No longer, just mediocre cafeteria food with a Jell-o salad served on a tray, this fall, join a few world-renowned chefs who have opened in world-class museums and galleries across L.A. County because after all that culture and contemplation, you just might need a good meal to keep going. And, if art is really not your thing, all of these suggestions are destination dining spots in their own right.
Lulu at the Hammer Museum
When iconic Berkley-based food activist Alice Waters opened her first LA restaurant, Lulu, along with chef and writer David Tanis from Chez Panisse in Berkley, and Hammer director Ann Philbin at UCLA’s Hammer Museum in Westwood a few years ago it was big news. And, thanks to the market-driven, courtyard eatery that advocates for school-supported agriculture, it remains a thoughtful place for a rotating three-course prix fixe menu that even former First Lady Michelle Obama has enjoyed.
While the menu changes daily under the direction of executive chef, Luis Sierra, one thing they can’t remove is the buttery Chicken Milanese, which they will be serving this fall with bitter greens such as broccoli raab or broccolini. Other popular items that are always in rotation include meatballs and ricotta gnocchi with butternut squash and brown butter with toasted sage. You can expect more gratins during the colder months inspired by Lulu Peyraud and her cookbook ‘Lulu’s Provencal Table,’ – our restaurant is named after her,” said Sierra. I’m hoping to nail down a lobster dish with almonds this fall, or even a seafood stew with lobster and more shellfish.”
In addition, the in-house foragers are just starting to bring in chanterelles and possibly black trumpet mushrooms and more root veggies are coming in for fall. According to Director of Operations and Beverage Director, Jesse McBride, We love using that sweet yet earthy (and crazy-looking) celery root to make a warming soup as the temperature drops. You can almost taste the forest floor on our wild mushroom toast. We also get excited about the incredible array of radicchio – Castelfranco, puntarella, Treviso, and there will almost always be a chicory salad on the menu in the coming months.”
Between lunch and dinner (2 p.m. to 5 p.m.), they offer an aperitif menu with $12 bites and drinks. After 7 p.m. Tuesday – Friday, they offer a $35 prix fixe at the bar (walk-ins only), and museum members always receive a 10% discount. (Closed Monday.)
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Lulu at UCLA’s Hammer Museum (Courtesy Lulu)
Fanny’s at The Academy of Motion Pictures
While there have been many changes with the chefs and management since opening, what remains is a chic old Hollywood-style restaurant that evokes the feeling of a special occasion. The walls are adorned with art by cartoonist Konstantin Kakanias, and the Commune-designed interiors feature ‘red carpet’ red banquettes and chairs, with a new approachable menu and a partnership with Wolfgang Puck Catering for larger-scale museum events.
The kitchen is now run by executive chef and Korean native Jun Bum Oh who has worked in some of the most celebrated kitchens in Los Angeles from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro in Beverly Hills to Michelin-starred Mélisse in Santa Monica, and the Hotel Bel-Air.
No longer focusing on elaborate tableside presentations, or a separate lunch and dinner, the menu is comfort food with a fine dining quality and execution,” informed the chef. Some of the new fall items include a simple fresh fig salad with soft St. Andre cheese from France; a white rice risotto with butter, wafer-thin sliced Matsutake mushroom, topped with small squares of grilled strip loin; and a scallop Wellington” in puff pastry, with spinach and a Champagne bure bland sauce are standouts.
Talented pastry chef Amanda John is offering A Clockwork Orange” dessert made with whipped orange grenache, cornmeal pancake, and candied orange peel which is a nod to the Kubrick film and looks like a work of art. Apple strudel is served in the shape of an envelope made with phyllo dough, along with cardamom ice cream, and a feather pen made of white chocolate all resting on top of an excerpt from The Shooting of Dan McGrew” by Robert W. Service on the bottom of the plate.
You can still find ‘the world’s best martini’ originally created by ‘startender’ Julian Cox, and there is a happy hour from 3-5 pm (not on Monday and closed on Tuesday) with some good deals on snacks such as Buffalo chicken bites, house wines by the glass or select cocktails. You can always grab fresh pastries from the café counter and linger at a patio table too.
Fanny’s Cafe & Restaurant (fannysla.com)
Paths of Jidori Chicken with potato purée, baby carrots, and natural jus at Fanny’s (Stan Lee)
The Restaurant at the Getty
Drive up or take the tram for some of the best views of the Santa Monica Mountains and a world-class art collection. Chef Patrick Florendo – a New York Culinary Institute grad who hails from the Philippines – will be rolling
out the fall menu this October. We are focusing on sustainability and only serving the freshest local ingredients within 150 miles, including our seafood with a focus on a plant-forward menu, said the chef who worked at Jean-Georges Spice Market in New York and the Wynn in Las Vegas.
There is one surprise dish that you might not expect to see on the traditional Getty menu, which usually includes crispy branzino and handmade pasta, that the team is very excited about unveiling this fall. We asked Dona Marie, our lead line cook who has worked with us for over 20 years, to make us one of her family recipes that she’s been making with her mother for so many years. We adopted this recipe and together came up with a composed dish fitting for our stunning dining room.” Look for Marie’s blue corn tamale with Raja poblanas, vegetable picadillo, and guajillo braised short rib on your next cultural visit to the Getty Center. (Closed Monday.)
Courtesy Restaurant at the Getty
Le Great Outdoor at Bergamot Station
Follow the wafting smell of grilled meats at the open-air picnic spot of Le Great Outdoor which is fully ensconced amid the labyrinth of galleries at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, which is currently celebrating 30 years. After a day of gallery hopping, head to the walk-up counter to order French and Brazilian-inspired dishes, from lamb chops to fish and seasonal California salads, then take a number to your picnic table. If you want wine, that is ordered at a small side room, with another possible line, but think of this as a bit of a scavenger hunt – much like the destination, and just have fun with it. It’s hard to beat a coveted outdoor BBQ on a starry night amid this casual art institution. (Closed on Sunday and Monday.)
Manuela at Hauser & Wirth
Open seven days a week, Manuela in the Arts District has a lovely extended garden patio in the Hauser & Wirth complex that you can enjoy from coffee to cocktails, brunch, or dinner. Chef Kris Tominaga uses seasonal ingredients with a southern comfort twist that explores ‘farm to artist’ in dishes utilizing an open fire and a wood-burning oven used for vegetables, grains, fish, and game.
Top orders include cast iron cornbread with wildflower honey, smoked albacore dip with Carolina Gold rice crackers, shrimp and rice grits with hen-in-the-woods mushrooms and bacon, or roasted Liberty duck breast, and don’t miss s’mores for dessert. To accompany the seasonal menu, order local beers on tap, wines, and classic cocktails using house-made bitters and tonics.
With all the hearty food and drinks, do not forget you are in the middle of an art gallery, with specially commissioned works from artists Paul McCarthy, Mark Bradford and Raymond Pettibon, along with an adjacent bookstore, so it is OK to linger after your meal.
Rose Garden Tea Room (Courtesy The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens)
The Rose Garden Tea Room at The Huntington
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino have undergone a $7.5 million renovation that expanded the historic Rose Garden Tea Room. Now you can hold out your pinky finger out while nibbling tea sandwiches, scones and sweets in the new pavilion and outdoor patio amid the garden filled with rose bushes. While tea service can include a glass of Champagne, there is a new afternoon offering called Wine Down at the Tea Room.
From 3 to 5 p.m. daily (except for Tuesday), ala carte items are available such as charcuterie and cheeses, caviar, smoked salmon with dill cream cheese, rosemary roasted mixed nuts, and you can still get an order of scones. Of course, you can enjoy a tea selection, wines, champagne, and even Special-Tea cocktails, such as the Rose Aperol Spritz with lavender, chamomile, and prosecco. This is the best way to end a visit to the vast museum and gardens. If you would like to visit the tea room, you must purchase an admission ticket to The Huntington, but you will not mind taking a stroll after your tea experience.
https://huntington.org/dining/wine-down-tea-room
Claire’s at the Museum, at Long Beach Museum of Art
For an unobstructed Pacific Ocean front patio view of the Queen Mary and Catalina Island, visit the meticulously landscaped campus of the Long Beach Museum of Art. The dining area here also surrounds Claire Falkenstein’s stunning water sculpture, Structure and Flow.”
This spot is a popular brunch space by day and an event space by night. This fall enjoy a breakfast croissant with English-style scrambled eggs, chives, and Prosciutto with a crisp microgreens mix or a whipped cream cheese toast with ricotta, fig, peaches, along with Salty Butter Honey dressing and caramelized pistachios. You can also go for a juicy burger and a bloody Mary while you watch the waves, and indoor seating is also available inside the historic Andersen House. (Open Thursday through Sunday.)
Long Beach Museum of Art (lbma.org)
Salmon Benedict at Claire’s (Courtesy Long Beach Museum of Art)
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