Santa
Monica Again Tops List of Best Restaurants in Region |
By Lookout Staff
November 14 -- Santa Monica remained the tastiest destination
in Southern California for the second year running, according to
the 2008 Zagat Los Angeles/Southern California Guide.
The Zagat survey -- based on the experiences of 8,859 area residents who eat
out or take out more than half of their meals -- found that Santa Monicans have
access to the best of the 2,187 restaurants rated by the magazine.
Santa Monica “is a hot neighborhood, it’s been a hot neighborhood,”
said Michael Mahle, a spokesman for Zagat. “It’s got so many great
restaurants in such a small area that you can’t go wrong, really. I think
our surveyors believed that as well.”
Some of the top restaurants in Santa Monica included The Hump, Josie, Michael’s
Restaurant, Mélisse, Capo, Chinois on Main and Valentino. Not only are
the restaurants top notch, they are spread out across the City, from Downtown
to the Santa Monica Airport.
The distinction comes after Los Angeles area restaurants -- including several
from Santa Monica -- were honored by Forbes.com as being among the top 10 dining
destinations in the world, alongside cities such as Paris and New York.
"Few cities offer more variety than Los Angeles' dining scene," said
Tim Zagat, co-founder of Zagat Survey. "The people of Paris can only dream
of having as many top quality Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Mexican and Cal-Med
style restaurants from which to choose."
“Santa Monica and the surrounding territories are food savvy, wine savvy
and value savvy,” said Merrill Shindler, Senior Editor of Zagat. “They
know their olive oils and their cheeses.”
The Zagat survey also found that many diners are willing to pay more for organic
food/dishes, including 61 percent of those surveyed who said they prefer food
that is locally grown or raised.
One of the local chefs who relies on fresh produce is Josiah Citrin, whose
restaurant Mélisse won the Four-Star Mobil Travel Guide Award and was
honored by Zagat, earning the best American-French restaurant in Los Angeles
award for the past five years and the number one wine list for the past two
years.
Like many of his colleagues, Citrin heads to the local farmers market at least
twice a week to find fresh inspiration for his ever-changing menu.
Santa Monica has long been a favorite dining destination in Southern California,
thanks in part to a vibrant farmers’ market scene, Shindler said.
With the winter season slowly approaching, chefs are gearing up for new menu
additions to suit the change in temperature, according to top restaurant
owners.
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