Meat Your Heart Out, L.A.
Updated: June 23, 2009
No disrespect to our vegan brothers and sisters (and furry friends), but there's some creative stuff going on with meat inside L.A. restaurant kitchens at the moment, and it's time to take stock. Fruity sausage, spiritual burgers, famous cuts of steak ... Intriguing, no? And besides, carnivores need love, too.
Fancy Swine & Bovine
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Animal
Read Reviews435 N. Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90048 (map)
As if the name isn't enough, the famed "Two Dudes" (Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo) behind Fairfax's macho foodie sophisticate have their servers wear butcher's aprons. Alongside the porkbelly- and foie-gras-infused dishes are super-sweet strawberry pound cake and a bacon chocolate crunch bar. The wine list is also very good, and if you arrive early, you can start sipping in the small patio space out front. (And for the record, even in our seriously squeamish town, it's always packed.)
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Cut
Read Reviews9500 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 (map)
So, no surprise here. Wolfgang Puck's ode to $150 steaks has arguably set the bar for L.A. chop houses. It's elegant Beverly Wilshire-adjacent exterior and slick decor, complete with images of our Prez, belies the virtual animal house inside ... 21-day-aged rib eyes, Nebraska sirloins, crispy pork belly and rotisserie duckling for two are perfect partners in crime for that other classic steakhouse mainstay: the super-stiff martini. (Which you will need to drink several of before paying the bill.)
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The Golden State
Write a review426 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036 (map)
Call it a sausage fest: Two guys (Jason Bernstein and James Starr) with great taste peddling chicken apple goodness from Huntington Meats, beef from Harris Ranch and, well, you-know-whats from Let's Be Frank. Needless to say, the flavorful sausage, hearty burgers and some of the city's best hot dogs are just the ticket. The beer selection is quite stellar as well. Bottoms up!
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Lou
Read Reviews724 N Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90038 (map)
Hollywood and Vine's neighborhood foodie is famous for being the first real restaurant close to the Arclight, but now its "pig candy" (bacon coated in brown sugar) is stealing headlines. Add to this starry conflagration the fact that the garlic salami and sausage is flown in from Armandino Batali's (Mario's father) Seattle factory, and we've really fleshed out the name-in-lights claim.
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Spitz
Read Reviews2506 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90041 (map)
Eagle Rock's only outpost for German doner kebabs! Made from minced lamb, beef, chicken or homemade falafel, all the meats are slow-roasted to perfection on vertical broilers. And if you still feel guilty about eating it, at least know that the joint is entirely eco-friendly--sustainable packaging, design, the works. There. Feel better?
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The Cabbage Patch
Read Reviews214 S Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90211 (map)
Don't be fooled by the name--not everything is green inside this patch of South Beverly Drive. The chicken Jidori is delectable, but it's the BLTA sandwich with Niman Ranch-smoked apple bacon, plum tomatoes, Haas avocados and arugula that really sings. Chef Samir Mojader also helped set the menu at Fairfax's The Golden State, so you know his own organic establishment has got the goods.
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Umami Burger
Write a review850 S La Brea, Los Angeles, CA 90036 (map)
This patty's got soul. Umami means "the fifth taste," and there's nothing bland about La Brea's much-buzzed-about burger joint. From the well-done minimalist aesthetic to the potato salad with snap peas and the chocolate raspberry monkey cakes, there is a lot to sample. But the burger selection--with Stilton cheese, or the mythologized house preparation--is as close to hamburger Zen as we're gonna get.
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