Best Spot for a Romantic Dinner: In L.A., a romantic restaurant is one without cellphone service. That would be the Saddle Peak Lodge, 419 Cold Canyon Rd., Calabasas (tel. 818/222-3888) in the hills above Malibu. This converted hunting lodge made of massive timbers and native rock is quite the quixotic setting for a meaty meal for two. Candlelit tables, a crackling fireplace, and a Wine Spectator award-winning wine list are sure bets for getting in la mood d'amour.

Best Places for a Power Lunch: Between 12:30 and 2pm, industry honchos swarm like locusts to a handful of watering holes du jour. Actors, agents, lawyers, and producers flock to perennial favorites The Ivy, 133 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood (tel. 310/274-8303), Maple Drive, 345 N. Maple Dr., Beverly Hills (tel. 310/274-9800), and the L.A. branch of New York's venerable The Palm, 9001 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood (tel. 310/550-8811), a steakhouse where the food is impeccable and the conversations read like dialogue from The Player.

Best Place to Relive Old Hollywood: Musso & Frank Grill, 6667 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood (tel. 323/467-7788), is haunted by the ghosts of Faulkner, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway, who drank here during their screenwriting days. This comfortable, dark-paneled room, virtually unchanged since 1919, begs you to order up one of L.A.'s best martinis and some chops or the legendary chicken pot pie, and listen to the longtime wait staff wax nostalgic about the days when Hollywood Boulevard was still fashionable and Orson Welles held court at Musso's.

Best Spot for People-Watching: Nowhere in L.A. is better for people-watching than Venice's Ocean Front Walk, and no restaurant offers a better seat for the action than the Sidewalk Café, 1401 Ocean Front Walk, Venice (tel. 310/399-5547). Unobstructed views of parading skaters, bikers, skateboarders, musclemen, break dancers, street performers, sword swallowers, and other participants in the daily carnival overshadow the food, which is a whole lot better than it needs to be.

Best Spots for Celebrity Sighting: You'll always find well-known faces frequenting Sunset Strip hot spots, the most sizzling of which is the Mondrian hotel and its chic Chino-Latin restaurant, Asia de Cuba, 8440 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood (tel. 323/848-6000) (this restaurant is included in the Mondrian's listing in chapter 5); celebrity dieters can be glimpsed bypassing the eats for the A-list-only Skybar on the other side of the pool. And the perennial power-spot The Ivy, 133 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood (tel. 310/274-8303) is still jampacked with L.A.'s more conservative celebrities. The "Power Lunch" restaurants are also good bets.

Best Alfresco Dining: You'll find that more and more Los Angeles restaurants are eager to create appealing outdoor seating, even if it means placing bistro tables along a busy sidewalk. At the high end of L.A. alfresco is Four Oaks, 2181 N. Beverly Glen Blvd., Los Angeles (tel. 310/470-2265), nestled under romantically lit trees in the canyon of Beverly Glen. A more affordable way to enjoy a meal outdoors is by strolling Sunset Boulevard around Sunset Plaza Drive. There are at least a half-dozen pleasant sidewalk cafes -- and the people-watching is pro par.

Best View: Look for art-world bigwigs and Getty higher-ups at the Restaurant at the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Dr., West L.A. (tel. 310/440-7300), whose in-the-clouds locale makes for breathtaking views when the L.A. sky is smogless (read: winter). Reservations are a must, even for lunch (served Tues-Sun); dinner is served only Friday and Saturday when the museum is open late. Make reservations online at www.getty.edu.

Best Wine List: Year after year, plenty of other restaurants offer thoughtfully chosen vintages, but no one comes close to toppling Valentino, 3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica (tel. 310/829-4313), which still boasts L.A.'s best cellar and is continually honored with Wine Spectator's highest ratings.

Best California Cuisine: At chef/owner Michael McCarty's eponymous Santa Monica restaurant Michael's, 1147 3rd St., Santa Monica (tel. 310/451-0843), the cuisine at this perennial makes it clear why McCarty is considered an originator of California cuisine.

Best Chinese Cuisine: While Chinatown is the place to go for traditional wonton and chow mein, Joss, 9255 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood (tel. 310/276-1886), is my pick for some provocative twists on Chinese essentials. The sophisticated minimalist decor combined with excellent and personable service make this great for a group or a romantic dinner for two -- and the food is always superbly presented and fantastic.

Best French Cuisine: Mimosa, 8009 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles (tel. 323/655-8895), is the Provençal bistro that has everyone drinking pastis, eating macaroni and cheese with prosciutto, and speaking with a fake French accent.

Best Italian Cuisine: Former New York Times food critic Ruth Reichl called Valentino, 3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica (tel. 310/829-4313), the best Italian restaurant in America. This restaurant is very traditional and unusually formal -- for L.A. -- but the dining experience is worth dressing up for.

Best Sushi: Claim a sushi bar as L.A.'s best and you're sure to start an argument, but no other sushi bar can touch the festive atmosphere at Hama Sushi, 213 Windward Ave., Venice (tel. 310/396-8783). The six cheery chefs make everyone feel most welcome as they slice, dice, and drink many rounds of beers. By closing time everyone's singing along.

Best Mexican Cuisine: They aren't called the "Two Hot Tamales" for nothing: One taste of Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger's groundbreaking Border Grill, 1445 Fourth St., Santa Monica (tel. 310/451-1655), and you'll be instantly transported to Latin America. The pair has spent countless hours traveling through Mexico, absorbing regional tastes and aromas, and returning with secret ingredients and kitchen savvy to pass on to their lucky patrons.

Best Seafood: Water Grill, 544 S. Grand Ave., Downtown (tel. 213/891-0900), is a beautiful contemporary fish house that serves imaginative dishes influenced by America's regional cuisines. An absolutely huge raw bar features the best clams, crabs, shrimp, and oysters available, and the fish is so fresh it practically jumps onto the plate.

Best Burgers: They do just one thing at The Apple Pan, 10801 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles (tel. 310/475-3585), and they do it well. Choose from the "steakburger" or the saucy "hickory burger" -- though regulars know to get hickory sauce on the side instead (for french fry dipping). You'll feel that the 1940s live again in the decor and atmosphere of this family run cottage on the busy Westside. I actually suspect the wallpaper dates from opening day in 1947.

Best Desserts: A fancy treatment for a childhood fave is at Tahiti, 7910 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles (tel. 323/651-1213), where the menu describes every nuance of "Hot Vahlrona chocolate pudding with Tahitian vanilla sauce."

Best Only-in-L.A. Dining Experience: You haven't seen everything until you've seen southern fried chicken and waffles on the same plate. Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n' Waffles, 1514 N. Gower St. (tel. 323/466-7453), is a Hollywood institution where a polyglot of L.A.'s population come for chicken-and-cheese omelets and sweet-potato pie. The friendly atmosphere and creative combinations makes for a fun, adventuresome, and inexpensive dining experience.

Best Afternoon Tea: Surrounded by botanical gardens, the tearoom at the Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino (tel. 818/683-8131), is truly an oasis. The Huntington, located in a wealthy residential area of Pasadena, has the added appeal of pre- and post-tea activities, such as strolling the theme gardens, viewing the art gallery or library, and visiting the bookstore/gift shop. The moderately priced tea ($13) is buffet style, so you can stuff yourself with fresh-baked scones, finger sandwiches, and strawberries with thick Devonshire cream.

Best Value: Feeding teenage boys or a football team? Or just famished after a day of sightseeing? Former mayor Richard Riordan's The Original Pantry, 877 S. Figueroa St., Downtown (tel. 213/972-9279), stays open 24 hours a day, serving up large plates of traditional American comfort food (meat loaf, coleslaw, ham ?n' eggs) that won't win any culinary awards but offers some of the best values in town. Tip: They've got the best chocolate layer cake in town. More upscale but equally value-priced is Joe's, 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice. (tel. 310/399-5811), where the four-course prix-fixe menus are a real bargain for under $40.

Best Picnic Fare: Open since 1917, Grand Central Market, 317 S. Broadway, Downtown (tel. 213/624-2378), is L.A.'s largest and oldest food hall, selling everything from fresh bread to local and exotic produce, fresh fruit juice, smoked meats, Chinese noodles, and chili. And the cultural experience of a visit here is a terrific precursor to any picnic.

Best Newcomer: Ballywood meets Hollywood at Tantra, 3705 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake (tel. 323/663-8268), L.A.'s new super-trendy Indian restaurant and nightclub. It took a studio design company to create the too-cool ambience and the menu -- modern interpretation of classic Indian dishes -- follows suit. Lord Ganesha watches over Silver Lake hipsters as they dine, dance, and drink Shiva's Revenges.

Best Exotic Cuisine: Yet another reason to make the drive to Pasadena is Nonya, 61 N. Raymond Ave. (tel. 626/583-8398), a gorgeous new restaurant that serves a cuisine you've probably never even heard of: Peranakan, a blend of Chinese and Malaysian culinary styles. Chili-marinated chicken grilled in banana leaves? A mango-halibut salad? Bring it on.

Best for Late-Night Dining: On the theory that later is better, our vote goes to Toi on Sunset, 75051/2 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles (tel. 323/874-8062), and its sister Toi on Wilshire, 1120 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica (tel. 310/394-7804). You'll never feel like the last patron at these places -- they're open till 4am and 3am, respectively -- and the terrific Thai food will give your wee hours a spicy kick.