Jonathan Gold's followers really want to go to Trois Mec

Jonathan Gold’s followers really want to go to Trois Mec

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Trois Mec chefs Ludovic Lefebvre, Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Butter biscuits with blackberries, pimento cheese and honey butter. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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Dining tables are close together in the main room of the Santa Monica restaurant. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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A plate of hinoki scented black cod at Hinoki & the Bird, a new restaurant at the base of a Century City condo tower in Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Fresh fish is served with yuzu kosho. (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)

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Patrons share a horchata-tona, enough for two to four people. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

By Russ Parsons

May 24, 2013 9 AM PT

Where do you want to go for dinner? That’s no longer just a theoretical question. Thanks to the early wish lists you created on our Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants page, we know precisely where you want to go.

Big surprise – the leader is Trois Mec – the brand-new, white-hot, advance tickets-only spot from Ludovic Lefebvre and Animal guys Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook.

“There could not be a less convenient way to dine,” wrote Gold of the restaurant. “But it may be worth the trouble to get into Trois Mec ... Ludovic Lefebvre is one of the greatest pure chefs ever to cook in Los Angeles.”

PHOTOS: Top wish-list spots from Jonathan Gold’s 101

What might be more surprising are the two choices right behind it – Sqirl, Jessica Koslow’s jam-centric cafe, and Ciro’s, the old-school Mexican food capital on the Eastside.

“Making great preserves from superb California fruit is not a new idea, but Jessica … is very good at it, and her tiny, East Hollywood cafe exists to reanimate the flavors she preserves,” wrote Gold of Sqirl.

Of Ciro’s, he said: “the chile verde tastes like a trip to grandmother’s house, the enchiladas are first-rate and the tiny flautas … are tightly rolled and very crisp, buried under layers of chile sauce, thick guacamole and tart Mexican sour cream.”

Bunched together right behind them are Hart & the Hunter, Hinoki and the Bird, Alma, Corazon y Miel, Manhattan Beach Post, Racion and Tar & Roses (notice a trend toward double-naming?).

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