When he’s in town, Puck flits between Spago CUT, his new steak place (see Beverly Wilshire Hotel and Chinois on Main—casual, colorful and expensive Asian fusion—which is still fun after almost 25 years at its original Santa Monica location. A reinvented menu is shaking things up.

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In a city where there are few Chinese restaurants to get excited about, plenty of people would testify on their children’s college funds that Joss was the best. There was collective sadness when it closed its doors, two and a half years ago, after twenty years on the Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood. Cut to August 2008. Joss resurfaced a few steps away from the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills as a chic, contemporary space with room for only six tables downstairs and four upstairs. Now the original chefs are the owners and the original, multi-regional menu is smaller (as is the kitchen), but the classics prevail, including exquisite dim sum, whole farm-raised Peking chicken and steamed chocolate cake. (Ask for fresh coconut ice cream on the side.)

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Angelenos have long adored chef Susan Feniger, Food Network star of Too Hot Tamales and owner (with Mary Sue Milliken) of Santa Monica’s popular Border Grill. So when she opened a new restaurant in Hollywood celebrating international street food, it became an instant hot spot. The casual space encompasses a somewhat industrial interior and a split-level back patio with brick walls covered by graphic Keith Haring-esque murals. At a recent meal, the amuse bouche set the tone for our evening: small balls of puffed millet that looked and tasted at first bite like a sophisticated version of a Rice Krispie treat. But then, on the second bite, a panoply of flavors popped in quick succession—toasted cumin, fennel, mustard seed, chile pepper—and the finish was distinctly savory. “It’s like an Everlasting Gobstopper!” my dining companion proclaimed. Indeed, a meal here is a marvelous and surprising culinary journey. The trick is to go with a group, sit in the patio out back, order a whole bunch of dishes to share, sample as much as possible, and let yourself be transported by the incredible range of cuisines that somehow all work perfectly together. There are pan-fried Indian semolina cakes with toasted cashews and tomato chutney; yummy Ukrainian spinach dumplings served with lemon compote and sour cream; a Scandinavian salad with slow-roasted beets and black currants; and barbequed Korean short ribs with a crispy Asian pear salad. Even the dishes I didn’t quite click with were still really interesting, like the Kaya toast topped with sweet coconut jam, served with a soy-sauce-drizzled sunny-side-up egg. We weren’t sure we liked it, but ended up finishing every last bite.

This hole in the wall, on the second story of a non-descript mini-mall in West Hollywood, serves some of the city’s best sushi. Come to sit at the counter and order omakase (Japanese for “I’ll leave it to you”) where the chef serves up what he’s dreamed up for that day. You may well rub elbows with one of the many celebrities who swear by this place. Sushi Park is tiny, so reservations are a must.