The editors at Eater Los Angeles dine out several times a week, if not per day, which means we’re always encountering standout dishes that deserve time in the limelight. Here’s the very best of everything the team has eaten this week.
Gluten-free margherita pizza from Flour in Brentwood
A whole gluten-free margherita pie from Flour in Brentwood. Nicole Fellah
One of the enduring downfalls of being highly sensitive to gluten is the upcharge when ordering a gluten-free substitute at a primarily wheat-flour-friendly restaurant. I’ve become used to paying up to $5 more for gluten-free breads, tortillas, or crusts, which seems fair, given the added cost the restaurant incurs for having a gluten-free substitute on hand. I was initially taken aback, though, to see a $10 upcharge for gluten-free crusts at the celebrity-approved Brentwood pizzeria Flour. Still, enough hype surrounded the place to encourage — or peer-pressure? — me to make the investment. Flour plies, stretches, and bakes its gluten-free dough until blistering, or until it looks nearly indistinguishable from its wheat counterparts. This is one of the better gluten-free pies I have had in Los Angeles (after Shins, R.I.P.). Yes, the price for the 18-inch pie will be steep, but the satisfaction you get from eating pizza that tastes like what you remember feels worth it. (Editor’s note: Flour seems to be transitioning its gluten-free flour supplier; call to check for availability.) 1684 San Vicente Boulevard, Unit B, Los Angeles, CA 90049. — Nicole Fellah, Eater editorial manager
Bluefin tuna crudo at Henrietta on the border of Echo Park and Westlake
Bluefin tuna crudo at Henrietta. Rebecca Roland
Everyone, their mother, and their mother’s restaurant seem to be serving crudo in Los Angeles, where fresh fish remains abundant and the ever-warm weather makes the dish feel eternally seasonal. The ubiquity of crudo makes it easy to glaze over as just another sliced fish situation that will only arrive with a few listless pieces. Luckily, at Henrietta, a charming day-to-night restaurant and deli on the edge of Westlake and Echo Park, that is not the case. Max Lesser, a Chi Spacca veteran, serves thin slices of ruby-red tuna bathed in chilled citrus. Pickled onions and fresno chiles add another layer of acidity and heat, which contrasts nicely with the buttery tuna. Henrietta’s crudo reminds you why this dish is omnipresent and, at its height, how good it can be. 343 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026. — Rebecca Roland, deputy editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
Chicago Italian beef sandwich from Jyan Isaac Bread in Santa Monica
Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich at Jyan Isaac Bread. Matthew Kang
I hate to admit that Chicago has perfected sliced meat between bread. The combo Italian beef from Johnnie’s in Chicago has long been my favorite sandwich in the world, a meaty amalgam of beef, smoky sausage, and jus-soaked bread. Jyan Isaac Bread, with chef Casey Lane at the helm, has a wonderful weekday lunch situation that includes top-tier New York pizza, bagels, and sandwiches, like its Chicago beef sandwich, which uses tender, well-roasted beef slices packed into a wedge of crusty schiacciata that’s baked on the premises. Even the tangy, crunchy giardiniera gets made in-house in typical Lane fashion. Together, it’s almost too holistic and homemade to resemble the more industrialized versions in Illinois, but the flavors are incredible. (It almost quells my craving for Johnnie’s.) Wear a shirt you don’t like to eat this because the sandwich comes drenched and beef juices will fly. Thankfully, because the bread is properly built, it doesn’t fall apart in your hands (unlike the French-like rolls at Portillo’s and its ilk that dissipate within minutes). My only squabble would be that Jyan Isaac’s beef sandwich would benefit from being rolled in paper to retain a more tubular, biteable shape. 1620 Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405. — Matthew Kang, correspondent, Eater
Opera cake from Republique in Hancock Park
Opera cake from Republique. Kat Thompson
I typically visit Republique in the morning — the main draw, to me, being its pastries and breakfast dishes. But this weekend I tried Republique’s dinner service for the first time and the experience felt just as inviting as its breakfast counterpart. Highlights for me included English pea agnolotti, endive salad with suprêmed citrus and sweet bites of date, and duck glazed with a deep and layered orange sauce that struck a consummate balance between sweet and savory. Because this is Republique, we saved room for dessert, the favorite among our table of six resoundingly the opera cake. It tasted like a Ferrero Rocher in cake form: chocolaty and rich with nuttiness from hazelnut and mild bitterness from coffee. The layers of cake wavered between silky chocolate ganache, fluffy mousse, and crunchy like an Oreo at the very bottom. It’s a dessert I wish I had completely to myself. 624 S. La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036. — Kat Thompson, audience editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest