Jon & Vinny's

While I don’t think Jon & Vinny’s is all that interesting of an Italian restaurant, I appreciate its ubiquity and consistency. These days, you can now find its excellent pancakes, mozzarella sticks and wood-fired pizzas in Beverly Grove, Brentwood, Slauson, Beverly Hills and Studio City. The Studio City location offers cocktails, while the Beverly Hills outpost offers a standing-room-only Helen's Wines countertop near the front for espresso-based drinks by day and pours of natural wine by night. Menu staples like the spicy vodka fusilli, chicken parm and Ham & Eazy (formerly known as the Ham & Yeezy) pizza are better than ever. My favorite savory dishes here include the garlic buffalo wings, Salad Days pizza (think chopped salad on a pie) and the straightforwardly delicious bucatini aglio e olio. For dessert, spring for the double chocolate cake or whatever else tickles your fancy—it’s all pretty great. Just note that evenings at Jon & Vinny’s all but require a reservation, but you can usually squeeze in for a relaxed lunch or have the place to yourself during breakfast.