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Hot Plates: Top Selling Dishes at L.A. Restaurants
Hourie Sahakian of Short Cake dishes out pastry (Photo credit: Krista Simmons)
Guess what, folks. Even at some Hollywood hotspots, the best sellers aren't salads. Food GPS took a look at some of the most eaten items on various L.A. menus, and it seems that our city's palates are becoming increasingly adventurous. Take, for instance, Santa Monica hotel restaurant Whist: Chef Tony DiSalvo says that his Korean chili fried chicken with house-made kimchi are the top seller. And in part one of the series, Casey Lane of the Tasting Kitchen noted the squid and serrano tagliarini ink as a hot ticket item.We're surprised that Short Cake's feta chive scones don't sell as well as the hazelnut croissants, but not so shocked that Haven's "duck fries," which are actually deep fried duck testicles, aren't on the list. (In true L.A. fashion, it's Haven's burger that gets the most attention.)
Here are some of our favorite answers from parts one and two of the series:
Jimmy Shaw of Loteria Grill: "Our green enchiladas - either in cheese or in chicken - maybe because I order them a couple times a week myself..." Eric Greenspan of the Foundry: "It’s my grilled cheese, because it’s perhaps the finest sandwich in this land ... A lot of people see us as the gateway drug to fine dining, and the grilled cheese sandwich represents that extremely well."
Perfecto Rocher of Lazy Ox: "We don’t have like, 'We sell this more,' because whatever isn’t selling, I take it away." Always a good business model.
Casey Lane of the Tasting Kitchen: "One of my proudest moments of all time was Joe Bastianich sitting down and eating it [the squid and serrano pasta] and literally asking the server how it was made because he liked it so much."
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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