PRICE:
Frommer's Exceptional

Wolfgang Puck is more than a great chef; he's also a masterful businessman and publicist who has made Spago one of the best-known restaurants in the United States. Despite all the hoopla -- and years of stiff competition -- Spago remains one of L.A.'s top-rated restaurants and continues to live up to the hype. Talented Puck henchman Lee Hefter presides over the kitchen, delivering the culinary sophistication demanded by an upscale Beverly Hills crowd. This high-style indoor/outdoor space glows with the aura of big bucks, celebrities, and the perfectly honed California cuisine that can honestly take credit for setting the standard. Spago is also one of the last places in L.A. where men will feel most comfortable in jacket and tie (suggested, but not required). All eyes may be on the romantically twinkle-lit outdoor patio (the most coveted tables), but the food takes center stage. You simply can't choose wrong -- highlights include the appetizer of foie gras "three ways"; crawfish salad; savory duck either honey-lacquered and topped with foie gras or Cantonese-style with a citrus tang; slow-roasted Sonoma lamb with braised greens; and rich Austrian dishes from "Wolfie's" childhood, such as spicy beef goulash and perfect veal schnitzel.

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

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