City of angels

I <3 LA

Great cocktails at Bicyclette

One of my favorite newsletters recently did a Los Angeles ‘Black Book’ with recommendations across a few categories from a heaping handful of local contributors. And while this is not a takedown of said newsletter at all, I was sorely disappointed in this (highly anticipated, by me) LA edition. Plainly, if I ever see “brunch or drinks at the Sunset Tower Hotel!” recommended ever again, I will scream. Sunset Tower is fun, I grant you. But in this single newsletter, it is called out 18 times. (Yes, I counted.) This was less a ‘black book’ and more of a guide to a niche corner of LA’s see-and-be-seen scene. It’s not that they’re wrong, it’s that we have so much more going on.

In fairness, it was not all bad news. They call out greats like Cafe Stella and Tsubaki, they shout out to classics like Apple Pan and Tito’s Tacos. They list Destroyer, Found Oyster, and Night + Market, as well as the incredible Jyan Isaac bread. Agreed all around.

The best Thai food is in Sun Valley

But. I knew that my fired up take was coming when one of the contributors wrote “My favorite restaurant in all of LA is Baltaire in Brentwood.” I live in Brentwood. No one’s favorite restaurant in all of LA is in my neighborhood. Plus someone else wrote that the best sushi is Sugarfish and while that’s a great standby spot in nearly every neighborhood across town, it’s definitely not what one lists as LA’s best sushi.

I’m not even saying you have to go full Jonathan Gold, trekking to the San Gabriel Valley on a dumpling quest or scouring the streets of Boyle Heights for carnitas. You can find amazing food (and vibes and scenes and fun) all over town. So, humor me. I’ll tackle some of their categories, below. And I ask my fellow Angelenos to remember that (unlike the staff at The Infatuation) I am a westsider…

Breakfast spots / coffee shops / juice bars: Clark Street Bakery, Primo Passo, Layla Bagels, the egg and spinach burrito from Tacos Por Favor or the bacon breakfast burrito from Erewhon, Lodge Bread, Breakfast by Salt’s Cure, and Gjusta.

It’s perfect

Specialty: The epic chocolate croissant, above, from CAR Artisan Chocolate in Pasadena will change your life. Shopping for Italian ingredients at Guidi Marcello’s is the best. And Wat Thai Temple’s weekend food market is my favorite food day.