Nightshade

101 Best restaurants of Los Angeles

@latimes

"#52 The cooking at Mei Lin’s debut restaurant in the Arts District is driven as much by ideas as ingredients. Some of her finest dishes showcase her clean, cerebral, technique-intensive style: sweet Hokkaido scallops cured in a tart coconut vinaigrette; diced kanpachi brushed with the funk of radish kimchi; beef tartare turbocharged with Korean Chile powder and egg yolk jam. She has a propensity for erasing the boundaries between cultures on the plate. Her signature dish is probably the mapo tofu lasagna, a slinky block of egg noodles layered with Sichuan peppercorn ragù and tofu cream. But try the Sichuan hot quail, a brilliantly spicy dish that reckons with the local obsession with Howlin’ Ray’s and the numbing properties of Sichuan peppercorns. Her congee is a thick, molten swirl of XO sauce, pork floss, crisped-up scallions and egg. It may be the most satisfying dish in the house. Credit cards accepted. Valet parking. Full bar. Dining room and restroom are wheelchair accessible."

In the Loup - a foodie's world map

@victoire_loup

Sean Glass

@sdotglass