The Resy Guide to the New Classic Dishes of Los Angeles

The dish: Chicharrón

When Ray Garcia closed his award-winning DTLA restaurant during the pandemic, the idea that his chicharrón was lost forever was almost debilitating. Thankfully, it’s back, and a mainstay at the pop up he and his Broken Spanish team have been doing in Hollywood for the last several months.

His particular take on the classic Mexican-American staple is a crispy, meltingly good pork belly sitting in a garlic mojo and topped with peppery radish sprouts. (Don’t skip the refried lentils with blue corn tortillas, either.) Given the popup has been extended through July — and Garcia is upbeat it will live on beyond that — there’s still time to get it. But don’t delay. 

The dish: Skrei in nettle brown butter

While it’s easy to latch onto chef Doug Rankin’s version of moules frites — only these mussels are topped with the very American curly fries — his latest menu items show how far he can stretch. The pandemic was rough, but maybe it also allowed space to compose dishes like skrei, a Norwegien Arctic cod, poached in nettle butter, swimming in roasted garlic broth, and topped with blistered baby artichokes, and crispy choke leaves.

The dish: Cardamom buns

Long before baker Roxana Jullapat penned her acclaimed new cookbook Mother Grains, she showed her prowess with using locally milled flours at the East Hollywood bakery and café she owns with partner Dan Mattern. Every day the pastry case overflows with fruit pies, financiers, Sonora wheat croissants, rye chocolate chip cookies, but the one thing we always hope hasn’t sold out (it’s a real threat, to be honest) is the cardamom bun. Slightly scented, the yeasted dough, twisted in a rather complicated knot, is just sweet enough and perfect with coffee. The fact that Jullapat uses heritage grains from small producers seems to make each flaky, sweet, and savory pastry that much tastier.

The dish: Lamb meatballs

That you need to head to the South Bay to find North African food is very fitting for L.A. Barsha is an offshoot of a popular Manhattan Beach wine shop of the same name, only here chef Lenora Marouani and husband Adnen serve wonderfully spiced dishes like chicken mosli, a soulful stew, harissa grilled prawns, and tabil-spiced salmon.

Barsha is an offshoot of a popular Manhattan Beach wine shop of the same name, only here chef Lenora Marouani and husband Adnen serve wonderfully spiced dishes like chicken mosli, a rich stew served, harissa grilled prawns, and tabil-spiced salmon.

The dish: The Philippe

Known primarily for excellent blister-crusted pizzas, a perfect shaved fennel and herb salad, cacio e pepe risotto, and a fine roast chicken, we have to tip our hat to the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Addison for calling attention to the Philippe.

This French dip-inspired calzone, with a side of French onion jus and requisite hot mustard for dipping, is a perfect homage if there ever was one from chef Daniel Cutler to one of the original L.A. classics. No matter what else you get, get this.

The dish: Bulgogi and three-cheese risotto

Opening during a pandemic is never easy, but this tiny outfit in a Koreatown strip mall has made waves with its big flavors and fun fusion mashups, like mandu with doenjang Bolognese and kimchi tagliatelle. Why no one else has thought about adding marinated bulgogi to a super cheesy risotto is astonishing — because it’s really, really good.

The dish: Rockfish escabeche

More laid-back and local than siblings Pujol in Mexico City, Cosme and Atla in New York (and now Elio in Las Vegas), Enrique Olvera’s foray into Los Angeles is wildly successful, even with the confines of the pandemic.

One of the chef’s personal favorites, a must, is the ceviche with olive kosho and Sungold tomatoes. It pulls in locally grown produce, pristine seafood, and a touch of Japanese influence, and perfectly encapsulates his vision for what L.A. food should be.

The dish: Chicken sandwich

Nightshade is still on hiatus and may be closed for good, but chef Mei Lin has stayed busy during the pandemic. One of the biggest hits is her fried-chicken shop, which opened earlier this year, garnering lines like we hadn’t seen for years before COVID.

The overloaded sandwich practically has its own IG account, and for good reason: The massive Jidori thigh coated in the crispiest coating and fiery Sichuan spices doesn’t even fit the bun. It comes with slaw, but douse it with either habañero ranch or hot honey — or go crazy and do both — and know the wait was worth it.

The dish: Dry-aged fish tacos

Justin Pichetrungsi knew he had to bring his family’s restaurant into the future, while retaining its status as a longtime Valley favorite for Thai staples. That meant updating dishes with locally sourced, often seasonal ingredients, creating a stellar wine program, and daring the public to accept what Thai food could be.

Would he rather not sell pad Thai, but knows he has to? Sure. But he does, along with Thai fried chicken smothered in shallots, and stellar omakase menus. Don’t miss anything he makes with dry-aged fish — including specials like kanpachi collars with nam pla waan and golden pea shoots, but also in tacos on his epic Thai Taco Tuesdays.

The dish: Carrots with green goddess dressing

There are a lot of restaurants that feel particularly L.A., but Botanica hits that nail squarely on the head. The women-led kitchen knows how to turn out beautiful food for beautiful people in a perfectly breezy space.

With new chef Zarah Khan (most recently from Seattle’s London Plane) at the helm, there are a few subtle updates to the menu. But things like the Weiser Family Farms carrots roasted in chile oil and fermented honey, with a pepita green goddess dressing and feta, will always be essential.

The dish: The Olympic

If you followed Wes Avila’s Guerrilla Tacos from the streets to the Arts District brick-and-mortar, and it’s safe to say you also are keen to locate his newish project in Chinatown’s Mandarin Plaza. Named for two birds he saw fighting in the Los Angeles River one day, the AED menu is small but mighty, filled mostly with his versions of Mexican tortas.

The best starting point is The Olympic, a bomb of a sandwich made with ribeye, red peppers, horseradish cream, and serrano chile. At some point you’ll end up going back for all the other genre-bending L.A. street foods — like shrimp and cannellini bean crunchy taquitos, massive Mandarin hot chicken tortas, and kanpachi tostadas with salsa seca. All of it will take you back to Avila’s simpler food-truck days, in the best way.

The dish: Three-cup abalone

When Jon Yao creates dishes for his 10-course menu, he pulls from different points of his life: his mother’s recipes, travels, flavor profiles of ingredients he loves, ideas he conjured up after dining somewhere, or just out of thin air.

But something comes together with the three-cup abalone, his riff off of the Taiwanese staple three-cup chicken, which incorporates the sea snails his mom used to cook, and a desire to keep using abalone on what’s otherwise a seasonally changing menu. And boom: a wonderful dish with texture and nuance, and one that captures everything going on at this tiny West L.A. spot.