It’s the first episode of The LA Food Podcast in 2026, and Luca Servodio and Father Sal are kicking off the new year the only way they know how: with food resolutions, trend forecasting, and a healthy dose of Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss.

On this episode, Luca and Sal trade three food-related resolutions each, from how they plan to dine out in 2026 to charitable goals that may or may not end in regret. Luca also officially announces the food category he’ll be counting down for the 2026 LA Countdown, while Father Sal attempts to prove he’s finally qualified to host a Los Angeles food podcast.

In Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, the guys break down what’s in and out for 2026, reacting to food predictions from The New York Times, Helen Rosner, and Matt Rodbard of This Is TASTE. Topics include quieter restaurants, comfort food, texture-driven cooking, value dining, non-alcoholic buzzes, food media’s future, and whether food culture is finally moving away from spectacle and back toward warmth, intention, and community.

They also revisit last year’s predictions to see what actually held up, debate whether desserts truly require a glass of milk, and, of course, read a pair of truly unhinged Yelp reviews.

If you care about LA dining, food trends, restaurant culture, and where food media is headed in 2026, this is the perfect way to start the year.

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It’s a Christmas-week episode of The LA Food Podcast, and we’re celebrating with one of the most joyful restaurants in Los Angeles.

This week, Luca Servodio sits down with Eric Bedroussian and Josh Hartley, the hospitality-driven duo behind Budonoki, the wildly popular Virgil Village izakaya that started as a roaming pop-up and grew into one of LA’s most electric dining rooms.

In this How I Built This–style conversation, Eric and Josh walk us through how they met, how Budonoki evolved from college dinner parties to pop-ups at Melody and Ototo, and how they partnered with chef Dan Rabilwongse to create a restaurant that blends Japanese izakaya spirit with Thai, Vietnamese, and distinctly Angeleno influences. We dig into the details that define Budonoki — from front-of-house philosophy and menu experimentation to building a “party restaurant” that still takes food and hospitality seriously.

We also talk candidly about the realities of running a restaurant in 2025, how tough the year has been for hospitality, what it’s like to receive glowing critical praise while being left off certain lists, and how the team stays grounded amid the hype. And, of course, we close with our holiday tradition: Eric and Josh share the three Los Angeles restaurants they’re loving right now.

Consider this your Christmas gift if you love LA food, restaurant origin stories, and the people who make this city such a special place to eat.

🎄✨

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The LA Food Podcast does awards… our way. In this first-ever LA Food Awards, Luca Servodio and Father Sal toss out the tired “Best Chef / Best New Restaurant” formula and replace it with an audio awards ceremony celebrating the restaurants, chefs, and cultural moments that actually defined LA dining in 2025. At least for us. 

From the FOMO Award for the restaurants we’re most anxious to finally visit, to debates over the hottest restaurants in LA — both physically and spiritually, we dig into what it really means to be a hot concept in Los Angeles right now. Along the way, we hand out awards for the chef we most want to grab a beer with, the restaurant we’ll never agree on, and the dining experiences that transcended a great meal and edged into something closer to the sublime.

It’s irreverent, occasionally unhinged, and ultimately thoughtful. A holiday-season reflection on why we dine out, what makes a restaurant matter, and how LA continues to influence the way America eats. Happy holidays from The LA Food Podcast — thanks for listening, and welcome to the inaugural LA Food Awards.

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The LA food equivalent of a new Taylor Swift album dropped this week. The Los Angeles Times has released its annual 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles list, and Acquired Taste got early access before anyone else.

On this episode of The LA Food Podcast, Luca Servodio sits down with LA Times restaurant critics Bill Addison and Jenn Harris at Mercado La Paloma, which was named the number one restaurant on the 101 for 2025. The trio digs deep into how the list is made, how hundreds of meals are evaluated, and why this year’s top pick reflects something bigger about Los Angeles dining, community, and resilience.

Bill and Jenn break down the theme of the year, how catastrophe and creativity shaped the list, and what it means to rank restaurants during one of the toughest years the city has faced. They also explain major jumps and drops, including Damian, Stir Crazy, Vespertine, and Restaurant Ki, discuss the emotional weight of cutting restaurants from the list, and address the ongoing debate over whether food lists should consider community impact alongside culinary excellence.

In Part 2, Father Sal joins Luca for their signature Frankly Psychotic Analysis of the 101. They examine rising stars, surprising omissions, restaurants that keep climbing, and those that seem to yo-yo year after year, plus the places that intrigue them most heading into 2026.

Note: Luca’s audio dips briefly about 20 minutes into the conversation, but Bill Addison and Jenn Harris remain loud and clear throughout.

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Welcome back to The LA Food Podcast. This week, Luca and Karen Palmer dive into one of the most fascinating food stories of the year: the global fight over wagyu. Karen breaks down what Japanese producers are trying to protect, whether A5 wagyu is actually worth the hype, and why the debate mirrors DOP fights in Italy over ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes and Neapolitan pizza standards.

We also unpack Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America 2025, where California dominated the list and Los Angeles landed an incredible six spots, including Travis Lett’s RVR crowned Restaurant of the Year. Karen explains what stood out, how the 5 C’s rubric plays into national lists, and which LA restaurants might have been unlucky snubs.

In Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, we break down Michael Nagrant’s viral takedown of the James Beard Awards, Greg Dulan winning the LA Times Gold Award, The New York Times critics on what defines a four-star restaurant, DoorDash entering the reservation game, and The Infatuation declaring where you should host your office holiday party.

Plus, Part 2 brings a festive return from Luca’s wife, who drops the hottest gift guide of the season. From Veso vermouth to butter bells, homemade shortbread to A24’s Scrounging cookbook, and at-home wine tasting to Kitchen Lingo classes, this guide has you covered for cocktail lovers, hosts, family, and anyone scrambling for last-minute inspiration.

If you love LA dining, restaurant news, and smart food media commentary, this episode is packed.

Keywords: LA restaurants, LA dining, wagyu beef, Esquire Best New Restaurants, Travis Lett RVR, James Beard Awards controversy, Greg Dulan, NYT food critics, DoorDash reservations, LA Times Gold Award, holiday gift guide, Los Angeles food podcast.

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This week on The LA Food Podcast, Luca welcomes back Nancy DaSilva, co-host of Compliments to the Chef, certified New Yorker, and our official ambassador from LA’s louder, older, and more globally hyped culinary sibling: New York City.

We kick things off with a Thanksgiving ice-breaker before diving straight into the State of Dining in NYC. Is the vibe doom, boom, or mellow in-between? Nancy walks us through the restaurant openings shaping 2025, the spots she loves, the ones that let her down, and the trends taking over New York—while we compare them to LA’s little-gem-salad, Bub-and-Grandma’s-bread era.

We also get into the NY food-media moment: the new critics at The New York Times, the rise of Feed Me and J. Lee’s podcast, and what it means for how diners discover restaurants. Then it’s Michelin time—what shocked Nancy in the 2025 Guide, how New Yorkers actually use it, and how it stacks up to LA’s still-evolving Michelin culture.

From impossible New York reservations to Blackbird’s traction on both coasts, we break down how people are actually eating, booking and talking about restaurants right now. And yes, Nancy finally answers the question every Angeleno secretly wants to know: In 2025, does New York respect LA dining?

Then we close with a special Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss lightning round featuring:
• turkey prices soaring 70%
• Meadow Lane, NYC’s new luxury-grocery fever dream
• the rise of $945 caviar advent calendars
• Bukayo Saka’s deranged childhood breakfast

If you love restaurant culture, food media, LA vs NY banter, or just need a Thanksgiving distraction, this one is for you.

This week on The LA Food Podcast, Luca and Sal dive into the most chaotic, delicious, and debate-worthy stories shaping Los Angeles dining and the national food world.

We kick things off with recent eats at Wilde’s and Camphor before launching into our first-ever extended Chef’s Kiss or Big Miss lightning round.

We break down Eater National’s Best New Restaurants 2025, including L.A.’s powerhouse showing with Ki, Komal, and Betsy — and what it means for the “LA restaurant scene is dying” narrative. We also get into Eater LA’s Best Sandwiches list, debating Bay Cities’ shocking omission.

Next, we dig into LA Taco’s reporting on Taqueria Frontera’s ICE-delayed opening, the national wave of barista union wins, and Helen Rosner’s hot take that “recipes are brain rot.” Plus, Emily Sundberg says the best bars have terrible Instagrams — is she right?

We also look at America’s top foodcation destinations, and the revelation that Josh Hutcherson is just a Silver Lake guy who loves Dayglow, Salt & Straw, and Night + Market Song like the rest of us. And in a wild twist, Eric Greenspan is leaving the Tesla Diner to open… a Jewish deli. Is ditching robot service for pastrami a chef’s kiss or a big miss?

Finally, the mailbag returns with two bangers: • What inconvenient LA food is worth it? • What’s the best season of Top Chef?

If you love LA restaurants, food news, chef drama, labor stories, sandwiches, tacos, and wildly specific opinions, this episode is loaded.

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Vote for Mis Tacones PDX

This week on The LA Food Podcast, Luca sits down with Ben Leventhal — the founder of Eater and Resy — to talk about his most ambitious project yet: Blackbird, a next-gen restaurant loyalty and payments app that might reshape how we dine out and how restaurants survive. Recorded at Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, the conversation breaks down how Blackbird rewards you for actually showing up and paying at your favorite restaurants, why Ben thinks this model could transform the industry’s financial future, and how LA’s rollout fits into his vision for the app. We also get into Ben’s background in food media and reservations, and as a die-hard New Yorker, what he really thinks about Los Angeles as a tier 1 dining city.

Before that, Luca and Father Sal kick things off with recent eats — from Atelier Manna to the San Diego Food + Wine Festival — before diving into a rare silver lining for food media. We react to a week of big news:

• The New York Times naming two new associate food critics, including friend of the pod Ryan Sutton
  

• Elazar Sontag taking over as restaurant critic at The Washington Post
  

• Emily Sundberg’s Feed Me launching the podcast Expense Account
  

• And rumors of a brand-new food media startup from former Puck staffers
  

In Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, we tackle:

• Robot woks and automation at LA spots Tigawok and Robowok
  

• The Infatuation’s Best New Restaurants in LA list for 2025
  

• Big three-star demotions in the Michelin Guide (Alinea, Masa, The Inn at Little Washington)
  

• AI-driven restaurant marketing and fully AI-generated ad campaigns
  

• And looming tariffs on Italian imports and what that could mean for pasta night
  

We close with a Mailbag question on whether it’s finally time for us to launch a LA Food Awards of our own.

If you care about LA restaurants, restaurant tech, loyalty apps, Blackbird, food media, Michelin stars, and the future of dining, this episode is for you.

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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠

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On this episode of The LA Food Podcast, host Luca Servodio sits down with legendary chef Ludo Lefebvre — the culinary rockstar behind LudoBites, Petit Trois, and some of Los Angeles’ most influential restaurants. Recorded inside his intimate Paris-inspired bistro, this candid conversation dives into Ludo’s early days disrupting the LA dining scene, his transition into a restaurant empire, and why he still believes food — and butter — are the ultimate forms of creative freedom.

Plus, co-host Karen Palmer returns to discuss what’s hot in LA dining right now: the rise of a local restaurant chain, David Chang’s new Century City spot, recent meals at Funke, Garibaldina Society, and Wallflour Pizza, and the biggest “Chef’s Kiss, Big Miss” moments — from The Infatuation’s Top 25 list to the backlash against The Bear and Unreasonable Hospitality, and even Erewhon’s wild new toothpaste smoothie.

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Keywords: Ludo Lefebvre, LudoBites, Petit Trois, LA restaurants, Los Angeles food podcast, Chef Ludo, Jonathan Gold, David Chang, Funke, The Infatuation, Erewhon, The Bear, Unreasonable Hospitality, LA dining scene, Acquired Taste Media

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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠

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It’s a spooky milestone — 150 episodes of The LA Food Podcast! In this special Halloween edition, Luca Servodio and Father Sal dig into your listener questions in our first-ever mailbag episode: from the meals we felt peer pressured into liking to the undercooked food stories LA media ignores, and even what we’d do for restaurants if we were Mayor of Los Angeles. Expect chaos, confessions, and Father Sal’s unsolicited online dating advice.

We also recap recent meals at Cafe Triste, RVR, Anajak and more. 

Then in Part 2, Luca sits down with Katie Parla — bestselling author, Italian food expert, and self-publishing trailblazer — to talk about the state of Roman cuisine, her new book Rome, and how she sees LA’s Italian food landscape evolving through chefs like Evan Funke, Gino Angelini, and the rise of Eataly.

Insightful, funny, and deliciously nerdy — it’s the perfect episode to celebrate 150 with us.

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