These are some of the restaurants so enmeshed in the culture of Los Angeles that they surpass the notion of annual lists. Tap the link for the full selection, and to see the 101 best restaurants in L.A.
LessPick up a bean-and-cheese burrito at Al & Bea’s and it wobbles — sloshes, nearly — from the heft of its molten contents. You have a choice of red or green chile sauce; generations of fans have leaned green for its piercing zing. For either takeout or a quick meal at a shaded table, it remains a heart-of-the-community lunchtime destination for families and nearby workers.
A Beverly Boulevard paragon for over 20 years, Gino Angelini prepares sophisticated dishes — silky vitello tonnato pinged with fried capers, lamb chops over arugula, a purist’s tiramisu — served in a dining room full of clatter and cheer. His polished repertoire of pastas includes an impeccable lasagna verde and, as a study of subtle textures and layered richness, agnolotti filled with braised veal shank in a Parmigiano-Reggiano sauce.
This Persian Square cafe is a trove of excellent Iranian home-style cooking. The thick kuku sabzi is a savory herb-green omelet tucked into a soft French-style roll. We love the beef tongue sandwich, a meaty, voluptuous muddle of tender beef, crisp lettuce and piquant pickles. Pair any sandwich with the garlicky spinach-lentil soup called osh. On Fridays, try the braised lamb dish ab-goosht, served with a split yellow pea mash, warm flatbread, pickles and fresh herbs.
Over half a century, since Ron and Patricia Peskin became its operators in 1969, Brent’s Deli has been the Valley’s cornerstone of Jewish deli culture. The conversation only begins with the black pastrami Reuben, the brisket crusted with black pepper and stacked on rye with melted Swiss, hot sauerkraut and Russian dressing. Chicken matzo ball soup, latkes, cheese blintzes and chopped liver are steadfast and eternally comforting.
The Olvera Street taqueria founded by Aurora Guerrero in 1934, who named her business after an 1880s-era song favored by mariachis, is known for one enduring specialty: beef taquitos, pan-fried in batches until the rolled tortillas seize into crispness. They come doused in mild tomatillo-based avocado sauce; the pleasure is in scarfing down the taquitos while they retain their crunch, even as the salsa begins to seep in and soften them.
Vicente and Connie Cossio founded Coni’Seafood in the late 1980s in the backyard of their Inglewood home, eventually growing the small marisqueria into what would become Coni’Seafood. Bring friends and order the pescado zarandeado, crisp-edged, slow-grilled snook marinated with fresh citrus, chiles and mayonnaise. If you favor bold flavors, the aguachile — big, head-on shrimp marinated in a spicy citrus marinade — is excellent.
There’s no lingering at Jim and May Ku’s Temple City noodle shop, open midday for 3 1/2 hours, six days a week. Food speeds out of the kitchen; strangers likely share tables. Most of us show up for the Taiwanese-style beef noodle soup, the Kus’ masterwork. The broth is alive with aromatics and thick with braised beef shank, spinach, a clutch of properly bouncy noodles and a nuclear cloud of house-made chile oil.
Behind an inconspicuous wooden door in a Koreatown strip mall with a red brick façade, Caroline Cho runs one of L.A.’s iconic late-night haunts. She modeled the place in spirit after Korea’s tented pojangmacha street stalls. If one were to compose one of those ideal one-day itineraries for understanding Los Angeles, the night should arguably end here with rounds of soju and a snack of the seaweed-wrapped fried dough known as dumbbells.
At America’s most famous Oaxacan restaurant, founded by Fernando Lopez and now run by his family, the mole negro is as miraculous as ever — a composite of chiles, nuts, plantains, raisins, herbs and sweet and peppery spices merged into a hauntingly delicious whole. Guelaguetza is about more than dining, though. It stands as a stronghold of Oaxacalifornia, an example of achievement and unity in a region that has for decades been home to the largest Oaxacan population outside Mexico.
Hawkins’ burgers are thick brutes with charred edges. The toppings that complete them recall park barbecues on holiday weekends. Some lofty creations at this Watts stalwart — run by Cynthia Hawkins, whose father began the business as a stand in 1939 — have become signatures over the years, including the Leaning Tower of Watts: 1½ pounds of burger impaled on a skewer with hot links, pastrami and bacon, dressed with egg and chili.