By Jonathan Gold

On a warm January night in Los Angeles, one of those evenings when we have trouble visualizing what the phrase "wind-chill factor" might even mean, the patio outside Maccheroni Republic is one of the most pleasant places downtown, a long, alley-narrow space, all greenery and soft air. The financial district's glass towers peeking out over the shrubbery is a distant part of the view.

The restaurant is on Broadway but somehow not of Broadway, although Grand Central Market is right across the street. It opens onto a sculpture-filled pocket park named for Biddy Mason, a former slave who became one of L.A.'s earliest real-estate barons.

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Source: http://www.latimes.com