Los Angeles
Here are a few things I’d recommend to get while out in LA:
Tacos: The home of the food truck revolution (Roy Choi’s Kogi). That said, there are some old-school taco trucks and shops that are still cranking out great tacos for a great price (Leo’s Taco Truck, Tacos El Tamix, Tire Shop Taqueria, Tacos Los Guichos, Mariscos Jalisco).
Korean BBQ: There are so many options, but depending how hungry you are, you have two options: All-You-Can-Eat or A-La-Carte. If you want neverending options of meat, check out Oo-Kook. Otherwise, the place that serves the best cuts of meat (sold a-la-carte) is Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong. KHDB opened up more spots throughout the city so you’ll have a better chance getting a table going away from Koreatown. After dinner, you can head over to either Sul & Beans, the Yellow House Cafe, Miss Coffee (known for lip menus and serving desserts in pyrex bowls, or Hwa Sun Ji Tea & Coffee (this one gives an traditional feel – something you might experience in Korea) for Korean desserts (potbingsu – Korean shaved ice).
Ramen: There are number of places near the LA area (both Little Tokyo and Little Osaka are within a 15 minute drive). The spots I’d look to go are Daikokuya (Little Tokyo) or Tsujita Annex (Little Osaka – they are one of the few places that serve tsukemen). If you can go further out, my favorite is in Gardena (Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen).
“Healthy Food”: When I think of LA, I always thinking of people eating healthy meals (vegan, vegetarian…) or something with egg/avocado. So if you want to center yourself and cleanse your guy biome, check out these “only in CA” spots: Gjusta (includes bakery), Eggslut (although, I think this has spread outside of CA now – try and get the slut and biscuit), Seabirds Kitchen (your favorite dishes served vegan style), Lemonade (going back to our elementary years and served cafeteria style), Forage (focuses on seasonal/sustainable/healthy), The Butcher’s Daughter (standard entrees served plant based), M Cafe (specializes in “Contemporary Macrobiotic Cuisine”)
Sushi: It’s the west coast. If you’re looking for a great set meal that’s priced fair, Sugarfish is spread throughout the city. Otherwise here are some other places you can go (and see people): Sushi Park, Sushi Ginza Onodera (known to fly in latest catch daily), Urasawa (trained under Masa and $$$$$ - oh, and it’s on Rodeo Drive)
Fancy-ish: If you have some company $ to spend, a few spots to consider: Spago (Wolfgang Puck’s spot – dined here because of a work issue that came up and walked away quite happy about being stuck in LA over the weekend), Bestia (New American/Italian – I had a squid ink pasta w/ uni dish here… drool.), Animal (think of that one thing from that one animal you don’t think could be made into a dish – yeah, they have it), n/naka (seen in the first season of Chef’s Table – and impeccable set Japanese menu).
Other Notables: In-N-Out (no explanation needed), Roscoe’s (Chicken and Waffles – and get the gravy on the side), Din Tai Fung (soup dumplings, spicy beef noodle soup), Han Bat Sul Lung Tang (they have only two entrees – get the ox tail bone broth soup the morning after a late night and thank me later)
