LOTERIA

There are tons of great Mexican places in LA but somehow I end up going to Loteria all the time. It's good. My favorite is the one in the Farmer's Market, but today I went to the Studio City version. I had the ceviche and one carnitas taco and one potato taco with peppers.

LILY'S

Lily's in Venice is a good spot for a large group on a Friday night. It's French. Most of us had the frisee salad (with lardons) and Hanger steak with fries.

M CAFE

You almost always see someone famous at M Cafe, but not this time. People go here because everything is fresh and healthy-seeming. For lunch I had tuna tataki, soba noodles and brocollini.

BOTTEGA LOUIE

It was great to see old friends. Before going to Bottega Louie downtown, we went to see our friend's art show at the Pacific Design Center. This restaurant is gigantic and packed. There are lots of options on the menu and it's very crowd-pleasing. Most of the tables were filled with USC girls celebrating their birthdays. We had pizza and beet salad, short ribs and asparagus (not pictured).

LUCQUES

I accidentally left my new camera in the car before going into Lucques so my photos aren't so great. This is one of my favorite places in Los Angeles. I had a citrus salad and striped bass with pomegranates. We talked about Columbian neckties and the hilarious and heart-breaking book Rodeo in Juliet.

HUGO'S

I don't really look forward to coming to Los Angeles but there are two things I really like: Hugo's and seeing celebrities. I had the protein scramble and tumeric rice for breakfast and saw Jennifer Jason Leigh. Annie Liebovitz was on my flight here.

KIN SHOP

I've been wanting to try out Kin Shop for a while. Winner of Top Chef season one, Harold Dieterle (who was there last night, expediting) opened his Thai place in my neighborhood a few months ago. Phil and I shared scallops in coconut sauce.
Aquatic vegetables (water cress, water spinach, water chestnuts)

Fluke ceviche.

Wonton noodles with chicken sausage.