By Gabrielle Harradine
Special to the Daily Press

CITYWIDE For the second straight year, Santa Monica has been named the best city for dining in all of Southern California by the Zagat Guide for Los Angeles/Southern California.

The guide also singled out several top-rated eateries in the city including Mélisse, Josie, Capo, Chinois and Valentino.

This year’s Zagat Guide covers 2,187 restaurants and bases its ratings on the experiences of 8,859 area residents who eat out or take out more than half of the time.

“[Santa Monica] is a hot neighborhood, it’s been a hot neighborhood,” said Michael Mahle, a spokesman for Zagat. “It’s got so many great restaurants in such a small area that you can’t go wrong, really.”

Gustavo Velasco, a resident of Palos Verdes, comes to Santa Monica for the shopping and the food. He has enjoyed meals at Trastevere and Border Grill, but wishes there was a Morton’s Steakhouse to add to the mix.

Mélisse won an additional honor from Zagat, earning the best American-French restaurant title in Los Angeles (it has earned that honor the last five years running) and the number one wine list (for the second straight year). Josiah Citrin, owner and operator of Mélisse, was born and raised in Santa Monica, but was heavily influenced by his French father.

Elements that may set Mélisse apart from the rest in its field is a cheese cart with more than 25 different varieties and a 20-page wine menu. The cheese menu is crafted by a captain, who like a sommelier with a wine list, will assist customers in selecting the right cheese choice. Surely, this is what all Francophile’s dream of.

A Zagat survey also found that many food lovers in Santa Monica are willing to pay more for organic food, including 61 percent of those surveyed who said they prefer food that is locally grown or raised.

For more information on the Zagat Guide’s findings go to www.zagat.com/about/about.aspx?menu=PR86.

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