After all this, we are stuffed and ready to leave. But something tells us to stick around for dessert, and we are really glad we listened. The Tutti-Frutti Fresh Claffoutti is outstanding - rich and buttery, with the sugar balanced nicely by the tartness of the cherries. One of the best desserts we've had in a while.

Hours: Monday-Friday, 12:00p-12:00a, Saturday-Sunday, brunch from 9:00a-3:00p, dinner 5:00p-12:00a