A critic's guide to an exceptional wine-drinking experience

The wine list at Kismet in Los Feliz — printed on six or so loose sheets of marigold-colored paper, clasped in a small silver binder clip — has no descriptions for the biodynamic Alsatian whites and the sulfur-free Rhône reds it catalogs. The only...

“Call 213-995-6090 for a good time,” reads the strip of paper affixed to a glass wall with blue painter’s tape. It’s the smallest in a series of directive signs posted outside Tilda, a wine bar and shop in Echo Park, where employees strive to...

Before I went to live with my friend Helen in Brooklyn for a while last year, she texted me and asked, “What do you eat for breakfast?” “Very little,” I replied. “Maybe some yogurt.” The first morning in her apartment, I glanced inside the...

Los Angeles newcomers always remember their first Southern California tremor. Mine happened while eating breakfast at All Time in Los Feliz on Independence Day this year. The ground went wavy beneath us and my friend Hillary, also a recent...

All Time   

When Auburn, Eric Bost's celebrated build-your-own tasting-menu restaurant fell victim to the pandemic earlier this year, wine director Rick Arline was out of a job. At Auburn, he had orchestrated a thoughtful, intentional wine list that paired...