LA Restaurants

With about 80 farmers, 30 local artisans and 20 vendors selling only the freshest California-grown produce, Hollywood Farmers' Market is easily one of the largest open-air marketplaces in SoCal. Take in the festive outdoor atmosphere, which includes upbeat street musicians and helium balloons for the kiddies (free!), while picking up delicious items like gourmet tamales ($1.50-$2) and freshly squeezed watermelon juice ($1.50). Or, let vendors give you the crepes--with marvelous mango, spinach and cheese, or strawberry ($3-$4). Breakfast and lunch, Sun. No alcohol; takeout. No credit cards. Food stamps accepted.

At last, right where it's needed, in the midst of Hollywood's otherwise restaurant-shy Theater Row, there's now a worthy dining venue. Chef/owner Cheri Hanna makes you feel as though you've walked into the home of someone who's been waiting to make you breakfast (eggs, crisp pan-roasted potatoes, chicken sausage, apple-smoked bacon or thick ham steak, $6.95), lunch (Chinese chicken salad, $7.95; grilled-eggplant sandwich, $7.95) or dinner (linguine with pesto, potato and green beans, $8.50; chicken curry, $7.95). The walls are musty yellow (or red brick), the chairs lipstick red, the tablecloths crisp white and the floor exposed concrete. The big windows make the sidewalk scene--from run-of-the-boulevard street traffic to red-dressed transvestites--read like silent performance art.

The offshoots of Joachim Splichal's acclaimed Patina Restaurant on Melrose Avenue, Pinot restaurants truly impart the air of la belle France, delivering a signature twist on classic French bistro fare. Situated all over L.A., these premier restaurants provide memorable meals in hip, sophisticated settings, as well as special events including cigar and martini nights, and wine-tasting dinners. Check individual locations for days and hours. Full bar; beer and wine (Patinette); takeout; delivery (Patinette); catering. AE (Patina), DC, DIS, MC, V.

Belly up to a table at Catalina Bar and Grill to hear the musical stylings of some of the greatest jazz players around--Joe Henderson, Horace Silver and Jackie McLean have all taken the stage here. The food is described as "Continental," meaning all kinds of good, home-grown, delicious dishes from New York steaks to Cajun catfish to various pastas. Catalina has been called the best jazz venue in town by our own illustrious paper. Shows start at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Dinner seven nights. Full bar; valet parking; reservations suggested. AE, CB, DC, DIS, MC, V.

Whether you begin with naked shrimp ($8.50) or top it off with creamy banana darae ($2.50), a meal at Chan Dara has something for all tastes. Traditionalists can stick to house favorite pad Thai ($6.95), while adventurous eaters go for rock-and-roll clams seasoned with chile sauce ($8.25) or deep-fried catfish in special Thai sauce ($15.95). Four locations add to the variety. In Hollywood, Chan Darae is intimate and cozy; in Marina del Rey, Chan Darette offers a snappy noodle bar and a menu of Thai greatest hits; in Larchmont, it has a warm, friendly, family feel; and in West L.A., it's exotic with a touch of high-tech. Lunch Mon.-Fri., dinner seven nights. Full bar (W.L.A. and Marina del Rey); beer and wine (Hollywood and Larchmont); takeout; delivery; catering. AE, MC, V.