Los Angeles Food

The Burger

LOS ANGELES Yoon made his name at the Santa Monica gastropub Father’s Office, where his burger—topped with Gruyère, Maytag blue cheese, arugula, and applewood-bacon compote—ranks among the nation’s finest. Last spring Yoon opened a second outpost of F.O. that’s twice as spacious, making his haute American standard even more enjoyable.

The Cup of Joe

In funky Silver Lake, Lamill Coffee Boutique offers a five-page menu of java drinks—all prepared in your choice of brewing device, from a siphon (which resembles a very elaborate bong) to a one-of-a-kind La Marzocco espresso machine sheathed in hand-pounded brass.

The Hot Dog

Let’s Be Frank is a seriously ambitious hot-dog stand run by Berkeley-based Chez Panisse veteran Sue Moore, who started the chain in San Francisco. Moore’s grass-fed beef and Berkshire-pork dogs are subtly seasoned with organic spices (garlic, paprika, and black pepper).

The Taco

New York’s esteemed James Beard Foundation called Yuca’s an “American classic” back when it was a mere shack in a Los Feliz parking lot. Last year, Yuca’s became a proper sit-down joint, where chef Dora Herrera’s sublime tacos al pastor, filled with grilled pork and peppers, can be savored not only on the hood of a car, but also on sidewalk tables under plastic-thatch umbrellas.

Los Angeles City Guide

Los Angeles is a huge city with several district articles containing sightseeing, restaurant, nightlife and accommodation listings — consider printing them all.

The city of Los Angeles — also known as the "City of Angels" or simply L.A. — is the largest city in California. Located on a broad basin in Southern California, it is surrounded by vast mountain ranges, deep valleys, forests, desert, and the Pacific Ocean.

The metropolitan area is the second largest in the United States in terms of population, home to nearly 18 million people who hail from all parts of the globe and speak over a hundred different languages. The metropolitan area is centered in Los Angeles County, but stretches into Orange County, Ventura County, San Bernardino County, and Riverside County.

Los Angeles is an important center of culture, business, media, and international trade, but is most famous for being the center of the world's entertainment industry, which forms the base of its global status.

People

Los Angeles is a very diverse city with nearly half of its population being born outside the United States. It has the third largest Mexican population in the world behind Mexico City and Guadalajara, and is home to many other large immigrant populations such as Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Iranians, Armenians, Thais, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Indians, Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Israelis, and Samoans. Spread throughout the city are many ethnic enclaves such as Koreatown, Chinatown, Filipinotown, Little Tokyo, Little Armenia, Thai Town, Little Persia, and Little India. For the most part it's also a fairly gay-friendly city, especially the Westside, Hollywood, and West Hollywood where even the police cars bear rainbows.

Climate

The city enjoys a temperate climate for most of the year. Summers are warm and occasionally hot, and bring the famously dirty air (though the smog has reduced in recent years, and much of what you hear about was overhyped to begin with). Fall and Winter bring some of the clearest weather and often some of the most beautiful days of the year... it's not uncommon to spend the day at the beach mid-January and wind up with a healthy tan. Spring brings a mix of sunny warm days and gloomy rain.

Temperatures can also fluctuate wildy depending where you are in the city — it's entirely possible for it to be 80 degrees in Santa Monica and 105 degrees in Burbank on the same day in mid-July. The coast tends to stay a bit cooler, and gets quite chilly at night even in the summer, don't forget a sweater and pants if you're staying for dinner.