Craig's

Craig Susser spent twenty-three years at Dan Tana's before he opened a place of his own. Craig's soft-opened on Melrose in January 2011, in what had been the Melrose Bar and Grill, and Eater LA saw the family resemblance at once: a slightly more modern and polished take on Dan Tana's, with tremendous oversized booths. The New York Times, a month later, called it a contender elbowing in.

The food is American with an Italian accent: house-made pasta, a wood-fired oven, fried chicken. The chicken parmigiana is on the menu, and so is a vegan chicken parmigiana, which tells you something about West Hollywood and something about Susser's instinct for keeping everyone at the table happy.

It became a celebrity dining room almost from the start, and the press has followed it ever since.

The room is the draw. It became a celebrity dining room almost from the start, and the press has followed it ever since. Susser learned the trade on the floor at Dan Tana's, and it shows in how the room is run.

Go for dinner, late in the week, in a booth. Order the chicken parm, or the vegan one, and do not look around too obviously.

Text to ask.