Week in Reviews: Another Miss Irene Round-Up

About a month after her last round-up, Miss Irene dedicates her review this week to tell you about this hot new dining area called Downtown LA, or as she had dubbed it until "very recently," the moon. Included in the whirlwind tour are several restaurants that have already been reviewed in the last few months (Rivera, Drago, Church & State), some oldies (Original Pantry, R23), and one still waiting for a review:

...the new Chaya Downtown showcases chef Shigefumi Tachibe's East-West cooking in a restaurant with a grand outdoor terrace, a full sushi bar and a handsomely appointed dining room. The menu is very appealing, because it's so different from the other high-end restaurants in this part of town ... The sommelier is on the case, and it all feels very sophisticated.

Not a bad first impression of the new Chaya at all; Sherrybaby also saves encouraging words for fellow newbies Corkbar ("a nice place to hang") and Nickel Diner. Actually, the entire piece is an ode to the myriad magical possibilities that lie downtown, leading to Miss Irene's "conclusion" that downtown is, in fact, not the moon. [LAT]

THE ELSEWHERE: The Find discovers Sri Lankan cuisine in Anaheim at Wadiya, the OCW is shocked to get decent food at the ridiculously-gimmicky Ice Bar, the OCR tackles French-Mexican cuisine at Anepalco, the Daily Trojan uses groan-inducing puns at Wurstkuche, and this month's LA Mag takes a look at Cheap Eats, Cabbage Patch and Cecconi's.

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Chaya Brasserie

8741 Alden Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90048 310 859 8833