The LA Restaurant Scene Hot And Getting Hotter

For anyone visiting Los Angeles this  summer, the emphasis won;t be on the tourist sites but on the restaurant scene. The city is stealing the thunder from the New York restaurant scene with some funky and new eateries in up and coming neighborhoods. They reflect what's best about the Southern California dining scene.

Adam Nagourney wrote about the LA restaurant scene in yesterday's New York Times Food section, the Los Angeles bureau chief for the New York Times. He writes about several diverse ones that reflect the ever churning and  changing scene.  A surprising fact about the city is that none of the restuarants  are Michlin rated. It doesn't and never had the white tablecloth , good crystal vibe of Manhattan's four star gems.It's like  the people themselves - laid back.Jeans and sweat shirts are more prevalent at expensive restaurants than suits and dresses.According to Patric Kuh, the longtime restaurant critic of Los Angeles magazine claims there are few rules for dining in the city. The unlikely becomes real and great. There's a uniqueness that in restaurants that New York doesn't have. This has attracted New York restauranteurs such as Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park and the famed Spotted Pig owners, April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman who are already building a place near Gwen on Sunset Boulevard.

The trendier restaurants are not in the heart of the city like other cities. Here's Looking At You is right in the heart of Koreatown.It features trendy dishes such as frog legs and straticella cheese , a change of pace from the usual LA fare. Larchmont, a quiet suburban area has the new restaurant ,Kali, It showcases local ingredients such as avocados and Fiscalini, a Parmesan cheese produced in California. Many restauranteurs and chefs look for low rent places  simply because it's too expensive to own or rent space. Owners of the New York eatery , Glasserie, Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson first opened a falafel restaurant in a rejuvenated old food court in the old Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles. Their next venture is Kismet, that ' housed in a former pizzeria in the suburb of Loz Feliz. It's on the famed Hollywood Boulevard but in the quiet section.Another plus of a SoCal restaurant is the clemency of the weather. There's farmer's markets galore bursting with tomatoes and mushrooms. Some chefs even grow their veggies and herbs in their own backyards , all year round, something that can't be done in Manhattan,

Will LA ever eclipse NY with good restaurants? No, they'll be on the same par. LA will have the laid back creativity that the city won't have. Is that good? That's up to the diners .