BY BILL ADDISON AND JENN HARRIS
We think of the Hall of Famers as restaurants so vital to the marrow of Los Angeles dining that they transcend the whims of list-making and rankings. They’ve earned a place in our lives for all time. Five new luminaries enter the echelon this year, joining the 33 previous inductees beginning in 2019. — Bill Addison, Restaurant Critic
TASTE OF TEHRAN
A general rule of Persian cuisine in L.A.: The khoresht, or complex stew, is the fundament of Iranian home cooking, with infinite individual, regional and seasonal variations. But people tend to go out for kebabs. Chef-owner Saghar Fanisalek’s six-table dining room may be hidden among the thicket of Westwood’s Persian cafes and markets, but it stands out as the best of the kebab houses. Fanisalek cooks a reassuring mix of dishes — marinated meats singed over flames, served with eggplant dips as tart as they are rich — with uncommon finesse. Just the right amount of grated onion stings the beef koobideh, shaped in undulating patterns on the skewer; the chicken kebab has fully absorbed its lemony marinade. Tahdig cracks like crystal; order it with chicken fesenjoon spooned over and let its pomegranate-tinged gravy soften the grains. — B.A.
1915 WESTWOOD BLVD., LOS ANGELES, (310) 470-0022 l TASTEOFTEHRAN.COM
HAROLD & BELLE’S
The gumbo is an ambush of heat and smoke, the spice of the andouille sausage leaching into the umber stew. Crowded with shrimp and blue crab legs and woodsy with sassafras, it evokes the restaurant’s Creole roots. In 1969, Harold Legaux Sr. and wife Mary Belle opened it as a place for fellow New Orleans transplants to gather over familiar po’boy sandwiches and gumbo. Now, third-generation owners Ryan and Jessica Legaux run the restaurant, expanding the family’s footprint in the community with catering, takeout operation To-Geaux and a vegan menu. Fried chicken is encased in a craggy coating like armor. Po’boys overflow with golden fried shrimp and oysters. Each grain of rice in the jambalaya seethes with a hot mix of paprika and cayenne. There’s a warmth to the staff not easily duplicated; meals feel like visits to a friend’s house. — J.H.
2920 W. JEFFERSON BLVD., LOS ANGELES, (323) 735-9023 l HAROLDANDBELLES.COM
A.O.C.
The entree description read “Liberty duck breast, verjus-poached quince, mustard greens and hazelnuts”; the fall flavors on the plate echoed the shifting light on the ivy-covered patio. That’s always been the gift of Suzanne Goin. Many think of A.O.C. for staples like bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with Parmesan and Spanish fried chicken with romesco aïoli and chile-cumin butter. Do they realize that Goin basically codified an entire branch of L.A.’s dining culture? She laid out a blueprint for Cal-Med menus, validating the beauty of our local ingredients but also knowing when they gain from ideas inspired by North Africa, western Asia and the warmest coasts of France and Spain. A.O.C. began two decades ago as a wine bar; co-owner Caroline Styne’s wine program has expanded in ways that fit its standing as a modern classic. — B.A.
8700 W. 3RD ST., LOS ANGELES, (310) 859-9859 l AOCWINEBAR.COM
MARISCOS JALISCO
Eating tacos dorados de camarones on the hood of your car while the salsa roja drips down your wrist is a quintessential L.A. dining experience. This is So Cal’s taco culture, wrapped up in three bites of Raul Ortega’s fried shrimp tacos. He started Mariscos Jalisco as a food truck on Olympic Boulevard in 2001 with lime-slicked seafood and tacos inspired by those he ate in San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco. More than two decades later, the Tostada Poseidon, a tower of shrimp soused in red aguachile over sliced octopus, is just as impressive. And the tacos dorados de camarones, which led to Ortega winning The Times’ 2024 Gold Award, still thrill me. Filled with chopped shrimp, then dropped into the fryer, they’re a study in contrasts. All the crunch collapses into a mouthful of soft, creamy shrimp filling. It is an Angeleno’s taco North Star. — J.H.
3040 E. OLYMPIC BLVD., LOS ANGELES, (323) 528-6701 l MARISCOSJALISCO.NET
SOBAN
Does the galbi jjim stew here taste at least 18% better because chef-owner Jennifer Pak uses scissors to cut the chunks of short rib into bite-sized pieces at your table while telling your date (in this case my mother) that she’s as beautiful as a movie star? Or because the wrinkled jujubes at the bottom of the stew come from Pak’strees? Soban is mandatory eating for anyone trying to understand Koreatown’s breadth. It starts with an impressive array of banchan — maybe wood ear mushrooms dressed with sesame oil, or a dish of crispy peanuts with baby anchovies. Her ganjang gaejang come with plastic gloves so you can grasp the claws of raw, soy-marinated crab and suck the sweet meat out of the shell. The braised black cod is surrounded by rounds of radish, potato, tteok and silken tofu. This is food and a place that never fails to comfort. — J.H.
4001 W. OLYMPIC BLVD., LOS ANGELES, (323) 936-9106 l SOBANLA.COM
2019 INDUCTEES
ASANEBO
ATTARI SANDWICH SHOP
CIELITO LINDO
CONI’SEAFOOD
DAL RAE
MUSSO & FRANK GRILL
NEWPORT SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
SAPP COFFEE SHOP
SPAGO
2022 INDUCTEES
AL & BEA’S
ANGELINI OSTERIA
BAY CITIES ITALIAN DELI & BAKERY
BRENT’S DELI
DAI HO
DAN SUNG SA
GUELAGUETZA
HAWKINS HOUSE OF BURGERS
LANGER’S
LOS CINCO PUNTOS
MATSUHISA
OTAFUKU
PHNOM PENH NOODLE SHOP
PIE ’N BURGER
2023 INDUCTEES
EARLE’S ON CRENSHAW
GOLDEN DELI
GRAND CENTRAL MARKET
JAR
JITLADA
KAREEM’S RESTAURANT
LA CASITA MEXICANA
MEALS BY GENET
PARK’S BBQ
SUSHI GEN
