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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Did the New York Times just cross the line with its brutal review of an LA dining icon? 🍽️ This week on The LA Food Podcast, we unpack Tejal Rao’s headline-grabbing critique of Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, the Beverly Hills institution she labeled merely “Satisfactory.” On our segment Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, we debate: was this fair criticism, coastal bias, or just plain nonsense?

Plus, we’re diving into:

• 🍔 Bold new California legislation that could transform how restaurants operate
  

• 💸 Our insider tips for eating three meals in LA for under $25 a day, inspired by The LA Times article on doing the same
  

• 🏛️ The heartbreaking, food-related fallout of the ongoing government shutdown
  

• 📺 Father Sal’s sharp-tongued review of Netflix’s Next Gen Chef — did the LeBron James-produced show cook up something special or flop like a soggy soufflé?

And don’t miss our 150th-episode announcement — we’re hosting our first-ever listener Q&A! Send your questions via DM to @TheLACountdown or @ItsAcquiredTaste.

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Today on The LA Food Podcast, we’re flipping the script — focusing not on the restaurant, but on you, the diner. Joining Luca and Father Sal is James Beard Award–winning author Adam Reiner, whose new book The New Rules of Dining Out redefines how we experience hospitality from the other side of the table. Reiner shares insider wisdom on how to dine like a pro, earn the respect of even the most jaded servers, and why “enlightened hospitality” might be due for a rethink.

Plus, Father Sal recaps recent eats including Quarter Sheets Pizza in Echo Park (was it worth the line?), and the guys unpack Great White’s racist controversy, LA Taco’s questionable Mexican restaurant rankings, the new rules of visiting gentrified Mexico City, and Tyra Banks’s mind-boggling new “hot ice cream.”

A candid, funny, and occasionally spicy conversation about what it really means to be a good diner in 2025. Powered by Acquired Taste.

🎙️ Featuring: Luca Servodio & Father Sal 📚 Guest: Adam Reiner, author of The New Rules of Dining Out 🍕 Topics: LA dining culture, restaurant etiquette, hospitality myths, Quarter Sheets Pizza, Great White LA, Tyra Banks hot ice cream, Mexico City food scene

#TheLAFoodPodcast #LAFood #AdamReiner #TheNewRulesOfDiningOut #Hospitality #QuarterSheetsPizza #LATaco #GreatWhiteLA #TyraBanks #MexicoCityFood

What do Marilyn Monroe, Jeff Bezos, and Henry Kissinger have in common with The LA Food Podcast host Luca Servodio? They’ve all dined at Chez Jay, the legendary Santa Monica dive bar that’s been serving surf, turf, and stories since 1959.

In this week’s episode, Luca sits down with Mike and Chris Anderson, the father-son duo behind Chez Jay, and longtime chef Memo De Arcos to celebrate the restaurant’s 66th anniversary. They talk Hollywood lore, surviving Santa Monica’s transformation, and how they fought to keep Chez Jay alive when a shiny new park threatened to take its place. Stay tuned after the credits for bonus celebrity tales starring Pierce Brosnan, Fergie, and Elon Musk.

Plus, Karen Palmer returns to discuss the culinary rise of Hermosa Beach, a Los Angeles restaurant’s cameo in the latest Taylor Swift album, and which classic LA restaurants she can’t live without. In Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, we’re talking pythons in drive-throughs, $100 smoothie kits, Priya Krishna on opening a restaurant in NY, and restaurants taking Bitcoin.

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On this week’s LA Food Podcast, Luca Servodio and Father Sal recap recent eats in NYC and LA before diving into Tejal Rao’s review of Baby Bistro — is it really the perfect encapsulation of LA dining in 2025? We also break down the new North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list: Atomix takes #1, New York dominates, Canada surges, and LA lands just three spots (Providence, Holbox, Kato). Plus, in Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, we tackle modern steakhouses, Eater LA’s new “Dining Report,” California’s allergen-labeling law, Zohran Mamdani’s food-fueled campaign, and Genghis Cohen’s big move.

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Santa Barbara might be known as the American Riviera, but its food scene is finally demanding the spotlight. This week on The LA Food Podcast, we recap 72 hours of eats — from surprisingly great Mexican food to a bao joint everyone’s obsessed with — and explain why SB might just be California’s most exciting dining city right now.

Plus, we sit down with the team behind Dom’s Taverna, the Basque-inspired newcomer from Dominique Crisp, Raj Nallapothola, and Ben Carey that’s redefining Santa Barbara dining.

In Chef’s Kiss/Big Miss: goodbye Birdie G’s, the rise of convenience sushi, and a burger list showdown (how dare you, Farley Elliott).

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

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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

This week on The LA Food Podcast, we dive into one of the most heated debates in the LA dining scene: why are Angelenos calling for a boycott of Enrique Olvera’s acclaimed downtown restaurant Damian? Is the backlash justified, or has a whistleblowing media outlet (LA Taco) gone too far?

Father Sal joins the conversation as we unpack the Damian controversy, celebrate the two Los Angeles spots that landed on Bon Appétit’s 2025 Best New Restaurants in America list (Komal! Camelia!!), and highlight four beloved LA restaurants saved by community support (The Reel Inn! The Pantry!! Dulan’s!!! Cole’s French Dip????). We also break down the New York Times’ lukewarm review of one of America’s most famous dining rooms (Alinea).

Plus, we recap recent eats across the city—from the new tasting menu at Firstborn in Chinatown, to the ever-popular Saffy’s in East Hollywood, to Father Sal’s first (and unforgettable) trip to the celiac-unfriendly cult favorite, Courage Bagels.

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

Today on The LA Food Podcast, Dave Beran—the award-winning chef behind Santa Monica’s Pasjoli and the tasting-menu temple Seline—sits down for his most candid interview yet. We talk about stepping into roles before you feel ready, the line between an intense kitchen and a toxic one, fundraising and vision, and how he truly feels about Seline not earning a Michelin star in year one. We also rewind to his Chicago years with Grant Achatz at Alinea and Next, and dig into how those experiences shaped his approach to leadership, hospitality, and creativity in Los Angeles.

Before that, part-time co-host Karen Palmer joins for recent eats in Ojai, what she’s working on next (including a shockingly great pizzeria in a surprising location), and Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss:

Food & Wine’s LA snub on its latest Best New Chefs list

Which LA spots made The New York Times 50 Best Restaurants in America (2025)

The latest trend sweeping LA restaurants and how we actually feel about it

If you care about fine dining, honest kitchen culture, and where Los Angeles food is headed next, this one is for you.

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

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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

Today on The LA Food Podcast, we’re joined by none other than Nancy Silverton — LA’s Queen of Carbohydrates, President of Pizza, and Secretary of Sourdough. Recorded at Osteria Mozza, our free-flowing conversation covers Nancy’s legendary career, her impact on multiple eras of Los Angeles dining, and why she continues to bring new and exciting concepts to life. We also preview her upcoming panels at LA Chef Con 2025, including a tribute to Jonathan Gold and a celebration of 10 years of Netflix’s Chef’s Table.

But first, Luca and Father Sal finally make it to Kato, the #1 restaurant on Bill Addison’s 101. Did Jon Yao and Ryan Bailey’s Michelin-starred spot live up to the hype? We break it down.

In Chef’s Kiss, Big Miss, we dive into Jenn Harris’s review of Nobu, a buzzy new West Hollywood hotspot from a Southern celebrity chef (Sean Brock), plus an ode to the timeless Chinese American combo plate from a local legend.

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

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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

What happens on the pod, stays on the pod—or does it? Following the hit Palm Springs recap, Luca is joined once again by his wife to break down a herculean three-day eating marathon at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, the Strip’s buzziest new food destination. From Mother Wolf’s pasta to indulgent dinners at Don’s Prime and Chyna Club, dim sum at Washing Potato, and an ambitious food crawl at the Promenade Food Hall, they ask the big question: is Fontainebleau the best Vegas dining resort for true food obsessives?

In Part 2, Luca sits down with Chef Laetitia Rouabah, executive chef of La Fontaine, who built her career alongside Alain Ducasse in Paris, London, and New York before bringing her classic French sensibilities to Vegas. They dive into her inspiration for leaving NYC, how she adapts French cuisine for a new audience, and the biggest misconceptions about Vegas as a food city.

And of course, there’s Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss—covering the latest Cracker Barrel controversy, a new California restaurant requirement, a killer Infatuation Wallflour review, and the viral US Open cocktail that has everyone buzzing.

If you love Las Vegas dining, fine dining perspectives, and food world hot takes, this episode has it all.

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

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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods