The LA Food Podcast

The New York Times named its 50 favorite restaurants in America, and somehow Komal is the first LA Mexican restaurant to make the list in six years. Luca and Sal break down LA selections Komal, Jacaranda and Yerord Mas Bakery & Deli, debate whether the list actually represents how America eats, and name the two Los Angeles restaurants they would have chosen instead. Plus: shrinking portions at Dune, Pawn Shop and Daisy Margarita Bar, the backlash against food influencers, “unreasonable hospitality,” and whether Crumbl even qualifies as a cookie.Sign up for Pizza Run Club!

Father Sal returns for a full Q3 listener Q&A, and things get weird quickly. We debate whether having a controversial guest on a podcast counts as “platforming,” try to decode an anonymous tip about Sqirl’s alleged lack of presence at the farmers market, ask whether West Hollywood is cursed for restaurants, and determine which LA spots best capture peak-millennial dining culture. Plus: which restaurants are worth suffering LA traffic for, where to send someone for their one meal in Los Angeles, whether LA is actually a sports-bar town, and plenty of recent eats, including Holy Basil, Ceviche Project and Pawn Shop. We also make a brief case for beer corkage fees, because apparently that is where we are as a society. And because it’s a listener Q&A: keep sending us your questions, comments and deranged food opinions on Instagram, Spotify and wherever you listen.

We’re reaching into the Taqueando with Bill Esparza archives for one of the only episodes Luca has ever joined Bill on, a deep dive into the glorious, deceptively complicated world of the real Ensenada-style fish taco. Bill breaks down what makes the Baja classic legit, why so many versions miss the mark, and everything Luca didn’t know about one of Southern California’s most iconic foods.There’s also a reason we’re bringing Taqueando to The LA Food Podcast feed today: big changes are coming to the Acquired Taste podcast universe. Plus, Pizza Run Club returns, worker-owned restaurants might not be quite as socialist as Luca initially assumed, and The New Gourmet becomes Buffet.Pizza Run Club tickets!

Food writer Karen Palmer returns to defend Hillstone, revisit the Hard Rock Cafe and examine whether Go Greek can become the Shake Shack of frozen yogurt. Luca shares recent meals at Doto, Sora Craft Kitchen and LA’s newest spots before they debate $40 sandwiches, protein maxxing, restaurant branding, Michelin’s Texas snub and the return of chicken as a marquee menu item. Plus, the best sandwiches in Los Angeles, the problem with restaurants that have nowhere to put your purse and an Aperol Spritz controversy nobody saw coming.

Does Tony capture the real Anthony Bourdain, or does it take one creative liberty too many? Luca is joined by Nancy DaSilva (Compliments to the Chef) and Father Sal for a spirited, spoiler-filled review of Matt Johnson’s Bourdain biopic, from Dominic Sessa’s occasionally uncanny performance to standout turns from Antonio Banderas and Leo Woodall. They debate whether the film needed Bourdain at all, why its romanticized portrait of a formative Provincetown summer works, and whether the backlash from Bourdain purists is justified.

Hot Tongue Pizza owner Alex Koons joins Luca as guest co-host for a pizza-heavy tour of the LA food scene, from Queens, Cacao Mexicatessen and FurnSaj to Bar 109’s Michelin-starred burger, fried pizza at Pizzeria Sei and the prospect of paying $4,000 for pasta for life. Be sure to check out his show, Fast Casual, by the way!Then restaurateur Lawrence Longo tells the incredible story of going from elite hockey player and Hollywood assistant to building an empire that includes Prince Street Pizza, Irv’s Burgers, Bar Next Door, Henry’s Secret Ice Cream, Tenderfest and Burgers Never Say Die. Longo reveals how a Sean Avery street fight helped bring Prince Street to Los Angeles, why its first LA pop-up caused two car crashes, how he revived Irv’s, why he turned down venture capital and why LA may now be America’s best pizza city.Plus, the rise and fall of Off the Menu, the one-craveable-item theory of restaurant success, the brutal economics of operating in Los Angeles and an exclusive announcement for Irv’s Burgers’ 80th birthday.Tickets to Pizza Run & Walk Club: Silver LakeTickets to Taqueando After Dark

Matt Rodbard, founder of TASTE and host of This Is TASTE, returns to The LA Food Podcast for an unfiltered conversation at Crudo e Nudo about Los Angeles vs. New York dining, Santa Barbara’s rising restaurant scene (shouout Drift Hotel), twenty-dollar burritos, René Redzepi’s return to Noma, RFK Jr.’s cooking show and the growing influence of credit card companies on restaurants and pop-ups. Then Kevin Noparvar, better known as How Kev Eats, joins Luca at Café Telegrama to rate the restaurant’s pancakes, burger and tuna melt live, reveal his favorite LA pizza, tacos and burgers, and explain how six years of making no money led to millions of followers and the launch of Biter. Plus, Kev breaks down his approach to honest restaurant reviews, the responsibility that comes with influencing small businesses and the new Biter Concierge before committing the episode’s greatest crime: declaring pasta the worst carb.Taqueando After Dark TicketsLA Pizza Run & Walk Club Tickets

Restaurateur Rose Previte, the owner of Maydan and Maydan Market, joins The LA Food Podcast to discuss her globe-spanning journey into hospitality, the travel and research behind Maydan’s live-fire Middle Eastern cooking, and the ambitious restaurant ecosystem she is building in West Adams. Luca makes the case that Maydan belongs among the five best restaurants in Los Angeles, while Rose explains why Maydan Market could offer a new blueprint for independent restaurants. Plus, Dine LA’s comeback, Condé Nast’s battle with the revived Gourmet magazine, Bill Addison’s glowing A Tí review and the return of Pizza Run Club in Silver Lake.Tickets to Taqueando After DarkTickets to Pizza Run Club: Silver LakeSupport Luca's Soccer Without Borders Fun

This week, LA food creator Ronit Halmos joins Luca for a rapid-fire, Subway akes-style round of “Worth the Hype,” debating Courage Bagels, Hillstone, The Benjamin’s $35 martini, In-N-Out fries, drinks at SUR and the ultimate coastal food fight: Is Los Angeles food actually better than New York’s?Ronit also talks about developing her instantly recognizable restaurant-review format, why she refuses to trash small businesses for views, the increasingly copy-and-paste nature of LA restaurant menus and the meals currently exciting her most. Then she sticks around for Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, weighing in on Westside bagel beef, celebrity-chef dining in Las Vegas, Coca-Cola’s Marlboro-adjacent makeover and ballpark sushi.After the break, Lodge Bread founder Or Amsalam tells the improbable story of how an obsessive home-baking project became one of Los Angeles’ defining bakery brands. He takes us inside Lodge Bread’s early days baking through the night in an illegal carport kitchen, the challenge of scaling naturally fermented bread and the company’s ambitious next chapter, including new locations in Pasadena and Brentwood, the return of Fullproof as a full-service pizza and pasta restaurant and the possible revival of Hasiba.Thank you for listeneing and please consider donating to Luca's Soccer Without Borders fund. 

The Bear is officially over, and we're looking back at one of television's most influential food dramas. On this episode of Couch Potatoes, Luca and Father Sal unpack the final season, debate whether the finale redeemed the show's uneven final stretch, rank every season, hand out series superlatives, and answer the biggest question of all: what is The Bear's legacy? Did it earn a place alongside TV's all-time greats, or did it overstay its welcome? Spoilers throughout.