DineLA is the restaurant initiative of the Los Angeles Tourist Bureau DiscoverLA. For a long time, they’ve done twice yearly Restaurant Weeks, a promotion that allows restaurants to introduce themselves to new diners and remind lapsed regulars of what they’re missing. This time around, more than 250 restaurants are participating in Restaurant Week, which started October 1 and goes to October 15.
Earlier in the year, we looked at women-owned restaurants. This time, I want to give steakhouses and Italian restaurants a nod. I don’t know why, but Italian food back in the day often was linked to steakhouse restaurants. Maybe it’s about the absolute comfort that both genres provide for so many diners. DineLA Restaurant Week gives the opportunity to try several that you may have missed.
Stacey Sun is vice president of Member and Partner Services of Discover LA. She says, “DineLA continues to prove itself an exciting time for restaurants to innovate and experiment their offerings. Coupled with Hispanic Heritage Month and the recently published California Michelin Guide, there are unique, global and singular dining experiences for all to enjoy. We’re hoping that despite the continued adversity of the industry, DineLA will provide a much-needed boost to their business."
The prices vary from a low of $15 to $20 for a set lunch — to a high of $55 to $90 for set dinner menus.
Steakhouses
At Gwen in Hollywood, you expect a restaurant with its own butcher shop to offer great steaks on the menu. Both Curtis Stone and his brother Luke started their careers in butcher shops. The $65 dinner menu includes a fish option and their notable duck fat fries. There is a Wagyu supplement available.
Curtis Stone and Luke Stone stand in their dining room at Gwen. Photo by Ray Kachatorian.
New York Wagyu is shown at Gwen. Photo by Clay Larsen.
Matú in Beverly Hills is built upon grass-fed Wagyu from New Zealand. The $90 DineLA menu is a five-course meal featuring a main course that rotates nightly between steak cooked on the plancha, over an open fire, and braised beef. The dinner is for a minimum of two guests.
The dining room and bar are seen at Matu in Beverly Hills. Photo by Virtually Here Studios.
A few DineLA menu items from Matú are displayed. Photo by The Ingalls.
The Barish at the Hollywood Roosevelt is Nancy Silverton’s latest Los Angeles based endeavor. The menu is a mix of classic American steakhouse fare with the Cal-Ital flair that’s made Nancy’s food so craveable. There are pasta and fish options for non-meat eaters on the $65 dinner menu, and of course an opportunity to taste the Chef’s skillful desserts.
The dining room is seen at The Barish at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Photo by Anne Fishbein.
Italian
Brera in the Art’s District has a plate of Cacio e Pepe — that Madeleine and I talked about last week — on their $45 3-course lunch menu. The $65 dinner includes roasted bone marrow, a pasta course, grilled swordfish and a lemon semifreddo.
Factory Kitchen in the Arts District is giving diners expansive choices from their famed pasta repertoire, as well as porchetta or fish on both their $45 lunch and $65 dinner menus.
For something more casual, Ospi in Venice is offering a $25 lunch with a selection of antipasti, like their fried provolone or eggplant parm or meatballs, followed by a choice of a big salad, pasta, pizza or sandwich.
Rossoblu in the Fashion District offers a $55 three-course meal with antipast choices like panzanella, swordfish spiedini, and prime beef carpaccio followed by a second course of flounder, duck breast or kabocha squash crepes. Dessert is an apple brown butter crostata.