Katie Kaboom

Being in the food-world, I frequently get asked about good restaurants in LA. LA boasts tens of thousands of eateries and is a hotbed for foodies and those culinarily curious. There’s the good, there’s the great, and there’s the so-so, but what makes a restaurant really great, in my mind, is the produce. I like to see place whose veggies stand up on their own, whose dishes aren’t swimming in sauce or butter. I also think that the intention behind the food matters. Chefs and restauranteurs who places a high priority on sourcing locally raised, preferably organic produce, are often at the helm of the best places in town.

This is a list of a few of the chefs I see each week at the farmers’ market that own/operate my favorite eateries. This is a bit of a fancy list, so if anyone wants to see a more detailed list or more categories (i.e, theme, type of food, price-range, region etc), leave a comment to let me know.

Santa Monica / Venice
1. Rustic Canyon
2. Wilshire
3. Joe’s

Hollywood
1. AMMO
2. Providence
3. The Hungry Cat

West Hollywood/ Mid City
(Full disclosure: As a resident, I’m partial to this neighborhood. That being said, I really think this is where some of the GREATEST restaurants in LA reside.)
1. Animal
2. BLD
3. The Little Door / The Little Next Door
4. Tasca
*I know it’s 4, but… well…

Oh… and put a plug in for OC restaurants, the chef from Sage and Sage on the Coast, is up at the big Santa Monica Farmers’ Market EVERY week to get the best fruits and vegetables. Devastatingly awesome food always follows that kind of commitment, and Sage is no exception!

So what do you think? Omittions? Inclusions?

This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 and is filed under Food, Sustainable Biz. Practices, sustainability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.