I’m not from LA, so take this with a grain of salt, but I have friends there and have spent a lot of time in the area. It’s true that the upper and upper middle class neighborhoods have a super unfriendly vibe to them, and in those areas everything is exorbitantly expensive. But REAL LA isn’t Erewhon and beverly hills. What I like about it is the way that the poorer people there seem to have each other‘s backs. Last time I was there, I remember one day where my friend’s neighbors were outside cooking some bbq and offering a plate to everyone who passed by, even homeless people and strangers! Most la residents arent trying to be celebs or influencers, they’re just surviving day by day like the rest of us.
Jan 24, 2025
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Idk about underrated bc i feel like everyone knows la but some of my favorite things are larchmont village (grew up going here. super walkable, rip the blockbuster), tamales liliana’s (good/predictable mexican food; mostly just convenient/reliable spot to get tamales), ballona creek bike path (can rent city bikes at the beach and ride through from culver city to redondo), the getty museum is goated, and the central american food scene is tight in mid city too (mostly speaking in terms of the guatamalan dishes bc thats where i grew up going, gonna gate keep the name of my favorite breakfast spot bc it gets packed as is but hint: it’s on washington and western)
Mar 1, 2024
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About a decade ago, in the halcyon years of the early 2010s, Los Angels underwent a culinary renaissance. The city transformed from a metropolitan area notorious for its deficit of high quality cuisine to one of the driving forces of a new American cooking. Restaurants like Animal and whatever Jose Centano was cooking pushed culinary culture forward, forefronting a masculine style of cooking focused on offal, fat, and a primeval savory richness. Suddenly the entire city was consuming foie gras, pig ear, and ox tail. Over the course of a decade, this style of cooking disseminated through the city, infiltrating every neighborhood and ethnic enclave. Japanese food featured hearts, livers, and pickled meats. Mexican cuisine fixated on tongue and stomach. Bacon and brussels sprouts could be found on every New American menu. Unfortunately, like all good things, this shift was not to signal a permanent change. Instagram reoriented cooking to feature aesthetics first, and ingredients second. The focal restaurants of this movement slowly lost favor and dissipated from business. The people, as with anything in our fast changing city, moved on. Los Angeles once more became a city of route, pedestrian cooking. So where to find exciting, unexpected flavors? The answer, as always, lies in the most unexpected of locations. Any exciting cooking this city has to offer can be found in the nooks and cranies of this metropolis's ethnic strip malls. Within these unassuming locations can be found the richness of a globalized culinary culture. In Koreatown one can stumble upon gopchang - delicately grilled cow intestines. The sidewalks and hovels of Thaitown feature the breadth of Northern Thailand and Laotian delicacies, which encompass everything from fermented crab to raw meat salads. Little Armenia is home to basturma, a specific varient of cured beef salami. The most delectable of sushi can be discovered in any neighborhood across the great swath of our city, with fish sourced from the San Pedro fish market, the busiest and freshest seafood depository outside of the many islands of Japan. Though the most prominent restaurants from its culinary heyday have since ceased to exist, Los Angeles is still a culinary capital of unparalleled breadth. One must simply know what neighborhoods bear fruit, and what unassuming storefronts are ripe for the plucking. The dingier the restaurant, the greater the prize, and the adventure one must take to get there only makes the meal all the more worthwhile.
Nov 4, 2023
The love and support for LA after the recent fires, and anytime people help strangers, gives one a fleetly glimmer of hope in humanity. One of the things to truly love about gridlocked and vocal fried LA is the food. We're spoiled in NY, but the produce in California is the next best to Italy. So if for no other reason than to show love for a hard business, during hard times, some of my favorite LA food spots are: Speranza, Lolo, Gra, Cafe Stella, Tower Bar, Jar, Pace, Gjusta, Locanda Portono, Fluffy’s. Not to mention great tacos, and fruit cups galore. All so good.
6d ago
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whewww man, im so happy rn. huge weight off my chest (no pun intended)
Jan 21, 2025
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I don’t even remember who posted this one, but they said to get a calendar and mark off days on it, celebrate both major and minor holidays with your full chest, vocalize changes in seasons when they come, and just generally to work on your awareness of time moving. following this advice has improved my adhd and depression insanely. from 2020-2024 it hardly felt like one year had passed let alone four because i was just letting it whiz on by. that is no longer the case. it even had the bonus of helping me bond with my very jewish grandparents because i started doing a little Shabbat ritual on friday nights
Feb 6, 2025
Jan 18, 2025