Nick & Stef's Steakhouse   

Oh no, not another Los Angeles steakhouse! Relax. Nick & Stef's does it right, thanks in part to Joachim Splichal, the force behind the city's popular Pinot family of eateries. Nick & Stef's, named for Splichal's twin sons, takes the best of the modern American steakhouse -- dry-aged NY strip loins, certified Angus and Maine lobster -- and fuses them with novel flourishes such as a stainless-steel meat locker, where hang the very slabs of marbled prime that later appear on your plate. While this design choice may seem like a remnant from a more barbarous era, everything else about Nick & Stef's screams modernity, from the angular lines of the white-pine-and-mahogany interior to the Belzberg chairs. For more proof, try on the cityscape views and the indoor/outdoor bar on the restaurant's comfy patio. As for dinner, if beef isn't exactly your mainstay, opt for the blue lump crab cake with red bell pepper remoulade or one of Splichal's grilled fish or chicken specials, then cap off the affair with a towering piece of Nick & Stef's lemon meringue pie. Once you're done, if the maze of one-way streets below is too much for your wine-sogged mine to handle, forget about it. Instead, take the restaurant's courtesy shuttle over to Dorothy Chandler or Staples Center, if you still think their festivities can top your dinner.