PRICE:
Frommer's Exceptional

I'm going to start an argument here by stating that Grace is the best restaurant in Los Angeles. I dined here with two friends, and everything was flawless: the service, the cuisine, the wine, the decor -- even the patrons were well dressed, well-behaved, and unpretentious (a rarity in this town). High ceilings, well-spaced tables, and soothing earth tones of orange, green, brown, and rose evoke a relaxed atmosphere at Grace, which is fortuitous because you'll want to slowly savor each dish created by executive chef and co-owner Neal Fraser, a culinary scion of Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Keller, and Joachim Splichal, an Iron Chef veteran. Our memorable dinner started with plump Kumamoto oysters with a trio of superb dipping sauces, a roast beet salad with grilled radicchio and onion marmalade, pumpkin risotto with sea urchin and sweet Maine shrimp, a carpaccio of tuna with fried green olives and pepper vinaigrette, and the most beautiful plate of foie gras I've ever seen (and I live for foie gras), served both as a pâté and sautéed with pistachio-cocoa nib crust and a dab of huckleberry compote. Entrees included generous servings of wild-boar tenderloin with violet mustard sauce, and slow-braised pork shank with smoked shallots and cider-sage sauce -- both paired with an excellent pinot noir by the glass. The coup de grâce of our unrivaled meal was a sublime warm Cajeta bread pudding topped with pumpkin-seed ice cream. Yes, it's expensive, but if you're going to splurge on a meal in L.A., Grace is where I'd go.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Los Angeles 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Find Hotel Deals on Yahoo Travel»