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I was born and raised in Los Angeles, so Mexican food is an instrumental part of my diet and overall happiness. Instead of wading into the endless LA v.s. NYC food debate, I just want to share some love for a few of my local favorites: Factory Tamal for unparalleled chicken mole tamales (buy an extra dozen and freeze ‘em for later), NeNe’s Taqueria for hype-proof birria, and For All Things Good for tlayudas + fresh masa to-go.
Dec 9, 2021
Related Recs
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The legacy of Jonathan Gold lives on at LA Taco. There is no better place to understand Los Angeles than this bastion of independent food journalism helmed by Javier Cabral. Soul bound with city, this is the source code. If you’ve recently moved there, read LA Taco. There is no other alternative. A champion for the city’s street vendors and the food they make - there’s real heart in the writing, real fire. Come for the food guides, stay for the local policy coverage. Love Los Angeles? Buy a membership and support street-level, groundbreaking journalism. Honor the taco.
Aug 17, 2021
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About a decade ago, in the halcyon years of the early 2010s, Los Angels underwent a culinary renaissance. The city transformed from a metropolitan area notorious for its deficit of high quality cuisine to one of the driving forces of a new American cooking. Restaurants like Animal and whatever Jose Centano was cooking pushed culinary culture forward, forefronting a masculine style of cooking focused on offal, fat, and a primeval savory richness. Suddenly the entire city was consuming foie gras, pig ear, and ox tail. Over the course of a decade, this style of cooking disseminated through the city, infiltrating every neighborhood and ethnic enclave. Japanese food featured hearts, livers, and pickled meats. Mexican cuisine fixated on tongue and stomach. Bacon and brussels sprouts could be found on every New American menu. Unfortunately, like all good things, this shift was not to signal a permanent change. Instagram reoriented cooking to feature aesthetics first, and ingredients second. The focal restaurants of this movement slowly lost favor and dissipated from business. The people, as with anything in our fast changing city, moved on. Los Angeles once more became a city of route, pedestrian cooking. So where to find exciting, unexpected flavors? The answer, as always, lies in the most unexpected of locations. Any exciting cooking this city has to offer can be found in the nooks and cranies of this metropolis's ethnic strip malls. Within these unassuming locations can be found the richness of a globalized culinary culture. In Koreatown one can stumble upon gopchang - delicately grilled cow intestines. The sidewalks and hovels of Thaitown feature the breadth of Northern Thailand and Laotian delicacies, which encompass everything from fermented crab to raw meat salads. Little Armenia is home to basturma, a specific varient of cured beef salami. The most delectable of sushi can be discovered in any neighborhood across the great swath of our city, with fish sourced from the San Pedro fish market, the busiest and freshest seafood depository outside of the many islands of Japan. Though the most prominent restaurants from its culinary heyday have since ceased to exist, Los Angeles is still a culinary capital of unparalleled breadth. One must simply know what neighborhoods bear fruit, and what unassuming storefronts are ripe for the plucking. The dingier the restaurant, the greater the prize, and the adventure one must take to get there only makes the meal all the more worthwhile.
Nov 4, 2023
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Idk about underrated bc i feel like everyone knows la but some of my favorite things are larchmont village (grew up going here. super walkable, rip the blockbuster), tamales liliana’s (good/predictable mexican food; mostly just convenient/reliable spot to get tamales), ballona creek bike path (can rent city bikes at the beach and ride through from culver city to redondo), the getty museum is goated, and the central american food scene is tight in mid city too (mostly speaking in terms of the guatamalan dishes bc thats where i grew up going, gonna gate keep the name of my favorite breakfast spot bc it gets packed as is but hint: it’s on washington and western)
Mar 1, 2024
Top Recs from @aliza-abarbanel
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If you aren’t too precious about owning every book you’ve read, get into your local library’s queue ASAP! I always have 7-9 hold requests at my local Brooklyn Public Library location. The game is to mix hyped new releases with just-new-to-me books so I always have something to read. It took me two months to get Sally Rooney’s latest, but Glitch Feminism arrived in just a few days. You can even get cookbooks. Recent highlights: Deacon King Kong, The Plot, Black Food, Temporary.
Dec 9, 2021
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My morning routine consists entirely of gulping down coffee and listening to WBGO, NY and NJ’s premiere (and only) 24/7 jazz radio station. I started the habit at the beginning of the pandemic thanks to a rec from my friend Trinity (who runs Golde with her partner Issey) and the combination of soothing jazz + energizing coffee is too good to quit.
Dec 9, 2021
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Australian designer Richard Carlson’s cheerful insulated wine coolers are part of the MoMA’s permanent collection. The highly swingable handle + refillable insert are ideal for toting two bottles (or four tallboys) to picnics, but I actually use my chunky red cooler most often to keep drinks chilled and handy when I’m cooking dinner or hosting a casual hang. Coming Soon sells sleek vintage versions, but I scored mine on Etsy for $60. Set your eBay alerts now!
Dec 9, 2021