Agricole in the City of Angels — Agricole Hospitality

It’s been said that travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. This is particularly true during the process of creation—menu creation, cocktail creation, restaurant and bar creation. This is one reason Agricole Hospitality partners Ryan Pera, Morgan Weber and Vincent Huynh and executive chef Paul Lewis ate and drank their way through Los Angeles a few weekends ago—for inspiration, to see and experience the food and drinks of other parts of the country, to better understand the food of America—while developing the menus for Indianola, Vinny’s and Miss Carousel.

As you can see, they covered a lot of ground in three days. They found the Los Angeles culinary scene to be extremely committed to quality and fun and hope to incorporate the spirit of this discovery in future menus.

Here’s a quick snapshot of their journey. Save this for your next trip to LA.

Pacific Fish Center and Restaurant (131 Fisherman's Wharf, Redondo Beach)

Awesome rustic Korean seafood house. The kimchi seafood stew and the Dungeness crab are the winners.

Destroyer (Culver City)

Culinary energy worked hard at this innovative unassuming breakfast cafe. Forward thinking and great. Creative and thought-provoking food for a breakfast spot. Very Nordic-inspired with first class execution.

Republique (Mid-Wilshire)

A modern bistro done full scale on every level right. Ambiance and quality product top notch.Just an amazing experience. The Republique team does everything so well. Amazing hospitality from everyone there. The kouign amann pastry was exceptional.

Connie and Ted's (West Hollywood)

The perfect raw bar lunch with some cold delicious beers.

Nomad Los Angeles (Downtown)

Beautiful decor and excellent cocktails recharged us in midday LA.

Broken Shaker (Downtown)

Rooftop tiki-esque bar was plenty fun with lots of energy.

Rudolph's Bar & Tea (Downtown)

The best cup of tea in LA ? Granted, the tea was a cocktail but still it was in a fancy cup and saucer!

Here’s Looking at You (Koreatown)

Bold, energized food, interesting cocktails and super friendly staff. Frogs legs are a must. Hip is the word.

Rustic Canyon (Santa Monica)

The best ingredients and exceptional culinary technique made for one of the finest overall meals we had in LA. The polenta dish may have been the best bite of food we had during our trip.

Rose Cafe (Venice)

Beautiful restaurant in the heart of Venice. The menu was very SoCal focused, but with an international flair. A good mix of classics dishes with some modern ideas. A great spot to start the day.

Cassia (Santa Monica)

Beautifully presented food. The seafood platter was something else: four very well executed dishes alongside West Coast oysters! Delicious! And yes, we took in the pleasures of Santa Monica via scooter. [Houston needs these!]

Kismet (Los Feliz)

Fun dining experience. A modern take on Middle Eastern fare with some great bold flavors. The babka we shared was on point.

Triple Beam Pizza (Highland Park)

Interesting concept with pizza being sold by the inch. Good to see counter service pizza. We have some thoughts to ponder for Vinny’s.

AOC (Central)

We wanted to check out this spot because it's been around for so long and is so highly rated. We saw exactly why--delicious food, incredible wine list, great atmosphere. It was immediately obvious to us why it's a classic.