Where to eat in Los Angeles

Restaurants, cafés and street food in Los Angeles, United States that locals actually go to — plus the local names for the chains you already know.

• Howlin' Ray's — Nashville hot chicken, Chinatown (2). Order the The Sando (medium heat). The line is part of the experience; LA's hot-chicken obsession started here.
• Musso & Frank Grill — Steakhouse / Old Hollywood, Hollywood (4). Order the Martini + sand dabs. Hollywood's oldest restaurant (1919); red-jacket bartenders pour the city's definitive martini.
• Guelaguetza — Oaxacan, Koreatown (2). Order the Mole negro. The family-run mole cathedral of LA's Oaxacan community.
• Jitlada — Southern Thai, Thai Town (2). Order the Jungle curry. Pilgrimage site for Southern Thai heat — order carefully or bravely.
• Philippe the Original — Sandwiches, Chinatown (1). Order the Lamb French dip, double-dipped. Claims the 1908 invention of the French dip; sawdust floors and communal tables since forever.
• Leo's Tacos Truck — Tacos al pastor, Mid-City (multiple trucks) (1). Order the Al pastor tacos. Trompo-carved al pastor with pineapple flying off the spit.
• Mariscos Jalisco — Mexican seafood truck, Boyle Heights (1). Order the Taco dorado de camarón. The shrimp taco dorado that chefs cross town for.
• Langer's Delicatessen — Deli, Westlake / MacArthur Park (2). Order the #19 pastrami sandwich. The #19 pastrami on double-baked rye — plenty of Angelenos say it beats anything in New York.
• The Apple Pan — Burgers, West LA (1). Order the Hickoryburger + banana cream pie. Horseshoe counter essentially unchanged since 1947.
• Dan Tana's — Italian, West Hollywood (4). Order the Chicken parmigiana. Red-booth clubhouse that treats regulars like family and everyone like a regular.
• Park's BBQ — Korean BBQ, Koreatown (3). Order the Galbi. K-town's gold standard for beef quality.

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