In between coughs and sneezes, my husband recently said to me, “Vacations are really nice. Don’t you wish we could wash our clothes, rest for a week, then head out again?” Yes I do, though I’m not quite up for another trans-Pacific flight quite yet. Maybe a long drive to one of my favorite eating cities – Los Angeles.
My husband was born there and we used to live there. We still go often to visit family and friends. The Los Angeles food scene has been relatively low key over the years, compared to that of New York and San Francisco. As one chef recently put it, the celebrities in Los Angeles are in the dining room, not in the kitchen. Food is not precious in Los Angeles. It just is. Delicious and varied.
It’s only been in the past few years that the diversity of Los Angeles’s food options has been recognized on a national level. The huge swaths of space, distinct ethnic enclaves as well as meshing of cultures make for a super exciting place to eat and explore.
With regard to Asian cuisines, Los Angeles arguably has the most vibrant Thai, Korean, and Chinese food scene in America, given the range and populations that demand excellent and authentic fare. Excellent Japanese noodles is not only about ramen but also soba and udon. (Don’t get me started on the heavenly Mexican food...)
I was reminded of the eating options in Los Angeles when I perused Cathy Chapin’s Food Lover’s Guide to Los Angeles. It was just released as part of a series by Globe Pequot. Cathy is an American-born Vietnamese woman who despite her slight figure, can really put away lots of grub. She reviews restaurants at Gastronomyblog.com, covering high-, medium- and low-brow spots all over.
The book is informative and educational, not written like a self-focused Yelp review. Cathy offers just enough insider’s information to get you comfortably in the door, seated and eating. Her comments in Food Lover’s Guide to Los Angeles include the name of the proprietors, a little bit of their backstory, as well as pointers on how to enjoy foods that you may shy away from, say “finless sauteed eel” from a Shanghai restaurant called Southern Mini Town.
That kind of sums up the quirks of Los Angeles dining. Much of it is humble and homey. Chefs in Los Angeles may not be out to strike it rich on the Food Network but they certainly deserve platinum for the food they dish out.
This is a book for anyone interested in food, whether you live in, visit, or never set foot in Los Angeles. I have three (3) copies to giveaway.
Here’s the giveaway lowdown:
Prize: 3 copies of Food Lover’s Guide to Los Angeles
Who is eligible to enter: Anyone with a United States mailing address.
How to enter: Simply leave a comment on this post. Foodwise, what does Los Angeles conjure up in your mind? Are there foods or meals that you recall from LA? What piques your curiosity about the Los Angeles food scene? Anything else you’d like to comment about! Include your email address so that I can contact you directly if you win.
Can you enter more than once? Yes, if you’re a fan of the VWK Facebook page, follow me on Twitter or have joined me on Pinterest or Instagram, you can enter an extra time for each of those social media networks. If we’re buddies on all four, then shoot, you can enter five (5!) times. If you’re doing multiple entries, let me know who you are by including something like [FB], [Twitter], [Pinterest], or [Instagram] in your comment.
Deadline to enter: Monday, February 10, noon (PST)
Selection, notification, and getting the books: The winner swill be randomly selected via Random.org and notified by email. The winners will be announced next Tuesday, February 11. I’ll send the winners the book. If you’d like more details, read the official giveaway rules.
Thanks for entering and good luck!
Related info: "America's Next Great City is inside LA" by Brett Martin for GQ magazine (read this for a tease of delicious happenings in downtown Los Angeles)
Anh Vo says
My food memories of L.A. are personal. I was fresh out of college and landed a traveling job. First month was spent in Newark with lots of Chinese delivery, it was not looking good. By the third or fourth trip, I had the opportunity to be in L.A. and could not be more excited. I stumbled upon a Mongolian BBQ and ended up being a regular, visiting In-N-Out for the first time, and found a small Thai restaurant tucked behind a strip mall which served the perfect bowl of noodles. I never tasted these growing up in Dallas. The experience gave me great comfort on the road and pushed be to seek out new food adventures to share with friends and family when I got home. My family is going to LA next month and I can't wait to share these precious memories (and maybe few from the book if I win) with everyone.
indigo says
Just moved to LA & so far am loving the snowy/fluffy ice desserts in the San Gabriel Valley!
indigo says
[twitter] Also love the fresh mochi & manju at Fugetsu-do 🙂
sarah says
korean food!!!
KY says
I would LOVE to visit LA one day and just eat my way through town. Where I live, Asian cuisine is kind of expensive! A bowl of pho here is in the $8-10 range!
Jonathan King says
I grew up in L.A. in the '50s and '60s, spent a few '70s years there as well, but haven't logged much time there at all for 30+ years. As the only child of a single mom (rare in the '50s), I ate out a fair amount -- nothing fancy or expensive (we veered between poor and not quite poor), but as varied as the era and our budget permitted: Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, and Italian as often as standard American. (While still in elementary school I loved a small trattoria in the nowheresville between Venice and Mar Vista called Mama 'n' Joe's, where there was a blowup photo of S.Z. Sakall in the entryway -- there's some celebrity trivia for ya! -- and where I first encountered lasagna, circa 1959.) So in a town with no real food culture at the time, I got to experience some of what little there was. Gee, I wish I'd snagged a Ship's coffee shop menu when I had the chance ... they cost a zillion on eBay now, if you can find them.
In the mid and late '70s I drove around the city's ethnic nabes, looking for cool things to eat at a time when Westsiders just didn't do that. East Side Mexican, emerging Koreatown joints, wherever I could assess a place, or a nabe, as having potential just from driving around in those pre-Internet, pre-Jonathan Gold days. Employment and adulthood led me to higher- class places than I'd known in my childhood: Scandia and La Toque, both on the Sunset Strip, were particular payday favorites.
And then I moved up north in 1983, and completely lost track of the food scene in L.A., apart from what I'd occasionally read in the L.A. Times food section. Relatives and friends down south would urge me to visit and eat, but since most of the former have long since moved from the Westside to the upper reaches of the Valley, when I do go down, I mostly eat at Brent's, the unbelievably wonderful Jewish deli in (and I still can't quite believe this) Northridge. I'd really like to branch out -- if only there were some kind of L.A. food guide in print...
Stacey says
I'm only 90 minutes from LA, but for some reason never eat there! Tragic. I think the LA food I'm most curious about at the moment is the food truck sushi-burrito my friend told me about a few weeks ago.
Linda Richards says
Thank you for the giveaway! When I think of L.A. I think of a mixture or fusion of all Asian foods-basically one group taken or mixed with another group. For example, mixing Thai with Vietnamese or Japanese with Korean!
[email protected]
Linda Richards says
OOPS! My email address is incorrect in my comment above.
My corrected email is: [email protected]
Linda Richards says
I "LIKE" you on FB!
[email protected]
Linda Richards says
I "follow" you on Pinterest!
[email protected]
John Weaver says
I'd love to go spend some time eating my way through L.A.!
John Weaver says
[FB]--and eating even more!
Xuan says
I haven't been to LA but maybe someday! Everything you wrote about sounds good. I already followed you on FB and LinkedIn for awhile now so I guess no bonus entry for me.
Alan Nguyen says
I love the pastries stores and dim sum in LA!
Amelia Chau says
I haven't been to La, but love to one day.
Lee says
I love ramen and Chinese food in LA! I'm grateful my sister in law lives there so we get to visit regularly.
Justina says
I love the Asian food in Los Angeles. Unlike anywhere else!
Jessica K. says
I love Cathy's blog! Since I hail from Monterey Park, I know that you can't beat the cheap and varied Chinese cuisine in the SGV!
Lylan Hughes says
I live in San Diego and only eat in LA if I have someone with me who knows the area where to eat! And I have not been disappointed yet!
Christina C. says
I'm from LA and love all the diversity - from high-end Beverley Hills to street tacos and bacon-wrapped hot dogs! My favorite foods are usually pho (from SGV) and KBBQ. 🙂
Christina C. says
I liked you on Facebook. 🙂 (Christina Chang)
Christina C. says
I follow you on Pinterest (Christina Chang).
Jeanie says
Korean food in ktown!
Jeanie C. says
Bacon wrapped hotdogs
Uwe says
Why my Chinese love affair with L.A. changed my life? Interested in all things Chinese me and my wife discovered Fuchsia Dunlops ”Land of Plenty” in a Los Angeles book store in 2006, learning that there is actually a way for Westerners to cook your own authentic Chinese food. In contrast to Germany, where we live, the Asian food scene in California is very lively, and after every stay in L.A., Stanford or San Francisco we leave with stacks of cook books (among those a complete collection of Andrea’s marvellous treasure chests), having eaten our way through piles of dim sum and tofu, oceans of phô and ramen, having enjoyed gong bao ji ding and dong po rou, frogs and sea cucumbers. Our every day diet even back home is now 90 percent Asian; and two years ago we drew the only possible conclusion, we started to learn Chinese. So thanks to Fuchsia, Andrea and many others we changed our lives: Xie xie nimen!
Melanie says
I've never been to L.A. but have plans to go this spring, and I'm looking forward to eating my way through the city (hopefully with help from this guide!). I honestly know nothing about the food scene in L.A. though, so no images come to mind thinking of L.A.
Linh says
I moved to San Diego a bit over a year ago, and was super excited to find a Malaysian style hawker stall in the grand central market in LA - char quay teow, roti canai! Haven't been able to find any Malaysian restaurants in SD.
Jenny W says
I've lived in Southern California for most of my life. I want to abandon all the chain restaurants and find the good stuff. I need a guide to tell me where to start...
Susan says
I've never been to LA, but I think of trendy asian fusion. I would love to take a foodie trip there.
Kristin says
I thoroughly enjoy all the ethnic foods in SGV, Thai Town, Little Tokyo, and Chinatown!
Jessica says
For me, LA is that perfect blend of the diversity that is SoCal. Having so many different options is amazing! Having lived in SoCal all my life, it's easy to take for granted just how much we have! I love finding new bakeries, whether in K-town or Little Toyko. It's all there for us to enjoy:) And any friend visiting from elsewhere always gets a trip to LA right away:) I'm a lucky girl!
Jessica says
I also follow you in Pinterest and Instagram:)
Candice says
I love the Vietnamese food LA offers as there are certain dishes I can't find in San Francisco.
lilly says
the sam woo bbq restaurants always call me when I visit. love the dumpling soups and deep fried chow fun are my favorites to chow down on
Christine B. says
When I think of LA, I think of food. I lived there for 17 years until moving to the Bay Area last year. I look forward to visiting now so I can EAT. Taco trucks, Animal, Titos, Son of a Gun, Pizzeria Mozza, Umamicatessen, Korea Town, Din Tai Fung, Katsu-ya (the original Studio City location), Dan Tanas, Portos, the list goes on and on!
AV San Agustin says
Pupusa at DTLA's Grand Central Market.
Juanita A May says
Bacon wrapped hot dogs, sushi and anything you could possibly want to eat.
Walter R says
Korean tacos and great veggies!
Kao S. says
What comes to my mind first are the food trucks!
CarolineVP says
The Thai food!
Trish says
I was born in Los Angeles and I remember Chinese resturants my parents took me to. I also love that it seems the Los Angeles food scene has a wide variety to choose from for a foodie like myself. I think I would love this book for family outings, romantic meals,food explorations and just to enjoy!
Andrea Nguyen says
John, what is your email address? You've won one of these books! Email me using the function in the left-hand sidebar. Thanks and congrats!