Best Tequilla bar: Palmilla

Behind the bar at Palmilla, the stack of bottles of clear and amber liquid looks like a shrine to tequila. That’s probably because it is one – the people who set up this bar have a respect for that elixir that borders on worship. The great names are here, as well as some you have…

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Best outdoor dining: Hennessey’s Taverns

Hennessey’s is open from early morning to late night, and their outdoor dining areas are full for most of that time – all three locations in the South Bay are great places to enjoy the ambiance that makes our area such a great place to live. You can walk by the Manhattan Beach patio early…

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Best Italian under $20: Mama D’s

Another year, another win for the perennial favorite in moderately priced Italian dining. Mama D’s is the classic red checkered tablecloth Italian joint, serving a wide variety of pastas and pizzas along with dishes like eggplant parmesan, lasagna, and homemade ravioli. Go there on any evening and the place will be packed with families having…

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Best Italian over $20: Bottle Inn

It’s the antithesis of dining at most places in Hermosa – quiet, dark, and elegant while the pier places are loud and bright; gracious and informed by tradition while others are brusque and modern. The menu here does change with the times, though some items have been there for 37 years – items like the…

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Best sushi: Oki Doki

The entrance does not lead you to think you are in a top tier place – it’s a modest location next to a 7-11 – and neither does the name. Once you are inside Oki Doki Sushi, you quickly discover that this is a place where inventive sushi is taken seriously. The staff is friendly…

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Best Japanese food: ROK Sushi Kitchen

The sign over the door does say “Rok Sushi Kitchen,” but they serve much more than sushi, and the list of entrees and sides goes far beyond Japanese tradition. They do offer salmon baked in ginger-soy sauce and steak teriyaki, but with nontraditional sides like wasabi mashed potatoes and tempura onion rings, and Chilean seabass…

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Best Indian food: Akbar Cuisine of India

This was our closest race this year – Akbar edged out Addi’s Tandoor by only one vote out of more than two hundred that were cast. Akbar has all the elements of traditional Indian cuisine like tandoori barbecue and fragrant lamb curries, but also offers some modern fusion items that would have been mysterious to…

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Best Cajun Jambalaya: New Orleans Cajun & Creole Cuisine

The New Orleans serves both types of Louisiana food – the refined Creole and the spicier, exuberant Cajun. Everything about this place from the alligator on the neon sign to the worn roadhouse-style décor tells you that you’re in a place with Louisiana roots, especially when you get a plate of gumbo, fried chicken, or…

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Best late-night eatery (after 11 p.m.): The Kettle

It’s almost midnight and you feel the sudden craving for a real meal – something more than a fast food joint. Whether you’re ending the day after a show, just starting it as a shift worker, or are one of those postmodern people who has no sleep cycle whatsoever, you head for the Kettle. The…

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Best entertainment club dining: The Comedy & Magic Club

The best seats at any club tend to go to the patrons who have come early for dinner, so generations of theater aficionados have gotten used to the drudgery of club dining – small selections of indifferent food, usually at high prices. The Comedy & Magic club is a delightful change, with a wide choice…

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Best chili: Tomboy’s

Bowls of chili aren’t on the menu at our winner for best chili, though we’ve heard that if you ask for one, they will sell it to you. Instead, the chili is the indispensable element in chili fries, a chili burger, and the chili-cheese fries that seem to outsell everything else. This isn’t a powerful…

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Best ethnic BBQ: Silvio’s BBQ

Brazilian barbecue is less complicated than American barbecue – all about the perfect expression of the meat with just a little salt and herbs for seasoning. Silvio’s is a temple of meat, where various cuts of beef, chicken, and sausage are flame-roasted and served up Brazilian style, but where you can also get real Southern…

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Best American BBQ: Pinkies BBQ

Their slogan is “the sweetest meat you’ll ever eat,” which rhymes but isn’t actually true; there are barbecue places that specialize in sugary, caramelized sauces, but this isn’t one of them. There is some sweetness to the sauce, but the attraction here is slow-smoked meats that have the proper hickory tang, the infusion of smoke…

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Best hamburger (restaurant): The Counter, Simmzy’s (TIE)

The Counter offers over three thousand possible combinations of hamburger, Simmzy’s offers three. You can take those three into double digits if you count the add-ins of roasted shiitake mushrooms, bacon, avocado, and fresno chili rings, but this race is still a tie between the establishment that offers a delightfully bewildering range of options and…

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Best hamburger (fast food): In-N-Out

Most fast food meals are a matter of convenience – I’m on this corner and so is a burger joint, so I have lunch. In-N-Out has the distinction of having fans who travel several miles for a fast food burger because they like the freshness of the ingredients. The company is proud of the fact…

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Best dessert restaurant: Cheesecake Factory

When a business goes from having one location to a hundred and sixty-two over thirty-five years, what they are doing is not a fad. Their rich, sweet cheesecake is obviously one of their secrets – it’s in the restaurant’s name, and they serve over forty kinds including chocolate raspberry truffle, pina colada, and Dutch apple…

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