The last time I was in Los Angeles was almost thirty-three years ago, which was well before my formative eating years. Back then, there was no appreciation for barbecue, Neapolitan-style pizza, pasta made from scratch, smoked meats, and so forth.
So it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to my recent trip to Los Angeles. Knowing all about the famed food scene in town, I carefully did research of what hot food spots I should target. My primary resource was Los Angeles Times food critic Jonathan Gold’s comprehensive and fantastic list of the 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles. I also caught the recent AskMen.com piece naming the country’s ten best sandwiches, including two from Los Angeles. Given the desire to “carb load” on the night before a marathon, I planned to hit up a top notch Italian restaurant. The final guideline? After much thought, I did not want to go to Spago or another expensive prix fixe spot, figuring that there were plenty of other outstanding, more affordable spots.
And what did I find? Two observations: 1) There is plenty of amazing food in Los Angeles, from casual to high end places, and 2) some Philadelphia restaurants are just as good as those LA restaurants though there are just many more options in the City of Angels.
Eat, Drink & Run Philly 