Your next L.A. taco destination should be Tacos La Carreta in Whittier
Peering over the counter at Tacos La Carreta in Whittier, I watch the cook in front of the comal assemble chorreadas — one of the…
Los Angeles’ best mom-approved chilaquiles
Happy Mother’s Day weekend. I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with this week’s Tasting Notes.Sometimes Mom really does know best An order…
So L.A.: Salam Falafel operates from a taqueria after hours in a Ktown strip mall
Several things have been consistent each time I’ve swung by Salam Falafel, a two-month-old late-night pop-up in a Koreatown strip mall. One constant is that…
In a world gone digital, why do we still want cookbooks?
Still cookbook crazy in a digital world, plus the Koreatown bakery where fans wait up to two hours for cake, a new croissant contender, new…
Three excellent L.A. izakayas highlight Japan’s traditional pub culture
While I was writing this week’s review of Budonoki in Virgil Village, I reached out to deputy food editor Betty Hallock with a question that…
Fish-eye ice cream is no stunt. Sustainability in Australia
Australians in Malibu, cookbook season, the chili crunch debate gets crispy and are flat croissants a pastry abomination? I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A.…
A new Palm Springs restaurant by two L.A. legends fits right into the community
One of the questions I’m asked most about being a restaurant critic is: “Can you ever turn off the reviewing part of your brain? Or…
All in on Koreatown: best restaurants, essential nightlife and groundbreaking chefs
When chef Ki Kim orders a bowl of seolleongtang at JunTong SulLungTang in Koreatown, he settles at a scruffy wooden table for a very specific…
Is L.A. losing its Italian restaurants run by real Italians?
Italian days ... beef jerky and pickled eggs ... Roy Choi’s new primal tacos ... and the man who ate everything at the Cheesecake Factory.…
La Copine in Yucca Valley is the high desert’s best destination restaurant
In June 2018 I was driving across California for a statewide project, eating as much as stomach room and time would allow. A trusted friend…
Oscars food: Emma Stone’s Portuguese egg tarts, cherries jubilee
The bliss of first bites, illicit cherries jubilee, Miyazaki’s gluttons ... and the crookie? Oh, what hath the Cronut wrought? I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager…
Michelin chef desserts that satisfy more than sweet cravings
A Spanish chef from London brings her “pinpoint” cooking to Los Angeles for a night. Plus, the buzzy new mercado that’s opened in Orange County,…
The reopening of Meals by Genet’s dining room is a gift to L.A.
If asked to name from memory one element in the small dining room of Meals by Genet — the Little Ethiopia restaurant that chef-owner Genet…
The restaurant impeached Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas loves
Garlic and nostalgia. Service fee confusion. And a guide to Chinese scallion “big pie.” I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with this…
One last meal at Bicyclette before it closes forever
My favorite place to dine at Bicyclette, Margarita and Walter Manzke’s soon-to-close Pico-Robertson bistro, was along the bar — a nine-seat stretch of polished wood…
When anti-luxury ingredients are more lavish than caviar
The luxury of humble ingredients. Also: Who put the anchovy in Caesar salad? Armenian tacos. The most Asian Costcos. And vegan foie gras. I’m Laurie…
Culver City is now a destination for the comforts of pie
At the counter of Nicole Rucker’s new freestanding location of Fat & Flour in Culver City, pie is never far from the line of vision.…
A gorgeous new drinking destination for Dry January (and beyond)
It was a flash of stagecraft practically codified in modern cocktail bars. A dapper man behind the counter at Stay strained a reddish-bronze cocktail into…
Zero-proof cocktails and buh-bye ‘girl dinner’
Zero-proof drinking. L.A.’s iconic Ethiopian restaurant Meals by Genet reopens while Sweet Lady Jane, of L.A.’s beloved triple-berry cake, closes. Plus, Jenn Harris wants more…
The great fish taco that’s leaving L.A. … but may return
The last fish fry, plus what we ate in 2023 and what’s ahead for 2024. I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with…