What does the year of our Lord 2025 have in store for LA restaurants? According to The LA Times, a whole lot more struggle. 

Father Sal is with us to break down a couple of fascinating pieces by Stephanie Breijo and Cindy Carcamo on the restaurants we lost in 2024, and what the landscape of challenges looks like for the year ahead. On a lighter note, we recap our holidays, including Father Sal’s first American Christmas and my continuing plight to force-feed my family the Feast of the Seven Fishes. And Sal also gives us a run-down of the must-visit spots from his most recent escapade to Mexico City. 

In Part 2, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for - the 2025 Countdown reveal. In case you’re unfamiliar, every year I set out to eat 100 variations of a certain type of LA cuisine. In 2021 I ate 100 pizzas, in 2022 I visited 100 taquerias, 2023 brought me sandwiches and I just finished scouring the city for 100 epic noodle dishes. What will 2025 hold for yours truly and yours truly’s rapidly deteriorating gastrointestinal system? Stick around to find out. 

Helpful Links:

Stephanie Breijo on closures https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-12-31/how-many-la-restaurants-closed-in-2024

Cindy Carcamo on the 7 struggles ahead for LA restaurants https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-12-31/top-7-challenges-issues-facing-restaurants-in-2025

Father Sal’s top rec for Mexico City https://auna.com.mx/

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Joining us on the podcast are  The Infatuation’s Brant Cox and Sylvio Martins. They’re going to walk us through their list of the Best New Restaurants of 2024, as well as the good and not-so-good trends that defined this year of dining in LA. We finish off with some predictions for what dining in 2025 will look like, and chat a little bit about our respective restaurant-related New Year’s Resolutions. 

Helpful Links:

Infatuation LA Best New Restaurants 2024 https://www.theinfatuation.com/los-angeles/guides/best-new-restaurants-los-angeles-2024

Brant on IG https://www.instagram.com/brantcox/

Sylvio on IG https://www.instagram.com/sylvmartins/

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I’d like to cordially welcome you to the second annual LA Food Pod Holiday Party! 

Father Sal and I are joined by our favorite New York-based podcast ho ho hosts, Nancy DaSilva and Bits Nicholas of Compliments to the Chef, for a jolly ole time discussing what’s hot in the Big Apple, what we make of the premature closure of Frog Club, the quixotic restaurant helmed by Liz Johnson of Horses on Sunset fame, and we each bring a holiday cocktail to the table to hopefully inspire you to do some festive drinking of your own, dear listener. We close things off with an historic LA Food Pod Holiday Quiz - will Father Sal be able to secure the crown for Los Angeles, or will the interlopers from New York escape with the dub? Stay tuned to find out. 

In Part 2, we’re joined by Marc Rose and Med Abrous, the co-owners of Call Mom Hosptialtiy Group. Their restaurant Genghis Cohen is one of the hottest tickets in town on any given Christmas, so much so, that they refer to it as their Super Bowl. Marc and Med join us to talk about how their restaurant handles the holiday, and, as the owners of La Dolce Vita in Beverly Hills, we also discuss how they approach taking over legacy spaces in a way that both honors their history, while ushering them into a new era. 

Helpful Links:

Compliments to the Chef Pod https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/compliments-to-the-chef/id1727777167

Compliments to the Chef on IG https://www.instagram.com/complimentstothechef_pod/

Pete Wells on Frog Club https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/10/dining/frog-club-nyc-closes.html

Vox on Crumbl https://www.vox.com/money/389782/crumbl-cookies-tiktok-viral-consumption

Genghis Cohen https://www.genghiscohen.com/

La Dolce Vita https://www.ladolcevitabeverlyhills.com/

Call Mom Hospitality Group https://www.didyoucallmom.com/

McConnell’s / Genghis Cohen collab https://www.instagram.com/p/DDupoqDyCd_/?img_index=1

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What do the Eater layoffs mean for food media in Los Angeles? Did Bill Addison’s review of Vespertine get us more or less excited to visit the two Michelin-star juggernaut? And what to make of Melissa Clark’s underwhelming experiences at Thomas Keller’s Per Se and The French Laundry?

Father Sal’s with us today to discuss all of the above, plus a controversy at Long Beach’s Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, a bold proclamation of the best fast food item in America, and quote-unquote intrepid food influencer whose rating every steakhouse chain from the comfort of his own Tesla. 

In Part 2, we’re joined by Reilly Cox and Luke Reyes for the second installment of our Opening Cafe Esca series. If you missed Part 1, this is our series where Luke and Reilly are bringing us along in their journey of opening an ambitious new Italian restaurant in a stunning Arts District development come March of 2025. For today’s conversation, I met up with Reilly and Luke at their very much under-construction restaurant space, to hear about how they’ve been working with their designer on a design concept that presents a modern Italian dining experience able to convey warmth while also standing out amidst the sea of Italian restaurants in Los Angeles. Today’s convo will focus on the concept of the design, and our next installment coming up in a few weeks will center around the nitty gritty of bringing that vision to life by way of materials, permitting, budget constraints, and more.

Helpful Links:

News about the Eater layoffs https://www.businessinsider.com/vox-media-lays-off-staff-at-lifestyle-brands-thrillist-eater-2024-12

Vox Media Union statement https://www.wgaeast.org/wgae-vox-media-union-statement-on-layoffs-at-thrillist-and-east/

Voc Media Union relief fund https://x.com/vox_union/status/1866132381758886148

Bill Addison reviews Vespertine https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-12-05/vespertine-culver-city-2024-review-jordan-kahn-bill-addison

Melissa Clarke on Per Se and The French Laundry https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/dining/french-laundry-per-se.html

Controversy at Roscoe’s https://la.eater.com/2024/12/4/24313359/roscoes-house-of-chicken-n-waffles-trump-doll-maga-los-angeles-southern-california

The Ringer oral history on best fast food https://www.theringer.com/2024/12/03/food/chick-fil-a-waffle-fries-fast-food-rankings

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, dear listener, and I’m talking of course about the advent of The LA Times 101 Best Restaurants list. 

Bill Addison and Jenn Harris dropped their picks at a highfalutin soiree earlier this week, and the reaction, as always, consists of everything from love to loathing. But what does it actually mean for Kato to earn the number 1 spot two years in a row, for restaurants like Bestia and Pijja Palace to fall off the list, and for new hot spots like Stella and Budonoki to be snubbed entirely? As you know, these kinds of questions eat Father Sal and I alive - so we decided to approach this year’s list with a frankly deranged level of in-depth analysis.

So buckle up, dear listener, because we’ve combed through every 101 list since 2013 to determine what exactly this year’s list says about our city, its restaurants, and the people who write about them. 

Helpful links:

The LA Times 101 https://www.latimes.com/food/list/101-best-restaurants-los-angeles

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It’s beginning to feel a lot like Black Friday. Father Sal and I are coming through with a very LA Food Pod Gift Guide.

But first, there’s a piece in Taste making the case in favor of gatekeeping your favorite restaurants, a podcast with the brand new editor of The Best American Food & Travel Writing that elicited some red hot takes on the future of food media, and a snarky Substack article on whether 2024 was a year of lows for LA restaurants. 

Helpful links:

Shaan Merchant for Taste on gatekeeping ⁠https://tastecooking.com/is-there-a-case-for-gatekeeping/⁠

This is Taste interview with Jaya Saxena ⁠https://tastecooking.com/this-is-taste-499-best-american-food-writing-with-jaya-saxena/⁠

Bangers and Jams article on LA’s highs and lows ⁠https://www.bangersandjams.com/p/the-highs-and-lows-of-las-quiet-restaurant⁠

Eater’s Mona Holmes on Somerville and Long Beach’s new jazz lounge ⁠https://la.eater.com/2024/11/25/24305531/breakers-long-beach-hotel-sky-room-restaurant-opening-jazz-lounge-long-beach-southern-california⁠

GIFT GUIDE

⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008H4SLV6?tag=seriouseats-onsite-prod-20&ascsubtag=8648475%7Cnfb598f95b40b4663a3a1de10248b91ba01%7CB008H4SLV6%7C1732671051584%7C%7C&th=1⁠

⁠https://foodistkitchen.com/⁠

⁠https://www.botanicarestaurant.com/products/magic-spice⁠Gift for the friend who only eats out:

⁠https://dininginthedarkexperience.com/los-angeles/⁠

Gift we’d get each other 

Gift I wish people would get me

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Welcome to episode 100. We hosted a live show to celebrate at Little Joy Cocktails in Echo Park, and what you’re about to hear is the recording of said live show. Father Sal and I were joined by Eater’s Mona Holmes to run through the headlines of the day and to play a round of Chef’s Kiss Big Miss. We debuted the first-ever LA Food Pod quiz - big thanks and sincere apologies to David Turkell of Turk’s Pizza Party for participating. And, finally, we had a conversation with Jackson Kalb of Ospi, Jemma, and Top Chef fame, on running a restaurant in today’s tricky economic environment, among other things. 

But first, Father Sal joins me for some slightly indulgent navel-gazing on what this podcast means to us, and we also quickly touch on some exciting events we attended this week, including a very insightful panel discussion on restaurant PR and marketing hosted by New School, and a comedy show presented by none other than former Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi. 

Helpful links:

Mona Holmes https://www.instagram.com/monaeats/?hl=en

Jackson Kalb https://www.instagram.com/jacksonkalb/?hl=en

Ospi https://ospi.com/venice

Jemma https://jemmarestaurants.com/

Little Joy https://littlejoy.la/

The LA Food Pod Live Show was produced by:

Robert Haleblian https://www.instagram.com/robert_haleblian/?hl=en

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What do the best competition cook of all time, an uber-accomplished LA restaurateur and the author of one of the year’s best cookbooks have in common? Well, they’re all the same person and her name is Brooke Williamson.

Brooke just released her first-ever cookbook, dear listener. It’s called SUN-KISSED COOKING, and it’s available now in stores. Brooke’s with us today to tell us what inspired the new book, why now felt like the right time in her storied career to release her first book, and what she liked and didn’t like about the arduous process of writing a cookbook. 

Of course, I wouldn’t be doing my job if we didn’t also talk about her career as a prodigy on the Los Angeles restaurant scene, the secrets to her extraterrestrial ability as a competition cook, and how she’s seen the role of a restaurant operator evolve since opening her first restaurant back in the early aughts. 

Helpful links:

Sun-Kissed Cooking https://www.harpercollins.com/products/sun-kissed-cooking-brooke-williamson?variant=41531003830306

Brooke on IG https://www.instagram.com/chefbrookew/?hl=en

The LA Food Podcast is produced with the help of:

Abdo Hajj

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Today on The LA Food Podcast… What game is Norm Langer playing by reposting Rick Caruso’s scathing video of Mayor Karen Bass’ efforts (or lacktherof) to clean up MacArthur Park? Why is Martha Stewart irate over the way she’s being portrayed in her brand new Netflix documentary “Martha?” And why is a trip Dan Tana’s pretty much obligatory in your near future, dear listener?

We’re joined today by SF Gate’s Karen Palmer to discuss all of the above. She’s filling in for Father Sal and, dare I say, Father Sal watch out. If he keeps abusing his PTO days, Karen just made a case for why there might need to be a change in administration. Too soon?

In Part 2 we’re joined by Richard Pink of Pink’s Hot Dogs. The Hollywood icon that is Pink’s is celebrating its 85th birthday and is giving out 85 cent hot dogs to celebrate. I caught up with Richard at Pink’s to hear about the promotion, but more importantly, to hear his reflections on the little hot dog stand that could. 

As always please consider leaving us a rating or a review wherever you listen to podcasts. I’m your host Luca Servodio and without further ado, let’s chow down. 

Helpful links:

Karen Palmer https://www.sfgate.com/author/karen-palmer/

Karen on IG https://www.instagram.com/karenlpalmer/?hl=en

Karen’s piece on Dan Tana’s https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/california-italian-restaurant-dan-tanas-19880183.php

Pink’s https://www.pinkshollywood.com/

Langer’s re-post of Rick Caruso https://www.instagram.com/p/DB7CglYvmzQ/?hl=en

New York Times interview with Martha Stewart https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/30/movies/martha-stewart-netflix-documentary.html

Eater’s stories on Martha https://www.eater.com/search?q=martha+stewart

Taste on nonalcoholic martinis https://tastecooking.com/a-good-na-martini-is-possible/

The LA Food Podcast is produced with the help of:

Abdo Hajj

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Part 1 of our brand new series, Opening Cafe Esca. We’re joined by accomplished hospitality pros Luke Reyes and Reilly Cox, the dream team behind the upcoming Coastal Italian gem slated to open in the Arts District in March of 2025. 

Luke and Reilly have agreed to visit us on the pod once a month to take us behind the scenes of all that’s gonna go into opening their ambitious LA restaurant. Why are they doing this? Well, typically when restaurants open you just see a blurb in Eater or stroll by it on your morning walk, but there’s tons of work that goes into opening a restaurant that often goes untold. Reilly and Luke are going to take us under the hood, sharing the good, the bad, the ugly, and of course the delicious. Think of this like a podcast version of The Bear Season 2, but with more City of Angels and far less family trauma. 

But first, Father Sal is with us to talk New York versus LA food, whether Kamala Harris’ status as a foodie can actually help her win the election, and of course, to play a round of Chef’s Kiss Big MIss with us. He also makes a BIG, MASSIVE announcement that you’re not gonna wanna miss. All I’ve gotta say is, look out LA, there’s a new daddy in town. 

Helpful links:

Luke Reyes https://www.instagram.com/_luke_reyes/?hl=en

Reilly Cox https://www.linkedin.com/in/reillyscox/

Rita’s Deluxe https://www.ritasdeluxe.com/

Psychic Wines https://www.psychicwinesla.com/

Jenn Harris on NY vs LA food https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-10-25/los-angeles-better-food-city-new-york-city-dodgers-yankees

Meghan McCarron on Kamala’s foodie-ness https://www.bonappetit.com/story/kamala-harris-food-politics?srsltid=AfmBOoqPiaZxqUNliiwHMvaogf_kYPjpWZ3TBRbczCazjhHB7AjQUouM

LAist Halloween foods https://laist.com/brief/news/food/seven-local-spots-serving-grim-goodies-this-halloween-season

Mona Holmes on Homemade LA https://la.eater.com/2024/10/28/24275082/homemade-la-home-restaurants-mehko-food-service-vendors-los-angeles-county

Cheese store robbed https://www.nbc.com/today/video/400000-worth-of-award-winning-cheese-stolen-in-london/NBCN854213543#:~:text=A%20con%20artist%20who%20posed,Neal's%20Yard%20Diary%20in%20London.

The LA Food Podcast is produced with the help of:

Abdo Hajj

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