Gladstone's still L.A.'s number one grosser

Isn't it odd that L.A. has only two restaurants in Restaurant & Institutions list of Top 100 independent restaurants in the country? But I guess we should be glad that we don't have lots of massive, expensive tourist traps like New York and Las Vegas. Once again, Gladstone's is L.A.'s top non-chain restaurant with $14.5 million a year, although it doesn't show up on the list until #37. Former mayor Riordan, who owns Gladstone's, is making quite a nice retirement nest egg with his restaurants. The only other local restaurant is Lawry's in Beverly Hills at #67 with $12 million (pictured at left). Not too surprisingly, the Harris Ranch restaurant, one of the few decent places to eat along Highway 5, makes the list, also in the $12 million range. Worth a stop for the beef, if you can stand the smell.