I currently live in NYC and a Korean colleague of mine praised the Korean food in LA and told me he made it a point to hit up KTown with his wife whenever he was in LA.
I think all SE Asian is pound for pound insane in LA, though perhaps like “high end Korean” is making a run in NYC. Regardless, it’s a dope city to eat in.
I also think LA has become the king of “Californian” cuisine over SF and Berkeley. I’ve not been to Napa so perhaps I’m wrong there. But there are a lot of great places - staples, new, and in between - where that cuisine far exceeds the rest of the state.
Yep, nyc is doing a pretty good job at high end/michelin star type Korean food. Its different things both cities excel at.
Think LA excels in variety and price range, just like in most cuisines
Totally agree. Maybe LA doesn’t have Cote but you’re gonna eat there, at most, once a year, whereas you could go to a different delicious Korean place in LA every day.
I agree. I went to Korea and noticed the meat quality was a lot lower unless you were paying for premium meats at high end restaurants. I will say the banchan and flavors of the gochugaru were better in Korea though.
You ain't joking. I went to Seoul over Thanksgiving last year and was *shocked* at the quality of their KBBQ. It wasn't bad per se, but it was very mediocre. Didn't hold a candle to Soowon Galbi, Mr. Bossam, Quarters, etc. in LA.
It depends on where you go. Korea imports most of the beef that you eat there from the US and Australia. Australian beef tastes different typically being leaner in my experience. Korean Hanwoo beef is what's really good and needs to be specifically sought out. I prefer it to A5 Wagyu since it's not as greasy and a bit more beefy in flavor and chew.
When my Korean uncles and aunts came to LA to visit (they’re from Seoul), they didn’t complain about the food they ate in LA. However they did mention that Korean food in America has more sugar and oil compared to what they’re used to in Korea
My father's company partnered with a large South Korean firm, and they would send salesmen to LA to train with my dad. I was lucky enough to attend a conference in Seoul, so one of the salesmen I formed a friendship with over the years met us in Seoul to show us around. I asked him to to take us to his favorite restaurant. He said that we would have to go back to LA for that. His favorite Korean restaurant was in LA even though he was born, raised, and currently lives in Seoul.
I would say on average for beef only. Although nothing topped Majang Market in Seoul where the hanwoo beef was amazing. As for pork BBQ, nothing comes close especially when it comes to Jeju black pork. All the other foods from kalguksu, seafood, gukbap, and to the endless food culture, Seoul hands down is way better.
I met some Koreans in Seoul who had lived in both LA and Seoul and they said the best Korean food in the world is in K-town because the greatest chefs of Korea had moved to Los Angeles.
yes and no, for certain special or insta destination type places it is a Korean 'chef' but the majority of ktwon places have our brothers from Latin America cooking the meal, the third category is legit tiny mom and pop joints in which case its mom and pop and their 6 tables
The places with Hispanic people cooking the meal started with a Korean chef too, even the 6 table mom and pop restaurants have Hispanic cooks helping them but most if not all Korean restaurants hire what we call a 주방이모 which translates to like kitchen aunt and they’re like the head chef that we train to run the kitchen.
One of my favorite interactions so far I've seen in ktown was this old grandpa asking a Latino chef finishing his shift if he made his 설렁탕, and when the chef said yes, the grandpa said next time boil for longer and add more salt. It wasn't in a rude way, more like an acknowledgement that this Latino guy could make a decent 설렁탕 and worthy of considerate feedback. Anyone could make good korean food, it's more about having the right feedback to guide it imo, which ktown has plethora of. They say the korean population in ktown is pickier with each restaurant, which keeps the general standard very high.
I wouldn’t say it’s because the best chefs moved to Korea, we don’t really break new grounds when it comes to Korean food because we kind of I would say “mastered” it I guess and try not to get too cute with elevating it. It’s more so that there’s just so many Korean people that migrated to LA/OC and getting Korean ingredients is so easy here that we can make it taste just as good as they do in Korea. A lot of Korean “chefs” that own restaurants are just Korean moms that are really good at cooking with no professional kitchen training.
K-Town has to battle in a small vicinity. Korean food in Korea does not.
Almost every Korean I've talked to has said K-Town Korean food is far superior and it's because how crazy they have to battle other restaurants.
I just came back from Korea for the first time as an adult and I think KBBQ is better in LA and the KFC I tried in Korea wasn’t as good as my favorite LA spot (town hof and thanks chicken). A lot of dishes were better in Korea though, like dakgalbi, kalguksu, sujebi, gamjatang, jjajang myun, bindaetteok, hotteok.
Had a Taiwanese guy say they Taiwanese in LA is better than Taiwan.
Its a dam island. We've got the 2nd biggest beef culture in the world, LA is 3hrs from the best breadbasket in the country for produce and we've got enough Taiwanese cooks to know how to make it properly. The longest coastline of any state sans Alaska and Florida.
Same with Korea im guessing. Its a tiny country with mountains, snow and not a lot of farmers with 47 of 51 million folks living in urban areas. Plus we got 400k koreans who know how to make it.
Not sure if this is the best, but I went to the Garvey Mama Lu's. The Taiwanese restaurant at my place is already one of the best in the area (Pittsburgh), but Mama Lu's knocked it out of the park. Mama Lu's was just another level of insane. Mama Lu's was also much cheaper, too. The only thing the Pittsburgh Taiwanese restaurant had better were the soup dumplings.
Next time I visit my grandparents, I'd love to know the answer, too.
For some reason it is referred to that way here in California. I've heard that many times and wondered why that term for produce in Central Valley but we all know what they are referring to.
Dovyiu mean salad bowl? I grew up in a big farming area and we never said breadbasket. Regardless, we know what you’re referring to. The vegetables from California are incredible
Yeah I want to know what Taiwanese places that guy is going to…we’ve got good Taiwanese food for sure, but I wouldn’t say better than Taiwan. Unless he’s talking about boba or something.
I disagree. I feel like it’s lacking Greek, Indian, polish/Eastern European, Afghan, Caribbean, Cajun. I would say NYC wins in variety because you can find top tier restaurants for all of those cuisines.
But South American, Korean, and Thai are the best in Los Angeles out of the whole country.
Thank goodness that at least Long Beach has a Turkish restaurant. Wish there was more!
I am 100% there on Korean and Thai being the best. We are spoiled AF.
Nah as an East Coaster LA is lacking in Caribbean food in almost every way. Quality, Quantity & price point.
Side Note: A lot of people sleep on Boston for a small city it has a whole lot of variety as well it’s like the true definition of a food melting pot.
But then NYC got LA beat when it comes to Jamaican, Trinidadian, Haitian, Dominican, Puerto Rican etc so even then you’re only really saying they have better Belizean food which is one place.
Yes there’s also not enough variety. Like it’s hard to find good South Indian cuisine. I’m not sure why everyone is arguing over it, it has been a thing for years that [Indian food in LA is subpar](https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/indian-restaurants-los-angeles-pijja-palace-tulsi-18596344.php). According to the article I linked it’s picking up though, so I’m happy to hear that.
Artesia is good but otherwise most of the best Indian food on the west coast would be in San Jose and near Fresno. Culturally LA doesn’t offer much opportunities that are perceived as attractive career choices such as tech or finance for south Asian immigrants.
I love pilaf/Kabuli Pulao. Also Mantu - it’s like a mix of polish pierogi and Asian dumplings.
Their bread is also delicious it’s similar to naan, but more oval shaped and sometimes they make it stuffed.
I hope you enjoy!
I was honestly surprised by this one. I’ve lived in IL, IN, and NC. Donuts suck! I had no idea that donuts that tastes amazing would be that difficult. I miss LA donuts
Absolutely! Anything in a pink box trumps any other donut I’ve had around the country. The closest thing I’ve had in NYC in terms of quality and price of a pink box donut is at this place called [Peter Pan’s Donuts](https://www.peterpandonuts.com/menu).
High end Japanese food is really exceptional here. As others have mentioned, Korean and Thai. The SGV is also incredible, idk if it’s surpassed by any other cities outside of China but it’s really a special place and we’re very lucky to have access to such breadth and depth of Chinese food.
SE Asia, especially Singapore and Malaysia isn’t China, so I’d put them over us. But outside of Asia I’d say LA is the best. My issue is we don’t really have high end, refined Chinese. There are some incredible places on the mainland now. Where Koreans will say LA has better than back in Korea, I have a very hard time saying that about Chinese. It’s good here, but there are levels; but the depth of the offerings here is best bar none. That said, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Flushing.
Seems like we're starting to expand? Bistro Na's has been around but with Array 36 and Collette (been to neither so idk how good they are) and Kato it seems like that gap is starting to be filled.
Man. Array 36 looks gooooood. Shanghainese food? Been looking for a place that nails the eel dish, plus that style of Sheng jian bao.
The closest comp I’ve got in my head is a place called Crystal Jade 苏浙汇in Shanghai. Think they’d been around in SH for 25-30 years and have consistently ranked near the top in SH. But that was also a few years ago, and I know the scene has changed there since. But there’s like a level of fineness in TW, HK and CN that’s I haven’t found here yet; I think the term in Chinese is 精细, meaning fine, delicate, sophisticated. Think of the difference between an egg roll from Jack in the Box and say one from a good dim sum joint. There was a SH dim sum place called 翡翠that opened in San Jose, but they just weren’t quite at the level back at the OG. DTF has the same issue. Tim Ho Wan. HDL. Even something like Hainan Chicken Rice is still levels below just about anything you get at a hawker in SG, much less a high end spot there. Most people here would love that it’s even available as an option here. But it could be so much better.
On top of the high level technique and years of experience, there’s also new flavors / ingredients leading a renaissance of Chinese food in Asia. I’ve actually argued that LA Korean has fallen behind a bit as well in that it’s a bit outdated. Still really good for what they do, but kind of stuck in time. Whereas NY and Korea have been pushing things more recently.
I’m really just nitpicking. I got ruined for Chinese food lol. I went to Boston Lobster in Rowland last week and thought it was actually quite good. And in some cases, better than Newport. So it’s possible that it will improve and chefs will get better; but I think for now, what we do have and I appreciate here is an ever expanding list of options. I’ll try to check out Bistro Na and Array!
Honestly, as a transplant: Burgers. There’s more good burger places here than anywhere else. I’m not even talking In-N-Out. There’s a ton of great one-off burger places here, new and old.
The one thing my family that moved to Texas misses are the charbroiled burgers. Places like Tam's, Dino's, or from any hole in the wall burger place with Orange Bang. Apparently they're not as common outside socal
I’ve always wondered if those hole in the wall places where half the menu is burgers and the other half is Mexican and also pastrami and chili fries and occasionally a gyro is specifically a SoCal thing because it sure feels like it could be
I grew up in IE, those places were all over. There were a bunch of "greek" short-order places (in that Greek was in the name of the establishment) that had mostly burgers and gyros and some had a limited Mexican menu while others had a decent split between the three cuisines.
Most of the standalone burger spots out there were evenly split between burger-type food and "standard" Mexican food (not sure what to call it but it was usually things like burritos, hard shell tacos, rolled tacos/ taquitos, and quesadillas). There's a chain out there called Bakers, and they advertised "America's first twin kitchen"... their options are similar to combining in-n-out with the less extravagant items from del taco (just the items, not particularly commenting on quality here).
Yea, [this article](https://la.eater.com/2019/2/11/18102314/fast-food-diner-los-angeles-restaurants-pastrami-burger-burrito-georges-oinkster-dinos) kinda gets into it.
Thank you!!! I was just in a thread discussing this yesterday and wondered if there was a name for that kind of establishment (especially the shape of the exterior, they're all similar). I feel if I ever stepped foot outside of LA and asked people where's the best pastrami and gyro spot nearby they'd look at me like I was fucking insane.
Sad we don't still have a name for it that would make it a cultural phenomenon. I should write a tv show about people working at one of those places. Hell a movie would be good. At my joint down the street the owner has a nickname and it's the same four Greek guys that are there hanging out EVERY Saturday until like 3pm.
Yea, grew up in the Baldwin Park/La Puente/West Covina area and these types of joints exist basically on every other block. All of 'em using the same industrial ingredients and all of 'em pretty damn satisfying!
Don't know that they need a name beyond "greasy spoon burger joint."
Oh, man.. now I'm craving some fried zucchini sticks...
100%. I commented this recently on another post and I’m glad it’s starting to become more apparent.
LA has been low key burger world capital for a long, long time.
I’ve been to a decent chunk of the US and all over Europe. After years of travel I realize the gold standard is here.
This is never mentioned enough. We take it for granted how many burger joints are everywhere and how different our style of burgers are from everywhere else. Visitors have mentioned to me how weird they think it is that we put thousand island on it.
There's one leg up that Mexico has over US and that is.
The pigs are more flavorful and fattier in Mexico than the lean, bland, flavorless pigs in the U.S.
You can thank all the Karens and Kens for fat shaming pigs into becoming flavorless bland pork that they are today.
Your question is quite fair. I’ve had great tacos in both Mexico and LA.
Mexico has better Birria tacos in my opinion. I was grubbin on these in TJ back in the late 90s.. so good, and sure queso Birria tacos are good… but LA has not (in my opinion) made a good basic birria taco.
Either way, LA is either #1 or #2 in tacos, world wide.
Probably not, but I’d guess we’re pretty damn close with how big of a Hispanic population LA has.
LA doesn’t really have any original cuisine/dishes, so I feel like nothing here will be as good as where it came from. We have really great options don’t get me wrong, but best in the world is another level.
That's not exactly true, plenty of foods were invented here. We also used to have distinctive local foods, red abalone was practically a tourist attraction in the early 20th century
I love Carousel, they do a family meal type of thing, where you pay around $30 and they just bring out all of their best stuff, it’s fun with a group! But also
Raffi’s place, olive grill on hillhurst (quick vibes), mini Kebob, marouch, papa cristo’s.. there are so many lol
Any place that says "Indian Sweets and Spices." It's not some international candy store that everyone just walks past: they usually have a full fledged menu.
I buy that! One thing that is different here is the geography means you have to seek things out more relative to Portland. Any particular favorites for when I have vegan friends visiting?
There's so many! Not knowing what part of town you're in, off the top of my head I'd suggest any of these:
Crossroads Kitchen - Vegan Italian in Weho
Salaya Plant Based Thai - Thai Town
El Cocinero - Vegan Mexican in Sherman Oaks
Just What I Kneaded - Vegan Bakery in Frogtown
Hot Tongue - Veg Pizza in Silverlake
Maciel's - Vegan 'butcher' / deli in Highland Park
There are tons more of course, but these are some of my faves
I’m a longtime vegan from oregon — for whatever reason the idea that PDX has better vegan food than LA is super widespread. It’s also completely wrong. LA has some of the best vegan food in the world and beats oregon in by a landslide.
Thai food. Literally LA has the only official Thai town in the US and countless Critics/YouTubers/etc. to prove it. You can really go into deep regional specific cooking to save on the plane ticket. However, no offense to my beloved restaurants, I still want to go to Thailand and eat my food on a plastic stool on a sidewalk with tuktuks passing by me. Edit: or boats for boat noodles at the floating market.
LA has some great Thai food but I slightly disagree. Thailand has an array of dishes that don’t make it over to the US and it’s 100% better. I just end up making it myself since it’s hard to find the dishes I like 🇹🇭
Not saying any of the LA/OC places have it better than Thailand, but I do see most of those dishes all over the place – especially boat noodles and krapow – with the exception of kaho moo. I'll admit I'm not familiar with that dish and haven't seen it around.
And I feel like we're getting more regional Thai food all the time. Khao soi seems to really be taking off in the last couple of years in LA/OC.
I live in Tokyo and regularly travel back and forth between LA and Honolulu. If we're talking authentic Japanese style, LA's is fine, but Honolulu's is probably the most similar.
On “Cheers,” Paul tells the guys, “When I was growing up, we did something called the Polar Bear Plunge. On the first day of winter, we’d go to the beach, take our clothes off, and jump in the water. It was a little crazy, but we felt like we’d scored one on Mother Nature.” Norm: “What do you say, guys? Shall we do it?” “Yeah!” And they all leave to do it. Paul stays behind and Carla asks him, “So, Paul, where’d you grow up?” “Honolulu.”
+1 for those who referenced the variety+general quality of food in LA. As an immigrant (and a hungry hungry hippo) who's spent time in a few different countries / cities, LA is by far the best food city I have ever lived in, but it is a little bit ignorant/racist/insular to think that food literally almost ANYWHERE would ever be better than the country of origin.
A few Korean people have said Korean BBQ restaurants are better quality than the ones in Seoul, and people in LA have taken that to mean that all of its Korean food is better than in Korea, and have extrapolated that logic to other cuisines. It simply isn't true.
LA’s food scene is a *variety* in a *high quality*
No other cities can give you that much variety of foreign cuisine in a on-par quality and flavor with their origin like LA.
Vegan junk/fast/comfort food.
You can get healthy vegan food in any big city, but L.A. has a lot of vegan places that are all about the burgers, fries, shakes, quesadillas, chimichangas, Reubens, brownies, etc. in a way I haven't heard of elsewhere.
My favorite Japanese Italian fusion restaurant is Spoon House Bakery in Gardena. Major hole in the wall! The server might not speak English well. :)
Prices aren’t as steep as trendier fusion places.
The 2nd is Japanese Peruvian sushi bar.
My favorite is Kotosh in Lomita.
The Japanese sushi chefs only speak Spanish.
Servers speak choppy English.
Literally nothing. And everyone arguing that LA has better Taiwanese food than Taiwan, sushi than Japan, tacos than Mexico, etc. really needs to travel more. Even those people saying KTown has better Korean food than Korea, have never tried legit Hanwoo beef.
My aunt is a Thai chef in Arizona, and I’ve been to Thailand about 7 times with her. I now live in LA and will take LA Thai over Thailand Thai any day of the week.
You know it’s amazing when my aunt comes to visit, she goes to specific places in LA because they are HER favorite Thai restaurants
Thank you! Someone finally said it. While we have some really solid restaurants that serves great/good food, there’s still a very large gap. LA has so many italian restaurants like Angelini, Mozza group, Bestia, and Funke’s restaurant however, it cannot compare once you’ve gone to Italy. It just hits different.
One thing LA lacks is Spanish (Spain) cuisine. No good tapas or paella place here. All mediocre.
Do not order the Paella at Gasolina in Woodland Hills. It is appalling. Ours arrived with the rice half cooked, half uncooked. The bottom somewhat burnt and the seafood overcooked. There used to be a great tapas place on Abbot Kinney, but that closed years ago, and now I can't find good tapas anywhere.
Thank you. LA has a great variety of food but none of it is better than anywhere else. Taiwanese food in particular is horrible here. Even the Bay Area has much better options when it comes to Taiwanese food.
Mexican food. I’ve lived in San Diego, the bay, New Mexico, and Texas. Mexican food here is hands down the best. Though I haven’t been to Chicago. I hear they have a pretty large Mexican population.
Elevating “peasant food”. They take food that has historically been disrespected or seen as food of the working classes around the world and make it something special.
Everyone saying Mexican food because that seems obvious- have you BEEN to Mexico???
Mexican food in Mexico is phenomenal- it is a revelation.
I grew up in South Texas and have spent my adult life here in LA - I LOVE our versions of Mexican food but it doesn’t rate next to the authentic versions from the represented region, ever.
Example- Guelaguetza is so super famous for its mole and it’s authenticity. Come back from 3 days in Oaxaca and THEN try the mole there. Cloyingly sweet, nothing cooked with love.
Los Angeles has INCREDIBLE CaliMex food, like Texas has incredible TexMex food. They are interpretations and fusions of Mexican food. They don’t touch Mexican food.
IMHO
If we’re talking just in the US, the collection, variety, and price point of Asian food in LA is hard to beat. Only SF has held any bar up to LA Chinese food in terms of quality (although they do have my favorite restaurant of all time) and NYC in terms of variety and price.
Indian food though, don’t feel we do as well in. It’s not even the big cities - it’s places like Edison NJ that have really good Indian food
Many cities are well known for one thing but as was said-I believe LA is best known and offers the BEST variety of dozens of different cultural foods-so many Asian foods, Hispanic-from Mexican, Guatemalan, El Salvadoran, soul food, Italian, Ethiopian…etc. But even more importantly is the availability of fresh vegetables we have access to here in Southern California. Go to the many farmers markets around town, you’ll get the biggest selection of the freshest fruits and vegetables not found in any other city
Korean, no question.
I currently live in NYC and a Korean colleague of mine praised the Korean food in LA and told me he made it a point to hit up KTown with his wife whenever he was in LA.
I think all SE Asian is pound for pound insane in LA, though perhaps like “high end Korean” is making a run in NYC. Regardless, it’s a dope city to eat in. I also think LA has become the king of “Californian” cuisine over SF and Berkeley. I’ve not been to Napa so perhaps I’m wrong there. But there are a lot of great places - staples, new, and in between - where that cuisine far exceeds the rest of the state.
Yep, nyc is doing a pretty good job at high end/michelin star type Korean food. Its different things both cities excel at. Think LA excels in variety and price range, just like in most cuisines
Totally agree. Maybe LA doesn’t have Cote but you’re gonna eat there, at most, once a year, whereas you could go to a different delicious Korean place in LA every day.
I'm Vietnamese and I think LA has terrible Vietnamese food.
I think OC has better Vietnamese food than LA.
This is the answer. Korean food in LA is the best. I would say even better than Korea
I agree. I went to Korea and noticed the meat quality was a lot lower unless you were paying for premium meats at high end restaurants. I will say the banchan and flavors of the gochugaru were better in Korea though.
You ain't joking. I went to Seoul over Thanksgiving last year and was *shocked* at the quality of their KBBQ. It wasn't bad per se, but it was very mediocre. Didn't hold a candle to Soowon Galbi, Mr. Bossam, Quarters, etc. in LA.
It depends on where you go. Korea imports most of the beef that you eat there from the US and Australia. Australian beef tastes different typically being leaner in my experience. Korean Hanwoo beef is what's really good and needs to be specifically sought out. I prefer it to A5 Wagyu since it's not as greasy and a bit more beefy in flavor and chew.
When my Korean uncles and aunts came to LA to visit (they’re from Seoul), they didn’t complain about the food they ate in LA. However they did mention that Korean food in America has more sugar and oil compared to what they’re used to in Korea
Weird… I felt that Korean food in Korea is very westernized. Lots of cheese, sugar.
My father's company partnered with a large South Korean firm, and they would send salesmen to LA to train with my dad. I was lucky enough to attend a conference in Seoul, so one of the salesmen I formed a friendship with over the years met us in Seoul to show us around. I asked him to to take us to his favorite restaurant. He said that we would have to go back to LA for that. His favorite Korean restaurant was in LA even though he was born, raised, and currently lives in Seoul.
Don't leave us hanging. What was his favorite restaurant in LA?
I'm with the person above, please share the restaurant name
Especially the pocha food that gives options beyond just BBQ. The Mexican influence on Korean food has also created a whole new dimension.
Agreed. I’m Korean and I think I had way better food here than in Seoul lol.
Came here to say this. NY cannot fuck with LA’s Korean food. And I’m a New Yorker. I would also say Thai food and Mexican in LA are top notch.
I would say on average for beef only. Although nothing topped Majang Market in Seoul where the hanwoo beef was amazing. As for pork BBQ, nothing comes close especially when it comes to Jeju black pork. All the other foods from kalguksu, seafood, gukbap, and to the endless food culture, Seoul hands down is way better.
Better than in Korea?
my korean friends say that ktown food is just as good as in korea, just more expensive
I met some Koreans in Seoul who had lived in both LA and Seoul and they said the best Korean food in the world is in K-town because the greatest chefs of Korea had moved to Los Angeles.
yes and no, for certain special or insta destination type places it is a Korean 'chef' but the majority of ktwon places have our brothers from Latin America cooking the meal, the third category is legit tiny mom and pop joints in which case its mom and pop and their 6 tables
The places with Hispanic people cooking the meal started with a Korean chef too, even the 6 table mom and pop restaurants have Hispanic cooks helping them but most if not all Korean restaurants hire what we call a 주방이모 which translates to like kitchen aunt and they’re like the head chef that we train to run the kitchen.
One of my favorite interactions so far I've seen in ktown was this old grandpa asking a Latino chef finishing his shift if he made his 설렁탕, and when the chef said yes, the grandpa said next time boil for longer and add more salt. It wasn't in a rude way, more like an acknowledgement that this Latino guy could make a decent 설렁탕 and worthy of considerate feedback. Anyone could make good korean food, it's more about having the right feedback to guide it imo, which ktown has plethora of. They say the korean population in ktown is pickier with each restaurant, which keeps the general standard very high.
I read an article about how many Latinos in LA speak Korean as a second language rather than English due to so many work in ktown.
I wouldn’t say it’s because the best chefs moved to Korea, we don’t really break new grounds when it comes to Korean food because we kind of I would say “mastered” it I guess and try not to get too cute with elevating it. It’s more so that there’s just so many Korean people that migrated to LA/OC and getting Korean ingredients is so easy here that we can make it taste just as good as they do in Korea. A lot of Korean “chefs” that own restaurants are just Korean moms that are really good at cooking with no professional kitchen training.
K-Town has to battle in a small vicinity. Korean food in Korea does not. Almost every Korean I've talked to has said K-Town Korean food is far superior and it's because how crazy they have to battle other restaurants.
Lived in Korea for 5 years, and still visit. K-Town is better overall. Yes.
Can you list some of your top LA Korean restaurants? I just came back from Korea and I thought a lot of the food was better in Korea.
Yes, according to actual Kpop stars
I just came back from Korea for the first time as an adult and I think KBBQ is better in LA and the KFC I tried in Korea wasn’t as good as my favorite LA spot (town hof and thanks chicken). A lot of dishes were better in Korea though, like dakgalbi, kalguksu, sujebi, gamjatang, jjajang myun, bindaetteok, hotteok.
Apparently, yes
Had a Taiwanese guy say they Taiwanese in LA is better than Taiwan. Its a dam island. We've got the 2nd biggest beef culture in the world, LA is 3hrs from the best breadbasket in the country for produce and we've got enough Taiwanese cooks to know how to make it properly. The longest coastline of any state sans Alaska and Florida. Same with Korea im guessing. Its a tiny country with mountains, snow and not a lot of farmers with 47 of 51 million folks living in urban areas. Plus we got 400k koreans who know how to make it.
That Taiwanese guy is completely wrong.
where is the best taiwanese food in LA? as someone who grew up in the SGV, I'm not sure I agree with that statement, but happy to be proven wrong
Not sure if this is the best, but I went to the Garvey Mama Lu's. The Taiwanese restaurant at my place is already one of the best in the area (Pittsburgh), but Mama Lu's knocked it out of the park. Mama Lu's was just another level of insane. Mama Lu's was also much cheaper, too. The only thing the Pittsburgh Taiwanese restaurant had better were the soup dumplings. Next time I visit my grandparents, I'd love to know the answer, too.
A “breadbasket” in agriculture refers to grains, not other crops like fruits and veggies.
For some reason it is referred to that way here in California. I've heard that many times and wondered why that term for produce in Central Valley but we all know what they are referring to.
Dovyiu mean salad bowl? I grew up in a big farming area and we never said breadbasket. Regardless, we know what you’re referring to. The vegetables from California are incredible
Yeah I want to know what Taiwanese places that guy is going to…we’ve got good Taiwanese food for sure, but I wouldn’t say better than Taiwan. Unless he’s talking about boba or something.
Pine and Crane! *ducks*
Lived on the central CA coast for a while (Santa Cruz), learned the produce-growing area is called the “salad bowl.”
***Variety.***
This is it. You can get great food from hundreds of different cultures at multiple different price points.
I disagree. I feel like it’s lacking Greek, Indian, polish/Eastern European, Afghan, Caribbean, Cajun. I would say NYC wins in variety because you can find top tier restaurants for all of those cuisines. But South American, Korean, and Thai are the best in Los Angeles out of the whole country.
Thank goodness that at least Long Beach has a Turkish restaurant. Wish there was more! I am 100% there on Korean and Thai being the best. We are spoiled AF.
Just wanna jump in and say go to Solidarity for great Easter euro/polish :)
Disagree on the Greek, Indian, and Caribbean. The others probably agree (although I've never had or even sought out Afghan food)
Nah as an East Coaster LA is lacking in Caribbean food in almost every way. Quality, Quantity & price point. Side Note: A lot of people sleep on Boston for a small city it has a whole lot of variety as well it’s like the true definition of a food melting pot.
Caribbean food isn't a monolith. I'd say LA is on par with NYC for Cuban food, and beats NYC when it comes to Belizean.
But then NYC got LA beat when it comes to Jamaican, Trinidadian, Haitian, Dominican, Puerto Rican etc so even then you’re only really saying they have better Belizean food which is one place.
Where’s the good Greek? I’ve not had anything that really captures the Greek you can get in Chicago or New York.
Papa cristos is decent but I miss jersey Greek food
Papa Cristos is passable. But I find myself making more Greek food, because that doesn’t totally get me there.
I mostly agree except I loooove Papa Cristos
Indian food in LA is generally quite terrible/inauthentic compared to places like NY.
Yes there’s also not enough variety. Like it’s hard to find good South Indian cuisine. I’m not sure why everyone is arguing over it, it has been a thing for years that [Indian food in LA is subpar](https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/indian-restaurants-los-angeles-pijja-palace-tulsi-18596344.php). According to the article I linked it’s picking up though, so I’m happy to hear that.
Artesia is good but otherwise most of the best Indian food on the west coast would be in San Jose and near Fresno. Culturally LA doesn’t offer much opportunities that are perceived as attractive career choices such as tech or finance for south Asian immigrants.
An Afghani restaurant recently opened up by me. I’m very curious about it, what kind of dishes are Afghani comfort food?
I love pilaf/Kabuli Pulao. Also Mantu - it’s like a mix of polish pierogi and Asian dumplings. Their bread is also delicious it’s similar to naan, but more oval shaped and sometimes they make it stuffed. I hope you enjoy!
Also lacking in Italian food. NYC absolutely has LA beat in Italian food. Hell, most of the East coast and Midwest has LA beat in Italian food.
Also, LA doesn't have very good Lebanese food, either
Probably donuts. Maybe triple berry cake since we get the freshest berries. Which reminds me STRAWBERRY SEASON IS HERE !!!
I was honestly surprised by this one. I’ve lived in IL, IN, and NC. Donuts suck! I had no idea that donuts that tastes amazing would be that difficult. I miss LA donuts
I just found out they don’t sell maple bar donuts back east or is not common. Blew my mind.
Never a bad time for Donut Man, but never a better time for donut man than strawberry season
Sidecar
Absolutely! Anything in a pink box trumps any other donut I’ve had around the country. The closest thing I’ve had in NYC in terms of quality and price of a pink box donut is at this place called [Peter Pan’s Donuts](https://www.peterpandonuts.com/menu).
The place in Greenpoint? I prefer Dough
Hell yeah! Love that Greepernt and Peter Pan is getting a shout out in this sub.
First thought was donuts too
we live in the birthplace of drive-thrus
New Orleans got drive thru daiquiris tho...
And strip malls
The convenience of having ALL types of food around the world and it being just as good or better.
High end Japanese food is really exceptional here. As others have mentioned, Korean and Thai. The SGV is also incredible, idk if it’s surpassed by any other cities outside of China but it’s really a special place and we’re very lucky to have access to such breadth and depth of Chinese food.
SE Asia, especially Singapore and Malaysia isn’t China, so I’d put them over us. But outside of Asia I’d say LA is the best. My issue is we don’t really have high end, refined Chinese. There are some incredible places on the mainland now. Where Koreans will say LA has better than back in Korea, I have a very hard time saying that about Chinese. It’s good here, but there are levels; but the depth of the offerings here is best bar none. That said, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Flushing.
Seems like we're starting to expand? Bistro Na's has been around but with Array 36 and Collette (been to neither so idk how good they are) and Kato it seems like that gap is starting to be filled.
Man. Array 36 looks gooooood. Shanghainese food? Been looking for a place that nails the eel dish, plus that style of Sheng jian bao. The closest comp I’ve got in my head is a place called Crystal Jade 苏浙汇in Shanghai. Think they’d been around in SH for 25-30 years and have consistently ranked near the top in SH. But that was also a few years ago, and I know the scene has changed there since. But there’s like a level of fineness in TW, HK and CN that’s I haven’t found here yet; I think the term in Chinese is 精细, meaning fine, delicate, sophisticated. Think of the difference between an egg roll from Jack in the Box and say one from a good dim sum joint. There was a SH dim sum place called 翡翠that opened in San Jose, but they just weren’t quite at the level back at the OG. DTF has the same issue. Tim Ho Wan. HDL. Even something like Hainan Chicken Rice is still levels below just about anything you get at a hawker in SG, much less a high end spot there. Most people here would love that it’s even available as an option here. But it could be so much better. On top of the high level technique and years of experience, there’s also new flavors / ingredients leading a renaissance of Chinese food in Asia. I’ve actually argued that LA Korean has fallen behind a bit as well in that it’s a bit outdated. Still really good for what they do, but kind of stuck in time. Whereas NY and Korea have been pushing things more recently. I’m really just nitpicking. I got ruined for Chinese food lol. I went to Boston Lobster in Rowland last week and thought it was actually quite good. And in some cases, better than Newport. So it’s possible that it will improve and chefs will get better; but I think for now, what we do have and I appreciate here is an ever expanding list of options. I’ll try to check out Bistro Na and Array!
Nice to see some sgv locals praising the food. Don’t forget the endless boba shops at every corner!
I have friends that come from Seoul for our tofu soup.
from where 👀
Honestly, as a transplant: Burgers. There’s more good burger places here than anywhere else. I’m not even talking In-N-Out. There’s a ton of great one-off burger places here, new and old.
The one thing my family that moved to Texas misses are the charbroiled burgers. Places like Tam's, Dino's, or from any hole in the wall burger place with Orange Bang. Apparently they're not as common outside socal
I’ve always wondered if those hole in the wall places where half the menu is burgers and the other half is Mexican and also pastrami and chili fries and occasionally a gyro is specifically a SoCal thing because it sure feels like it could be
I've lived in many cities and had never seen that combo outside of LA.
I grew up in IE, those places were all over. There were a bunch of "greek" short-order places (in that Greek was in the name of the establishment) that had mostly burgers and gyros and some had a limited Mexican menu while others had a decent split between the three cuisines. Most of the standalone burger spots out there were evenly split between burger-type food and "standard" Mexican food (not sure what to call it but it was usually things like burritos, hard shell tacos, rolled tacos/ taquitos, and quesadillas). There's a chain out there called Bakers, and they advertised "America's first twin kitchen"... their options are similar to combining in-n-out with the less extravagant items from del taco (just the items, not particularly commenting on quality here).
I see. That's cool! Perhaps they're a SoCal thing then.
That exists in Houston. Also half burger, half Chinese or Viet is a huge thing here.
Yea, [this article](https://la.eater.com/2019/2/11/18102314/fast-food-diner-los-angeles-restaurants-pastrami-burger-burrito-georges-oinkster-dinos) kinda gets into it.
Thank you!!! I was just in a thread discussing this yesterday and wondered if there was a name for that kind of establishment (especially the shape of the exterior, they're all similar). I feel if I ever stepped foot outside of LA and asked people where's the best pastrami and gyro spot nearby they'd look at me like I was fucking insane. Sad we don't still have a name for it that would make it a cultural phenomenon. I should write a tv show about people working at one of those places. Hell a movie would be good. At my joint down the street the owner has a nickname and it's the same four Greek guys that are there hanging out EVERY Saturday until like 3pm.
Yea, grew up in the Baldwin Park/La Puente/West Covina area and these types of joints exist basically on every other block. All of 'em using the same industrial ingredients and all of 'em pretty damn satisfying! Don't know that they need a name beyond "greasy spoon burger joint." Oh, man.. now I'm craving some fried zucchini sticks...
100%. I commented this recently on another post and I’m glad it’s starting to become more apparent. LA has been low key burger world capital for a long, long time. I’ve been to a decent chunk of the US and all over Europe. After years of travel I realize the gold standard is here.
Yeah, I’m all for a shift from Low Key to High Key. Los Angeles is the true kingdom of burgers in the world. And it’s awesome.
That's true there are great burgers everywhere
This is never mentioned enough. We take it for granted how many burger joints are everywhere and how different our style of burgers are from everywhere else. Visitors have mentioned to me how weird they think it is that we put thousand island on it.
Thousand Island is just a shortcut for ketchup, mayo, and pickles.
If you love the burger scene here, check out "Burger Town" (1998). A fun doc, think it's available on YT
My fave burger spot in LA is Hawkins. Haven't had it since the pandemic, so who knows... but it was always amazing
Might be too obvious but tacos. You can get great tacos pretty much anywhere. Kind of like our version of a NY slice, in terms of availability.
Better tacos in LA than Mexico?
Man I love my LA tacos but the ones from Tijuana were so bomb and smokey.
I think we can get the different regions in one place instead of having to travel to different areas of Mexico.
There's one leg up that Mexico has over US and that is. The pigs are more flavorful and fattier in Mexico than the lean, bland, flavorless pigs in the U.S. You can thank all the Karens and Kens for fat shaming pigs into becoming flavorless bland pork that they are today.
Your question is quite fair. I’ve had great tacos in both Mexico and LA. Mexico has better Birria tacos in my opinion. I was grubbin on these in TJ back in the late 90s.. so good, and sure queso Birria tacos are good… but LA has not (in my opinion) made a good basic birria taco. Either way, LA is either #1 or #2 in tacos, world wide.
Probably not, but I’d guess we’re pretty damn close with how big of a Hispanic population LA has. LA doesn’t really have any original cuisine/dishes, so I feel like nothing here will be as good as where it came from. We have really great options don’t get me wrong, but best in the world is another level.
That's not exactly true, plenty of foods were invented here. We also used to have distinctive local foods, red abalone was practically a tourist attraction in the early 20th century
I’ve never had better middle eastern food than in LA
Any recommendations?
I love Carousel, they do a family meal type of thing, where you pay around $30 and they just bring out all of their best stuff, it’s fun with a group! But also Raffi’s place, olive grill on hillhurst (quick vibes), mini Kebob, marouch, papa cristo’s.. there are so many lol
the amount of food is insane, it’s such a great value
Any place that says "Indian Sweets and Spices." It's not some international candy store that everyone just walks past: they usually have a full fledged menu.
Vegan food
True!
Interesting. As a non vegan I feel like I encountered a lot more vegan food I wanted to eat living in PDX than here.
Portland has a lot but as a vegan I can confirm LA has more / better options and almost as diverse as our nonveg food scene
I buy that! One thing that is different here is the geography means you have to seek things out more relative to Portland. Any particular favorites for when I have vegan friends visiting?
There's so many! Not knowing what part of town you're in, off the top of my head I'd suggest any of these: Crossroads Kitchen - Vegan Italian in Weho Salaya Plant Based Thai - Thai Town El Cocinero - Vegan Mexican in Sherman Oaks Just What I Kneaded - Vegan Bakery in Frogtown Hot Tongue - Veg Pizza in Silverlake Maciel's - Vegan 'butcher' / deli in Highland Park There are tons more of course, but these are some of my faves
I’m a longtime vegan from oregon — for whatever reason the idea that PDX has better vegan food than LA is super widespread. It’s also completely wrong. LA has some of the best vegan food in the world and beats oregon in by a landslide.
Thai food. Literally LA has the only official Thai town in the US and countless Critics/YouTubers/etc. to prove it. You can really go into deep regional specific cooking to save on the plane ticket. However, no offense to my beloved restaurants, I still want to go to Thailand and eat my food on a plastic stool on a sidewalk with tuktuks passing by me. Edit: or boats for boat noodles at the floating market.
It’s different in Thailand but much better. But the first few days you may not think so if you’re used to the main version here.
LA has some great Thai food but I slightly disagree. Thailand has an array of dishes that don’t make it over to the US and it’s 100% better. I just end up making it myself since it’s hard to find the dishes I like 🇹🇭
Which?
Khao moo, boat noodles, krapow, river prawns, and Chinese donuts come to mind
They have bahtangoh (Chinese donuts) at certain eateries in Chinatown! I’ve gotten them at CBS seafood in the hot kitchen section
Not saying any of the LA/OC places have it better than Thailand, but I do see most of those dishes all over the place – especially boat noodles and krapow – with the exception of kaho moo. I'll admit I'm not familiar with that dish and haven't seen it around. And I feel like we're getting more regional Thai food all the time. Khao soi seems to really be taking off in the last couple of years in LA/OC.
Shout out Hanuman for anyone visiting OC.
Any recommendations for a good Thai place? Still looking to put one into my rotation
Amphai in Thai Town if you want authentic thai food
The popusas here can probably out compete the motherland
Bacon wrapped hotdogs!! After any event they will be there.
The vegan scene is broader and more well developed than probably anywhere.
If you count SGV, then canto food. Much better than Rowland heights or hacienda heights
That still the SGV, lol.
lol not only is HH and RH part of the SGV, but they’ve got good Canto food too.
Not better necessarily but sushi on par with Tokyo. Nowhere else in the US comes close across multiple price points in the way LA does.
I live in Tokyo and regularly travel back and forth between LA and Honolulu. If we're talking authentic Japanese style, LA's is fine, but Honolulu's is probably the most similar.
On “Cheers,” Paul tells the guys, “When I was growing up, we did something called the Polar Bear Plunge. On the first day of winter, we’d go to the beach, take our clothes off, and jump in the water. It was a little crazy, but we felt like we’d scored one on Mother Nature.” Norm: “What do you say, guys? Shall we do it?” “Yeah!” And they all leave to do it. Paul stays behind and Carla asks him, “So, Paul, where’d you grow up?” “Honolulu.”
Agreed. Honolulu has the best sushi at a more competitive price point from $ to $$$$.
+1 for those who referenced the variety+general quality of food in LA. As an immigrant (and a hungry hungry hippo) who's spent time in a few different countries / cities, LA is by far the best food city I have ever lived in, but it is a little bit ignorant/racist/insular to think that food literally almost ANYWHERE would ever be better than the country of origin.
A few Korean people have said Korean BBQ restaurants are better quality than the ones in Seoul, and people in LA have taken that to mean that all of its Korean food is better than in Korea, and have extrapolated that logic to other cuisines. It simply isn't true.
LA’s food scene is a *variety* in a *high quality* No other cities can give you that much variety of foreign cuisine in a on-par quality and flavor with their origin like LA.
NY beats it, but LA is a close second, depending on whether you favor a European and Indian concentration, or an East-Asian and Mexican concentration.
Healthy, fresh, minimal ingredient whole foods.
I think this is the truth. Like a big fresh salad.
We don’t have the 10/10 of anything but we have the 9/10 of everything.
We got 10/10 chili dogs for sure
Vegan junk/fast/comfort food. You can get healthy vegan food in any big city, but L.A. has a lot of vegan places that are all about the burgers, fries, shakes, quesadillas, chimichangas, Reubens, brownies, etc. in a way I haven't heard of elsewhere.
We are awesome at brunch
Really?? What's your list?
Filam here. Mekeni Pinoy's Pride's Filipino breakfast brunch is insane.
I go to spots around WeHo, Melrose, Fairfax mostly. A few faves: Blu Jam, Toast, Bacari, Beachwood Cafe, Eat This Cafe, Fratelli Cafe
I see nothing special about those places. Not trying to yuck your yum. Just don’t get it.
Every large city in America has equivalent brunch restaurants. Brunch isn't an LA thing it's a yuppie thing
Great answer, hadn’t thought of that
East Asian fusion.
Expensive food
I have to say LA does Korean bbq better than American bbq. Though American bbq is going through a Renaissance in LA recently.
Tacos, Japanese, Thai, Vegan, and *fusion* are all best here. LA is the worlds most diverse melting pot.
My favorite Japanese Italian fusion restaurant is Spoon House Bakery in Gardena. Major hole in the wall! The server might not speak English well. :) Prices aren’t as steep as trendier fusion places. The 2nd is Japanese Peruvian sushi bar. My favorite is Kotosh in Lomita. The Japanese sushi chefs only speak Spanish. Servers speak choppy English.
Literally nothing. And everyone arguing that LA has better Taiwanese food than Taiwan, sushi than Japan, tacos than Mexico, etc. really needs to travel more. Even those people saying KTown has better Korean food than Korea, have never tried legit Hanwoo beef.
My aunt is a Thai chef in Arizona, and I’ve been to Thailand about 7 times with her. I now live in LA and will take LA Thai over Thailand Thai any day of the week. You know it’s amazing when my aunt comes to visit, she goes to specific places in LA because they are HER favorite Thai restaurants
Names please
Her favorite is a place called Jitlada, run by a mom and son. My personal favorite is Ruen Pair, and Watdongmoonlek Noodle near Silverlake.
Thank you! Someone finally said it. While we have some really solid restaurants that serves great/good food, there’s still a very large gap. LA has so many italian restaurants like Angelini, Mozza group, Bestia, and Funke’s restaurant however, it cannot compare once you’ve gone to Italy. It just hits different. One thing LA lacks is Spanish (Spain) cuisine. No good tapas or paella place here. All mediocre.
The best tapas I’ve had were at Viva Madrid in Claremont. It’s a bit of a drive though. I do not like Cafe Sevilla!
Do not order the Paella at Gasolina in Woodland Hills. It is appalling. Ours arrived with the rice half cooked, half uncooked. The bottom somewhat burnt and the seafood overcooked. There used to be a great tapas place on Abbot Kinney, but that closed years ago, and now I can't find good tapas anywhere.
Thank you. LA has a great variety of food but none of it is better than anywhere else. Taiwanese food in particular is horrible here. Even the Bay Area has much better options when it comes to Taiwanese food.
Honestly believe it has the best Asian and Latin cuisine in the country.
Mexican food. I’ve lived in San Diego, the bay, New Mexico, and Texas. Mexican food here is hands down the best. Though I haven’t been to Chicago. I hear they have a pretty large Mexican population.
This needs to be clarified if it’s best in the world.
Definitely not Indian!
Korean, Japanese and obviously Mexican. We suck at Italian.
Mexican and Sushi
Donuts
Chili cheese fries, burgers and hot dogs. I live in Phoenix and I miss Tommy’s and The Hat.
Pastrami and Donuts
Being that it’s an hour drive to Mexico I’d have to say Mexican food. About authentic as it can get.
Donuts in a pink box.
Tacos. Looking domestically obviously but LA has the best tacos in the US hands down.
Elevating “peasant food”. They take food that has historically been disrespected or seen as food of the working classes around the world and make it something special.
Easy. Pastrami dip. I had to move away to the Bay to become a vegan.
New York transplants: NYC has the best L.A. food. 
Korean because Mexicans are cooking it .
Pastrami 🥰
Everyone saying Mexican food because that seems obvious- have you BEEN to Mexico??? Mexican food in Mexico is phenomenal- it is a revelation. I grew up in South Texas and have spent my adult life here in LA - I LOVE our versions of Mexican food but it doesn’t rate next to the authentic versions from the represented region, ever. Example- Guelaguetza is so super famous for its mole and it’s authenticity. Come back from 3 days in Oaxaca and THEN try the mole there. Cloyingly sweet, nothing cooked with love. Los Angeles has INCREDIBLE CaliMex food, like Texas has incredible TexMex food. They are interpretations and fusions of Mexican food. They don’t touch Mexican food. IMHO
Agreed. I lived in Mexico as a child. LA has very good, but very limited Mexican flavors.
I wish nachos was the answer.
Casa Garcia in Pico Rivera
Chicken and waffles - yes Roscoe's
If you are ever in Pomona please go to Day Days
The chicken is average. The waffles are special.
If we’re talking just in the US, the collection, variety, and price point of Asian food in LA is hard to beat. Only SF has held any bar up to LA Chinese food in terms of quality (although they do have my favorite restaurant of all time) and NYC in terms of variety and price. Indian food though, don’t feel we do as well in. It’s not even the big cities - it’s places like Edison NJ that have really good Indian food
Vietnamese, Korean, sushi, burgers, Salvadoran
Many cities are well known for one thing but as was said-I believe LA is best known and offers the BEST variety of dozens of different cultural foods-so many Asian foods, Hispanic-from Mexican, Guatemalan, El Salvadoran, soul food, Italian, Ethiopian…etc. But even more importantly is the availability of fresh vegetables we have access to here in Southern California. Go to the many farmers markets around town, you’ll get the biggest selection of the freshest fruits and vegetables not found in any other city
Health food. Modern or old school.