#neighborhood-dining

#neighborhood-dining

Start with the unusual persimmon and avocado salad with endive and red onion; the blend of sweet, bitter, sharp, and rich (I like my salad like I like my men) isn't wholly intuitive but really works. The ingredients get arranged in layers so you can scoop a little of each with every bite; buttermilk dressing smoothes spikier edges. Distinctly unphotogenic ricotta dumplings, oblong beige lumps in a brownish broth, make up for their homeliness with comforting depth; the dumpling wrappers are pleasingly toothsome.

Wilde's - the intimate new British-inspired spot in Los Feliz - might be the closest thing Los Angeles has to a countryside pub dropped straight onto Hillhurst Avenue. Lifelong friends Natasha Price (chef) and Tatiana Ettensberger (wine) set out to build the kind of place where you could settle in for a long chat, a glass of "something good," and food that's filling and pleasantly low-maintenance.