The Brief

Happy (upcoming) Valentine's Day, Los Angeles! Feb. 14 is just around the corner. And whether you're tethered to another human on this Hallmark holiday, overpaying on a day to celebrate the purity of love is just plain heartless. (Call me unromantic, but I stand my ground).

Why not say I love you for less this year and save some money for the rest of your relationship?

Everything you'll find here is $100 per person or less, (with some being $100 total!)

The Exchange at The Freehand Hotel (Downtown Los Angeles)

If you're looking for a meal that really has heart, consider one where 15% of your romantic night out will go to benefit those affected by the L.A. wildfires. The Exchange at Freehand L.A. is doing an I Heart LA Coast-to-Coast menu in downtown Los Angeles along with their partner restaurant in New York by "marrying" the menus of their head chefs Narita Santos (L.A.) and Felipe Donnelly (NYC).

The Exchange Dining Room

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Courtesy The Exchange

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The three-course prix fixe includes items like oysters with hibiscus leche de tigre, kampachi aquachile with pan-seared black Coho salmon, and chocolate tres leches for dessert.

Written Hand (The Kimpton Everly Hollywood)

Complimentary oysters, shucked table side at The Written Hand in Hollywood.

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It's Bivalve-ntine’s Day at Written Hand, where they're toasting the day of love with a prix fixe that's all about the aphrodisiac.

The meal begins with complimentary oysters, shucked tableside for your enjoyment that can be paired with briny freezer martinis. There's also bread from Bub & Grandmas, Ama Ebi Kauai prawns, squash blossoms, and a shared entree with either a ribeye cap blue-fin tuna collar or ike jime rockfish.

Barra Santos (Cypress Park)

An intimate dinning corner dining area at Barra Santos in Cypress Park.

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Allison Zaucha

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Courtesy Barra Santos

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Barra Santos hosts "a party every night," and Valentine's Day should be no exception. This neighborhood gem from co-owner Mike Santos and chef Melissa López offers Portuguese snacks to pair with pours of Madeira wine alongside larger dishes like piri piri chicken ($22). The specials for V-Day are still forthcoming, but you can pair a bottle of Barra Santos vinho ($40) with the Lisbon special ($31) trio of snack plates and have yourself an enjoyable and wallet-friendly kind of nite.

Bar Lis (Hollywood-Thompson Hotel)

Bar Lis at Thompson Hollywood

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Michael Mundy

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Courtesy Thompson Hollywood

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Hollywood's rooftop French Riviera, Bar Lis, has two options that will take your breath away.

The Sunset Hour Prix Fixe Dinner includes cauliflower panna cotta with caviar and oyster leaves, beet gnocchi, and a choice of New York steak or duck breast for $78 a person. The Bar Lis Canapé Package features a bottle of GH Mumm brut champagne and a canapé platter with tuna and radish tartare and duck yuzu kosho tacos. The price is $150 per couple, and that includes hypnotic music and views for days.

Pasta Sisters (Culver City)

Tortellini from L.A.'s Pasta Sisters

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Courtesy Pasta Sisters

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Keep it a bit more casual at Pasta Sisters, where you can enjoy glasses of wine ($12) while nibbling heart-shaped ravioli either in the restaurant or in your own home.

The ravioli are filled with porcini mushroom and ricotta cheese and are available for dine-in ($21) or as a ravioli pasta kit to go, which feeds two and includes edible flowers ($40). The restaurant will also be offering 10% off select bottles of Italian Pinot Noir if you're purchasing the kit.

Redbird (Little Tokyo)

Lobster Chawanmushi at Redbird

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Courtesy Redbird

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Enjoy Valentine's Day in the church of love at a fraction of the cost when you dine in the Garden Bar area of Redbird by chef Neal Frasier. Redbird is located in the former Cathedral of St. Vibiana, specifically the Cardinal's house (hence the red bird), and for Valentine's Day, they are serving a special three-course prix fixe menu for $150 a person in the main dining room. While that might sound enticing, you can keep the costs down and still enjoy a selection from the prix fixe menu when you choose à la carte pricing in the Redbird Garden Bar.

A perfect night out for two might include Humboldt Fog on griddled sourdough ($16), profiteroles with chicken liver parfait ($16), chawanmushi with kaluga caviar and uni ($38), and two glasses of Domaine des Ronces Bubbles ($17 each).

SOCALO (Santa Monica Gateway Hotel)

Amor de Los Angeles Cocktail at SOCALO

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Courtesy SOCALO

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SOCALO, from chef duo Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, is putting some SOCAL into your LOve life with fresh, modern Mexican cuisine in a uniquely Los Angeles environment steps away from the Santa Monica Pier.

The Valentine's Day prix fixe kicks off with a sparkling wine toast for two. Next, you'll enjoy a ceviche trio with such delicacies as tuna with peanut matcha salsa and ono with passion fruit habanero. The main course features a 16oz bone-in rib eye and yuzu glazed seared shrimp with broccolini and romesco. Dessert is a red velvet cake with strawberry crema and spumoni ice cream.

The specialty cocktail for the night is an Amor de Los Angeles, made with tequila, pama liqueur, and topped off with pomegranate seeds and a black salt rim ($16).

The Velvet Martini Lounge (Studio City)

The Velvet Martini Lounge

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Courtesy Eat Drink LA

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If you love crooners and cozy corners, The Velvet Martini Lounge is about to become your new favorite secret speakeasy. It's located above the Italian restaurant Vitellos and features live music, dim lighting, and no windows — kinda like Las Vegas.

The food menu is minimal, with throwback items like a TV Dinner Tray, but I recommend focusing on cocktails and conversation instead. Try a Jazzerac made with Hennessey, Luxardo Amaretto, bitters, and finished with an absinthe mist.

Vincenzo's Pizza of NoHo (North Hollywood)

Heart-shaped pizza at Vincenzo's of Noho

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Courtesy EatDrinkLA

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Eat your heart out when you order this special heart-shaped pizza from Vincenzo's Pizza of Noho. The small size measures 14" and is made for two people to share. Complete the meal with a chocolate vin-yay, which are beignets with powdered sugar and a Nutella drizzle ($6).

Malibu Wines + Beer Garden (West Hills)

Malibu Wines and Beer Garden

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Pixabay

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Love shouldn't be limited to just one day, and Malibu Wines & Beer Garden wants you to celebrate all week. Visit anytime from Feb. 10 to 17 for a two-flight wine tasting of Saddlerock wines and a curated cheese board.

Catch more of Caroline's suggestions at EatDrinkLA

State regulators voted Thursday to stop Southern California Gas Co. from charging customers to help pay for planning miles of pipelines that would bring hydrogen gas to the L.A. Basin.

The company says the project would reduce the region’s reliance on methane gas.

Southern California Gas estimates it would cost about $266 million to study and plan the project — called Angeles Link — and asked the state Public Utilities Commission to allow it to recover those costs through customer rates. The company had proposed a monthly increase of $0.35 on the average residential customer bill over the course of three years.

The commission unanimously rejected the request, saying the company had not proved any direct benefit to customers. The decision effectively halts the project for now, and comes amid a stall in federal funding for hydrogen projects under the Trump administration.

Local environmental groups involved in the community advisory process had also grown frustrated by negotiations that they said, in a letter to state regulators, “does not prioritize genuine community engagement.”

As global pollution levels continue to climb, the commission’s decision also highlights the growing challenge of transitioning to a cleaner energy supply amid rising utility bills and open questions about the safety and true environmental cost of largely untested technology.

Why hydrogen?

Hydrogen is a colorless gas that is considered "clean" because it doesn’t involve carbon, which — when burned to create energy — becomes carbon dioxide, a major planet-heating gas.

But it takes energy to produce hydrogen, and most hydrogen these days is created by burning fossil fuels. “Green” hydrogen is created by using clean energy sources like solar and wind to split water into oxygen and hydrogen.

SoCal Gas said the Angeles Link project would prioritize green hydrogen.

Most experts see green hydrogen as an important clean-burning fuel for hard-to-electrify industries, such as long-haul trucking and gas-fired power generation. The city of Los Angeles, for example, wants to retrofit its Scattergood Power Plant near El Segundo to burn hydrogen instead of methane gas to generate electricity.

There are many open questions about how safe the highly-combustible gas is for proposed uses and how much water it will require to make. At the same time, extracting and burning fossil fuels for electricity and fuel also takes water — a growing problem as climate change drives longer and hotter droughts.

Experts say, if done right, hydrogen can reduce that water intake and not have a major impact on water supplies.

Also, burning hydrogen could actually worsen local, lung-damaging nitrogen-oxide air pollution, at least with the technology as it currently stands, according to energy researchers.

Reactions to the decision

SoCal Gas will now have to turn to shareholders or other sources of funding if the company wants to proceed. The company did not directly answer LAist’s questions about whether it would.

“We continue to believe that hydrogen—including clean renewable hydrogen—can help advance California’s energy and climate goals while supporting the long‑term affordability, security and reliability of energy service for customers,” SoCal Gas spokesperson Brian Haas wrote in an email to LAist.

Environmental groups celebrated the vote, while emphasizing they see green hydrogen playing a role in the state’s future.

“Residential customers should not subsidize speculative infrastructure for large industrial users,” said Michael Colvin, director of the California Energy Program at Environmental Defense Fund, in a statement.

“We look forward to working with regulators, utilities and large customers to build a credible, cost-effective strategy to cut climate pollution from sectors that are hardest to electrify,” the statement read.

Global events like the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics are sure to draw thousands of new visitors wanting to get to know Los Angeles.

L.A. has a lot to offer, including its vast and varied portfolio of public art. It’s even been referred to as the mural capital of the world. So if you want to explore some of the city’s art, here are a few murals you won’t want to miss.

Sports 

“LA Rising” at the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo celebrates the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, depicting him in his two roles — hitter and pitcher.
- Where to find it: 328 First St., Los Angeles

“Blue Heaven on Earth” is a love letter to the Dodgers, depicting both Shohei Ohtani and the late Fernando Venezuela.
- Where to find it: 1647 Blake Ave., Los Angeles

A mural honoring Winter Olympics Gold Medalist Alysa Liu in Gardena.

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Jay L Clendenin

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Getty Images

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California native and Olympian Alysa Liu captured the world’s attention with her figure skating in the Winter Olympics. This mural in Gardena celebrates her win.
- Where to find it: 15532 Crenshaw Blvd., Gardena

A mural of L.A. Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna can be found outside Hardcore Fitness L.A.

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“City of Angels!” pays tribute to Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi.
- Where to find it: 400 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles

Music

Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Aaliyah, Amy Winehouse and Selena are memorialized on this Hollywood mural.
- Where to find it: 7677 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 

“Jazz on the field” is an ode to Wrigley Field and the Dunbar Hotel in South L.A. and depicts jazz icons Louis Armstrong and Etta James, as well as Martin Luther King Jr.
- Where to find it: 43rd St. and Grand Ave., Los Angeles

When Kendrick Lamar featured Tam’s Burgers in his “Not Like Us” music video, the burger spot in Compton commissioned a mural highlighting the rapper’s unforgettable single.
- Where to find it: 1201 Rosecrans Ave, Compton

Historic to LA

A section of the Great Wall of Los Angeles mural, designed by muralist Judy Baca, that showcases pivotal moments in Los Angeles History.

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LAist

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“The Great Wall of Los Angeles” is one of the largest murals in the world, and it’s supposed to get bigger. The half-mile art piece depicts California’s rich history.
- Where to find it: Along the L.A. River in the San Fernando Valley, on Coldwater Canyon Avenue between Burbank Boulevard and Oxnard Street. 

“The Blessing of the Animals” at La Placita Olvera depicts the Catholic tradition of blessing one’s animals.
- Where to find it: 115 Paseo De La Plaza, Los Angeles

“El Grito” depicts a scene that sparked Mexican independence from Spanish rule.
- Where to find it: Placita de Dolores at 831 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles

When you take a bite of the lomo saltado burrito from Merka Saltao, a fast-casual Peruvian restaurant in Culver City, one of the first things you'll notice is the sauce.

The wok-fried chunks of steak, dressed in a soy-and-oyster sauce reduction spiked with vinegar, saturate the rice inside the tortilla, highlighting the sweet heat of ají amarillo mixed with the velvety texture of pinto beans.

It's a beautiful confluence of flavors. It is also, depending on who you ask, either a creative act of evolution or a betrayal of Peruvian culinary heritage.

Standing on business

The lomo saltado burrito at Merka Saltao wasn't exactly a calculated move. Lifelong friends Alonso Franco and Ignacio Barrios — who met in high school in Lima — came to Los Angeles to bring Peruvian food to the masses, first through a ghost kitchen concept they ran from 2021 to 2023. The burrito happened almost by accident: a member of their kitchen team brought in a tortilla one day, someone suggested wrapping the lomo saltado in it, they ate it, and within three days, it was on the menu.

Merka Saltao co-founders Ignacio Barrios, left, and Alonso Franco, right, inside their Culver City restaurant. The two lifelong friends from Lima opened the fast-casual brick-and-mortar location for their Peruvian concept in August 2025.

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The data from the ghost kitchen made the case for keeping it there. Franco and Barrios had launched with around 140 dishes — lomo saltado, ceviche, chicken dishes, the works. But the numbers kept pointing to the same thing: wherever lomo saltado appeared on the menu, in whatever form, burrito, bowl, salad, it was the winner.

(Ceviche, for all its cultural cachet, is raw fish with raw onion — a harder sell for a weekday lunch. Lomo saltado, Franco noted, is steak and fries — basically a hamburger.)

The backlash

The two friends made the leap to brick-and-mortar in August 2025, opening Merka Saltao in downtown Culver City. It's one of the more competitive dining corridors in L.A., the kind of block that can support a $16 wellness bowl and a craft beer bar in the same stretch, populated by Amazon employees on lunch breaks, families on weekend outings, and food-literate regulars who will absolutely have opinions about what goes in a burrito.

Those opinions arrived faster than Franco expected. Within the first week of opening, an influencer came in and posted about the restaurant — but instead of showing the full menu, the bowls, the chicha morada, the flexibility of the concept, they showed the burrito. Just the burrito.

Franco working the wok at Merka Saltao. The high-heat wok technique at the heart of lomo saltado traces its roots to Chinese immigrants in Peru

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Christopher Mortenson

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Courtesy Merka Saltao

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The comments turned quickly. "No! Peruvians don't eat burritos. ¿Qué car—o es eso?" — roughly, "what the hell is this?" — wrote one commenter. Another said "Burritos? We don't eat burritos in 🇵🇪”. Franco describes sitting at his computer reading the pile-on, feeling something between anger and devastation. "There was a moment where I probably even cried," he said, "thinking, I've made a mistake." But then he looked at the numbers. 30,000 had seen the post…. And half the comments were in his defense.

He took the conversation to Reddit, posting to r/FoodLosAngeles asking the community directly: am I wrong for this? The response was overwhelming — hundreds of comments, almost entirely in his favor, and a surge of new customers walking through the door shortly after.

Fusion by default

This is Los Angeles, where many of the dishes that define the Southern California diet were born precisely from cultures colliding. Roy Choi built an empire on Korean tacos. Al pastor traces its technique to Lebanese immigrants who brought the vertical spit. The California roll, invented by Japanese chefs in Los Angeles in the 1960s, introduced an entire country to sushi. None of these dishes destroyed the traditions they borrowed from. If anything, they expanded their audience. And the lomo saltado burrito isn't exactly a novel concept in Southern California to begin with — everyone from Pablitos Tacos in North Hollywood to Le Hut in Santa Ana, run by 2025 James Beard Award-nominated chef Daniel Castillo, has featured their own version. Even Disney's California Adventure got in on it, serving a lomo saltado burrito out of the Studio Catering Co. food truck as recently as last year.

The lomo saltado bowl and burrito at Merka Saltao in Culver City — two versions of the same dish that sparked an unlikely online debate about Peruvian culinary identity.

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Courtesy Merka Saltao

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Franco would also point out that lomo saltado itself — the dish the purists are so eager to protect — is a product of Chinese immigrants bringing the wok and soy sauce to Peru roughly 300 years ago. "Peruvian is by default fusion," he told me. "So we have all the right to wrap it up in a burrito." What the online critics were really doing, whether they knew it or not, was defending a dish that was itself once considered inauthentic — and doing so in the name of authenticity.

Where things stand

Since the backlash, Franco says business has been mostly steady — breaking even, which for a concept that requires high volume at a low price point, he considers a good sign. The controversy changed things in ways he didn't expect: people started coming in specifically because of the story, not just the food. He began putting himself front and center in the brand, regularly making videos on social media about what it's like to run the business, occasionally poking fun at himself and the whole debate. When we visited during the weekday lunch rush, there was a steady line of people waiting to order, many stopping to talk with Franco directly.

In a way, he's answered the authenticity question not with an argument but with a presence — showing up, telling the story, letting the food speak. "Honoring my food, if that requires pairing lomo saltado with a salad or wrapping it in a tortilla, I have no problem," he said. "I'm not being less authentic. We are evolving in Peru anytime. I have to be authentic on the individual flavor and then be flexible to reach more people to discover our flavors."

The burrito, it turns out, was never the point. It was just the door.