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Los Angeles has undergone enormous culinary change in the last twenty years. From a land of fast food, chili and all American dining it has evolved very quickly into a highly charged, creative epicurian center with so many influences and creative spins that the taste buds stagger.
In the 70's with the opening of such restaurants as "L'Hermitage" Jean Bertineou, very fine French cooking gained a quick food hold. Wolfgang Puck, about the same time, opened many restaurants and brought an excitement to the scene.
A rash of more authentic Italian restaurants sprang up from modest but good eateries to really top restaurants bringing us something other than soft spaghetti and meat balls to dishes from Tuscany, Venice, Sicily and all over Italy, filled with regional flavors.
The Pacific basin was close on their heels with finely rendered dishes from Tailand, Viet Nam, China.... you name it, it arrived.
5 hours driving north of Los Angles, it has fantastic down hill and cross country skiing in the winter and wonderful hiking,
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back packing, trail riding, fishing, boating and much more in the summer.
Young chefs, free of tradition, started integrating cooking styles from France, Italy, Japan, Mexico and creating a whole new way of eating and looking at recipes. Many went over the top creating confusing and noisy dishes and still do. But others are gaining some control over the riot and bringing discipline to their cuisine, in the process creating truly fine eating experiences on all levels.
We will gradually bring some of those who we consider the best to these pages from the far flung corners of sprawling Los Angeles, from the hills of Pasadena with a truly fine talent, Chef Fianfranco Minuz from the outskirts of Venice where he gave up a one Michelin star restaurant to emigrate to California, to the beaches of Malibu where Wolfgang Puck's restaurant "Granita" is trying some interesting things, some of which work and some do not, but we applaud the effort and creativity.
So if you have an open mind and enjoy the risk of trying new things, Los Angeles is the place for you.
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