Category

Industry Insights

Restaurant Sign Los Angeles

Which Closed Restaurants Do L.A. Chefs and Food Writers Miss Most?

I’ve been feeling nostalgic and asked prominent people in the L.A. food world to answer one question: “Which closed L.A. restaurant do you miss most and why?” Learn what eight lifelong Angelenos had to...
Thermometer California

Do Restaurants Deserve Second Chances?

When somebody lives in a place like Baker, a desolate California town in the Mojave Desert with only 735 residents that’s best known for The World’s Tallest Thermometer, it gets tougher to write off...
Barbecue Austin

Worth The Wait? L.A. Chefs + Food Writers Describe Their Longest Wait Times to Eat

Some restaurants, food trucks and stalls are known for testing patience, while other experiences take aspiring diners by surprise. Not everybody’s down to wait. I asked a dozen L.A. chefs and food writers, “What’s...
Dumplings Los Angeles

Why Food Writers Must Stop Promoting “Cheap” Eats

It’s imperative that editors and writers stop describing food as “cheap eats.” Most of the time, they’re stigmatizing culinary contributions from immigrant cultures. Avoid such indignities and these family-run and indie restaurants stand a...
Charcuterie Los Angeles

Decoding the L.A. Restaurant Scene: 20 Years Past and Future

I recently spoke to the Culinary Historians of Southern California at the LAPL Central Library. My talk, titled “Decoding the L.A. Restaurant Scene: 20 Years Past and Future” assessed the past two decades and...
Independent Chefs

How Can the Restaurant Community Guard Against Homogenization?

Indie Chefs Week recently convened in Los Angeles, showcasing the collective talents of 21 leading American chefs during the course of three dinners. Chef Ned Elliott and restaurateur Grover Smith co-founded the event in...