The LA Food Podcast

The New York Times named its 50 favorite restaurants in America, and somehow Komal is the first LA Mexican restaurant to make the list in six years. Luca and Sal break down LA selections Komal, Jacaranda and Yerord Mas Bakery & Deli, debate whether the list actually represents how America eats, and name the two Los Angeles restaurants they would have chosen instead. Plus: shrinking portions at Dune, Pawn Shop and Daisy Margarita Bar, the backlash against food influencers, “unreasonable hospitality,” and whether Crumbl even qualifies as a cookie.

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Father Sal returns for a full Q3 listener Q&A, and things get weird quickly. We debate whether having a controversial guest on a podcast counts as “platforming,” try to decode an anonymous tip about Sqirl’s alleged lack of presence at the farmers market, ask whether West Hollywood is cursed for restaurants, and determine which LA spots best capture peak-millennial dining culture.
Plus: which restaurants are worth suffering LA traffic for, where to send someone for their one meal in Los Angeles, whether LA is actually a sports-bar town, and plenty of recent eats, including Holy Basil, Ceviche Project and Pawn Shop. We also make a brief case for beer corkage fees, because apparently that is where we are as a society.
And because it’s a listener Q&A: keep sending us your questions, comments and deranged food opinions on Instagram, Spotify and wherever you listen.

We’re reaching into the Taqueando with Bill Esparza archives for one of the only episodes Luca has ever joined Bill on, a deep dive into the glorious, deceptively complicated world of the real Ensenada-style fish taco. Bill breaks down what makes the Baja classic legit, why so many versions miss the mark, and everything Luca didn’t know about one of Southern California’s most iconic foods.
There’s also a reason we’re bringing Taqueando to The LA Food Podcast feed today: big changes are coming to the Acquired Taste podcast universe. Plus, Pizza Run Club returns, worker-owned restaurants might not be quite as socialist as Luca initially assumed, and The New Gourmet becomes Buffet.
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Food writer Karen Palmer returns to defend Hillstone, revisit the Hard Rock Cafe and examine whether Go Greek can become the Shake Shack of frozen yogurt. Luca shares recent meals at Doto, Sora Craft Kitchen and LA’s newest spots before they debate $40 sandwiches, protein maxxing, restaurant branding, Michelin’s Texas snub and the return of chicken as a marquee menu item. Plus, the best sandwiches in Los Angeles, the problem with restaurants that have nowhere to put your purse and an Aperol Spritz controversy nobody saw coming.

Does Tony capture the real Anthony Bourdain, or does it take one creative liberty too many? Luca is joined by Nancy DaSilva (Compliments to the Chef) and Father Sal for a spirited, spoiler-filled review of Matt Johnson’s Bourdain biopic, from Dominic Sessa’s occasionally uncanny performance to standout turns from Antonio Banderas and Leo Woodall. They debate whether the film needed Bourdain at all, why its romanticized portrait of a formative Provincetown summer works, and whether the backlash from Bourdain purists is justified.