$$$$Prezzo: moderato • Sud-est asiatica • Huntington Beach
Behind an unmarked door adjacent to the wine room, guests are transported to District 1 (China Town) in Saigon via Blackhouse’s 28-seat restaurant-within-a-restaurant, LSXO. A spinoff of the Little Sister brand (Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach & Downtown Los Angeles), LSXO is love letter to the culture, heritage, and lineage of Vietnam (Vuong’s relatives hail from the region). While Little Sister is known for its French Vietnamese menu, LSXO follows the same Southeast Asian inspiration with a more refined feel. “There is no signage for LSXO—you can spot the entrance of it tucked into a section inside Bluegold, but you’ll have to know it’s there. While Bluegold is light, bright, and airy, LSXO is its darker, edgier little sister,” says Vuong. “Both restaurants operate out of the same kitchen, though the menus are completely different. LSXO offers straight-up, honest, home-style Vietnamese cuisine—the type of food I grew up eating with my grandparents in the San Gabriel Valley
