“Impresario” Kristen Trattner and Chef Monica May contributed to the summer opening of The Nickel Diner. The duo helped transform another block of downtown’s diminishing Skid Row. They also delivered Angelenos one of the better breakfasts in town. Pastry Chef Sharlena Fong created justifiable buzz with her bacon donut. Even better: 5th and Main, named for The Nickel’s location, a spicy BBQ pork hash topped with two poached eggs. The hash was terrific, with crusty shreds of pulled pork and chunks of potato that were nearly caramelized in porky runoff.

Otafuku’s owners don’t exactly do a great job at promoting their izakaya. The front window is screened over, the front door is locked and you have to squint to see the name on the green awning. Still, the two-room pub is frequently packed, a testament to their hearty Japanese cooking. The metal bowl of kelp-based soup stock contained tender cuts of fresh water eel, egg strands and aromatic Japanese parsley. Otafuku uses egg yolks in the broth as a thickening agent, to good effect. The “soup” is hearty, true comfort food.

When Cinnabar closed in the summer of 2005, it left a gaping hole in the Glendale dining scene. It took almost three years for Octavio Becerra (co-founder of the Patina Group) to fill the space on the ground floor of one of the city’s pre-eminent wine storage facilities. It was worth the wait. Becerra’s menu of wine-focused Mediterranean small plates changes on a weekly basis thanks to his long-standing relationships with local farmers. In late May, Becerra’s pork belly was especially staggering, a thick slab of meatier-than-expected bacon. Somehow, the majority of the fat had melted away, leaving the skin and base nicely caramelized and the interior absolutely luscious. To counterbalance the rich bacon, there was a refreshing salad highlighted by chiogga beets, Fuji apples and Bermuda onions.

This Peruvian spot in the Pico-Union district probably serves the best rotisserie chicken in L.A. Juan Shinzato, Jr.’s Japanese father and Lima-born mother (Maria Bajuelo) have run Pollos El Brasero for eight years, specializing in pollo cooked over dry firewood.
Juan revealed that his parents marinate the chicken for 24 hours in a blend of wine, salt, pepper and soy sauce, to name four ingredients in the recipe. The chicken featured caramelized skin, uniformly moist meat, including the breast, and what tasted like a citrus tang. On its own, the chicken would have been remarkable, and the experience got even better by dipping the meat in fiery aji (Peruvian jalapeno salsa). The side of steamed white rice and stewed pinto beans was a nice complement, especially when doused with the container of mild red salsa.

Sako’s Mediterranean Cuisine is one of the only restaurants recognized as Turkish in Los Angeles, and based on May’s lunch, that’s a shame. John and Ani Panosian have owned the restaurant for the past two years. The couple retained the original owner’s name and still make the doner kebab using his recipes. We felt compelled to order Sako’s Special (aka Iskender). Cuts of pita were piled with browned shavings of doner kebab and spicy tomato sauce, then surrounded by a sweetened moat of tangy yogurt. Sensational.