Table Stakes

Five new spots for entertaining your out-of-towners

By The Editors
December 2, 2015 9:00 am

Because every Angeleno loves to eat, even if he has to valet, we bring you Table Stakes: a series that answers man’s eternally recurring question (“Uh, what’s new?”), and recurs once every lunar cycle or so.

Viviane
Beverly Hills

Stephane Bombet (Terrine, Faith and Flower) is a madman. The restaurateur opened two restaurants this month (the other’s up next). At Viviane, a new Continental French spot that inhabits the bottom floor of the newly renovated Avalon Hotel, Chef Michael Hung is grilling steaks covered in bone marrow gremolata, confiting ducks and rolling a mean ricotta ravioli. They’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a late night menu to boot. Guests can order all night. Don’t sleep on the kabocha squash and tofu ragu for lunch.

9400 West Olympic Blvd
(310) 407-7791

Hanjip
Culver City

Hanjip is Bombet’s first collaboration with Chef Chris Oh (Seoul Sausage Co and Escala), and the Korean BBQ brings delicious meats and a ton of edge to downtown Culver. They use gold grates to grill the all the steaks, including a tomahawk with foie gras butter. The bone marrow is done up with corn, shaved parmesan and bonito flakes that flutter like burnt paper. The waiters will pour you a shot of Soju down the bone marrow bone at some point. Be warned.

3829 Main Street
(323) 720-8804

Maru
Brentwood

If you work on the Westside, your next business lunch or business dinner should adjourn at Maru. It’s a fusion of French and Japanese cuisine sourced from nearby farmers’ markets. Also on the premise: a 17-seat sushi bar and wine cocktails by Matthew Biancaniello. Also on the menu: fresh grab-and-go sandwiches and rolls aplenty, along with a top-shelf scallop risotto. This ain’t your standard sushi bar.

12400 Wilshire Blvd.
(424) 832-7118

Rose Café
Venice

The menu at the reimagined Rose Café in Venice is intimidatingly deep. Chef Jason Neroni (Catch and Release, Superba) has taken over the kitchen and enlisted SF-based pastry chefs Jacob Fraijo and Christina Hanks (Quince/Cotogna) for back-up. The neighborhood spot, now decorated by local artists, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to the hilt. Wood-burned pizzas topped with lamb sausage. Flaky croissants. PB&J macaroons. And an entire hearth menu (LINKED): Pastas. Pastrami. Porchetta. Set tastebuds to bonkers.

220 Rose Ave
(310) 399-0711

Trois Familia
Silverlake

The bean burrito at Trois Familia, the new brunch and lunch spot from Ludo Lefebvre (Trois Mec, Petit Trois), Jon Shock and Vinny Dotolo (Jon & Vinny’s, Animal), is a gut-bomb worth detonating. Don’t let the 3 PM closing hour and strip-mall location fool ya’: they blast tunes on a vintage record player (#Silverlake) and make a mean chicken Milanese covered in maggi ranch and sliced cucs. To swill? Try the horchata made with fresh-made almond milk served in a white enamel cup. Rinse. Repeat. Next round’ll only run you $5.

3510 W Sunset Blvd
(323) 725-7800

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