MODERN CLASSICS THAT SAY ‘L.A.’
IN OUR REGION’S sweeping pluralism, there are restaurants so enmeshed in the culture of Los Angeles — so defining of what it means to eat and live in Southern California — that they surpass the notion of annual lists. They’ve earned a place of honor for all time. Here are 14 peerless modern classics that earned a spot this year in our Hall of Fame. They join previous inductees Asanebo, Attari Sandwich Shop, Cielito Lindo, Coni’Seafood, Dal Rae, Ham Ji Park, Musso & Frank Grill, Newport Seafood Restaurant, Sapp Coffee Shop and Spago.
Al & Bea’s
Pick up a bean-andcheese burrito at Al & Bea’s and it wobbles — sloshes, nearly — from the heft of its molten contents. You have a choice of red or green chile sauce; generations of fans have leaned green for its piercing zing. Albert and Beatrice Carreon opened their Boyle Heights stand on 1st Street in 1966; the business is now in the hands of their grandson, Albert Carreon. For either takeout or a quick meal at a shaded table, it remains a heart-of-thecommunity lunchtime destination for families and nearby workers. 2025 1st St., Los Angeles, (213) 267-8810, alandbeas.com
Angelini Osteria
A Beverly Boulevard paragon for over 20 years, Gino Angelini prepares sophisticated dishes — silky vitello tonnato pinged with fried capers, lamb chops over arugula, a purist’s tiramisu — served in a dining room full of clatter and cheer. His polished repertoire of pastas includes an impeccable lasagna verde and, as a study of subtle textures and layered richness, agnolotti filled with braised veal shank in a Parmigiano-Reggiano sauce. Breakfast is a lesser-known strength; try the eggs in purgatory. Angelini recently opened a second location in the Palisades, but it’s the long-running original that has our enduring devotion. 7313 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 297-0070, angelinibeverly.com; also at 1038 N. Swarthmore Ave., Pacific Palisades, (424) 238-5870
Bay Cities Italian Deli
It’s good time management to pick up a decent bottle of Barolo, a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano and maybe some caponata or fusilli pasta salad for lunch later in the week. But we have all come to Santa Monica’s timeless Italian market, which will reach its centenary in 2025, for L.A.’s uncontested queen of subs: the Godmother. A long crackly-topped roll contains sliced prosciutto, ham, capicola, mortadella, salami and provolone stacked with a mason’s precision. Ask for the works, with hot peppers rather than mild. 1517 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 395-8279, order.bcdeli.com
Brent’s Deli
Over half a century, since Ron and Patricia Peskin became its operators in 1969, Brent’s Deli has been the Valley’s cornerstone of Jewish deli culture. The conversation only begins with the black pastrami Reuben, the brisket crusted with black pepper and stacked on rye with melted Swiss, hot sauerkraut and Russian dressing. Chicken matzo ball soup, latkes, cheese blintzes and chopped liver are steadfast and eternally comforting. The long room in the original Northridge location feels like an assembly hall; the booths fill first, always. 19565 Parthenia St., Northridge, (818) 886-5679, brentsdeli.com/menu; also at 2799 Townsgate Road, Westlake Village, (805) 557-1882
Dai Ho
There’s no lingering at Jim and May Ku’s Temple City noodle shop, open midday for 3 1⁄2 hours, six days a week. Food speeds out of the kitchen; strangers likely share tables. Most of us show up for the Taiwanese-style beef noodle soup, the Kus’ masterwork. The broth is alive with aromatics and thick with braised beef shank, spinach, a clutch of properly bouncy noodles and a nuclear cloud of house-made chile oil. Start with cold dishes such as garlicky wood ear mushrooms or delicate beef tripe with pressed tofu — or take them with you. 9148 Las Tunas Drive, Temple City, (626) 291-2295, yelp.com/biz/dai-ho-restaurant-temple-city
Dan Sung Sa
Behind an inconspicuous wooden door in a Koreatown strip mall with a red brick façade, Caroline Cho runs one of L.A.’s iconic latenight haunts. She modeled the place in spirit after Korea’s tented pojangmacha street stalls, though Dan Sung Sa has its own matchless character: woodpaneled walls gashed with graffiti; a central grill where cooks churn out skewered meats; and Gen X-era K-pop power ballads gushing from the speakers. If one were to compose one of those ideal one-day itineraries for understanding Los Angeles, the night should arguably end here with rounds of soju and a snack of the seaweed-wrapped fried dough known as dumbbells. 3317 W. 6th St., Los Angeles, (213) 487-9100, dansungsala.com
Guelaguetza
At America’s most famous Oaxacan restaurant, founded by Fernando Lopez and now run by his family, the mole negro is as miraculous as ever — a composite of chiles, nuts, plantains, raisins, herbs and sweet and peppery spices merged into a hauntingly delicious whole. In the sprawling, color-splotched dining rooms, multigenerational families share tlayudas wreathed with strings of oval chorizo and barbacoa roja de chivo scented with avocado leaves. Guelaguetza is about more than dining, though. It stands as a stronghold of Oaxacalifornia, an example of achievement and unity in a region that has for decades been home to the largest Oaxacan population outside Mexico. 3014 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 427-0608, ilovemole.com
Hawkins House of Burgers
Hawkins’ burgers are thick brutes with charred edges. The toppings that complete them recall park barbecues on holiday weekends. Some lofty creations at this Watts stalwart — run by Cynthia Hawkins, whose father began the business as a stand in 1939 — have become signatures over the years, including the Leaning Tower of Watts: 1 ½ pounds of burger impaled on a skewer with hot links, pastrami and bacon, dressed with egg and chili. No ornate trimmings needed, though: A single-patty model more than holds its own. 11603 Slater St., Los Angeles, (323) 563-1129, hawkinsburgers.com
Langer’s
The No. 19 at Norm Langer’s Westlake landmark should be named the official sandwich of Los Angeles. The pastrami — brined, peppered, smoked, steamed and shaved by hand into rosy kerchiefs — rises from between two slices of double-baked rye bread. A cushion of coleslaw, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing hovers over top like an upper bunk. Your senses are keener in the face of such perfection. Settle into your chestnutbrown, tufted booth seat among the happy cadences of silverware against plates and myriad languages ringing through the dining room. Honestly, though? Slices of hot pastrami, fanned across a plate with vegetable garnishes and perhaps nothing more than a smear of mustard, show how little adornment the brisket really requires. 704 S. Alvarado St., Los Angeles, (213) 483-8050, langersdeli.com
Los Cinco Puntos
Named for the points where East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, Lorena Boulevard and Indiana Street meet in East L.A., the carnicería and Mexican corner grocery established in 1967 embodies the meaning of “intersection.” Something about the entwined smells in the air — meats simmering and frying, onions, lime juice, masa hitting the griddle — settles the psyche. No matter their errand, most customers walk out holding at least one taco made with a plush handmade corn tortilla. The standard taco choices can be repeated like a mantra: asada, carnitas, buche, lengua, pollo, chile rojo. First-time visitors should start with the carnitas. 3300 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 261-4084, los5puntos.com
Matsuhisa
How would sushi have evolved in Los Angeles without the arrival of Nobu Matsuhisa’s Beverly Hills restaurant in 1987? It would take a team of oral historians to unravel. He was born in Japan and cooked in Peru and other South American countries before opening Matsuhisa; its runaway popularity led to Nobu in New York and the chef’s ascent as a global brand. His menus have always been interlaced with Nikkei elements, most prominently in ceviches sparked with aji amarillo paste and citrusdrenched tiraditos. The spotlight on his bright, creamy, spicy creations also arguably fell on his time-honored presentations of nigiri. And might his success have also spurred local Japanese traditionalists to double down on serving more historically accurate sushi? In the end, Los Angeles has one of the world’s most energized and varied sushi cultures; plates of Matsuhisa’s eversatisfying rock shrimp tempura or golden eye snapper with jalapeño salsa, followed by a tekkamaki, remind us where we’ve been and where we are now. 129 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 659-9639, matsuhisabeverlyhills.com
Otafuku
Very few restaurants serve fresh soba — with good reason. Buckwheat flour, the ingredient that gives soba its nutty snap, makes the dough notoriously difficult to form and cut. Seiji Akutsu has practiced the craft five days a week since he and his family opened Otafuku in 1997. He prepares the noodles in three variations, including one that is entirely buckwheat, though the most traditional (and arguably the best) is zaru soba, with a ratio of 20% wheat. Try them both hot in soup and served cold on a woven bamboo mat with dipping sauce, and with a side of vegetable tempura. Gardena food lovers know what they have in the restaurant; a steady, easygoing crowd keeps the dining room full for lunch and dinner. 16525 S. Western Ave., Gardena, (310) 532-9348, @otafuku_restaurant
Phnom Penh Noodle Shack
Any conversation around the dining culture in Long Beach’s thriving Cambodian community begins with this restaurant opened by the Tan family in 1985. Kuy teav, the reason people wait mornings and afternoons for a table, is a highly customizable breakfast soup built around various shapes of rice or egg noodles and pork broth. The multitextured “house special” includes several cuts of pork and shrimp given even more nuance with the optional mixed noodles. Be generous with additions of fried garlic, scallions and squeezes of lime. 1644 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, (562) 433-0032, thenoodleshack.com
Pie ’n Burger
With respect to the many aficionados who would name the icon served at Apple Pan as the quintessential California burger, I contend that the title belongs to Pie ’n Burger’s Big Ben. Chunky slices of tomato and onion; twin medium-thick patties, griddled to crispness; American cheese squares melting at their pointed corners; a wad of iceberg as bulky as an oil tycoon’s billfold; a vaulted bun: This is earthquakeproof construction, built to last the ages. The wax paper wrapper is more for a clean grip than for engineering purposes. True to the restaurant’s name, completionists won’t leave their low seat along the counter without downing a generous slab of pie — lemon meringue, perhaps, or strawberries when they’re in season. 913 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 795-1123, pienburger.com
