Baran's 2239

Chef Tyler Gugliotta and co-owner Jonathan Baran have run this New American spot out of a Pacific Coast Highway strip mall since 2016, decorating it like a lived-in apartment: crooked shelves, wine racks that look pulled from the 90s, a TV usually tuned to a game. The short menu mixes ceviche, mac and cheese and beef bulgogi on the same page, along with a shrimp tostada and jerk wings that run spicy. A weekend breakfast burrito launched during the pandemic became its own following. Gugliotta often cooks in view of the dining room, and it's common to end up trading food with the table next to you.