L.A. Restaurant Luminaries Look Back on the Year — and Look Ahead to 2024
Since this is that time of year when we reflect on all that’s transpired in the past 12 months, what better way to remember it than through some of our favorite restaurants?
And who better to ask than some of our favorite restaurant folks? To wrap up the year, we asked some of L.A.’s culinary leaders about their thoughts on the year that was. What were their favorite meals? What trends resonated? And what to expect in the new year?
Right this way.
What trends this year inspired you and made you feel hopeful about the industry?
“An increase in communal dining, dinner parties, and supper clubs in the city has made me feel super hopeful about the industry — and hospitality as a whole — leaning toward being more engaging, inviting, and community-based.”
— Asia Howell, General Manager, Alta Adams
“Transparency. We love how restaurant owners, operators, and workers are sharing more and more the reality of what it takes to run a restaurant. People are posting more frankly about the financial realities, the toll on physical and mental health, the ways in which our industry can improve, and the ways diners can become more engaged. All this leads to more understanding, and hopefully, a better, more evolved industry.”
— Mina Park, Chef/Owner, Baroo
“I think we’ve seen a bit of a return to fine dining, which is particularly exciting after coming out of a period where so many of us felt unsure about the future of the restaurant industry. Seeing new restaurants swing for the fences and go all out is inspiring, as is the Michelin Guide recognition that has come along with it.”
— Michael Williams, Culinary Director, IB Hospitality (Juliet, Norah, and Margot)
“I think a lot of people are cooking the food that they always wanted to cook — not being defined as Asian or Latino, but simply put, the food of Los Angeles, where we all grew up eating [a] great diversity of great ethnic food from all the immigrants that choose to come to L.A.”
— David Kuo, Chef/Owner, Little Fatty
What was your favorite restaurant experience outside of your restaurant?
“The best meal we had this year was at Camphor in LA. The “lentils & lamb” side dish and the spinach vadouvan with the steak make for the steak dinner of our dreams. The food was delicious and perfectly executed. And we were very impressed by the wine pairing for our à la carte selections.”
— Mina Park, Chef/Owner, Baroo
What was your favorite ingredient in 2023?
“Caviar has been having a moment! We’ve seen caviar service of all forms coming back in a big way, and I think people are catching on. It’s a nutritious and delicious luxury.”
— Michael Williams, Culinary Director, IB Hospitality (Juliet, Norah, and Margot)
“SHALLOT SAUCE.”
— David Kuo, Chef/Owner, Little Fatty
We love how restaurant owners, operators, and workers are sharing more and more the reality of what it takes to run a restaurant.— Mina Park, Baroo
What are you most proud of from this year?
“Opening Juliet and getting added to the Michelin Guide within our first six months was a huge honor, and we all felt incredibly proud. Getting to read glowing reviews from the Michelin inspectors certainly impacted our team in a positive way, and let us all know that our hard work was being recognized, but also reminded us that we need to push even harder moving forward.”
— Michael Williams, Culinary Director, IB Hospitality (Juliet, Norah, and Margot)
“We really emphasized training and mentoring on all levels, so that everyone on staff had dramatic personal growth.”
— David Kuo, Chef/Owner, Little Fatty
“We’re most proud of reopening! And especially opening a restaurant with a culture that we hope reflects our values of connection, fairness, and continuous evolution. As we tell our team, it’s always a work in progress.”
— Mina Park, Chef/Owner, Baroo
“I’m proud of the growth of our Wine Shop’s weekly Wine Wednesday event and how much of a bridge it’s been for our community, of the relationships we’ve built with our farmers this year, and of our chef pop-up dinners that the team did an amazing job on! We featured chefs in either a collab dinner or pop up, and the four-course dinner with wine pairings really gave the team a sense of accomplishment and let us switch up the way we ran our dinner service, and feel good about the job we did and the experiences we provided.”
— Asia Howell, General Manager, Alta Adams
Is there an ingredient you’re ready to say goodbye to?
“I love truffles (and fries!), but I’m ready to say goodbye to every restaurant having truffle fries on the menu.”
— Asia Howell, General Manager, Alta Adams
“We don’t like goodbyes. We will use any ingredient forever if it tastes good.”
— Mina Park, Chef/Owner, Baroo
Any trend predictions for 2024?
“I think a return to simplicity in dining is happening. Good food. Good service. Less gimmicks. Some of the best restaurants I’ve been at have kept everything very simple, and that’s what made it memorable.”
— Asia Howell, General Manager, Alta Adams
“A lot more comfort food that satisfies the soul.”
— David Kuo, Chef/Owner, Little Fatty
“More fine dining centered on specific Asian cuisines. With Korean fine dining growing exponentially in the US, and places like Kasama featuring Filipino fine dining, I hope we will see more fine-dining restaurants sharing elevated visions of the cuisines of countries like Indonesia and Vietnam.”
— Mina Park, Chef/Owner, Baroo
What do you hope will change in the industry in 2024?
“We hope the industry will see more parity between FOH and BOH pay.”
— Mina Park, Chef/Owner, Baroo
“I’m hopeful that with the writer’s strike ending, we will see an uptick in people just going out for no reason — it feels like everyone has scaled back this year and dining out has been reserved for important occasions/celebrations, and no longer just because.”
— Asia Howell, General Manager, Alta Adams
