Dal Rae

“Wait for it,” said Mary Melton, as we stood underneath the space-age sign of the Dal Rae in Pico Rivera. It was just dusk. As we watched, the words “Dining” and “Cocktails” illuminated and the restaurant’s name lit up in red and blue neon as the

. She understood I would appreciate Dal Rae. Friends know I have an affinity for throwback, floor-show dining of a certain era. Or let me say this more plainly: I get off on places that still set food on fire tableside. I’ve been thinking lately about

, or the tostaditos, mini tostadas paved with a marlin pâté and layers of minced shrimp and octopus. — P.I.E. 3544 W. Imperial Hwy., Inglewood, coniseafood.com (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Dal Rae Dal Rae opened in Pico Rivera in the 1950s, and the

wooden bowl and steak Diane complete with a dramatic glug of brandy set ablaze. Dessert is a pouty Grand Marnier or chocolate soufflé. L.A. is blessed with many throwback restaurants; Dal Rae’s savoir faire and exuberance distinguish it from the pack

Beverly Hills and Dal Rae in Pico Rivera. Fast-forward through the worst of the pandemic: The demolition date for Dear John’s was pushed to April 2023, and as the date neared the owners began considering a succession plan for their throwback hit. They took

. It’s the same engine of nostalgia that keeps some of our most entrenched Continental warhorses in business. I’m thinking of Musso & Frank Grill, Tam O’Shanter, Dan Tana’s in West Hollywood, Lawry’s the Prime Rib in Beverly Hills and Dal Rae in Pico

; Dal Rae’s savoir faire and exuberance distinguish it from the pack. 2022 Hall of Fame Behind an inconspicuous wooden door in a Koreatown strip mall with a red brick façade, Caroline Cho runs one of L.A.’s iconic late-night haunts. She modeled the place

in Beverly Hills, Dal Rae in Pico Rivera (a bonanza for tableside service if you love that shtick as much as I do): Their cocooned glamour and formal air of service retain a certain vitality — a stubborn counterbalance to our pervasive Southern

customized guacamole mixed with a side of banter. At Dal Rae in Pico Rivera, the trademark Steak Diane for two and the flambeed bananas — both of which were set ablaze on carts so near to customers that flames could singe your eyebrows — now are prepared out

steak at places like Taylor’s and the Dal Rae, is fairly spectacular: blistered okra, charred stems of broccolini and grilled cabbages, carrots and maybe a beet, laid out on a plank and served with a dunking bowl of ranch dressing. Your brandy old