Critics’ choice: The tastes of downtown L.A.’s revival

Lazy Ox Canteen; The Spice Table; Rivera

Lazy Ox Canteen

Los Angeles’s “long-blighted” downtown is alive again, thanks mainly to its huge sports and entertainment complex, said Chris Colin in The New York Times. But “imaginative restaurants” have been a big part of the area’s comeback, too, and the types of Angelenos who enjoy walkable neighborhoods love to insist that this “tucked-away gastropub” is “the city’s best.” Grab a seat at “the handsome wooden bar” inside the Lazy Ox, and “a warm, fun feeling” will overcome you as soon as you order “one of the many great rosés on offer by the glass,” said Jennifer Steinhauer, also in the Times. The staff are “extremely knowledgeable about the finer points of each goody coming from the kitchen,” so lend them an ear. Chef Josef Centeno’s eclectic fare includes ravioli stuffed with braised beef tongue, toasted pine nuts, spiced lebni (a tangy yogurt), and dried chiles—an “almost unbearably seductive” combination. And the same could be said of his ricotta fritters with saffron honey. The youngish crowd here is “appropriately hairy of the face” but not too hip to enjoy the dessert menu’s blueberry and blackberry crumble. We sure did. 241 S. San Pedro St., (213) 626-5299

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