RVR Named to NY Times 50 Best List

From: TimeOut Los Angeles
By: Gerrish Lopez

If Abbot Kinney feels like the stage for endless openings, RVR (pronounced “river”) is the rare spot with staying power. Chef Travis Lett (of Gjelina fame) teams up with Ian Robinson for a Japanese izakaya that’s deeply L.A. in sensibility: vegetable-forward, seasonal, effortless. “The kitchen is focused, technically precise,” writes Rao, with dishes like sweet, briny clam ramen and grilled duck tsukune. But the surprise here is how thrilling the vegetables are—this section of the menu “goes longer than some restaurants’ entire menus.”

Every year, The New York Times sends reporters zigzagging across the country—76 flights, 200 meals, 33 states—to crown the 50 best restaurants in America. And this year, three Los Angeles spots were named among those 50: Baby Bistro, Mori Nozomi and RVR. Each one fits the Times’ bill with delicious food, mastery of craft, generosity of spirit and a point of view you won’t find anywhere else.

L.A.’s dining scene has never been short on ambition, but these three prove it still has the power to surprise—and to set the pace for the rest of the country.