Need a space to put your spices? Don't have room for all your pots and pans?  Then you need a top of the line kitchen.  If you are tired of being surrounded by all your baking supplies get more storage room by adding a kitchen center island.  When your done cooking adding a bigger kitchen sink will cut down on clean up time.
The Brenner Restaurant Index A book view

A Computerized Guide to Dining in the Greater Los Angeles Area

If you live in the greater Los Angeles area, or travel to it, this book brings you a variety of benefits beside simple recommendations. And this site offers you a recommended Restaurant of the Month, Your Favorite Dish Survey, CoffeeHouse, Wine Facts and... Brenner--Online!

And... products for the discerning gourmet: (brilliant gifts):

Not just another restaurant guide

We call it, "The book that doesn't belong on a bookshelf!"

In fact, our illustration (above) shows exactly where you'll find it the most useful... in your glove compartment. Its size is perfect also for hand and shoulder bags, attache cases and whatever you carry with you on the go.

A word to the rest of the world:

People who don't live in L.A. may not appreciate the value of a restaurant book that is cross-indexed by location, cuisine and cost. Angelenos, of necessity, travel considerable distances from work to home, from home to entertainment venues, from office to office for business appointments. It's not at all unusual for a one-way drive of 20 miles and more to be part of one's daily routine... and remain within the county of Los Angeles!

When you add dining out to this pattern, one's travels is an exceedingly important consideration in deciding on a restaurant. Picking one that takes advantage of your travel route can save time, fuel and, most importantly, traffic frustrations. It can also provide opportunities to try new, recommended restaurants in parts of town you get to only rarely.

It's not just the location section that helps you minimize mileage in your dining activities. A listing of restaurants by cuisine and by cost quickly reveals the kinds of restaurants that you can consider when other things are at issue, such as your mood for a certain dish or a price range.

It's not every city that needs recommended restaurants cross-indexed this way. We think that Los Angeles is, however, the pre-eminent city of the world that does!

LOCATION SECTION

This part of the index will quickly show you the best dining spots wherever your wheels have taken you in the 468 square mile area of Los Angeles County. The restaurant you've gone to is closed? Forgot they're closed on Monday night? Grab the book and see what the best restaurants are in the same area. You probably won't even have to get back on the freeway!

With the use of this section, you'll be able to find a recommended restaurant near the theatre you're going to, near the office where you're having that meeting, near the shopping mall. Save time, fuel and nerves and, at the same time, try that restaurant you've been meaning to.

A book view
The Location section is sorted by city names and, in the widespread parts of "Los Angeles", by zip codes. And, that's just ONE section!

What do you do when you're in the mood for a certain kind of food? We call it the

CUISINE SECTION

though it might well be called the "mood" section. In this part of the book, the same restaurants (nearly 700) are sorted by cuisine, from Albanian to Yugoslavian. It even makes such distinctions as North and South Italian, Chinese and Chinese French and others where appropriate.

Then, there's the

COST SECTION

which is of obvious value to those of us who are on a budget. But it's also valuable to those who have the wherewithal to find the very best restaurants L.A. has to offer and/or the favorite watering-holes of the rich and famous. Try the places on the last few pages of this section and you may be amazed at who is dining at the next table! and, as though that weren't enough,

we have the

ALPHABETICAL SECTION.

And, you won't have to do any cross-checking between sections. The listings are complete whether you're in the Location, Cuisine or Cost section of the book. (Only the Alphabetical section is pared down to essentials).

Yes, this is a decidedly different kind of restaurant guide. Every restaurant included is recommended very highly--for it's area, it's cost range, its level of quality. Who does the recommending? It's usually a consensus between diners with high standards, professional restaurant writers and, of course, our own gourmets (and gourmands).

Each listing includes the all important details: hours, special dishes, alcohol and credit card policies, parking, special notes and more.

You start using the Brenner Restaurant Index and you'll learn to depend on it. You'll fast become the restaurant guru in your circle of friends and business acquaintances. You'll optimize your time and costs by planning your feeding routes for efficiency (why eat in Sherman Oaks when you're going downtown to the theatre--even if you live in Sherman Oaks?)

But, if you live in another city, state or country, you really score big, here. There is no advertising in The Brenner Restaurant Guide. That means the restaurants in it are there for the right reasons--not for advertising dollars--not because they have a deal with the hotel. One less reason to "ask the concierge". Embark on your own; have the exact address for the taxi driver; and dine in the best places Los Angeles County has to offer.

Restaurants included range from Calabasas to San Pedro, from the Pacific Ocean to Monrovia. More than 60 different kinds of cuisine and from $5 to $150 a head (the maximum has been rising). Some offer music, patio dining, bring-your-own-bottle, valet service, public parking, delivery or takeout; cool and quiet ambience. Find it--it's here.

We think it's the most useful and convenient guide to eating ever published for the Los Angeles area.

Attention Internet Diners (in L.A. County)!

Because of many requests, we now offer you restaurant recommendations online! You tell us what to look for: a certain kind of food, a certain area of the city, a certain price range--two of these or all three--and we'll email you up to five candidates that we think best meets your criteria--within a day or sooner. All the candidates will include recommended dishes and the restaurant policies you need to know about. The search on your criteria is done for a nominal cost. Just click on this "Brenner--Online" link and let us help you with your dining decisions.

Top Selling Gourmet Food

L.A. Links ~~


Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Restaurant Rating search page
Go here to check on the health ratings of your favorite restaurants.

@LA
@LA - the guide to Greater Los
Angeles and Southern California

Click here for
Our Restaurant Pick of the Month

Plus, of course, feel free to check out our sponsors.

"Month" is a minimum. There is no maximum time a restaurant may exist here. We change our pick only when a deserving new one comes along. If you try any of them and don't (or do) agree, be sure to let us know. We need feedback, y'all. And, if you'd like to share your favorite,

Actress Chloe Sevigny (a fave) dines at Dominick's Cafe Stell, Edendale. But her favorite is the Pacific Dining Car in downtown L.A. Sevigny came to my attention first in "Boys Don't Cry," and has since logged a big and growing credit list. Her exquisite talent was featured in "3 Needles."
Kirsten Dunst's restaurant favorites are Vida, 1930 Hillhurst Ave., where she loves the bread; and Pinot Bistro for their chicken with caramelized onions and french fries. Dunst was in "The Virgin Suicides", "The Cat's Meow" (as Marion Davies), and plays M.J. in the "Spiderman" series, his sweetheart.
Jorja Fox is well named and we're glad that she's an L.A. resident. With that intriguing feline look of hers, she's lit up "ER," "The West Wing" and "CSI" with her own special flavor. You could find her in real life in Echo Park at the Brite Spot for a light meal and dinner at Masa. She covers the Edendale Grill and occasionally brunches at the Brick House Cafe in Venice. When vegan fare seems favored, check five-star Madeleine's for this sixth star.
Juliette Lewis's restaurant favorites are also on Hillhurst Ave., where she hits Puran's on Friday nights and the Alcove Cafe & Bakery for salads and panini. This much nominated actress occasionally ventures to Echo Park for vegetable omelet and pancakes at the Brite Spot. You'll remember her from Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers" and Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives."
Singer Sophie B. Hawkins' favorite restaurant is Alhambra's Tin In, a Chinese restaurant with vegetarian dishes. Her favorite meals there are sizzling steak, the goose appetizers, and the salmon with portabello mushrooms with basil.
Actress Thora Birch, a vegan, likes Read Food Daily on La Cienega and speaks highly of their Yin Yang Salad with Asian ginger-peanut dressing. She follows that up with coconut cream pie -- equally vegan, she adds with reassurance.
Actress Bai Ling ("Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow") likes Sushi Roku on 3rd and the rock shrimp dumpling at Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills. Desert for her is good at the Chesecake Factory in Marina Del Rey.

Tell us your favorite dish in Los Angeles!
 (We may publish it on this website)

When should a waiter or waitress NOT offer the host at a table
a "test" drink before pouring for the guests?
For the answer to this and other wine serving questions, come visit ...
Wine Facts

Now available:

For the first time,
we've compiled all our previous Restaurants of the Month
in order to make it available to our friends and fellow diners in Los Angeles.
It is in ebook (PDF) form and a copy can be yours for very little.
For the details, click here.

Connoisseur's Corner--items for the discerning gourmet
Items for the discerning gourmet



The "Hot List" of Cookbooks

An important note to our visitors:
The latest edition of The Brenner Restaurant Index is now sold out.
We thank the people who ordered it recently and for whom we
couldn't furnish a copy. We continue describing it here because
of its information and products with value to diners.
~~ Jules Brenner





After suffering people who think they know wine and how it should be served, we finally wrote our own ebooklet to dispel the guesswork and mythology:
"Wine Facts: The Truth About Its Service and Other Misunderstandings"
which you can Order online:
Now you can be the only one at the dinner table who knows the reasons behind the customs and practices in storing, serving and enjoying wines. A must for restaurateurs. For more detail, read our
Wine Fax page






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