If there’samoreenduringobservation
aboutacityencompassingeightareacodes,
residents frommore than140countries,90
different languagesspokenandhundredsof
restaurantsandcultural lures,LosAngeles
hasn’tyetheard it.
L.A., asever,defiesdefinition.
“Exploring thecity— itsvividhistory
andever-evolvingpresent—canquite
easilybecomea lifelongpursuit,”says
GeorgeKiel,operationsmanager for the
HollywoodHeritageMuseum,which is
housed in thebuildingwhereanascent
movie industryfilmed itsfirst full-length
feature,
TheSquawMan
,more thana
centuryago.
“L.A. isnotoneof thoseplaceswhere
everything issimplyright there in frontof
you,”Kiel says. “It’s likeanonion.You’ll
find layerafter layerunfolding fromall
sides.Youcan livehere for30yearsand
discoversomethingnewabout thiscity
everyday.”Orsomethingold,headds, that
younevernoticedbefore.
Kiel’sadvice forvisitorswhowant to
start fromsquareone:Ride thesubway
or light-rail todowntown’s1939Union
Station, “myvote foroneof theworld’s
mostbeautiful railroadstations.”Then
walkablock to theMexicanmarketplace
onOlveraStreet— thecity’s lastremaining
pre-CivilWarroad—and theneighboring
missionchurch,whereL.A.’sunlikelyseed
wasplanted in1781,with thepoeticname
ElPueblodeNuestraSeñora laReinade los
Angeles
(TheTownofOurLady theQueen
ofAngels).Population:44.
DIGGING INTO
L.A.’skaleidoscopic
diningscenehasalwaysrequireda tireless
palateandgoodnavigational skills,but
inrecentyears, somehave feared it’s
beengettingoutofhand. “Are there too
manyrestaurants inLosAngeles?”a local
publicationrecentlymused, shortlybefore
GQ
magazinenamedL.A. “MostExciting
FoodCity inAmerica” for2016. Ina town
with thisheartyanappetite, thismuch
toque talentand thisknack forreimagining
old, standard fare (pizza, tacos, falafel,
toast), there’salwayssomethingnew.
“Dinersandchefsherearenotafraid to
experiment,whichmakes thecityoneof
themostdynamicandexcitingplaces to
visitrightnow,”saysStaceySun,director
ofdineL.A.,whichhosts thecity’sdineL.A.
RestaurantWeek, abiannualevent that
featuresmore than300restaurantpartic-
ipants. “InL.A.,peoplearealways looking
forwhat’snewandwhat’s trending—and
thescenehere isconstantlyevolving,”Sun
adds. “Poke, fancy toastand falafelwerenot
partof theculinaryvernacular lastyear.
Fast forward to2016, and thesearesomeof
themost talked-aboutandInstagrammed
food items.”
Among the top 10restaurantsordained
by
LosAngeles
magazine isBirch (in
Hollywood),TheBellwether (inStudio
City)andBrokenSpanish (downtown).
Butyoucangoold-school too.For
historical ambiancewithyour lambchops,
try the97-year-oldMusso&FrankGrill,
whereFaulknerandFitzgeraldateand
drank.Then there’sYamashiroHollywood
— located inacentury-oldJapanese-style
hilltopmansionwhichonceheldSilent
Erafilmpartiesandstilloffersoneof the
bestcocktail-in-handviewsof thecity
from its lounge.
“TIPTHEWORLDOVERON ITSSIDE,”
FRANKLLOYDWRIGHTONCEQUIPPED,
“ANDEVERYTHINGLOOSE
WILLLAND INLOSANGELES.”
62
APRIL2016
AMERICANWAY
PHOTOSPREVIOUSSPREAD
PETERBENNETT/DANITADELIMONT; JENNIFERTUNBERG/ROOMTHEAGENCY/CORBIS
THISSPREAD
WITOLDSKRYPCZAK/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY INK (2); STEVECOLEIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
