The LA Food Podcast The LA Countdown

We’re joined by none other than Bill Esparza, the legendary award-winning writer, author, TV fixer and saxophonist. Maybe you’ve read his reporting at Eater, maybe you’ve eaten at one of his many finds, or maybe you’ve seen him on shows like Somebody Feed Phil.



Regardless of where you know him from, Bill’s one of the most essential voices in LA food, and he’s with us today to talk about his journey in food, from starting a food blog in the aughts to winning a James Beard Award for his legendary taco guides. I also ask him about some of his more fiery opinions, including where his disdain for David Chang comes from, why he hates eating with “taco bros,” and what gets his goat about some of those influencers you see out there on social media, present company excluded of course. 



But first, an LA restaurant gets the attention of the World’s 50 Best, 5 new So Cal restaurants are added to the Michelin Guide, Sweetgreen adds beef to the menu, and restaurants navigate uncertainty as California’s junk fee ban looms on the horizon.



Helpful Links:

Bill on IG https://www.instagram.com/streetgourmetla/?hl=en

Bill's Eater page https://www.eater.com/authors/bill-esparza

Kato wins World's 50 Best recognition
https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-05-08/worlds-50-best-restaurants-kato-one-to-watch-resy

Michelin's new additions
https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/article/dining-out/michelin-guide-california-new-additions-restaurants?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&cjevent=3377c48b0cd911ef80b602d50a1eba23&utm_source=cj&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Skimlinks&utm_content=100037205&utm_term=15671072

Sweetgreen adds beef
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/07/dining/sweetgreen-steak.html

Lauren Saria on junk fees


https://sf.eater.com/2024/5/3/24148146/california-junk-fee-ban-restaurants-bars?_gl=1*1geowr6*
















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We give flowers to the very deserving LA-based journalists and writers who did score James Beard nominations, including Gab Chabran, Daniel Hernandez and Noah Galuten. We also talk about what we learned from a New Yorker deep dive on the Wild West that is restaurant reservations, why Angelenos are flocking to two new bakeries that opened this week, and the four pizzas that stole the show at this weekend’s Pizza City Fest. 



We’re joined by Chef Jonathan Harris of Linden, a relatively new concept that opened in Hollywood last summer. Chef Jonathan is about as New York as it gets, and he had one hell of an upbringing eating all kinds of foods and working in his father’s acclaimed Long Island restaurant, Cornbread and Caviar. He talks to us about his journey, and how his unique path influenced the frankly mind-bending menu you can find at Linden. We also talk about his time operating a 26-seat tasting menu concept out of his apartment, and broader topics like the role black chefs and foodways have played in shaping American cuisine writ large.



Helpful links:

Linden https://lindenlosangeles.com/

James Beard nominees https://www.eater.com/24118355/2024-james-beard-awards-restaurant-chef-finalists

How to LA on conchas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJpu4LZ1V7o

Gab Chabran on The LA Food Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/7q29bhboG2WSHktlyJzEGl

Daniel Hernandez on Mexico City https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2023-07-13/mexico-city-essay-daniel-hernandez

New Yorker on reservations https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/why-you-cant-get-a-restaurant-reservation

Petit Grain https://la.eater.com/2024/4/30/24141932/petit-grain-boulangerie-bakery-santa-monica-los-angeles-best-croissant

Fondry https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-04-26/eagle-rock-bakery-fondry-croissants-los-angeles

Sal and I on the Compliments to the Chef podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/6H4OqQQtpkAzfZFOnN7iJB

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Coachella is behind us, my friends, and your humble podcast host had the chance to descend on the desert to catch up with 8 amazing chefs who were out there serving their food to the masses. Today’s episode is a compilation of those conversations. I spoke with Eric Greenspan about his latest concepts, including a delivery-only duck pop-up you simply must get your hands on. I got a scoop from Fatty Mart chef David Kuo about a brand new project he’s opening in Downtown LA in the next 12-18 months. And I learned a little more than I bargained for about how Juan Garcia, the chef behind birria shop The Goat Mafia, likes to party when taking in the dulcet sounds of Sublime. That and much, much more. 



But first, a few things that caught my eye, including Sage Bistro’s decision to no longer be vegan, Matthe Kenney’s decision to still be vegan but to also be a horrific person, and the inspiring tale of one man who’s making a real difference advocating for Los Angeles restaurants up in Sacramento.



Helpful links:

Article on Sage https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-04-24/sage-vegan-bistro-no-longer-vegan-backlash

NYT Matthew Kenney expose https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/22/dining/vegan-chef-matthew-kenney.html

Eddie Navarrette in Eater https://la.eater.com/2024/4/24/24138533/eddie-navarrette-small-business-support-act-assembly-bill-2550-policy-restaurant-california-law

Pizza City Fest https://www.lalive.com/pizza-city-fest-la

Support L.A. Taco https://lataco.com/members

Eric Greenspan https://www.chefericgreenspan.com/the-story

Fatty Mart https://www.fattymart.com/

Burger She Wrote https://burgershewrote.com/

Chris N Eddy's https://www.chrisneddys.com/

The Goat Mafia https://www.thegoatmafia.com/

Mano Po https://eatmanopo.com/about-us

Battambong BBQ https://la.eater.com/2022/8/2/23288894/battambong-bbq-cambodian-texas-barbecue-long-beach-los-angeles-restaurants

Slingers https://www.slingersla.com/

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Get 10% off on your first order at First Light Farms using the code LAFOOD10 https://www.firstlight.farm/






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Wendy Zeng is an award-winning chef and owner known around town and beyond for hosting cannabis-infused pop-ups, supper clubs and events. Make no mistake - we’re not talking about stoner food here, no shade to stoner culture. Wendy’s all about leaning into market-driven ingredients in the name of building community and destigmatizing recreational cannabis use. 

What I found really fascinating, dear listener, was to learn about Wendy’s upbringing in Chengdu and how that influenced her love for cooking and her eventual desire to reclaim cannabis as a form of eastern plant medicine that was actually being utilized thousands of years before Cheech ever met Chong. We talk about how she approaches utilizing cannabis in her cooking, why she feels so passionately about destigmatizing the plant, and even what negative side effects have been ailing the industry since legalization took place and capitalism entered the chat. Finally, did you know that there’s a cannabis-tinged spinoff of Chopped on Discovery Plus, and that Wendy actually won the first ever edition!? Well you do now, and trust me, you’re gonna wanna hear more. 

Helpful links:
Drizzle https://www.drizzle.catering/
Mogu Magu https://mogumagu.co/

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Daniele Uditi is the chef and partner behind Pizzana, one of Los Angeles’ best and most influential pizzerias. Daniele joins us for a wide-ranging conversation that covers everything from his upbringing living above his aunt’s bakery near Naples, Italy, to his spontaneous relocation to Los Angeles which ultimately led him to meeting Candace Nelson and launching a bona fide pizza empire. We talk about the nitty gritty of dough and sourcing excellent products, but Daniele also offers us a window into the evolution of Los Angeles’ pizza scene over the last decade, what it means to lead a business with integrity in this day and age, and what he thinks of all of those pizza lists you see doing the rounds on social media. We learn about what his favorite pizzas in Los Angeles are besides his own of course, and we also hear about how he ideated the Padrino, LA’s best Italian sandwich, which is now permanently available for lunch at Pizzana’s Marina del Rey location. 



But first, a couple of things that caught my eye... David Chang has chili crunched his way into quite the controversy, L.A. Taco is in dire need of our help, and Coachella is upon us, so I break down the 5 eats you absolutely must make time for, if you’re headed to the desert this weekend.



Helpful links:

Pizzana https://pizzana.com/

The Guardian on David Chang and chili crunch
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/apr/04/chili-crunch-trademark-momofuku-david-chang

Jenn Harris on David Chang and chili crunch
https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-04-08/chili-crunch-chili-crisp-trademark-war-momofuku-fly-by-jing

Support L.A. Taco https://lataco.com/

Coachella food line-up https://coachella.com/featured-restaurants

Miya Miya https://www.instagram.com/miyamiyashawarma/

Mano Po https://www.instagram.com/eat.manopo/

Chipapas https://www.instagram.com/chipapasporvida

Grindz https://www.instagram.com/eatgrindz/

Battambong BBQ https://www.instagram.com/battambongbbq/

Pizza City Fest https://www.lalive.com/pizza-city-fest-la



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Father Sal joins us. There's a quick Top Chef recap, including a Kristen Kish assessment. Father Sal also fills us in on The Bear clip that leaked.



News-wise we cover the announcement of the 2024 James Beard Award Finalists, a scathing Taste Magazine expose on the grocery store known as Trader Joe’s, and a long overdue minimum wage hike coming to California’s fast-food workers. 



In Part 2, we recap a week-long food crawl Father Sal and I took while he was in town last week. We finally made it to modern Korean darlings Yangban in the Arts District, we revisited our old friend Diego Argoti at Poltergeist to see if that panang lamb neck was still hittin’, and, most surprisingly for me, we had a whirlwind at Evan Funke’s Felix in Venice, my first time visiting the restaurant since 2019. We also talk about Sal missing out on dinner at Pizzeria Bianco, where Chris Bianco himself made a surprise appearance...



Helpful links:

The Bear leak https://chicago.eater.com/2024/4/3/24120365/the-bear-season-3-trailer-clip-critics-fx-hulu

LA's 2024 James Beard nominees https://la.eater.com/2024/1/24/24048240/los-angeles-james-beard-foundation-award-semifinalists-2024

Taste on Trader Joe's https://tastecooking.com/we-need-to-talk-about-trader-joes/

California minimum wage hike https://la.eater.com/2024/4/1/24118202/california-fast-food-worker-minimum-wage-explained

LA Times' Stephanie Breijo on World Central Kitchen https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-04-01/world-central-kitchen-workers-killed-gaza-jose-andres

Yangban https://yangbanla.com/

Felix https://felixla.com/

Pizzeria Bianco https://www.pizzeriabianco.com/los-angeles

Poltergeist https://www.buttonmashla.com/

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Use LAFOOD10 for a 10% discount on your first order of First Light Farms wagyu beef https://www.firstlight.farm/






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