Dickie’s: Best American BBQ

The stainless steel cabinets behind Dickie’s counter don’t look much like a traditional smoker, but it sure works like one, turning out tender brisket, ribs, chicken, and sausages with hickory flavor infused into the meat.

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Coyote Cantina: Best Mexican under $20

Coyote Cantina isn’t the first place you’d think of for a modestly priced Mexican meal, simply because the place looks too classy. Original art on the walls, a greeting at the door – it’s what you’d expect when you’re dropping a fair amount of money.

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Peet’s: Best Coffeehouse (chain)

The winner for best chain coffeehouse is the one that started gourmet coffee culture in America. Dutch entrepreneur Alfred Peet opened his first location in Oakland in 1966, and generations of Americans had their first freshly roasted coffee beans in his establishments.

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Sandwich shop: Big Mike’s

Big Mike

If Big Mike’s ever wants to come up with a fancy name for what they do, they could promote themselves as a purveyor of American regional cuisine. It’s not a cuisine most people recognize, but many of the sandwiches here have distinctive style.

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A La Carte 3/12/15

First Looks…Orlando’s Pizzeria & Birreria in Redondo is off to an amazing start; they opened with little fanfare three weeks ago and there are already lines out the door at dinner. They serve much more than pizza – owner Orlando Mulé lived in Quebec for years and his restaurant offers poutine, Montreal smoked meat, and…

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Baja California Fish Tacos conquers the corner of doom

If you drive by the northwest corner of Inglewood and Artesia, you’re likely to see something that is remarkable: a restaurant with a full parking lot. This might not be unusual in most locations, but this has been a spectacularly bad place to open a restaurant – there have been five of them, all serving…

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Copacabana: Brazilian BBQ, with an emphasis on the sides

As much as you may love eating at a traditional American barbecue joint, odds are that the sides aren’t the focal point of your experience. Baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, and white bread are the most traditional accompaniments, and a place that is getting fancy might offer some mac and cheese or a green salad.…

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Flossie’s Timeless Southern Cooking [restaurant review]

As I surveyed the options while standing at the counter at Flossie’s in Torrance, I was struck by the irony that people think of fried chicken and the trimmings as fast food. Many locals think first of a multinational company that makes a pitiful imitation of fried chicken and sells it in buckets, not to…

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Steaming Ahead: Stanley Steamer enthusiast Ron Schroeder

When Ron Schroeder was eleven years old, his father took him to an exhibition of antique steam-powered farm equipment, and he noticed something that was out of place. “I admiring a steam traction engine and what looked like a Ford Model A went by, but it was very quiet. I went to talk with the…

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A la carte

The New Year has brought news of a number of new projects, the most interesting of which promises a big change on the Hermosa Pier Plaza. Ron and Greg Newman, best known for the Sharkeez chain and Palimilla, have leased the spaces formerly operated by Fat Face Fenner’s, Paradise Sushi, and Froyo. Though these are…

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Feature: Best restaurants of 2014

The whole idea of End of the Year lists is to give perspective on a category of news, to identify trends that might not have been obvious as they happened. Compiling my list of the best new restaurants in the South Bay gets more difficult every year, and to understand why I decided to take…

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