In town for the sales and looking for someplace new and different to eat, shop or visit? Let the TDN help! Following up on our popular Best Bets on the Jersey Shore series during Breeders' Cup week, TDN subscribers now regularly recommend dining and shopping options to our out-of-town readers.

CUT RESTAURANT (Los Angeles, CA - Dining)

Beverly Wilshire Hotel, 9500 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA
Phone: (310) 276-8500
Web: www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/finedining/cut/beverlyhills/
Type: A chic steakhouse which is a regular of the stars, owned by Wolfgang Puck
Open for dinner, 5:30-10 p.m. weekdays and til 10:30 Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday.

If you're looking to do some celebrity-watching while enjoying an unbelievable meal, try CUT. Awarded a prestigious Michelin star for 2008, the chic steakhouse, owned by Wolfgang Puck, has earned awards not only for its fine food, but also for its stylish design. It is a favorite of celebrity chef Bobby Flay. The menu offers pricy Japanese Wagyu beef, but go for the U.S.-grown Wagyu, which is incredibly tender and flavorful. For starters, try the kobe sashimi or tuna tartare. The sommelier can help you choose from the extensive wine list, and the service is great. On a recent visit, we were seated next to the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. Lionel Ritchie was a few tables away, and Tom Cruise snuck in a back door later in the evening. You might also want to get there a bit early to have a drink in the hotel's hotspot, sidebar. But, as you'd expect, the prices at CUT reflect the A List crowd.

-- ANDY BELFIORE, TDN

To see the original PDF with all the writeups from 3/10/08 (Barretts March), click here.

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