Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery

On our list of the best special-occasion restaurants in Los Angeles.

Agnes occupies a former horse stable in Old Pasadena, its dining room strung with wooden rafters over an open hearth where much of the menu gets cooked. Chefs and owners Vanessa and Thomas Tilaka Kalb built the menu around Midwestern staples remade with more technique: a cornbread eclair filled with chicken liver mousse, saffron cavatelli with braised lamb, a ribeye off the hearth, and soft serve topped with puppy chow. The cheesery up front, stocked by Vanessa, sells wedges and cured meats to take home on the way out, alongside a full bar pouring seasonal cocktails and wine.