What You're Eating – Best Fall 2016 Menus In Los Angeles

As of now, Los Angeles is finally getting a well-deserved taste of fall. Blustery winds, chilly evenings, and a bit of rain, if we're lucky, signal a time for us to sample the best of the best ingredients this season has to offer. If you're ready for all things roasted, braised, stewed and baked, here are a few culinary additions to restaurants across the city. And, for those of you who can't get enough, you'll still find plenty of pumpkin creations on these fall menus.

Baltaire
11647 San Vicente Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(424) 273-1660
www.baltaire.com

Brentwood's Baltaire boasts contemporary Americana steakhouse cuisine with a worldly touch. Sit down and enjoy the new tableside cheese cart, velvety roasted butternut squash bisque with togarashi and pistachios, lollipop lamb chops with romesco and shishitos, Hudson Valley foie gras with housemade blackberry balsamic jam, and Maine diver scallops with celery root and brown butter, along with an expanded wagyu program featuring several new cuts of beef for the steak lovers. In light of the season, a new sweet will strike a chord with those who want a break from the traditional pumpkin desserts. It is a creamy pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap streusel, cinnamon anglaise and a tower of torched meringue.

Sawyer
3709 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 641-3709
www.sawyerlosangeles.com

Silverlake's eatery Sawyer, with its floral wallpaper, bright airy space, and great patio, is serving up special fall items this season. After having made his mark in Silver Lake, Chef Sydney Hunter III will be featuring a new fall seafood-focused menu. Chef Hunter will offer several fall dishes that are perfect for the season, including Octopus Potato Salad with house made aioli, fingerling potatoes, fine herbs, pickled red onions, Za'atar Spice; candy cane beets with red wine juniper berry gastrique, blackberries, nutmeg ricotta and pistachios; salanova salad with roasted acorn squash, toasted hazelnuts, cranberry vinaigrette; caramelized black mission fig with faro grain, celery root remoulade, hibiscus raisin glaze, pecans; loup de mer with leek veloute, maitake mushrooms, rice pilaf; hokaido scallops with satsuki rice risotto, shishitos, parmesan cheese; yellow tail with maple glaze, kabocha squash, baby turnips, puffed faro; and a delicious hanger steak with baby carrots and a great carrot ginger glaze. Sweets and desserts will also be on hand, including carrot cake with coconut cream cheese frosting, passion fruit, a delicious chocolate mousse with hazelnut crunch, as well as spiced baked apples with bourbon caramel sauce, cinnamon crumble.
 
In addition to the great new dishes, beverage director Jordan Young will also present a new fall cocktail menu with drinks sure to please diners. Cocktails and libations will include a variety of options, as well as before and after-dinner drinks such as the Belafonte with rum, apricot cordial, fernett, lemon, bitters; Up in Smoke with mezcal, chareau, lemon verjus, smoked spices; Pesos with tequila, heirloom ice cider, pressed apple juice, lime; Gin Punch with gin, vodka, lillet blanc, mint stem cordial, grapefruit, lemon oleo; Opium Den with pisco, lime, IPA, pear -pineapple cordial, poppy liqueur; the Herman Blume with Scotch, spiced tea, pomegranate cordial, lemon, bitters; Trinidad sour with Angostura Bitters, rye, orgeat, lemon; Blood and Sand with scotch, cherry herring, sweet vermouth, orange juice, lemon; House Spritz with blueberry-cardamom cordial, lemon, sparkling brut; and Last Word with Gin, green chartreuse, maraschino, lime.

Napa Valley Grille
1100 Glendon Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 824-3322
www.napavalleygrille.com

Westwood's popular Napa Valley Grille restaurant is offering a special fall menu this season with a three course lunch menu for just $15 per person during the week from 11:30am to 3pm. With a beautiful patio and impressive interior, enjoy fresh, seasonal cuisine from Executive Chef Adrian Vela. Inspired by the bounty of the West Coast wine region, Napa Valley Grille features exceptional products that are hand-delivered directly from local and regional farms. Highlights from this lunch menu include autumnal dishes like a grilled pear & brussels sprout salad with prosciutto, chilies, warm hazelnut shallot vinaigrette, a Steak Sandwich with sliced roasted sirloin, white balsamic onions, crescenza butter and charred tomato focaccia, as well as as a tasty Sicilian farm flatbread with salami, Campari tomatoes, eggplant, wild mushrooms, and mozzarella. Ready for dessert? Try their delicious Pumpkin & Fig Flan or their gelato.

Petrossian
321 North Robertson Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90048
(310) 271-6300
www.petrossian.com

Our city has profited from this Parisian import for many years, delighting in its fine selection of caviar, foie gras and smoked fish. Petrossian's new fall dinner menu includes several seafood dishes that will appeal to those with a taste for seasonal fare. You'll find a seared foie gras and tuna toro carpaccio with ginger ponzu, Spanish octopus with fennel, potatoes and black olive tapenade, and John Dory, plancha-style, with cauliflower, almonds, raisins and capers. After dinner, stop by the boutique, and head home with an indulgence for another day.

Taste on Melrose
8454 Melrose Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 852-6888
www.ilovetaste.com

Fall's flavors shine through with some of Taste on Melrose's seasonal menu items. Pomegranate and brussels sprouts salad, cumin spiced roasted cauliflower, kabocha squash risotto with cranberries and mushrooms and an apple and caramelized onion pizzetta feel perfect for this time of year. The dessert menu includes a cinnamon and sugar-coated brioche doughnut flavored with this season's number one ingredient--pumpkin. It's baked, so this is a sweet ending you can, and should, get behind.

Westbound
300 South Santa Fe Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 262-9291
www.westbounddtla.com

Westbound's updated its menu with a few items, including cauliflower and brussels sprouts with cured egg yolk and mozzarella espuma and a fried pork rillette with pickled radish, masago and mustard seed aioli. The dessert round that will intrigue you, so save room. Pumpkin's at the heart of this twisted funnel cake served with vanilla bean mascarpone, rum pumpkin ice cream and a dusting of pumpkin-enhanced powder sugar. It's hard to refuse the aroma of fried dough, especially during this time of the year.

Kali Restaurant
5722 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 871-4160
www.kalirestaurant.com

Like most seasonal restaurants, Kali's menu could easily shift depending on the chef's whim. This season's pork iteration will feature farmer's market apples puréed with fennel, along with roasted apples, potato gnocchi and raisin gremolata. Mussels with yogurt, celtuce and potatoes, a tasting plate of yogurt, oats, fermented grapes and honey, and swordfish with butternut squash and sunchokes have made their way to tables recently. Head to Kali soon before these dishes and more get a reboot for winter.

Hyperion Public
12969 Ventura Boulevard
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 464-3750
www.hyperionpublic.com

Hyperion Public's motto of "By the people, for the people" asserts the fact that this casual and comforting eatery offers something for everyone. The revamped fall menu includes a crispy brussels sprout cobb salad with bacon, blue cheese and balsamic, crunchy potato and cheese croquettes with spicy tomato pepper sauce, Veracruz-style eggplant and mushrooms alongside arroz verde and Uncle Riki's fish--seared snapper with General Tso's sauce, grilled bok choy and chili paste. If you can't make it to the Valley in time for dinner, you'll also find these dishes at the Silver Lake location.

Eveleigh
8752 West Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(424) 239-1630
www.theeveleigh.com

Sink into a beautiful fall evening under the open-air patio or garden at Eveleigh. New entrées on the fall menu will warm your stomach, no matter how chilly it may be outside. Toasted barley risotto with Japanese pumpkin, duck breast with caramelized apple mash and radicchio, spaghetti squash with truffle butter and chili, and baked stoke and garnet yams with burrata, rosemary and saba are just a few of the platters to debut this season. Go with a group, so you'll have good reason to order one of everything on the menu.

Craft
10100 Constellation Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 279-4180
www.craftrestaurantsinc.com

Craft's fall dessert menu truly takes the cake with an array of sweets that feel perfect for the season. Cinnamon sugar churros with malt ice cream, pumpkin rugelach, concord grape streusel pie and peanut ice cream, as well as an apple and pine nut torte with mutsu apples roasted in either duck or pork fat depending on the chef's choice. A sprinkling of fennel fronds on top add a light touch of licorice to your bites. The torte is served alongside Mexican vanilla ice cream and cider sorbet--a frozen scoop of apple cider, caramel syrup and, of course, a touch of cinnamon.

Michael's
1147 3rd Street
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 451-0843
www.michaelssantamonica.com

Michael's recently re-opened its doors on the Westside, and the current fall menu is a clear, new vision for the restaurant. Pork cheek sandwiches with plum jam, red pumpkin agnolotti with pistachio brown butter and ragusano, blistered baby broccoli with braised pig ears and soft egg milanese, ricotta gnudi with lamb sausage and preserved orange, and duck breast with huckleberry-juniper pickle and delicata squash are a few of the platters that stand out on the list. A roasted barley pot de crème with rosemary and chamomile plays with your taste buds thanks to its blend of sweet and savory elements.

Mercado
3413 Cahuenga Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90068
(323) 512-2500
www.mercadorestaurant.com

Each of Mercado's three locations rolled out new dishes, including jumbo wild scallops with cauliflower-cascabel chile purée, chayote with calabacitas and crispy cilantro and pollo en salsa de cuatro chiles with queso fresco mashed potatoes and grilled corn. Mercado has one of the best flans in town, and you can find a pumpkin version of their perfected sweet on the menu right now. Whether you're on the Westside or the Valley, you can get your Mercado fix.

Delilah
7969 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 745-0600
www.hwoodgroup.com

Newcomer to the scene, Delilah's supper club vibe and accompanying fare speak to classic dishes of yesteryear with a modern edge. Think crab cakes with tarragon aioli and spicy apple slaw, deviled eggs with avocado mousse and crispy kale, a Greek-style wedge salad, and filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes, fried brussels sprouts and a green peppercorn sauce. They also serve a cornflake-topped carrot soufflé previously offered at Chasen's, the legendary Beverly Hills restaurant that closed in 1995. Technically, the soufflé is a side dish, but it could easily be an end to your meal thanks to its light touch of sweetness.

Spring
257 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 372-5189
www.springlosangeles.com

Spring's fall menu features a number of dishes that speak to the season, as well as the restaurant's deep influences from the South of France. Try the lobster soup dotted with butter-poached lobster, chestnuts and paysanne vegetables, mushroom risotto with black trumpet, chanterelle and lobster mushrooms, venison filet with butternut squash, celeriac and beets, or a tender fish stew with fennel, potatoes, leeks and saffron. Fall's fruit are central to a dessert that features a poached pear with caramelized pecans, streusel, pear sorbet, and mousseline.