Spago and Sqirl Considered Two Most Influential Restaurants in Past 30 Years

Restaurants that changed the way we dine

In a highly opinionated but nonetheless fascinating piece, Robb Report does a roundup of the thirty most influential restaurants of the past thirty years. Iconic restaurants like Chez Panisse, Momofuku Noodle Bar, El Bulli, and Gramercy Tavern lead the way, but local restaurant Spago and Sqirl represent LA. Those two picks are especially interesting given their context: older and now classic Spago with a big celebrity angle, and Sqirl, one of the newest restaurants on the list but one that has spawned “countless imitators.” Here’s the full list of influential restaurants, which span the globe.

A new fried chicken sensation

LA Mag goes into background of Lawless’s Kick’n Cajun Chicken, an Instagram-only restaurant in Compton that’s taken over the social media platform. Owner Michael “Shad” Lawless prepares upwards of 200 pounds of chicken at a time and sometimes sells out in just five minutes. It’s a pretty remarkable story.

Rose, all day

Time Out says The Beverly Wilshire has a big new rosé garden overlooking Rodeo Drive with tables, lounge seating, and lush canopy. It’s open 3 to 10 p.m. from now until September 3.

Thai vegan to Santa Monica

Toddrickallen uncovers a new “Thai vegan” restaurant headed to the former Pot & Pan space on Santa Monica Blvd. near the corner of 23rd street. The end slot looks like it’ll turn around pretty quickly.

There’s a need for safer bathrooms in West Hollywood

Last week, Wehoville published an op-ed about the need for safer restrooms in restaurants and bars for transgender people. Apparently the author of the piece had an incident at Fiesta Cantina.

Obama was in town

Last week, Steve Samson and Rossoblu catered a big dinner with former President Barack Obama. The 44th president was in town to help raise money for the DNC.