Prices are per person for a main course at dinner, excluding 8.25% sales tax.

That Los Angeles is home to some of the best restaurants and chefs in the United States is old news. Wolfgang Puck, for one, has parlayed his Spago success into nationwide name recognition with a chain of restaurants and a packaged food business. And with the entrenchment of the contemporary cooking style that Puck helped popularize, innovation has become an institution here, ensuring that you'll almost always find something new to eat in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles used to be one of the least expensive big cities, here or abroad, in which to eat well, as strong competition for the luxury-class dollar kept prices at many high-end restaurants under control. But the booming economy of the late '90s and an influx of diners accustomed to higher prices has fueled a restaurant gold rush. Still, many excellent ethnic restaurants are attractively easy on the pocketbook.

Unparalleled dining options continue to open up as a result of immigration from Central America, the Near East, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere. One consequence is that even going out for standard Mexican cooking is now an outdated concept. These days savvy diners seek out distinctive regional cuisines like Mexico's Jaliscan, Sonoran, and Oaxacan. Culinary diversity has spread far beyond immigrant neighborhoods. One of the city's best Indian restaurants is in Pasadena; first-rate Oaxacans have opened on the city's Westside; and several Hong Kong-style seafood houses have found homes far west of the San Gabriel Valley.

In this culinary melting pot, chefs don't have to look far to find the once-exotic ingredients that have become staples of contemporary cuisine in Los Angeles. Wasabi, lemongrass, phyllo pastry, bok choy, ginger, and Fuyu persimmons are just a few of the products now appearing regularly on the menus of the city's top restaurants -- and not just those that see themselves as serving so-called fusion cuisine.

Naturally, reservations are essential at most high-end restaurants, and on weekend evenings at many others. But you'll find that Angelenos don't often dress up to eat out: even in pricey restaurants, jeans are not uncommon. Note that state law forbids smoking in any enclosed public place, including all bars and restaurants. Some establishments may, however, allow smoking on outdoor patios -- call first to be sure.