Nightshade

Japanese milk toast. A regular special of aged Peking duck is served with a rotating selection of bold seasonal condiments—peach hoisin, nectarine kimchi. The cocktail list is no less interesting: My favorite tipple of the year is Nightshade’s No. 914, a

than the usual and leaving you plenty of room to try other dishes on the menu. Many items are fairly light, so order up. Nightshade, 923 E. 3rd St., Arts District | $$$ Dialogue chef Dave Beran has opened a more casual restaurant where you order à la

Angler    Atrium    Bar Restaurant    Birdie G's    Bon Temps    Dear John's    Nightshade    Pasjoli    Yang's Kitchen    Yours Truly   

reason enough to stop by for dinner. 8335 Rosecrans Ave., Paramount, (562) 740-8710, paramountmexicanfood.com The tres moles enchilada plate at La Diosa de los Moles in Paramount. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) Congee, Nightshade When it debuted, Mei

., #109, Los Angeles, (213) 626-8888, nightshadela.com Koshihikari rice congee with toppings from Nightshade. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) Patita, Spoon & Pork Spoon & Pork — chefs Ray Yaptinchay and Jay Tugas’ ode to Filipino comfort food in Silver

Colapasta    Kra Z Kai's BBQ    La Diosa de los Moles    Nightshade    Spoon & Pork    Tacos y Birria La Unica    Bulgarini Gelateria    Tacos 1986    Yang's Kitchen    Spoon By H 7158 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles    Pasjoli    Porridge + Puffs    Bon Temps    Hayato    Fiona   

, sonoratown.com What makes the perfect tortilla at Sonoratown? » Nightshade Nightshade is chef Mei Lin’s first restaurant, a stylish Arts District kitchen that showcases her talent for smart, cross-cultural cooking. Lin’s menu has already produced some of 2019’s

: her egg-topped congee bowl with XO sauce, pork floss and scallions is one of the most satisfying dishes on the menu. Please note that Nightshade is not a place to skip dessert. Soon-to-depart chef de cuisine Max Boonthanakit’s lineup of frozen desserts

Teddy's Red Tacos    Yours Truly    Kra Z Kai's BBQ    Sonoratown    Nightshade   

include khao soi (being squeezed with lime), sai ua (pork sausages) and an ever-changing selection of stews from the steam table. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) Nightshade (52) The cooking at Mei Lin’s debut restaurant in the Arts District is driven as

, (213) 626-8888, nightshadela.com Szechuan hot quail on Japanese milk bread, served with house pickles from Nightshade. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) Pizzana (67) Daniele Uditi is one of the city’s most accomplished pizza maestros. His neo-Margherita

Alta Adams 5359 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles    Angler    Apey Kade    The Arther J    Auburn    Birdie G's    Bon Temps    Burritos La Palma    Chaak Kitchen    Dear John's    La Diosa de los Moles    Hasiba    Hayato    Joy    Konbi    Northern Thai Food Club    Nightshade    Pizzana    Playa Amor    Spoon By H 7158 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles    Taste of Tehran    X'Tiosu Kitchen    Yours Truly   

memorable most of all for their fleeting, ephemeral quality. — P.I.E. 521 W. 7th St., Los Angeles, CA 90014, qsushila.com (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 52. Nightshade The cooking at Mei Lin’s debut restaurant in the Arts District is driven as much by

Sonoratown    Orsa & Winston    Bar Amá    Bäco Mercat    Hayato    Bavel    Rossoblu    Grand Central Market    Bon Temps    Bestia    Broken Spanish    Shibumi    Q    Nightshade    The Exchange    Little Sister    Badmaash   

The pasta dish you see on almost every table at Nightshade is chef Mei Lin’s mapo tofu lasagna, a slinky block of egg noodles layered with a Sichuan pepper-infused pork ragù and filaments of tofu cream. The ragù is subtle — the most decadent thing

-cultural flavors; her cerebral, precise cooking style, driven as much by ideas and technique as ingredients; a sense of pointed modernism underscored by a devotion to the pleasures of comfort food. Nightshade is Lin’s first restaurant, airy and warm and

various Middle Eastern dips for any time of day. 9876 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Daybird This long-anticipated casual chicken concept from Top Chef winner and Nightshade toque Mei Lin is finally open, and it’s worth the wait. Lin separates her hot

inspired by Rome’s Antico Forno Roscioli. 2025 Pacific Ave., Venice. Late summer. Daybird Nightshade toque and Top Chef winner Mei Lin gets casual with a strip-mall spot devoted to fried-chicken sandwiches on milk-bread buns. 240 N. Virgil Ave., East

lot. In the thick of so much upheaval, I’ve also been thinking about standout Los Angeles chefs who have stayed quiet — those who’ve yet to reopen but haven’t announced permanent closures. Mei Lin is one of them: Her Nightshade in the Arts District

conceived with takeout in mind. As for reopening Nightshade, which was designed as a more formal, sit-down experience? “At the end of the day the staff is very much like family,” Lin said. “And so I ask myself, would I feel comfortable about one of my family

reconsider the old models, this it it. What do you think? Email me at patricia.escarcega@latimes.com. Some news The L.A. Times Dinner Series kicks off Sept. 5 with a three-course collaboration meal between Jon Yao of Kato and Mei Lin of Nightshade; the menu