Hickory Wood and Massive Short Rib

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. Bon appétit.

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Remember dining as a kid? Pizza. Burgers. Ribs.

Basically TGI Fridays.

Well over the past month, restaurateurs across town took the Friday night kid’s menu and smacked it with a gold-plated gourmet stick.

Then added big kid drinks.

And so we’re pleased to present this month’s Table Stakes, a rundown of newly anointed eateries that’ll bring out the big kid in you.

Inside:

• A new pizza parlor from the guy Zagat rated the best pie-flipper in L.A.

• A woodsy warehouse serving hickory-smoked short rib a la the Hatfields

• And quite possibly the best burger in Los Angeles

Consider this your dinner bell.

Now put an egg in your shoe and beat it.