Cuisine:

• Others
• American
• Latin American

Beso Restaurant Description:
There is much to say about Beso---and it's all good. Let us start with its suggestive name, something we all like: "kiss" in Spanish. Continue with the celebrity owners, sexy "Desperate Housewives" actress Eva Longoria, and charming and effusive chef Todd English. After much planning, the pair has transformed the huge space into a vibrant restaurant and bar. The interior designer, Tracie Butler, has successfully dressed up the walls, the ceilings, the floor, the banquettes, the windows, and the open-air kitchen with different materials and colors that will make you feel comfortable right away---once you have passed the fence of bouncers outside. Any table accesses a piece of the action, though we prefer the round beige-crocodile booths. English, new to the Los Angeles food scene, has created a unique menu that is not fusion, sushi or steakhouse---even though there are notable meat dishes. It is Mexican with a twist, as in the lucky warm artichoke guacamole, served with homemade crispy pita chips; chilled shrimps with Bloody Mary cocktail sauce and lemon jam; flatbread with ricotta, fontina, arugula and tomato; ahi tuna served between slices of watermelon and cotija; or a yellowtail ceviche aromatized with coconut milk, yuzu, sesame and strawberries for appetizers. His version of quesadilla is filled with squash blossom. Tasty tacos are made with grilled soft shells and come stuffed with tuna tartare, crispy soft shell crab, or skirt steak with chipotle aïoli. Seafood entrées can be salmon, swordfish or a whole fish at market price. For more robust dishes, order English's signature paella with lobster and chorizo, the oven roasted chicken accompanied by carrot purée, five-pea salad in a morel jus, or side dishes like the mashed potatoes, creamy feta spinach, and sautéed wild mushrooms. Don't forget to start your meal with warm plain flatbread served with tapenade. Open the sealed dessert menu and consider a chocolate soufflé topped, of course, with a pink or red "beso," churros to be dipped in spicy chocolate sauce, a vanilla cheesecake crème brûlée or a lemon curd cake. (We wonder why the cheese assortment is buried between the banana cream tart and the ice cream and sorbet.) Don't miss the strong drinks from the bar that are made from fresh fruit. Upstairs is a more private version of the restaurant.