The Official Los Angeles Must Eats thread

[Joe Public]

Anyone eaten at Umami Burger? They just opened one down the street and it looks good, but it's $11 for their signature burger...

I liked it. Be sure to order some cheesy tater tots. They aren't on the menu, but they're yummy.

[Joe Public]

I've only been to the well-known joints that everyone knows of, like Phillipe's, Pink's, Johnnie's, and Tito's. If I find a gem that's off of the radar, I'll fill you in. I can tell you right now that the sushi places next to Pantages and the Little England in Santa Monica are not worth a return trip.

I tried Philippe's. I had a double-dipped beef sandwich with blue cheese and a slice of coconut cream pie. The sandwich was good: a nice, beefy flavor with bread that is firm enough to stand up to the jus. The pie was sweet, but it had a good coconut flavor and a crust with good texture.

The atmosphere was fun, with the communal tables and the sawdust on the floor. Half of you have probably been there already, but I thought I'd weigh in anyway.

[TripletDaddy]

I tried Philippe's. I had a double-dipped beef sandwich with blue cheese and a slice of coconut cream pie. The sandwich was good: a nice, beefy flavor with bread that is firm enough to stand up to the jus. The pie was sweet, but it had a good coconut flavor and a crust with good texture.

The atmosphere was fun, with the communal tables and the sawdust on the floor. Half of you have probably been there already, but I thought I'd weigh in anyway.

[RobinFinderson]

I am pleased to announce a new MUST EATS restaurant for anyone visiting Westwood.

800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria

Real brick-oven pizza, Neapolitan style, made to order with perfect ingredients. This pizza would be excellent at $15/pie, but a picture-perfect margarita will only set you back $6.

Extra bonus: They place features one of the new 'futuristic' Coke machines with hundreds of soda flavors dispensed from a single fountain.

Lines can be long, but we went last night (Friday) at 9:30, and managed to avoid the long dinner line. We ordered immediately. Check out their burratas. They use high-quality ingredients with attention to presentation, except the food prep is all done 'Subway' style (as in Subway Sandwich, prepared in front of you).

Little Robin described the place as the 'Diddy Riese' of pizza. And speaking of Diddy Riese, walk over there for desert after you finish your pizza.

[MarkGrace]

I am pleased to announce a new MUST EATS restaurant for anyone visiting Westwood.

800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria

Real brick-oven pizza, Neapolitan style, made to order with perfect ingredients. This pizza would be excellent at $15/pie, but a picture-perfect margarita will only set you back $6.

Extra bonus: They place features one of the new 'futuristic' Coke machines with hundreds of soda flavors dispensed from a single fountain.

Lines can be long, but we went last night (Friday) at 9:30, and managed to avoid the long dinner line. We ordered immediately. Check out their burratas. They use high-quality ingredients with attention to presentation, except the food prep is all done 'Subway' style (as in Subway Sandwich, prepared in front of you).

Little Robin described the place as the 'Diddy Riese' of pizza. And speaking of Diddy Riese, walk over there for desert after you finish your pizza.

We have a place that a lot like this, but your place sounds better.

[TripletDaddy]

Findo, you sound yuppified. Your social life seems to revolve around Westwood. You need to get back to your SC roots.

[RobinFinderson]

Findo, you sound yuppified. Your social life seems to revolve around Westwood. You need to get back to your SC roots.

My heart still belongs to South Central, but my stomach prefers Westwood.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I am pleased to announce a new MUST EATS restaurant for anyone visiting Westwood.

800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria

Real brick-oven pizza, Neapolitan style, made to order with perfect ingredients. This pizza would be excellent at $15/pie, but a picture-perfect margarita will only set you back $6.

Extra bonus: They place features one of the new 'futuristic' Coke machines with hundreds of soda flavors dispensed from a single fountain.

Lines can be long, but we went last night (Friday) at 9:30, and managed to avoid the long dinner line. We ordered immediately. Check out their burratas. They use high-quality ingredients with attention to presentation, except the food prep is all done 'Subway' style (as in Subway Sandwich, prepared in front of you).

Little Robin described the place as the 'Diddy Riese' of pizza. And speaking of Diddy Riese, walk over there for desert after you finish your pizza.

Whoa. That looks good.

[Surfah]

I really love pizza. And I love Neapolitan style pizza cooked at 800 degrees. I think I could love this place.

How is the Coke machine? I have heard these things are the new rage but have yet to see one or try it.

[RobinFinderson]

Whoa. That looks good.

As good as that looks, the photo fails to show how well this place does the crust. Serious Pellegrino-quality crust. Most toppings are $1 each, above the $6 base price for a Margherita, but real prosciutto costs an extra $3. This pie would cost $10 ($6 base + $3 prosciutto + $1 mushrooms):

[RobinFinderson]

I really love pizza. And I love Neapolitan style pizza cooked at 800 degrees. I think I could love this place.

How is the Coke machine? I have heard these things are the new rage but have yet to see one or try it.

The Coke machine is awesome, and works as advertised. My one problem with the one in this place is that they haven't stocked it with all of the COKE variations (vanilla, cherry, etc.). So you can get a vanilla/cherry Mr. Pibb, and you can get a Raspberry Fanta, but you can't get a Vanilla/Cherry Coke. They will hopefully remedy this soon.

[Jennerstein]

I am pleased to announce a new MUST EATS restaurant for anyone visiting Westwood.

800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria

Real brick-oven pizza, Neapolitan style, made to order with perfect ingredients. This pizza would be excellent at $15/pie, but a picture-perfect margarita will only set you back $6.

Extra bonus: They place features one of the new 'futuristic' Coke machines with hundreds of soda flavors dispensed from a single fountain.

Lines can be long, but we went last night (Friday) at 9:30, and managed to avoid the long dinner line. We ordered immediately. Check out their burratas. They use high-quality ingredients with attention to presentation, except the food prep is all done 'Subway' style (as in Subway Sandwich, prepared in front of you).

Little Robin described the place as the 'Diddy Riese' of pizza. And speaking of Diddy Riese, walk over there for desert after you finish your pizza.

I saw a review of this from a Chowhound poster. Are you the one?

[RobinFinderson]

I saw a review of this from a Chowhound poster. Are you the one?

Sorry Jennerstein, I missed this question. No, I am not the Chowhound poster.

We went again last Friday. Showed up at 8:45pm, and had a 30minute wait in line. By 9:30 the line was very short (five minute wait?). I took some photos of our pies and burrata:


This is the 800 Degrees assembly line.


Here is my prosciutto with mushrooms. They slice the prosciutto to-order.


Here is Faith's beets and burrata. Very yummy!

[Joe Public]

This place is worth a try if you haven't been there:

http://lemonadela.com/

[MarkGrace]

So Bestia didn't disappoint. Lots of good stuff, but favorite was the spaghetti rustichella. Sea urchin, squid ink bottarga, garlic, calabrian chiles and breadcrumbs. That was a very good dish.