Haute Top 5: To-Die For Pasta Dishes in Los Angeles

Try the Tortellini in Brodo at this Silver Lake institution, which chef and owner Zach Pollack refers to as "al contrario." His take on the dish is reminiscent of a xiaolongbao Chinese soup dumpling, where there is warm broth inside the tortellini. The dish is served in a parmesan sauce with diced mortadella. Bueno!

All of Nancy Silverton's pastas are so exquisite that it's hard to pick just one, but because we simply couldn't choose, we selected the picture-perfect linguine with clams and pancetta spiked with spicy Fresno chiles. Other standouts (not pictured) include a gigantic ricotta and egg raviolo with browned butter and goat cheese ravioli. Noms.

You must try the spaghetti tustichella with Uni at downtown hot spot Bestia. Of this dish, chef/owner Ori Menashe says, "It's a great pasta because we are using a local product, sea urchin from Santa Barbara. It's has many layers of flavor from the sea—lobster stock, squid ink bottarga, and the sea urchin, which all contributes to creating a very comforting dish."

At Union, owned by Marie Petulla and Bruce Kalman, you'll find a decadent squid ink bombolotti with Maine lobster, fennel, Meyer lemon and truffle butter that practically melts in your mouth. Westsiders, trust us, it's worth the voyage to Pasadena.

We nearly cried when Scott Conant's Scarpetta closed its doors at the Montage Beverly Hills we cried. Seriously. And why not? His pasta was exquisite in its simplicity—he transformed home-made spaghetti and sauce to a breathtaking level. It's so simple, and so simple to screw up...but Conant was the rare individual who got it REALLY right. Luckily, he's back in BH with his new eatery, The Ponte, where he serves up almost the same beloved dish in his pasta al pomodoro: pasta, olive oil, fresh tomatoes, and basil. To that we say, welcome back Scotter!