The best dishes of 2023, according to our food writers
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It’s impossible to summarize Los Angeles’ dining scene. For one, you’ll never get people to agree on its boundaries: L.A. County sprawls through the dense forests of the Angeles Mountains, the frayed hills of Santa Clarita and the beachside boardwalks that stretch from Santa Monica to Torrance. And that’s not counting the neighborhoods that sit just outside of those borders, whose residents often commute to and from the city and no doubt influence its eating habits.
Plus, L.A. is always evolving, gaining transplants from out of state and internationally who share new culinary perspectives and approaches. Even well-established institutions keep diners guessing by introducing different chefs and shifting their menus with the seasons. Pop-ups are one way to become familiar with restaurateurs on the rise, though established chefs also use the format to experiment with fresh dishes before adding them to their menus.
As we reflect on our most memorable meals of 2023, it’s hard to pinpoint a singular trend that dominated the year. Spots like Kato and Hayato continue to top The Times’ 101 best restaurants in L.A. list, impressing us with consistency and seemingly endless amounts of creativity. Celebrated chefs such as Evan Funke and Shenarri Freeman of New York City’s Cadence launched new outposts to immediate fanfare, while others like Anajak Thai and Heritage BBQ kept us guessing in the best way possible with special, one-night-only meals. And of course, there are the places that we pray never change, like a sourdough-focused bakery in Culver City and a Chinese seafood restaurant in Reseda. Weekend road trips are similarly revelatory, sating us with Santa Maria-style smoked meats and a luxury take on the Philly cheesesteak.
At first glance this list of favorite dishes might feel random, but that’s just par for the course when eating in L.A., where Sunday might bring Armenian-style barbecue to your plate and Taco Tuesday might involve fried catfish and purple slaw. These are the best dishes our food writers ate in 2023, and are hoping will manifest again in the new year:
Showing Places
(Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)
Lobster mapo tofu at Anajak Thai
Sherman Oaks Thai $$
Thai Taco Tuesday is a forum for experimentation: Chinese sausage tostada, chicken oyster satay, pork collar with coriander soy molasses straight off the grill. A collaboration with Moo’s Craft BBQ brought Moo’s Big Jak Burger. And a Fly by Jing takeover for the book launch of Jing Gao’s “Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp” ushered in lobster mapo tofu, the Sichuan dish of soy bean curd in spicy sauce that typically features ground pork. Here, it was a whole poached lobster and chunks of soft tofu buried in a spicy sludge of chiles, Sichuan pepper, bone broth and aged doubanjiang (fermented soy bean paste). It was glorious. Though this was a one-night-only special, Anajak’s Justin Pichetrungsi often collaborates with other chefs. (Also: The charred cabbage with his dad’s garlic chutney is a must-order.)
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Plin dell’ Alta Langa at Antico Nuovo
Larchmont Italian $$
Agnolotti del plin can often be found in Piedmont, Italy, with the thin and delicate hand-pinched pasta stuffed with multiple meats. But while staging in the region, Chad Colby learned from another chef that the version served at local restaurants was for tourists and rich patrons: He said that in the hills, where he was from, they would add risotto rice and escarole to make the meat stretch and yield a creamier, softer filling. At Colby’s L.A. restaurant inspired by the rustic charm and generational practices of rural Italian cooking, he took this knowledge and applied it to his own agnolotti for a dish that’s now become an Antico Nuovo signature — and one I’ve been thinking about for months. There’s blanched escarole with risotto rice cooked in milk at the center of the plin dell’ Alta Langa, certainly, but also beef cheeks, rabbit and pancetta that cook in the rotisserie for slight smokiness, then braise. The aromatics and vegetables — a garlic-laden mirepoix — cook for six hours alone before being added to the mix, and the braising liquid forms an absolutely drinkable, savory pan sauce, which pools around the agnolotti as a kind of rich, golden moat. Because this dish requires three days of work, each morsel should be cherished, but with pasta this good, it’s near impossible not to devour it the second it hits the table.
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(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
Shawarma fries at Avi Cue
Studio City Mediterranean $
I am to French fries as Sam I Am is to green eggs and ham: I will eat them anytime, anywhere. And Los Angeles is a great place to have this obsession, with plenty of never-frozen, natural-cut options that get topped with all manner of ingredients. A standout among the many, many baskets I’ve consumed this year are the shawarma fries at chef Aviad Yalin’s cozy outpost in Studio City. Spit-roasted Wagyu shawarma is shaved fresh onto visibly crispy fries that glisten with oil, with tomato, onion and parsley providing vegetal contrast and tahini and amba sauce striped on top. It is every texture and flavor exploding in your mouth all at once. With the cardboard carrier warm in your hands, you’ll understand why most customers eat their orders immediately in the small, mostly standing-room space.
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(Lucas Kwan Peterson / Los Angeles Times)
House special chicken at A&W Seafood Restaurant
Reseda Chinese Seafood $$
I’ve been a fan of A&W Seafood in Reseda ever since I started going there with my grandmother, and one day I will do a proper essay on how much I love its various “house special” dishes. I’m pretty sure you can get nearly any of the proteins — lobster, scallops — cooked in this style, but I happen to like the chicken the most. The dish is a mound of fried chicken pieces, too thick to be shreds, too thin to be nuggets, drenched in a buttery, peppery sauce. It’s impossibly rich and I don’t recommend eating too much of it in one sitting. Despite that, I keep ordering it. And ordering it.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Naem at Budonoki
East Hollywood Japanese Bar Bites $$
The menu is just as lively as the vibe and the playlist at Budonoki, Virgil Village’s new and modern izakaya. While you might be torn between the pressed nigiri, the Wagyu yakisoba and the seafood pancake, one thing that should be ordered every visit is the naem, an ode to chef-partner Dan Rabilwongse’s Thai heritage and his mom’s own recipe. The tangy, lean pork sausage dotted with chiles takes a week to ferment, and comes served as little pink triangles with crispy rice balls flavored with red curry paste, makrut lime and ground trim from the sausage’s pork loin. A bright and herbaceous cabbage slaw lightens up the dish, making for a mix of fatty, tart, funky, fried, crisp and raw all on one plate. When digging into this dish to throwback R&B, and surrounded by diners just as excited about the Japanese fusion eats as you are, it’s impossible not to fall in love with the place.
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(Lucas Kwan Peterson / Los Angeles Times)
Agedashi tofu at Daichan
Studio City Japanese $$
Who doesn’t love a good agedashi tofu? And who doesn’t love enjoying one in the confines of one of the most warm and homey Japanese restaurants in the city? I love Daichan and always regret not making it out there more often to enjoy the simple, delicious food, cozy confines and so much bric-a-brac and cool stuff hanging from the walls and ceiling that you can barely scooch your chair out for fear of knocking something over. The agedashi here is as simple as it needs to be — plump chunks of tofu, perfectly fried and with a neat little nori bowtie wrapped around each piece.
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(Sarah Mosqueda / Los Angeles Times)
Swordfish poc chuc at Damian
Downtown L.A. Mexican $$$
Damian, Mexico City-based chef Enrique Olvera‘s first L.A. restaurant, has become a favorite since opening in the Arts District in 2020. Torn between the lobster al pastor and swordfish poc chuc one night, I ordered the swordfish at the behest of a knowledgeable server and never looked back. The firm fish stands up to the cooking technique that comes from the Yucatán region of Mexico, “poc” being the Mayan word for toast and “chuc” meaning charcoal. Traditionally, it is pork that gets marinated in achiote and citrus for poc chuc but chef de cuisine Jesús “Chuy” Cervantes uses Baja swordfish cured in chile ancho, salt, sugar and citrus zest. Grilled in butter and served with the fanfare of a prime cut steak, the result is a tender, charred fish sliced and garnished with a grilled mandarin cachete and meant to be savored inside the accompanying tortillas. Refried beans and rice are common accoutrements for poc chuc but at Damian, black bean puree, avocado salpicon and salsa negra are served to build a fish taco for the ages.
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(Lucas Kwan Peterson / Los Angeles Times)
Dry crispy chili beef noodles at DongTing Noodle
Sawtelle Chinese $$
Sawtelle might be better known for its Japanese food, but relative newcomer DongTing Noodle is mixing it up with spicy Hunan flavors that will almost certainly cause you to break a sweat. I’m always on the lookout for a good dry noodle dish, as opposed to soupy, and this one delivers, featuring chunks of beef that resemble a fiery jerky. With crunchy peanuts and sour pickled long beans, it’s a fantastic dish.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Meringata at Funke
Beverly Hills Italian $$$
There are many memorable, noteworthy desserts made by Shannon Swindle for chef Evan Funke — see also: his excellent gelato program — but few have stayed on my mind like the meringata (a dessert of meringue layered with cream and fruit). Swindle, who heads the desserts at both Funke and Motherwolf, has been one of my favorite pastry chefs in the region for years, not only for his dedication to technique but also his proclivity for produce. In the meringata, both are on full display. The dessert combines a silken, textbook-perfect panna cotta with a seasonal granita that’s almost always made using nothing but farmers market fruit, then tops it all with crunchy meringue for a bite that’s creamy, cool and textural. It debuted with layers of crème fraîche panna cotta, tangy Polito Farms tangerine sorbet and fennel for a creamsicle-like palette (pictured), but it’s also appeared in chocolate-and-espresso form, as well as rhubarb with verbena. It’s so bright and refreshing I sometimes fantasize about driving clear across town and taking the elevator to the roof for nothing but an olive oil Negroni and a meringata with a view of Beverly Hills.
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(Daniel Hernandez / Los Angeles Times)
Baby sea bream at Hayato
Downtown L.A. Japanese $$$$
Probably the luckiest part of my endeavors as Food editor this year involved snagging a meal at seven-seater Hayato, the 2022 No. 1 in the 101 Best Restaurants list by critic Bill Addison. Chef and L.A. native Brandon Hayato Go and his team bellow a commanding greeting as each of the night’s diners enter the quiet space at the Row DTLA. Almost immediately, an unforgettable kaiseki begins, awash with the most glorious sakes and wines that I had in a year that was full of them. Go is a true master of his craft yet retains a certain local-guy vibe that outshines any of his accolades and stars. And he’s right in front of you, for hours upon hours, stringing together dishes that made us all go “Wow” upon each arrival, down to the delicate final offering of freshly swirled hot matcha. One was this simply perfect piece of bo-sushi — not nigiri — of kasugo dai, or baby sea bream, finished with lemon, salt and fresh wasabi. Look at the perfection of that shari (vinegared rice), my jeez. I learned this year that the actual plate in kaiseki is as crucial to the chef’s expressions as the foods it carries. This particular plate sang to me with Go’s spirit: generous, playful, unable to resist a little flourish.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
Seko gani from Hayato
Downtown L.A. Japanese $$$$
It’s difficult to highlight a single favorite course, sip or bite at Hayato, Brandon Hayato Go’s seven-seat fine-dining restaurant at the Row in downtown L.A. “Oh, the chestnuts are my favorite,” the woman next to me said during a recent dinner. She went on to say that every course, in fact, was her favorite. I was blown away by each course, the thoughtfulness, the precision of the preparation and presentation. If I were forced to narrow it down to a single favorite (as I am now), though, it might be the seko gani, or female snow crab. He sourced the crabs from Hyogo, noting that they are only available during a limited winter season. Go removes the meat and both the uchiko (ovaries in the shell) and the sotoko, or mature eggs, that sort of pop with each bite. He folds the meat, eggs and ovaries into a rice porridge now studded with bright pops of orange and shredded meat. A smidgen of kani miso gives the crab rice mixture a strong umami backbone and coaxes out even more of the sweet marine flavor of the crab. It’s a true celebration of each ingredient and a joy to eat.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
Zaab crispy pork from Heng Heng Chicken and Rice
East Hollywood Thai $
As the name suggests, Heng Heng Chicken and Rice is a place for chicken and rice. It serves an exemplary version of the dish, with perfectly cooked chicken and rice kernels slick with fat and flavor. But the dish I keep returning to is the Zaab crispy pork. It’s a heap of fried pork inspired by a spicy chicken dish that owner Eve Ramasoot had at a KFC in Thailand along with larb, a favorite childhood dish. The meat is marinated in soy sauce, dunked into a wet batter, then deep fried. The thin slices are tender and sometimes fatty in the middle with crispy skin around the edges. She dresses the meat salad in lime juice, ground roasted rice powder, dried chile, red onion, cilantro and green onion. There’s the punch, heat and citrus you expect from good larb, only served as tiles of crispy pork. It’s the meat salad of my dreams, and hopefully yours too.
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(Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)
Rajas and Mayocoba beans taco at Heritage Barbecue
San Juan Capistrano Barbecue $$
Sure, Heritage Barbecue serves tacos at its always-packed San Juan Capistrano restaurant — brisket and pulled pork on flour tortillas with queso fresco, pico de gallo and salsa verde or roja. But one day this fall during the annual Heirloom Bean Encuentro at Alta Baja Market in Santa Ana, Heritage Barbecue chef de cuisine Eric Linares made rajas and refried bean tacos that were smoky, lush and, yes, meaty. These weren’t just any beans but the creamy yellow Mexican or Peruvian variety Mayocoba (a.k.a. Canario or Peruano) grown in California by Rancho Gordo. Linares’ refried Mayocoba bean tacos were part of the six-course dinner at Delilah Snell’s 4th Street shop. They were smeared onto flour tortillas and topped with charred rajas, crunchy salsa macha (also deliciously smoky) and fresh cheese. Simple and supreme. Here’s hoping they’ll be reprised in 2024.
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(Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)
Grilled swordfish at III Mas Barbecue
Downtown L.A. Armenian
Arthur Grigoryan grills excellent khorovats, or Armenian skewers, such as these filets of swordfish marinated in Chaldean spices — lots of coriander, cumin and turmeric — with tamarind and tarragon. It’s such a smart, flavorful combination, and Grigoryan grills the chunky filets over almond wood as deftly as any pitmaster, until they’re just done enough and still juicy. They’re served with an avocado tahina sauce, pickled beets and cauliflower, and grilled potatoes. Maybe best of all, the plate comes with a fresh, fluffy oval of the Iraqi flatbread samoon, baked until mottled and browned, then topped with lots of sesame seeds. It’s one of three fresh breads that III Mas bakes regularly, along with aish baladi Egyptian pita and traditional Armenian matnakash. The yershik sandwich is served on matnakash and filled with III Mas’ own ground and stuffed lamb sujukh — three sausages to a sandwich, with homemade labneh. Now regularly available at Smorgasburg L.A. on Sundays.
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(Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times)
Siti's Original at Jerusalem Chicken
View Park-Windsor Hills Palestinian $
This storefront deli-style restaurant offering Palestinian comfort foods and packaged sides is a quiet beacon of excellence in View Park-Windsor Hills, a worthy neighbor to L.A. favorites like Simply Wholesome across the street or Jon & Vinny’s a few doors down on Slauson Avenue. When I find myself unable to settle for a mediocre lunch but also with not much leisure time, I remind myself that beautiful Levantine options are available to me minutes from home at Jerusalem Chicken. Some folks swear by other dishes, but on my first visit a couple years ago, I had the house specialty Siti’s Original and I’ve never looked back : a baked whole leg of chicken stuffed with bits of beef, mushrooms, rice and spices. Pair the special with any of Jerusalem Chicken’s delicious sides, including spicy hummus, tabbouleh, cauliflower salad or, as I had the other day, a simple salad of cherry tomatoes, whole garlic cloves and serrano chiles seared gently in olive oil. I often eat half the dish for lunch and save the second half for dinner.
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(Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)
Dessert course at Kato
Downtown L.A. Taiwanese $$$$
The dessert course at Kato is an extraordinary procession of (not-too-sweet) sweets prepared by chef Jon Yao and his team, including chef de cuisine Nick Picciotto and sous chef Jamie Atkinson. Currently the parade kicks off with Yao’s signature boba, made with boniato sweet potato, farmer’s cheese from Straus Dairy milk, muscovado syrup and shaved frozen brown butter cookie. A trio of Asian-inspired pastries might follow: a choux bun filled with a cremeux of salted chicken egg yolk that is a silky, custardy explosion when you bite into it; a caramelized apple and Taiwanese black sugar tart with the flakiest puff pastry crust; and a sponge roll cake filled with fragrant bergamot curd. Roll cake is an Asian bakery standard, but “I might have taken it for granted,” Yao says. “There’s a lot of technique that goes into it. You have to mold it, shave down the edges. It’s a whole thing.”
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(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
Cheesesteak Wit at La Copine
New American $$
Appearing like an oasis in the Yucca Valley neighborhood of Flamingo Heights is this New American bistro with lunch hours that book up weeks in advance. But the experience is worth planning for, and the shaded patio with seating makes a long wait comfortable if you decide to drop by unannounced. The ever-evolving seasonal menu has several worthy standbys: beignets glazed in a brown sugar and coffee mixture, a Lyonnaise salad with poached egg, bacon lardons and produce of the moment.
But I couldn’t resist when I saw Cheesesteak Wit listed on the menu. Shaved Wagyu, griddled onions, fancy cheese sauce and a piquant cherry pepper relish spilled out of a toasted long roll. Each ingredient resonated on its own: the delicate and fatty meat, the crunchy bread, sweet caramelized onions and oozing cheese sauce. It was the best sandwich I’ve had in recent memory, and even though I couldn’t finish it in one sitting, I took the remainder in a to-go carton and nibbled on it throughout the day.
Little more than a month after visiting, Cheesesteak Wit is no longer available, but a similar sandwich stands out as a contender. The steak sando features the same shaved Wagyu with tonkatsu demi-glace, horseradish cream and salted cabbage on toasted sandwich bread. Get the crispy papas for the table to share.
But I couldn’t resist when I saw Cheesesteak Wit listed on the menu. Shaved Wagyu, griddled onions, fancy cheese sauce and a piquant cherry pepper relish spilled out of a toasted long roll. Each ingredient resonated on its own: the delicate and fatty meat, the crunchy bread, sweet caramelized onions and oozing cheese sauce. It was the best sandwich I’ve had in recent memory, and even though I couldn’t finish it in one sitting, I took the remainder in a to-go carton and nibbled on it throughout the day.
Little more than a month after visiting, Cheesesteak Wit is no longer available, but a similar sandwich stands out as a contender. The steak sando features the same shaved Wagyu with tonkatsu demi-glace, horseradish cream and salted cabbage on toasted sandwich bread. Get the crispy papas for the table to share.
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(Sarah Mosqueda)
Cobb salad at Lodge Bread Co.
Culver City Bakery $$
Lodge Bread Co.’s Culver City location is my favorite brunch stop after a visit to the Mar Vista Farmers Market. The bakery cafe from Amsalam and Alexander Phaneuf focuses on whole-grain sourdough bread, making and milling its own flour. It also offers a cafe menu of toasts, sandwiches, pizzas and salads. Large windows showcase the team stretching fresh dough and feeding the oven for the audience of outdoor diners. Ever since they took their beloved Fish Plate off the menu (R.I.P.), this fresh take on a classic Cobb salad has become my new go-to. A pile of soft herbs, gem lettuce and smashed avocado may look like lunch, but crispy Nueske’s bacon and jammy egg means this salad eats like breakfast. Red onion, sweet cherry tomatoes and turkey are also added to the mix, and traditional Roquefort gets subbed out for cubes of creamy Havarti cheese. The salad is finished with a house-made herby, tangy take on ranch dressing. This fresh but filling dish is so good, I almost don’t miss the fish plate. Almost. Plus, it’s light enough to leave room for other favorites like the fat pita stuffed with cauliflower, pickled raisins, chickpeas and tahini, or any one of the excellent pizzas.
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(Stan Lee)
Salamino from Lorenzo California
Beverly Hills Italian $$
It was the truest, purest form of love at first bite. I cradled the Salamino from Lorenzo California, the tiny sandwich shop in Beverly Hills, and took in the smell of the freshly baked bread. It was painted with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with flaky sea salt. It cracked under my teeth, with the flavor of good focaccia but with a much lighter crumb and thinner structure. It’s baked every morning at Bianca restaurant in Culver City and delivered to the shop. The Salamino, like all of the sandwiches on the menu, was inspired by ones owners Renato Araujo and his wife, Cynthia Raslan, ate in Florence. Each is fashioned with minimal ingredients. The finocchiona salame is both funky and sweet, tinged with fennel and the ribbons sliced so thinly, they practically melt. A silky Parmigiano pâté coats each side of the bread, offering a soft, cheesy cushion for the other components. The oil-soaked artichokes bring some acid to the party with a bright, herby marinade. And fresh cracked black pepper sings throughout the sandwich.
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(Emily Davis)
Khao soi noodles at Manaao Thai Comfort Food
Orange County Thai $$
At Manaao Thai Comfort Food, there is always something new on the menu. There might be stir-fried red curry with shrimp and Thai eggplant one week, fluffy fried catfish the next. But each visit, my eyes still search for khao soi noodles. Engineer-turned-restaurateur Kanate Ungkasrithongkul makes a version of the creamy, yellow northern Thai curry that can be ordered with tender braised beef or brittle soft shelled crab. During the pandemic, Ungkasrithongkul started making the dishes he grew up eating in a small city two hours north of Bangkok, and friends and family encouraged him to open his own restaurant. His khao soi is among his best, with a rich, sweet broth flecked with bright red spots of chili and served with a nest of crispy egg noodle on top. Fresh egg noodles with gratifying chew settle at the bottom of the bowl while pickled red onions, sour mustard greens and a squeeze of lime juice add brightness. Order a bowl with the beef, along with whatever is new on the menu.
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(Ron De Angelis / FWD PR)
Red wine caramelized venison filet at Marché Moderne
Newport Beach French $$$
It’s been more than a month but I can still taste the red wine caramelized venison filet at chef Florent and Amelia Marneau’s French restaurant. My husband ordered the dish but I couldn’t help monopolizing it after I took a bite of the roasted venison drizzled with a sweet-savory red wine sauce. The tender meat paired well with the sweetness and tartness from the Frog Hollow plums and Fuyu persimmon mostarda. The chanterelle mushrooms provided a pleasant earthiness to the dish. Make sure to order an extra baguette to sop up any leftover sauce. I partnered the dish with a 2015 L’Aventure Optimus Estate, a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit-Verdot blend from Paso Robles.
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(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
The Special at Moom Maam
Downtown L.A. Thai $
I first encountered engineer Darwin Wai’s Moom Maam Thai gelato stand at the Wat Thai weekend market in Sun Valley. I was instantly enamored with his Thai tea and riceberry horchata creations. Mixing and matching the flavors is always fun. But my favorite way to enjoy his gelato is to order the special. The base is a fresh waffle cone made with gluten-free batter he actually developed while frying bananas at the market. It’s folded into a bowl with wavy edges. Next, he layers in sweet coconut sticky rice and your choice of two scoops of gelato. To re-create a semi-frozen mango sticky rice, I order the fior di cocco and the mango. It’s finished with a sprinkle of toasted grated coconut and caramelized palm sugar. It’s refreshing and fruity like the mango with sticky rice I know and love, embellished with plenty of crunchy bits that will keep you satisfied as you finish the gelato, and then the bowl. You can now find Moom Maam popping up at the Sunday Smorgasburg market at the Row in downtown L.A.
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(Silvia Razgova / For The Times)
Oxtail tacos at My 2 Cents
Mid-Wilshire Soul Food Californian $$
Chef and host of the Hulu series “Searching for Soul Food,” Alisa Reynolds launched Tacos Negros as a takeout special at her West Pico restaurant during the pandemic, offering tacos that celebrate pan-African flavors, such as fried catfish with house remoulade and sweet plantain and callaloo encased in a crispy tortilla shell. Now a permanent menu fixture, my favorite tacos are piled high with six-hour-braised oxtail and showered in a whiskey reduction sauce, with slivers of red onion and strands of kale that provide a welcome sharpness and crunchy contrast to the decadent bite. The tacos come three to an order on white corn tortillas and while they’re much heartier than options you’ll find sold on the street, you’ll likely be tempted to order another round as soon as you’ve scarfed them down. I suggest also saving room for baked six-cheese macaroni and a slice of the triple strawberry cake that tastes like the essence of the fruit. Most of Reynolds’ menu is gluten-free, including the mac and cheese and fried catfish.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Veal tongue pastrami at Otium
Downtown L.A. American $$$
First, I’d like to apologize for teasing you with this dish if it’s something you’re interested in trying. Unfortunately, the veal tongue pastrami sandwich is not currently on the menu at Otium, so I won’t dive too deeply into it, lest I trigger too many feelings of FOMO. But consider this blurb an invitation to the powers that be to bring it back: Imagine something like a griddled Langer’s #19 sandwich with meat so creamy and melt-in-your-mouth soft it spreads like a smooth paste. Maybe we’ll see it return in the new year.
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(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Spicy black cod at Park's BBQ
Koreatown Korean $$
L.A. Times Gold Award
| 2023 As much as we love the combination of salt, char and luscious beef flavor as prime beef short ribs and marbled ggot sal come off the tabletop grill at Koreatown’s Park’s BBQ — this year’s Gold Award winner, longtime inhabitant of our L.A. Times 101 Best Restaurants in L.A. and new inductee to our L.A. Times Hall of Fame — there are many other delicious dishes here to explore beyond the grill. Steamed egg topped with masago or smelt eggs is fantastic with a bit of chile paste or the kimchi that comes with the abundant banchan that emerges from the kitchen of owner Jenee Kim and chef Ryan Park. Then there’s stonepot rice, soup with supple rice cakes and bowls of chilled naengmyeon or sweet potato noodles with bright chile broth. But the dish we’ve come to crave is the spicy black cod that arrives bubbling and steaming in an iron pot, with cubes of tofu practically trembling as the dish is set down. The contrast of tender cod with the give of chile-soaked Korean radish is one of our favorite bites of food in L.A.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
Croque Matthieu from Pasjoli
Santa Monica French $$$
Ever since I wrote a column claiming that the Croque Matthieu from Pasjoli is the best grilled cheese in the universe I’ve had relatives and random people sliding into my DMs and readers emailing me to ask if it’s true. Really? The best in the universe? I stand by this opinion. I know I’m right when the sandwich hits the bar counter and my fingers embrace its shiny edges. When I take my first bite and the butter leaks from the bread and I get the first bit of crunchy Gruyère. When the Mornay sauce and onions turn into a melty, luscious center slapped next to the salty ham. I stand by what I said. Name a better grilled cheese sandwich. I’ll wait. Please note that the sandwich is available only between 5:15 and 7 p.m. at the bar.
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(Dylan James Ho)
Miến gà at Pho Kadao
Rosemead Vietnamese $$
Pho Dakao in Rosemead recently changed owners and has a new name, Pho Kadao. But the signature dish remains the same: chicken pho. It isn’t easy to find great chicken pho, especially outside of Westminster, but Dylan Ho earlier this year wrote about Vietnamese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley and this particular soup, both clear and richly flavored. The soup and juicy pieces of cut chicken are served separately, along with Thai basil, cilantro and lime wedges. But I think the pro move is to order miến gà; the translucent glass noodles (instead of pho’s rice noodles) absorb so much flavor from the broth.
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(Daniel Hernandez / Los Angeles Times)
Sea scallop and arepas at Selva
Long Beach Colombian $$
I had long had Selva in Long Beach on my list of restaurants I needed to try in 2023, and when I did finally alongside our newest staff writer Sarah Mosqueda, there was a moment when both of our eyes widened and we went: “This shouldn’t work but it’s working.” That came with the sea scallop and arepas plate at this Colombian restaurant by LBC native Carlos Jurado. We ordered it with no intent, more like throwing darts on the board when the server came. The plate consists of three little towers: a small mounded corn arepa, a pillow of mushrooms and then a lightly seared whole scallop. We decided to use knives and forks here, cutting slices of the towered scenario and keeping all three layers in a bite, creating a suite of flavors that do not clash but achieve a concert. The bite won’t immediately hit any muscle memory for L.A. diners. It is simply satisfying, and that evening it opened our palates to more surprises ahead.
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(Shaw’s Steakhouse and Tavern)
Tri-tip plate at Shaw's Steakhouse and Tavern
Santa Maria Steakhouse $$$
You can get tri-tip at plenty of places, but here you get honest-to-goodness traditional Santa Maria barbecue. This is the kind of place where you start with fresh Santa Maria-style salsa and a chilled relish tray of black olives, carrots, pickles and green onions. The onion-heavy, tomato-y salsa is best spooned on top of complimentary soda crackers for the table. I like to pair the starters with a stiff cocktail that prepares the palate for the tri-tip dinner plate. The 12-ounce tri-tip is cooked over Central Coast native red oak in a giant, deep pit behind the glassed-in kitchen at the center of the dining room. The meat is well seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper. The dish comes with toasted garlic French bread and a small crock of meaty pinquito beans — small, buttery and dense orbs at the heart of any traditional Santa Maria tri-tip barbecue. The smoky slabs of beautifully grained tri-tip melted in my mouth. Dip the garlicky bread in the salsa, which provides a pleasing tang to contrast with the meaty dish. The meal feeds more than one person; I shared it with my 8-year-old daughter, who was more than happy to oblige. Make sure to order a glass of local red wine. The Tolosa Syrah from Edna Valley will do nicely.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Oxtail Bourguignon at Shirley Brasserie
Hollywood French Californian
A stewy, rich beef Bourguignon is one of the world’s most perfectly comforting dishes — especially in colder months such as this. But at the Hollywood Roosevelt’s new French restaurant, Shirley Brasserie, chef Craig Hopson might’ve found a way to improve on perfection. He opts for oxtail because of the cut’s flavor and texture: Bone-in braising adds potency to the dish’s sauce, and thanks to oxtail’s inherent fattiness, it lends a more gelatinous consistency than the typical stewed beef. Hopson’s multiday process also ensures that every drop of his Bourguignon is packed with flavor due to the oxtails’ 24-hour marination with red wine, mirepoix and herbs. The meat is roasted while the vegetables sauté and then cook down in the marinade with veal stock before it’s all braised for hours and dressed with bacon, mushroom and pearl onions over buttery, silken, luscious mashed potatoes. It’s one of the restaurant’s most labor-intensive dishes, but the payoff is well worth it: This is a flawless new take on one of France’s hearty classics. “The depth of flavor comes from using the right technique,” Hopson says, “and not doing things the easy way.”
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(Daniel Hernandez / Los Angeles Times)
Birria taco and beans at Tuétano
San Diego County Mexican $
Wildly, I had not stopped to taste what’s been called the best modern taco in my hometown of San Diego until this year. Tuétano Taquería has for years been heralded as the maker of an exceptionally juicy beef birria that somehow challenged the standards set by the stalwarts of the dish in my other heritage city hugging our shared border, Tijuana. The taquería stood in historic Old Town, marked by the nearby Presidio (established in 1769), a perfect setting to introduce visitors to the wonders of border tacos. And wow, at first bite, the intensity of spices and chiles used to braise the beef chuck practically oozes out of the softened threads of meat, held upon a handmade corn tortilla that’s perfectly speckled with ridges of char. In Greater Northern Mexico, we pray to the pinto bean — here the tacos are nearly drowned in the light brown legume, and I’m not mad at it. Even when the birria is the star, there can never be too many beans on a taco that reminds you of home. Tuétano, which got its start in San Ysidro, has since closed its Old Town location and is set to reopen soon in a new space on 3rd Avenue in downtown Chula Vista, a move that every San Diegan already knows will be a game-changer for local taco culture. This taco’s return to the border in 2024 just might solidify San Diego’s diverse and excruciatingly “TJ”-centric South Bay region as the permanent axis of taco excellence, perhaps for all of Southern California. Until the new location opens, you can get Tuétano’s birria in burritos and on chilaquiles at Mujer Divina coffee shop in National City.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Jollof arancini at Ubuntu
Fairfax West African Soul Food $$
Chef Shenarri Freeman’s Ubuntu restaurant might be the prettiest to open along Melrose this year, with jewel-toned accents, potted palms, a lush garden patio and windows overlooking the avenue. Outside of being plant-based, the menu defies categorization by infusing global influence into dishes that are centered in West African ingredients and techniques. Here, Freeman skips substitute meats to experiment with local produce that she saturates with flavor: The maafe is stewed with peanut butter and seasonal vegetables and gets a spicy kick thanks to jalapeño, while oyster mushrooms and Old Bay seasoning lend a hint of umami to the fonio grits. My constant favorite is the crispy, golf-ball-sized jollof arancini filled with curried rice and topped with an herbaceous, chimichurri-like sauce. I could eat an order or two on my own, but the dish is such an unexpected pleasure that I can’t help sharing. For dessert, the similarly sized puff puff bread that’s served with a pineapple, ginger and habanero chutney is another standby.
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