Nightshade

While we can all agree that 2018 was a pretty terrible year, the future is starting to look just a little bit brighter now that Mei Lin, the much heralded winner of Top Chef season 12, has turned on the lights at Nightshade. Upon entering Lin’s highly anticipated Arts District restaurant (partnering with Cyrus Batchan and Francis Miranda), the cascading foliage and beautiful blanquettes may initially compel some comparisons to other recent LA hotspots such as Bavel and Simone. However, a quick glance at the menu will reveal that Lin’s cooking, reflecting a combination of global influences and her Chinese heritage, promises to be a completely unique LA dining experience. With the restaurant just opening and a few format changes coming in the next couple weeks, dishes on the menu have been constantly rotating. That being said, favorites from our initial visit included an incredibly fresh Baja bay scallop crudo dressed with a bright coconut vinaigrette, highly-addictive fried bloomin’ onion, the most soul-satisfying prawn toast we’ve had the pleasure of devouring, and the sinfully delicious mapo tofu lasagna filled with pork ragu and tofu cream. It would be criminal to leave without sampling some of chef Max Boonthanakit’s sweet creations and while we highly encourage you to order one of each, the coconut mousse with lime granita is the one not to miss. Reservation are pretty hard to come by these days but if you want in bad enough (as you should), walk-in spots are available at the bar. Plus, the restaurant is open late enough to be the last leg of a well-crafted Arts District restaurant crawl, if you are so inclined…