One thing we love about dining in Los Angeles is how the city's best chefs boldly, often brilliantly, cull from a global repertoire. No one exemplifies that quality quite like David Myers, a 35-year-old Boston-born chef who rose up through the ranks of great kitchens around the world (Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, Daniel in New York, Les Crayeres in Reims, France). When he opened Sona (401 North La Cienega Boulevard; 310/659-7708; www.sonarestaurant.com) in LA in 2002, he introduced an omakase-style chef's menu of small plates and channeled a Japanese reverence for purity and restraint into dishes like Arctic char with plump bouchot mussels under a light green curry emulsion and seared foie gras topped with cubes of frozen banana and a green-tea cracker. At Comme Ça (8479 Melrose Avenue; 323/782-1104; www.commecarestaurant.com), which he opened in 2007, he expands the notion of brasserie fare to include not only steak frites but beef Stroganoff with homemade egg noodles and one of the best burgers in town. His newest restaurant, Pizzeria Ortica, in nearby Costa Mesa (650 Anton Boulevard; 714/445-4900; www.pizzeriaortica.com), is worth the trip for the braised artichokes alone.