New York Strip from BLT Steak

High Steaks

When we Angelenos want to class up our red-meat cravings with a steak, Wolfgang Puck’s Cut Beverly Hills at the Beverly Wilshire (9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; wolfgangpuck.com) is where we go, and Granny always appreciates the prime rib at Lawry’s The Prime Rib (100 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills; lawrysonline.com). If you want to increase your chances of brushing shoulders with a celeb, drop by the new BOA Steakhouse (9200 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; boasteak.com) or BLT Steak (8720 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; bltsteak.com) on Sunset. And though it doesn’t have vowels, STK (755 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles; stkhouse.com) definitely has the goods.

Rise of the French Bistro

Even a few years ago, French restaurants in Los Angeles were excellent but limited in number. This year, however, it seems as if every new restaurant in town is a French bistro. Two renowned Westside chefs launched new ventures: Josiah Citrin of Mélisse opened Caché Restaurant & Lounge (3110 Main St., Santa Monica; cacherestaurant.com) and Jean François Meteigner built the new incarnation of La Cachette Bistro (1733 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica; lacachettebistro.com), joining the ranks of Santa Monica mainstays Anisette Brasserie (225 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica; anisettebrasserie.com) and JiRaffe (502 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica; jirafferestaurant.com). Culver City is now home to Saint Amour (9725 Culver Blvd., Culver City; lesaintamour.com), named after a Beaujolais appellation. Thomas Keller’s return to Los Angeles with the opening of a Beverly Hills outpost of Bouchon created incredible buzz, but it was Downtown’s Church & State (1850 Industrial St., Los Angeles; churchandstatebistro.com) that saw the most buzz (and drama) with sudden departures by chefs Greg Bernhardt and Walter Manzke. Meanwhile Hollywood heralded the inauguration of the Cannes inspired Delphine Eatery & Bar (6250 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; restaurantdelphine.com) at the W Hollywood, and even Pasadena welcomed Quadrupel Brasserie (43 E. Union St., Pasadena; quadrupelbrasserie.com), a French brasserie and Belgian beer pub hybrid. We can only assume there will be more moules frites and escargots in our future.