This Is TASTE 721: Reviewing 100 Los Angeles Burgers, Pizza, and Tacos with Luca Servodio
Jan 26, 2026
Luca Servodio, LA food writer who built the LA Countdown and reviews 100 restaurants a year, shares plans for more pizza, burgers, and food-media growth. Elliott Rosenberg, designer behind Waiting magazine, and Adele Blanton, its cofounder and writer, discuss starting a print title celebrating NYC service-industry artists. They cover LA dining trends, Noma’s pop-up, underrated chefs, and turning social projects into media.
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Project-Based Growth Beats Random Posting
- Luca built LA Countdown by doing focused yearly food projects (100 pizzas, tacos, sandwiches, noodles, burgers) to explore LA deeply.
- The projects turned a social account into a community and a growing media operation.
Bar Toi’s Deceptive Menus
- Luca and friends celebrated at Bar Toi, where deceptively simple menu items arrive as unexpected, artful plates.
- He singled out a black cod under a leek fondue that kept skin crispy and tasted bright.
Hard Times Spur Restaurant Creativity
- Economic pressure in LA forced restaurants to innovate both business models and cooking.
- Incubator-style markets like Maidan Market let small concepts scale and experiment locally.