Two stars for Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga

The Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga Canyon has been many things through the years -- the purported summer retreat of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson in the 1930s, later a church (or two), a garage, a gas station and auto junkyard before this neglected property became a restaurant. Until recently, though, it was more a curiosity than a destination for anybody who cared about eating.

Now it has a serious chef and some serious food.

Read this week's review, and find out why the Inn gets two stars.

Photo: Touches of purple carry the theme of the color of the "seventh ray" at Topanga's Inn of the Seventh Ray. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

The Review: First & Hope

Mac 'n' cheese gets served up three ways at First & Hope. You can have it individually or as a flight of three, above. Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila said her favorite was the conchiglie (shell-shaped pasta) with Cypress Grove goat cheese and nubbles of popped corn for crunch. "But the version with Porter beer cheese and rye croutons came a close second." Read her review, and find out how many stars she bestowed:

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The top reviewed restaurants of the L.A. Times

Wine of the week: 2009 Muga Rioja Rosado

Photo: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

The Review: Three stars for Hatfield's

Moving from the restaurant's small Beverly Boulevard digs into the old Citrus space, the Hatfields have all their ducks in a row: an understated and glamorous dining room and bar, a well-priced menu, tempting cocktails and desserts, a professional staff and adept sommelier. Read more here from S. Irene Virbila's three-star review.

Photo: A glass wall at one end of the dining room reveals the kitchen where the Hatfields and staff create. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Review: Lobster with a view in Santa Monica

The seaside eatery makes strides under Collin Crannell, but Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila finds that the kitchen is still hit and miss, and gives it one and a half stars. Click here for more:

PLUS: Where the stars are: The L.A. Times' top-reviewed restaurants

Photo: The roller coaster isn't the only thing that's up and down here, but the view is delicious. Credit: Christina House / For The Times

The Review: One juicy, medium-rare star for Umami Burger

America is full of contradictions. At a time when Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma" is a bestseller, novelist Jonathan Safran Foer has just written an exhortation against the eating of meat ("Eating Animals"), and vegans are clamoring for chefs to accommodate them at top restaurants, the country is also becoming even more burger-obsessed than it already was.

In-N-Out Burger, Southern California's own classic drive-in burger chain, appears on many foodies' Top 10 lists. Mozza's Nancy Silverton and chef Amy Pressman are bringing their burgers to the Farmers Market. And just about every top-tier restaurant has a burger -- with or without short ribs, with or without foie gras -- on the menu.

Earlier this year, Adam Fleischman, a former partner in Culver City's Bottle Rock, opened Umami Burger on La Brea Boulevard. It's a tiny place with only a handful of tables, a modest menu of burgers and a few sides -- and no wine-and-beer license, the better to bring your own. With most burgers, including the signature Umami Burger, under $10, hand-cut fries and homemade ketchup, it's no surprise the place caught fire with L.A.'s dedicated burger hounds.

To read the rest of S. Irene Virbila's review, click here.

Photo: Umami's Manly Burger. Credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times

The Review: Blue Plate Oysterette reels in one star and a good bit of praise

OK, so L.A. has its Issan Thai restaurants, Sichuan and Shanghai style places, Tuscan trattorie and Provençal bistros, Yucatan and Oaxacan joints. Why not an East Coast clam shack? Well, now we have one, fetchingly called Blue Plate Oysterette.

I'm surprised no one has tried it before. There was the short-lived Menemsha, but it was a much more ambitious East Coast seafood place. That this one is small and cozy with a studied casual air and a great front of the house -- not to mention it's just across from Palisades Park and the Pacific -- gives this place a fighting chance.

Owner Jenny Morton, who also owns Blue Plate on Montana Avenue, went for a neighborhood kind of place rather than something glitzy. The menu is smart too. Pretty much everything that people love about East Coast seafood -- oysters, clams, mussels, lobster rolls, fish 'n' chips, steamers -- is listed on the one-page menu. But if you're looking for grilled or steamed Maine lobster, you're out of luck. No clam bakes either.

But then you can't have everything, can you? What's best here is the raw seafood -- oysters, clams, ceviche and some, but not all, of the cooked dishes. New York's Pearl Oyster Bar, this is not. But the service from waiters in blue-and-white gingham or striped shirts is eager and willing and the front of the house bends over backward to accommodate everyone.

To read the rest of S. Irene Virbila's review, click here.

Photo: A dozen oysters on the half shell are served with homemade cocktail sauce and Moscatel and tarragon mignonette. Credit: Christina House / For The Times

The Review: Former 'Top Chef' contestant Stefan Richter earns two stars

For a "Top Chef" finalist, 36-year-old Stefan Richter comes out like a lamb at his new restaurant, Stefan's at L.A. Farm. He's not out to shock or provoke. He's out to cook food that's squarely within most people's comfort zones.

Good for him. Richter, after all, doesn't have a lot to prove. He's been there, done that as executive sous chef at the Bellagio in Vegas, chef at Enoteca Drago in Beverly Hills and executive chef at Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. He's no wannabe. He's been around and is more of a pragmatist in his cooking than a showoff. I'm sure he knows how to make a foam, but you won't find one here.

He's going for smart, contemporary cooking that everyone can relate to and flirting only occasionally with the cutting edge. It makes for pleasant but not necessarily exciting dining at this latest reincarnation of L.A. Farm (around since 1989). In this Santa Monica neighborhood, though, and particularly at this price point, that's already an achievement.

To read the rest of S. Irene Virbila's review, click here.

Photo: Sliced pig's head with Champagne-chive vinaigrette, radishes and frisee. Credit: Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times

The Review: The Tasting Kitchen in Venice scores two stars for imagination and spunk

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That's why Hidden became Caché, Charcoal switched to BoHo, and Max morphed into Marché.

Now the former AK in Venice has become the Tasting Kitchen. This summer,  AK founding chef Conny Anderson and partners agreed to disagree and the investors promptly sought a new chef for their Abbot Kinney restaurant. After closing briefly, the restaurant reopened with a temporary concept: a one-page "bill of fare" that changes every day.

That was supposed to be only a provisional measure, but it's been such a hit that it's here to stay.

The name isn't. Once the restaurant closes toward the end of the year for a couple of weeks for a minimal remodel to reflect the philosophy of the food -- handcrafted and personal -- it will reopen with a new name. Confusing? Yes. But here's the main thing: The food is lusty and delicious. And the place is fun. And the menu is definitely not the same generic California menu seen all over town. Not in general. And not specifically, either.

The rabbit that the hard-pressed restaurateurs pulled out of the hat is Casey Lane, a 26-year-old chef who's worked at Oliveto in Oakland under Paul Bertolli (now owner of the salumeria Fra' Mani) earlier in his career and in Portland, Ore., most recently at Clarklewis. The Texas native moved down to L.A. a year ago to head up the kitchen at a Silver Lake project that never happened. When he got this job, he imported some other Clarklewis alums to help him, which makes the Tasting Kitchen a Portland-slash-California restaurant.

To read the rest of S. Irene Virbila's review and see a tasty photo gallery, click here.

Photo: Crostone with chicken pate, frisee salad, warm vinaigrette and poached farm egg at the Tasting Kitchen in Venice.Credit: Ann Johansson / For The Times

The Review: Tavern in Brentwood nabs 2.5 stars

What if no one had introduced Caroline Styne, then-manager of Jones, to Suzanne Goin, who at the time was chef de cuisine at Campanile? We wouldn't have Lucques or A.O.C., two of L.A.'s most beloved restaurants. And we certainly wouldn't have the partners' new Tavern in Brentwood.

Styne and Goin are the food world's equivalent of Lerner and Loewe or Leiber and Stoller. Everything they do just seems to work effortlessly. The two share a certain sensibility and aesthetic. At any of their restaurants, there's a sense of comfort and sensuality, contemporary rustic cuisine and warm but crisp service, and an enticing environment. But most of all, they each have a strong sense of place.

Still, given the larger stakes and tonier surroundings, Tavern is just a wee bit disappointing in terms of its food at this point, which is very much in the Lucques genre but not quite there yet.

For S. Irene Virbila's full review and an accompanying photo gallery, please click here.

Photo: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

The Review: Petrossian Paris Boutique and Cafe nets a star and a half

This week Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila weighs in on Petrossian Paris Boutique and Cafe, which has reopened after undergoing a four-month remodel and now has a cafe that is open for most of the day. Obviously caviar is a staple on the menu (with one variety, Persicus Imperial special reserve from the Caspian Sea, priced at $769 for 30 grams), but it's not necessarily the focus.

The restaurant, writes Virbila, is "going for casual elegance and for the most part pulls it off with a menu of updated French cafe classics from a young French chef." She adds, "Despite the amiable service and haute presentation, the menu falters with some too-sweet dishes and a liberal dose of truffle oil." Still the review is positive for the most part, with compliments paid to the "beautiful soup" and "dreamy" creme brulee.

The conclusion? "Petrossian Cafe is a class act that despite a few missteps fits right into the neighborhood. The menu is flexible and contemporary. And if you focus on the caviar, smoked salmon and such, you'll be fine."

For the full review and a tasty photo gallery, click here.

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: The croque madame at Petrossian Paris Boutique and Cafe. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times