Spago

In spite of now being part of a vast restaurant empire, Wolfgang Puck’s Spago still doesn’t miss a beat with superb service and eclectic cuisine influenced both by the chef’s classical European training and by California, where he lives now. You have a clear view of Puck’s trademark open kitchen from where you sit and eat dishes that include some of his favorites from his Austrian childhood, such as veal Wienerschnitzel and his famous “Jewish pizza” of smoked salmon and salmon caviar (only listed on the lunch menu but available at dinner if you ask). It’s a real scene at lunch when local power players occupy their regular tables on or near the tree-shaded patio, the best seats in the house.