| Living in Los Angeles comes with a lot of challenges, but finding a good meal is not one of them. |
| Finding a good meal that won't break the bank? That can be difficult. So much so that many people have been eating at home, leading to a drop in sales growth for U.S. restaurants and bars during the first half of the year. |
| With a little help from The Times' Food team, it's more than possible to have a standout meal at some of the city's most exciting restaurants without breaking your budget. |
| In their new guide, my colleagues put together a list of 50 L.A. restaurants where you can dine for $50 or less per person, including tax and tip. |
| They include places that require specific hacks to stay within budget, as well as more casual options where $50 lets you sample a wide swath of the menu. There's something for everyone. |
| Here are four recommendations. But dive into our list to discover more. |
Bestia (downtown L.A.) |
| Yes, it is possible to eat for $50 a person (including tax and tip) at a restaurant that offers a $185 Wagyu ribeye and $80 veal chop. At Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis' always-in-demand Bestia, you could order one of the restaurant's live-fire-blistered pizzas — which range from a $25 classic Margherita to one topped with soft and spicy 'nduja sausage, San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, spring onion, garlic, arugula and avocado cream for $29. |
| With a friend, you could share the whole grilled branzino ($52) or slow-roasted lamb neck ($56), which comes with smoked anchovy crème fraîche plus herb-adorned gem lettuce for wrapping the meat. Or you could share the $25 pizza and add an appetizer such as the herby Caesar salad with squid ink breadcrumbs ($24) or the buttermilk ricotta ($21) with aged balsamic, fennel pollen, herb oil, lava salt and a hunk of grilled bread. |
| And if you have enough left for one of Gergis' fantastic desserts, the $14 buttermilk panna cotta with roasted huckleberries and stone-ground-wheat cookies should keep you within a $76 budget for two people, even allowing for $6 drinks for each person. |
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| From top, tomatoes and cherries, squid ink chittara and vin dolce chiffon cake from Bestia. (Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times) |
Sushi:K (Beverly Hills) |
| Despite being in one of the wealthiest ZIP Codes in California, Sushi:K is one of the most affordable sushi restaurants in Los Angeles. |
| Chef Tomohiko Kawamura offers a $32 K Lite menu that showcases his well-seasoned shari and a daily selection of fresh fish. The set comes with a small sunomono salad and a bowl of miso soup. Next are five pieces of nigiri, followed by a blue crab or spicy tuna hand roll. |
| If you're still hungry, you can opt for an additional cucumber hand roll ($5) or another spicy tuna ($6). There's ice-cold Sapporo Premium ($6) and matcha green tea ($4). And, for dessert, maybe a scoop of the yuzu sorbet ($4.50). |
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| A selection of nigiri from the K Lite menu at Sushi:K in Beverly Hills. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times ) |
Ruta 15 (Long Beach) |
| One of the most exciting meals you'll find in Long Beach is at this ceviche bar where mariscos dominate. You can try plenty with a $50 budget: charred ceviche verde ($18) paired with mix-and-match seafood shooters bobbing with octopus, clams or oysters ($18); or Culichi-style shrimp ($25) sautéed in garlic and served with cilantro rice, butter-roasted onion puree and julienned veggies, all doused in a creamy green sauce. |
| Sample the "land" section of the menu with guacamole con chicharrón ($15), try churros acanelados ($11) for dessert, or have the rest of your meal with a margarita ($13). |
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| Cheese-crusted shrimp tacos topped with fish chicharrones at Ruta 15. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) |
Rosty Peruvian Eatery (Highland Park) |
| At this Highland Park mainstay, the portions are generous, making nearly everything shareable — such as the bowl-like "cup" of comforting aguadito de pollo soup served with crusty bread ($6) or the platter of lomo saltado ($24), its seared steak and sautéed vegetables piled atop thick house-made French fries and accompanied by rice and sauces. Order both and a refreshing chicha morada, or purple corn drink ($6), to wash it all down within budget, or swap in sides such as black beans or a salad, also priced at $6. |
| The Peruvian neighborhood restaurant also specializes in wood-fired rotisserie chicken: The quarter- and half-chicken plates ($14 and $23, respectively) include two sides and also make for great sharing. |
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| Lomo saltado, with the aguadito de pollo soup, at Rosty Peruvian Eatery. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) |
Today's top stories |
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| Christian Brown gets a COVID-19 shot from Tamina Nassiri, a licensed practical nurse, at the Kaiser Permanente Venice Medical Office building Sept. 23. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) |
Last year's flu season was California's worst in years. How bad will this one get? |
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This exclusive Hollywood private club and workspace shut down. What went wrong? |
- NeueHouse, the exclusive Hollywood co-working club that hosted celebrity-filled premieres and parties, abruptly closed last month after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
- The swanky members-only space was undone by overspending, expensive leases, failed restaurant ventures and debt that ballooned to $83.7 million by March.
- Former executives cite fundamental mismanagement, including spending $40 million over budget on expansion plans.
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JPL's rough ride: Can California's shining star of space science recover? |
- JPL laid off 550 employees Tuesday — the fourth round in a series of layoffs that cut a quarter of its employees over two years.
- The lab has struggled since Congress pulled funding for its flagship Mars Sample Return Mission because of a ballooning budget and timeline.
- Now, an institution with an illustrious record of solving the hardest problems in space faces a daunting task here on Earth: reclaiming its place at the vanguard of exploration and innovation.
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What else is going on |
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Commentary and opinions |
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This morning's must read |
| | | Evelyn Bauer has been a collector for 65 years. Downsizing to a two-bedroom apartment hasn't stopped her. | | | |
Another must read |
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| Keep up with California | Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. | | | | | |
For your downtime |
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| (Photo illustration by Kay Scanlon / Los Angeles Times; photographs from Adobe Stock, Associated Press, Getty Images, AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) |
Going out |
- Haunted experiences: 12 Hollywood haunts that saw real-life horrors includes the Hollywood Roosevelt, the Mama Cass House and Greystone Mansion.
- Food: Columnist Jenn Harris' search for jambon beurre in Paris led her to the best sandwich in L.A.
- Dining: The new dining spot to show your out-of-town guests why we love L.A.
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Staying in |
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A question for you: What frustrates you the most about parking in L.A.? |
| Michael writes: "It drives me up the wall when I see big SUVs parked in spots clearly striped for smaller cars. Or when someone has such poor skills that they park with part of their car edging into a second parking spot." |
| Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. |
And finally ... your photo of the day |
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| Hundreds of people march along West Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in Los Angeles on Saturday for the second "No Kings" protest. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times) |
| Today's great photo is from Times photographer Carlin Stiehl at a downtown L.A. "No Kings" protest against President Trump's policies on immigration, healthcare, the environment and federal agencies. |
Have a great day, from the Essential California team |
| Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters |
| How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com. |
