When it comes to LA, there are plenty of resources one might consult when deciding where to eat a particular meal. Kevin Eats is a must-read. EaterLA regularly updates their “heatmap,” which provides a list of the 18 hottest restaurants in the city at a given time. They also offer a list of the 38 best restaurants in the city at a given time. There are other blogs offering other lists. Some are broken down by category (SGV Chinese! Taco Trucks! $$$$!), some are divided by meals (lunch! brunch! other meals!). Then a few months ago an acquaintance who I see regularly through my job told me he started his own new website, simply called “Twenty Meals.” The idea was incredibly simple: “A list of places to eat in Los Angeles.” No pretensions, no rules, just a list of his twenty favorite places to eat in the city. I liked the idea so much I decided to copy it and make it a regular (as in, updated…sometimes) feature on this website.
Version 1.0 of this list was limited strictly to places whose addresses were officially listed as “Los Angeles, CA”. Until somebody says otherwise I’m go to stick with the same format as the first list. Sure, that means some great places I’ve tried (Comme Ca, Tasting Kitchen, The Wallace, Rustic Canyon, Colonia Taco Lounge, etc.) are not going to appear on the list. Maybe next time I’ll change up the criteria for inclusion. Because, honestly, is Tasting Kitchen that much more of a hassle to get to than Tsujita? One’s further west, but one’s right by the 405 (ugh).
Like in any venture, Version 2.0 will be vastly different from Verison 3.0. Restaurants that appeared on list 1.0 which have “dropped off” this list are: Square One, Maximiliano, Church & State, Eastside Market Italian Deli, and Yang Chow.
Without further ado, here’s volume two of my favorite places to eat in Los Angeles:
Allumette
The Heart + The Hunter
Seongbukdong
Hungry Cat
AOC Wine Bar
Cacao Mexicatessen
Valerie Echo Park
Golden State
Red Medicine
Meals By Genet
Kanpai
Jar
Myung In Dumplings
Horse Thief BBQ
Tsujita
Pizzeria Mozza
Little Beast
Dan Sung Sa
Red O
Plan Check Kitchen + Bar
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