Girl and the Goat, photo credit Anthony Tahlier

Now that we’re all a bit more comfortable adventuring beyond the confines of home again, we’re savoring the return to dining out. Live and Let Eat is a series of 48-hour guides to eating your way through some of our favorite cities, one restaurant at a time.

With the City of LA’s mandatory COVID vaccination ordinance taking effect on November 4th, we’re ready to get back to eating out. While the scene has changed a lot over the past year and half, we’re happy to report there are some excellent dining options out there. Here’s a quick round-up of the good, the great, and the new and new-ish; places we could get into on the fly with just 48 hours to spend in the City of Angels. So get your vaccination card ready, put on your elastic pants and join us on this gustatory adventure. Take this all with a grain of salt and bon appetit!

BACETTI

Okay, so we didn’t actually go here since it’s not quite open. But we got a sneak peek at the menu and we’re headed there next week. After nearly two years in development, Bacetti opens in LA’s Echo Park neighborhood on November 11 in the same building as natural wine bar Tilda (which made headlines during the pandemic for their plague-inspired walk up wine window). As Chef Joel Stovall, formerly of Il Fiore and Orsa & Winston describes it, Bacetti is a love letter to Rome written from Los Angeles. His menu features Roman staples with a distinctly California twist. Don’t miss the suppli al telefono, a classic Roman snack akin to arancini (their much more famous Sicilian cousin). Stovall’s version features chicken liver, prosciutto, and mozzarella in a perfectly pillow of risotto….deep fried. Telefono is a now-dated reference to the irresistible cheesy strings that happen when you break one open. With a variety of small plates, house-made pastas and pizzas, Bacetti is a refreshingly non-fussy, welcoming neighborhood joint. The Stayner Architects-designed space is subtly colorful with artisanal touches, like the hand-poured terrazzo and features original art by Matt Lipps. When in Echo Park, Rome here.

The world’s most interesting salad from The Girl and the Goat. Photo credit Huge Galdones

GOAT AND THE GIRL

James Beard award-winning Chef Stephanie Izard opened her sophomore Girl and the Goat restaurant in the Arts District in July to well-deserved acclaim. Served family style, the menu features a a combination of dishes that have become staples at the original Chicago restaurant as well as new California dishes. Izard fans will recognize dishes like wood grilled broccoli, sautéed green beans enrobed in fish sauce, and the chickpea fritters, and be surprised by some new dishes exclusive to the West Coast, like pork belly salad, roasted beet salad, and goat curry, and the perfectly sticky pork shank. Our absolute favorite was the stone fruit salad with fried quinoa and a spicy vinaigrette. Who knew we liked salads? While the menu is wildly varied in terms of inspiration, it all comes together in mouthfuls of bright and balanced flavors. (No confusion in this fusion!). Add to that an extensive cocktails and wine list, including lots of by-the-glass options, guests are invited to experiment with something new to pair with the adventurous cuisine. The expansive space is designed by Karen Herold of Studio K in Chicago. The L-shaped kitchen and art by artist Quang Hong allude to the original restaurant in Chicago, while the expansive patio, greenery and floor to ceiling windows are original to this quintessentially LA Arts District space. Our only regret? We didn’t have time to experience their weekend brunch.

REPUBLIQUE

Republique has become a Los Angeles institution since opening its doors in 2015, but the opportunity just never quite came up to visit until recently when Home-Werk founder Abby Stone mentioned that weekly walks to their La Brea Avenue bread window was what kept her sane during the pandemic. Since I was couch-surfing in the neighborhood, it seemed like the perfect moment to pop in to try out Chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke’s now famous all-day eatery. Not even the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills shooting live at the restaurant could distract us from a perfect, if not diminutive, lunchtime steak frites or a classic slice of Basque cheesecake. Eating at Republique is like coming home, if your family was wont to serve up flawless French classics and perfect bread. Did we mention that the Basque cheese cake is enough to make a fan out of even the most cheese cake-averse people? The primary aim of the design of the interiors was to strip layers away--down to the original brick, tile and ironwork--and return the space to the airy, open feel of the original construction and that goal is definitely accomplished with the understated and timeless interiors. Pro tip: walk in easily for a late lunch. Otherwise, be prepared to stand in line.

BICYCLETTE

Why not make it a two-fer? Since we were able to get reservations, Home-Werk ended our 48 hour whirlwind gustatory adventure at Bicyclette, Chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke’s newest establishment in a freestanding building on Pico Boulevard in West LA. Bicyclette features two main dining spaces: Bicyclette Bistro and Bicyclette Restaurant. Right now, only the Bistro is open. Stepping down into the basement is like being transported to a boisterous Parisian bistro. The menu features bistro classics at a fine dining price. The escargots en croute are delicious, bathed in that classic garlic parsley butter sauce. They’re individually priced but it’s impossible to just have one. The soft oeuf en coque (egg in the shell) with smoked sturgeon and kaluga caviar weighs in at $28 per egg and it takes all the will power in the world not to order a million of them. Surprise stand outs were the soft, pillowy Parisian gnocchi with the added vegetables to a make it a heartier portion, and the delicate bouillabaisse. Our only regret was that the onion tarte tatin was out that evening and we didn’t get to indulge. Bicyclette Restaurant is due to open soon. All in all, this is definitely more fine dining than bistro quotidien, and you certainly need to be prepared to throw down, but it’s worth every penny. As long as you’re feeling spendy, top the night off with a digestif: a sip of Normandie’s best Poire William.

Live and Let Eat: LA Edition

Now that we’re all a bit more comfortable adventuring beyond the confines of home again, we’re savoring the return to dining out. Live and Let Eat is a series of 48-hour guides to eating your way through some of our favorite cities, one restaurant at a time.