Freshly made noodles/dumplings
Din Tai Fung
Our readers think that Din Tai Fung is the best, and they’re in good company. This is the restaurant that broke stereotypes when they got a Michelin star for Chinese street food. You can see the noodles being made by hand while you are standing outside the restaurant. Unless you are very lucky, you will spend some time standing out there because there is almost always a line. It moves fast, and what is at the other end is worth it. There’s nothing really like the springy toothsomeness of freshly made noodles, and that’s what has made these restaurants a global sensation.
Din Tai Fung
Del Amo Fashion Center
21540 Hawthorne Blvd. #519
Torrance
(310) 214-1175
Runner-up:
Pa-Do Noodle and Dumpling Bar
1017 Manhattan Ave.
Manhattan Beach
(310) 376-1536
Hot chicken
Chicken T.W.I.L.I (the way I like it)
Whoever the “I” is in the name “The Way I Like It,” has a good palate. The battered and fried bird has some spice in the breading, and after frying is dipped in a Nashville style sauce that is about four on the scale of 10. It arrives crisp outside and moist within on a bun with lettuce and tomato, and is such a big sandwich that you may think you have to unhinge your jaw like a python to fit it inside. You don’t – we’ve looked and regular humans can manage the feat. Those who prefer wings treated in the same way can get them, and they too are a spicy, tangy delight.
Chicken T.W.I.L.I (the way I like it)
Inside The Brews Hall
21770 Del Amo Cir E
Torrance
(310) 293-9838
73 Pier Ave
Hermosa Beach
(424) 348-0800
Runner-up:
Bird Talk Chicken
29505 S Western Ave
Rancho Palos Verdes
(310) 935-7759
Hotel restaurant
Sea Level Restaurant and Lounge
Our winner and in the hotel restaurant category are both in hotels called Shade, one in Manhattan Beach and the other in Redondo. It’s no surprise that both would be in the running, because they’re the most ambitious hotel restaurants in a wide radius. Sea Level serves their eclectic California cuisine with a view of the water, Zinc with a view of Metlox Plaza, but the food at both is innovative and attractively presented by a professional staff. It’s a popular spot with locals, and we’re sure the tourists love it too.
Sea Level Restaurant and Lounge
Shade Hotel
655 N. Harbor Dr.
Redondo Beach
(310) 921-8950
Runner-up:
Zinc@shade Lounge
Shade Hotel
1221 N. Valley Dr.
Manhattan Beach
(310) 546-4995
