9 Delicious Things to Eat in Culver City

Welcome to a newish series about the best dishes to eat in various neighborhoods across Los Angeles. Today we’re heading to Culver City, a buzzing neighborhood that’s home to movie and television studios, as well as a diverse collection of restaurants. From new Nordic porridge to Italian steakhouse classics, here now are Eater editors’ favorites in the neighborhood.

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Brisket at Maple Block Meat Co.

Los Angeles isn’t particularly known for its deep barbecue tradition, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find fantastic smoked meat across the Southland. Since opening in 2015, Maple Block Meat Co.’s has garnered a stellar reputation for its brisket. Served up lean or fatty — I go for the latter every time — each slice delights with its rich flavor and tender texture. To balance out all that goodness are a slew of tangy sauces and sides like the house-made pickles and coleslaw, as well as an Alabama-style white barbecue sauce. 3973 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City. —Cathy Chaplin

Chicken parmesan at Dear John’s

Culver City’s prominence as a dining community has ebbed and flowed over the generations, but the hiding-in-plain-sight Dear John’s has endured. The red and white Italian chophouse emerged in the Rat Pack era as a Frank Sinatra hangout and smoky hideaway for crooning celebs. Eventually, the restaurant fell mostly out of favor with the changing neighborhood, but now a revamp from the Rockenwagner family and Josiah Citrin has brought the place back to life. Step back in time with the team’s take on chicken parmesan, a rich and satisfying dish that is as timeless as the restaurant it’s served inside. 11208 Culver Blvd, Culver City. —Farley Elliott

Carne guisada at Amacita

Josef Centeno’s reformed restaurant Amacita is a more inventive take on Tex-Mex than his popular Downtown LA restaurant Bar Amá, and the star of the menu might be the carne guisada. Centeno cooks Creekstone beef chuck into a homestyle stew with chiles, garlic, tomato, and spices. Load them into thin flour tortillas, scooping up a bit of pico de gallo and some of the sauce puddled below the tender beef. In his new cookbook Amá, Centeno recommends adding nothing else to each spoonful of carne guisada for pure, Tex-Mex bliss. 9552 Washington Blvd, Culver City. —Matthew Kang

Bee sting pizza at Roberta’s

Roberta’s chef and owner Carlo Mirarchi took his time opening in Los Angeles, introducing the concept through a series of pop-ups before settling into a permanent space at the Platform a year ago. Locals have enthusiastically embraced the restaurant’s puffy, blistered, and chewy pizzas, calzones, cacio e pepe, and house-made stracciatella. Everything works on the menu, especially the aptly named bee sting pizza that gets under one’s skin with its combination of tomatoes, soppressata, mozzarella, chili, honey, and basil. All of the flavors come together for a pizza that packs some heat, a pleasant saltiness, a slightly sweet touch, and the right amount of smoke. To help calm your tastebuds, walk over to the Boba Guys for a beverage. 8810 Washington Blvd., Culver City. —Mona Holmes

Tacos at Loqui

There is no shortage of tacos across Los Angeles, particularly in Culver City. Still, the tacos at Loqui just feel special. The small storefront at the busy Platform development cranks out hefty tacos on spotted flour tortillas, laced through with heavy helpings of beef, pork, or grilled chicken. The latter is probably the best option on the menu (though the mushrooms are also fantastic), and the $5 tacos can be dressed to order. Loqui has to be among the most satisfying $10-ish meals available anywhere in Culver City, and — with another location in the works for the Arts District — soon the whole of Los Angeles. 8830 Washington Blvd #104, Culver City. —Farley Elliott

Smoked trout with rye griddlecakes at Hatchet Hall

Hatchet Hall endures as one of Culver City’s best restaurants, from a stellar bar (and wonderful Old Man bar lounge to the side) and a rustic Southern menu from chef Brian Dunsmoor and chef de cuisine Martin Draluck. The menu turns over seasonally, but one longtime dish is the smoked trout with rye griddlecakes, a gloriously shareable starter with smooth, luscious trout kissed with just enough smoke. Build each bite with some of the smoked trout, then top with the seasonal sauce (in this case, applesauce) and the cool dill sour cream. Of course, Hatchet Hall’s extensive selection has other highlights too, from the mushroom-crusted pork chop to creamed sweet corn. LA lacks great Southern food, but Hatchet Hall remains the Westside’s best place for this truly American cuisine. 12517 Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. —Matthew Kang

Rice porridge at Destroyer

Many moons ago, chef Jordan Kahn served an uni-topped heirloom porridge at his Vietnamese punk restaurant Red Medicine in Beverly Hills. Fortified with a single egg yolk, it was a decadent bowlful that comforted every fiber of one’s being. The porridge has found its way to Destroyer, the chef’s new Nordic-inspired daytime eatery in Culver City. Dressed to the nines with caramelized broccoli, puffed rice, and burnt onion, the porridge boasts a more subtle touch than the risotto-like version from the Red Medicine days. Still, it manages to hit a satisfying note like only a warm bowl of rice porridge enjoyed on a rainy afternoon can. 3578 Hayden Ave, Culver City. —Cathy Chaplin

Duck confit salad at Father’s Office

Everyone knows about the burger at Father’s Office, so we can skip that recommendation for today. Order the burger if you haven’t tried it, but if it’s your second or third time at this Culver City gastropub, try the duck confit salad. Served with a whole confit leg of Liberty duck, the gently gamey, crisped meat is served alongside a tangle of dressed mustard greens, frisee, figs, and hazelnuts. A sweet and fragrant tangelo vinaigrette binds the crunchy bits with the fork-tender duck, making this salad more like a bona fide entree than a starter. 3229 Helms Ave., Los Angeles. —Matthew Kang

Pizza from Lodge Bread

Did Lodge Bread ignite the current carb revolution in Los Angeles? Maybe not, but the Westside bread specialist has certainly played a role over the past several years. The Culver City location started with breads before happily expanding into a larger space to accommodate its airy daily pizzas that the restaurant serves during lunch and early evening. The blistered pies, available with a rotating array of seasonal toppings and classic combinations, are light and crispy. Much like cross-town specialist Pizzeria Mozza, these LA pizzas have bread dough as its base, and don’t feel the need to hew to any outsider’s idea of what pizza should be — and that’s good news for all of Los Angeles, and for Culver City in particular. 11918 Washington Blvd, Los Angeles. —Farley Elliott

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