Ambue

A Brazilian-Argentine couple runs the wood-grill kitchen on Hollywood Boulevard, one manning the grill and the other working the room as maître d'. The parillada mixes both countries' traditions in one order, and the kitchen turns out empanadas with a crisp, blistered crust. Servers hand each table a paper fortune pulled from a bucket before the meal, and dessert is a custardy flan finished with a heavy smear of dulce de leche.