The Year’s Best Dishes

Ah, 1997--Counter Intelligence remembers it well. Reviewers Charles Perry, Max Jacobson and Barbara Hansen chose these as their favorite dishes of the year.

Aguas Frescas: Nothing is more wickedly refreshing than the iced Mexican fruit juice drinks known as aguas frescas. La Cabanita, a food stand in downtown Long Beach, makes beautiful versions; its best are pineapple, mildly astringent watermelon and penetratingly sweet orange.--M.J.

* La Cabanita, 700 Pine Ave., Long Beach, (310) 436-2017.

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Beef Ribs: This oddball two-story barbecue has the feeling of a small lighthouse incomprehensibly located on the grounds of a carwash. The style is quirky too--the barbecue sauce, for instance, is like the orange “French” dressing of our childhoods. The prize dish is somewhat chewy beef ribs with an exotic spicy flavor something like mole poblano.--C.P.

* Outdoor Grill, 12630 1/2 Washington Place, Los Angeles, (310) 636-4745.

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Coco Lamb: The reincarnation of Marina del Rey’s favorite Indian restaurant, Akbar, is more modest and more comfortable than the original, and the food is lighter and more whimsical. The most charming dish is coco lamb, stewed with coconut milk, fragrant with the sweet, dreamy aroma of fennel.--C.P.

* Akbar Cuisine of India, 3115 Washington Blvd., Marina del Rey, (310) 574-0666.

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Coconut Ice Cream: In Bangkok, the coconut ice cream tastes of fresh, sweet coconut. Grandma’s Thai Kitchen imports a wonderful version from Thailand and serves it Thai style, topped with roasted peanuts and nestled in a bed of warm sticky rice that has been cooked with coconut milk. No wonder the restaurant calls it “Our Famous Ice Cream.”--B.H.

* Grandma’s Thai Kitchen, 13230 Burbank Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 785-9036.

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Duck Fesenjan: In the ceiling of Caspian Cuisine, a rather grand place just off the Santa Monica Promenade, there’s a map of the Caspian Sea. Most of the menu comes from the south end of the map, Iran, but there are also Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Turkmen and Russian dishes. The one not to miss is duck fesenjan, in the most intense pomegranate-walnut sauce around.--C.P.

* Caspian Cuisine, 205 Broadway, Santa Monica, (310) 395-5695.

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Guisado De Provincia: Despite the homey name and conventionally festive Mexican decor, Mi Familia is an avant-garde place serving a sort of nuevo Mexican cuisine. The most impressive item is guisado de Provincia, a French-style dish of beef stewed with red wine . . . and a subtle, wisecracking dose of ancho chiles.--C.P.

* Mi Familia, 8222 1/2 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (213) 653-2121.

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Jiongzi: Vegetarian Delight is a thimble-sized San Gabriel cafe serving a meatless cuisine developed by Buddhist monks. It is also the best place to eat steamed rice dumplings. A pyramidal jiongzi comes to the table tightly wrapped in a pale green lotus leaf. The center has a delicious filling of peanuts, chestnuts and minced black mushrooms.--M.J.

* Vegetarian Delight, 140 W. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel, (818) 288-2698.

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Mechoui: Oasis is the only Moroccan restaurant in the Southland that passes for a down-home neighborhood joint. The knockout dish is lamb shank cooked in embers (mechoui). It has a dark brown crust redolent of cinnamon and coriander. Prod it with a fork, though, and meat juices gush out like Texas crude.--M.J.

* Oasis, 272 Redondo Ave., Long Beach, (562) 987-4145.

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Sea Urchin With Rice: With its golden wood, bamboo and shoji screen motifs, Furusato makes you feel you’ve hopped across the Pacific to Asia. (Not much English is spoken, which also promotes the illusion.) The best dish on the Korean-Japanese menu consists of briny sea urchin flesh tucked under rice subtly perfumed with sesame oil and decorated with bits of seaweed and fish roe, all in an eye-catching container--the spiny black sea urchin shell.--B.H.

* Furusato, 3881 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 380-0400.

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Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca: Foodies have finally gotten over their prejudice against Sicilian cuisine, and La Fornaretta, a bright, genial Pasadena joint, shows one reason: the tomato sauce. It’s freshly made, positively snaps with flavor and makes absolutely anything worth eating. The supreme dish here, spaghetti alla puttanesca, combines this wonderful sugo with olives, garlic, capers and pungent bits of prosciutto for the jazziest puttanesca sauce in town.--C.P.

* La Fornaretta Authentic Sicilian Restaurant and Pizzeria, 30 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, (626) 585-9088.