Nothing says romance like an open-air garage

“If it rains, we close.”

By The Editors
June 10, 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. Bon appétit.


Time to refresh the date-night toolbox.

Set Lotharian lasers to stun.

Sharpen thy Cupidian arrows.

Aka get a reservation. At one of the five new restaurants that comprise this month’s Table Stakes, all of which you should add to your pants-charming arsenal.

For the casual date, there’s Maré, Chef Eric Greenspan’s newest spot, located in what’s basically an open-air garage.

To get to it, you’ve got to walk through the kitchen of his fast-casual Grilled Cheese shop. Sounds like a speakeasy, but it’s not. And there’s no roof — “If it rains, we close.”

It’s meant to evoke the sort of place Mediterranean townsfolk break bread over: shared seafood, market-fresh produce (marinated kumquats and olives are gratis) and a backyard ambience.

Also inside:

  • Where to get a very cheesy Italian meal
  • Where to meet a first date for drinks and light grazing
  • Where to go in Pasadena (Because where the hell does one go there?)

Bon appètit.

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