10 Best L.A. Restaurants That Closed in 2012: An Elegy in 10 Parts

Anne Fishbein

Seven wrap at LaOn

6. LaOn:
Although it wasn't open for very long, chef-owner Jenee Kim's upscale Korean tapas place was a glorious addition to Koreatown dining, a place to dine on deconstructed gujeolpan and bulgogi ssam wraps in a swank setting -- overhead fans, yes, but no table-top grills. Kim, who also owns the wildly popular Park's BBQ nearby, is reportedly working on another concept downtown: hopefully it will be as lovely as LaOn was. 1145 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles.

Anne Fishbein

Palate Food + Wine

5. Palate Food + Wine:
Since 2008, chef and Patina alum Octavio Beccera's Glendale restaurant was maybe the best reason to go to Brand Blvd., unless you were looking to buy a car. Outfitted with a wine and cheese rooms and the sort of interior decoration a Roman emperor would have loved, Palate was an oasis, a place to dine on terrific farm-to-table dishes and beautifully executed small plates, long before such things were staples all over town. When Beccera closed Palate in March, he said that it was no longer "sustainable." It was an apt adjective for a chef devoted to exactly what was sustainable on his plates. 933 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale.

Anne Fishbein

Lou Amdur at LOU

4. LOU:
For eight years, Lou Amdur ran his remarkable wine bar out of a strip mall on Vine in Hollywood, a place that was kind of like a wine lover's wonderland -- with some pretty great farmers market-driven food to go with it -- masquerading as a laundromat. At least it looked like a laundromat from the outside. When Amdur sold his place in March, you could hear a collective gasp from Los Angeles oenophiles, many of whom have still not really gotten over LOU's closing. 724 N. Vine Ave., Los Angeles.

Anne Fishbein

Gordita at Antojitos Carmen

3. Antojitos Carmen:
Antojitos Carmen opened in Boyle Heights in 2010, after authorities shut down the Breed Street vendors' parking lot Mecca north of Cesar Chavez. For two years, Michoacán native Carmen Castellanos and her family operated a terrific restaurant, serving fantastic lamb barbacoa, menudo, pambazos, gorditas and other Mexico City-style food to happy regulars. When the place closed a few months ago, it was to much lamentation. 2510 E. Cesar E Chavez Ave., Los Angeles.