First of all, I’ve had more than a few words, thoughts, & feelings about the (over)development and overexposure of L.A.’s food ‘scene’ since its halcyon days as the Most Exciting Food City in America (GQ, 2015) and belatedly Most Exciting Food City in the World (Zagat, 2017) even its recognition as One of the Best Food Cities in the World (Food and Wine, 2017). Los Angeles isn’t that type of food city.
Yes, we have Michelin-caliber restaurants (more on this later) and white-glove/tasting menu service – and lord knows I tried most/all of them from The Dining Room at the Langham to Urasawa to the London to Craft to Providence, you name it – but L.A. is MUCH more credible for Jitlada, or it’s Cemitas Don Poblano. Shit, the best sushi restaurant in the city is in damn Canoga Park, Go’s Mart, but Michelin wouldn’t dare set foot out there. And why should they? There’s (the original) sushi row in the Valley, or god damn Matsuhisa on La Cienega – that’s Nobu to the rest of you folks, and also the home of the now (in)famous miso cod that graces japanese menus everywhere. And don’t forget where the California Roll and Spicy Tuna were invented. Tokyo? Try Los Angeles.
More importantly, L.A. is the city that spawned ‘taco trucks’ – not food trucks, though we did that too (thank you, Roy Choi AND the advent of Twitter), and the city that has the best damn tacos on the planet outside of Mexico City. L.A. also has the best Chinese food outside of China, and you can ask Jonathan Gold about that one though you don’t need to because actual Chinese people will tell you the same. And I don’t pretend to be an expert on that cuisine, or our amazing ramen, best Korean food outside of Korea, or any number of cuisines from the amazing Syrian Kobee Factory to the damn hamburger. The BEST hamburger concentration on the globe, mind you – you want fancy? Go to Father’s Office. You want basic? Go to Bill’s. You want grimey? Go to Tommy’s. You want classic? Go to Apple Pan. And don’t forget, L.A. was ground zero for both assembly-line fast food and the modern drive-thru.
So I guess my point is, L.A. is everything for food – and we don’t need this god-awful, stodgy ranking BULLSHIT to codify our cuisine, or to ‘tell us where to go.’ You go to Michelena’s (which was dope in it’s day), Tim’ll go to Bill’s, Jared will stay loyal to Rustic Canyon (literal and deserving MIchelin Star winner), Bryan can go to Poulet du Jour, Josh can grab some korean tacos at Kogi, and I’ll go to Taco’s El Buen Gusto, Angelini, Tel Aviv Grill, or any damn place that is an A+, three-star, seven thumbs up restaurant and we’ll all be exquisitely happy. Because L.A. can serve it up, and knock it down. From n/naka (legit two-star jam per the new guide) to Cupid’s dogs, L.A. is a city that doesn’t need to be measured by this trash.When the guide came out the first time, the joke was that the city pulled out of Michelin, not the other way around. Now that Michelin is crawling back pathetically for a piece of the action, they can take their guide and place it on the bottom of an Andy Gump. I’ll be grabbing breakfast at Gjelina, hitting a mezcal-sunrise at brunch at Guelaguetza, doing a powerlunch with Bryan at Asenabo, enjoying dinner with Irene at Rossoblu, and powering down tacos at Que Ricos at 1am.
Because that’s how this city rolls, and we don’t need Michelin to tell us how to get there. We’re doing just fine on our own, thanks.
Love & Magnolia Gardens 