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Hometown haunts

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Sadly, I can't get quesadillas or muffins in Tuscany, which is why I go on a feeding frenzy when I visit L.A. Five favorite places:
1. Ita-Cho (6775 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; 323-871-0236). An amazing Japanese restaurant in a low-rent mini-mall, for salted soybeans in the pod, broiled enoki mushrooms or whatever the chef recommends. Pricey but worth every penny.
2. Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market and Patio Café (25653 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu; 310-456-3430). Little more than a roadside stand with picnic tables and an ocean view, for outstanding ahi tuna burgers, steamed crab and fried scallops.
3. Mimosa (8009 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; 323-655-8895). A cozy French bistro, for house-cured olives, crisp cornichons and delicious bouillabaisse.
4. La Serenata de Garibaldi (1416 Fourth St., Santa Monica; 310-656-7017). A Mexican seafood spot, for exquisite mole, shrimp quesadillas and ultra fresh fish.
5. Urth Caffé (8565 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood; 310-659-0628). A chic but low-key café with sidewalk tables, for fresh juice, Darjeeling tea, homemade muffins, reading New Age books from Bodhi Tree (next door) and--this being L.A.--people watching.