Los Angeles is the land of fake lips, green smoothies, and z-list celebrity sightings outside the nearest Scientology Center. It is also the land of some really fucking good food. This month, we took a 2-day trip to La La Land and took in all the city had to offer-- traffic and all.
In-N-Out
Ordered: double double with fries
Yes, In-N-Out is overrated. Yes, we know that's an offensive statement. Whatever your stance is on the Cali burger chain, it's hard to make a trip to SoCal without chowing down on one of their signature burgers. We picked up these bad boys just after making it to LA-proper. Despite our destination only being a few miles away, it would be at least another hour until we got there.
Guelaguetza (Harvard Heights)
Ordered: frozen mezcal marg, camarones al mojo de ajo
LA has no shortage of good Mexican food, but Guelaguetza is one of the best. They're known for their mole and micheladas (you can buy their house mix there to take home), but the shrimp we ordered was delicious and perfectly simple. Their complementary chips come with mole and queso fresco on top, and they are so 👏 fucking 👏 good. The frozen mezcal marg hit the spot, too.
Dan Sung Sa (Koreatown)
Ordered: skewers, ddeokbokki, bulgogi, kimchi pancake, mackerel, lemon so-ju
Doesn't this look delicious? Jk, we forgot to take a pic until we were done because we were actually enjoying the meal. How non-LA of us! As fas as Korean food goes, this spot was a solid choice for drinking food. While it lacked the magic of cooking meat directly at your table, the skewers were great. Even the frog leg one.
The Oyster Gourmet (Grand Central Market)
Ordered: half dozen oysters
Yes, oysters were the first thing we ate. It's hard to screw up oysters, and it's safe to say that this place didn't. Their house-made cocktail sauce was a little too weak, but the mignonette was balanced and perfectly vinegar-y.
La Tostadería (Grand Central Market)
Ordered: mixta tostada
After seeing dozens of people walking around the market with delicious looking ceviche, we finally found the source. The mixta tostada was a combination of octopus, scallops, and shrimp. It was perfectly balanced with the right amount of heat and plenty of lime. It was this meal that made me seriously consider moving down to LA.
Lucky Bird (Grand Central Market)
Ordered: 3-piece fried chicken
Despite being full, we made one last stop at the market at Lucky Bird, which is the market's first stand devoted solely to fried chicken. The citrus-brined chicken is deliciously moist, and the lemon zest and salt sprinkled on top shine through. This was absolutely worth gorging over.
Cafe Jack (Koreatown)
Ordered: real crab sushi roll
Cafe Jack is a Titanic-themed restaurant that exists in an elaborate boat. Needless to say, we didn't come here for the food. The interior of the space is massive, and full of stuff to look (or gawk) at at every corner. We came here too early, but it was interesting nonetheless. The "real crab" roll was absolutely made with canned crab, but let's be real-- it didn't matter.
Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong (Koreatown)
Ordered: Brisket, beef tongue, pork belly, seafood pancake
For our second dinner in LA, we knew we had to get some Korean bbq. We made it here after looking at the thousands of good reviews and seeing its name on tons of top restaurant lists. Somehow, we were lucky enough to not have to wait, despite the group before us being told it would be over an hour.
The food was great and definitely hit the spot. The ban chan was plentiful and the addition of corn cheese was great. The only bummer was the insistence that they cook your food for you; beef tongue is best when it's nice and crispy, and our server clearly disagreed.
