Foodie heaven comes to Los Angeles

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Two weeks of heaven for foodies in Los Angeles are taking place this week and next.

dineLA, which recently celebrated its 5th anniversary at the W Hotel in Westwood, is taking place this week through Jan. 27, and resumes Jan. 29 through Feb. 3. Specially priced three-course lunch meals ( $16, $34 or $28) and dinners ($26, $34 or $44) are available at Los Angeles County neighborhood restaurants for those who want to try out new places without breaking their wallet. Although, I must warn, it is very easy to spend more than the fixed prices if you add alcohol or other extras to your meal.

Participating restaurants include those such as Napa Valley Grille in Westwood, which has a new executive chef,  Taylor Boudreaux. Boudreaux, who was previously the corporate executive chef for Wolfgang Puck Worldwide for many years, is offering a $34 prixe-fixed dinner menu of first, second and third course choices such as Celery Root and Apple Soup, with truffled apple slaw, Beer Braised Short Rib, with parsnip puree, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and onion jus; and Apple Guava Galette with Chantilly cream. Sounds delish to me!

The Napa Valley Grille is a great place for Happy Hour. In addition to its tasty and reasonably priced happy hour menu and drinks, the patio with its  comfortable couches is a great place to hang out with good friends. (napavalleygrille.com/westwood)

Executive Chef Dakota Weiss of NineThirty restaurant at the W Westwood-Los Angeles is offering during dineLA some tasty bites like Porcini Bisque soup for a first course choice on both lunch and dinners menus, and Seared Idaho Trout with Haricot Vert on the dinner (lunch menu is $22, dinner is $34). Weiss will compete on Bravo’s next Top Chef series, “Top Chef Texas,” one of the many places she’s lived.

NineThirty offers a chic, yet comfortable place to dine, with many delicious menu items. During a visit celebrating the opening of the W’s CHILL ice skating rink, my companion and I had a dinner of spaghetti squash lasagna that had grilled Portobello mushroom, charred tomato coulis, house-made ricotta and fresh basil, a side of sweet potato fries with truffle aioli, and a delicious flat-iron steak. The food is simply, yet elegantly presented and the flavor of all the ingredients in each dish can savored fully with every bite. Small plates are priced from $15 to $22, and large, $18 to $48. There’s also a special fixed priced menu at $52, which includes one small plate and one large, dessert and coffee. If you add a wine pairing, it’s $82. (ninethirtyw.com)