Hollywood Dining

 Cafe Le Parc
 733 W. Knoll Drive, West Hollywood 310-855-8888 At the intimate and totally exclusive Café Le Parc you can enjoy superb American continental .

 Hamburger Hamlet
 9201 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 310-278-4924 The first Hamburger Hamlet quickly gained a following amongst contract players from the nearby studios.

 Mel's Drive-In
 8585 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 310-854-7200 The original Mel's stood in for the gang's hangout in 1973's "American Graffiti." This one is smack in the heart of the Sunset Strip.

 Millie's Honk 'n' Holler
 3524 W. Sunset Blvd., L.A. 323-664-0404 Along with generous helpings of shaggy bohemian vibe, Millie's serves breakfast (egg dishes and banana-walnut or berry pancakes) and lunch (sandwiches, burritos and salads) all morning and afternoon. The food is more carefully prepared than you might expect, and the coffee's particularly good.

 The House
 5750 Melrose Ave., L.A. 323-462-4687 The House celebrates American cooking, which is harder to find at serious restaurants in Los Angeles than it should be.

 The Ivy
 113 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood 310-274-8303 The Ivy is one of L.A.'s most intense power-meal spots, as well as one of its prettiest.
 

 Chin Chin
 8618 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 310-652-1818 Owner Bob Mandler is the guy who brought dim sum to the west side 17 years ago when he opened his first Chin Chin on Sunset Boulevard. He's certainly perfected the art of serving lighter Chinese fare in a casual setting.

 Formosa Cafe
 7156 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood 323-850-9050 Some old Hollywood hangouts look set to last forever. If there's ever a nuclear war, it won't be cockroaches that survive. It'll be the Formosa Café.

 Joss
 9255 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 310-276-1886 Joss is owned by a Hong Kong movie producer who isn't afraid to add a few new twists to the ancient Chinese culinary arts.

 Mandarette
 8386 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood 323-655-6115 From the folks at The Mandarin, Beverly Hills' posh temple of Chinese gastronomy, comes this endearing Chinese cafe.

 Taipan
 7075 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 323-464-2989 The cha siu bao (pork buns) are among the best in town -- and they're $4.
 

 Alex
 6703 Melrose Ave., L.A. 323-933-5233 At a time when many restaurateurs are looking to the bottom line, Alex Scrimgeouer is taking the high road to fine dining. There's nothing trendy about the cooking. The four-course prix fixe menu seems like a bargain at $58. My favorite of the middle courses is lovely spring asparagus and quail's egg salad paired with a piquant saffron remoulade.

 Bastide
 8475 Melrose Place, L.A. 323-651-0426 The letter B picked out in glass beads on either side of a doorway among antique shops on Melrose Place marks the spot of chef Alain Giraud's new restaurant. It is French all the way -- French chef, designer, sommelier -- and, it pours only French wines.

 Cafe Mozart of Europe
 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 323-957-9580 The tourists flocking to Hollywood & Highland may be looking for movie memorabilia, but at Café Mozart of Europe they'll find a dream of old Vienna. It's a dynamite place to get a hot dog and a sundae. And then wash it all down with Hungarian wine, of course.

 Lucques
 8474 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood 323-655-6277 This is intelligent, sensual cooking. As small as the menu is, there are so many things you'd want to order that choosing can be difficult. Standouts include grilled Atlantic snapper set on green rice dotted with pine nuts; suckling pig with its crackling crust; and a juicy veal chop with cavolo nero (Tuscan black cabbage) and truffle butter.

 Petrossian
 321 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood 310-271-6300 Petrossian sells all the famous Caspian caviars (including it's super-premium Imperial grades)

 Traktir
 8151-A Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood 323-654-3030 The mention of Russian food may invoke images of borscht, beef stroganoff and chicken Kiev. But you won't find any of these on the menu at Traktir. What you will find is ethnic foods from the former Soviet republics.
 

 Ago
 8478 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood 323-655-6333 The line of flashy cars turns off Melrose Avenue into the parking lot and purrs up to the valet station, where men in basic black leather and women in wispy dresses or tight-fitting sweaters step out into the light. It's a typical night at Ago.

 Caffe Luna
 7463 Melrose Ave., L.A. 323-655-8647 What started out as a hole-in-the-wall for terrific lattes has turned into a major scene for hip, young actors and models -- and the food's pretty good, too.

 Celestino Italian Steakhouse
 8908 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood 310-858-5777 Celestino's beef comes from the Midwest, but that's where the similarity with traditional steakhouse beef ends. The beef, originating from a breed native to the northeastern corner of Italy, is prized for its flavor and for being naturally lower in fat and cholesterol than traditional beef.

 Marino Ristorante
 6001 Melrose Ave., L.A. 323-466-8812 Marino Ristorante on Melrose Avenue looks like the kind of place the cast of the film "GoodFellas" or the HBO series "The Sopranos" would frequent.

 Primavera Ristorante
 2138 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz 323-666-8666 Among the eclectic collection of restaurants on Los Feliz's lively Hillhurst Avenue (e.g. Katsu, Vida) is this popular Italian eatery drawing regulars and those lucky enough to discover this up-and-coming neighborhood.
 

 Bangkok Seafood
 1253 N. La Brea Ave., West Hollywood 323-969-8611

 Mario's Peruvian Seafood
 5786 Melrose Ave., L.A. 323-466-4181 Try the cold squid salad, steamed mussels buried beneath a mass of pickled onions, and the luscious stir-fry of shrimp, squid, octopus, onions and tomatoes.

 Salt H Esquire Fish & Chip
 4732 Hollywood Blvd, L.A. 323-667-2653

 Seafood Village Restaurant
 5730 Melrose Ave, L.A. 323-463-8090

 The Palm
 9001 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood 310-550-8811 West Hollywood's Palm has been a favorite watering hole with the "power meal" crowd for ages - the kind of steakhouse that Perry Mason frequented!

 Tidal Wave
 6122 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood 323-466-9917
 

 Antonio's
 7420 Melrose Ave., L.A. 323-655-0480 For 30 years, Antonio's has been one of L.A.'s most popular Mexican eateries.

 Gardens of Taxco
 1113 N. Harper Ave., West Hollywood 323-654-1746 If they seem to forget your menu when you walk in this dimly lit "authentic" Mexican hideaway, it's not a sign of bad service. Like a good story, the servers of Taxco rely on an oral tradition of sing-songing your entrée options.

 Marix Tex Mex Cafe
 1108 N. Flores St., West Hollywood 323-656-8800 The tastiest treat here is the clientele, who are at Marix to see and be seen.

 Senoritas on Sunset
 9040 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood Cross Street: Doheny Drive 310-274-6662 Señoritas on Sunset serves hip and healthy Californian/Mexican cuisine in a comfortable lodge setting with oversized booths, wood floors, three fireplaces and a wall of windows that open onto Sunset Boulevard.

 The Spanish Kitchen
 826 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood 310-659-4794 After sitting abandoned for four decades, the Spanish Kitchen has finally made an only-in-Hollywood comeback. The original spot is now a spa, but entrepreneur Greg Morris has resuscitated the name "the Spanish Kitchen" for his new La Cienega Boulevard Mexican restaurant.