| Taquerias, dim sum parlors, sushi counters, noodle shops, kebab stands, strip malls filled with businesses serving 12 different Vietnamese specialties: Immigrant excellence powers every single restaurant on the L.A. Times' first ever 101 best restaurants in California guide. Without exception. |
| Even in the white-owned places serving Euro-centric dishes, who is doing the cooking or delivering the plates to the table? I see the greatness of immigrant contributions to our dining culture everywhere. |
| Given the past week in Los Angeles, amid the accelerated immigration raids and anti-ICE protests, and the many obfuscations across social media and national coverage in their portrayals of L.A. and Angelenos, it feels important to say plainly: The top-to-bottom glory of culinary California feeds and influences the nation and the world, and it would not exist without our immigrants. |
| That's reflected in our new statewide 101 essential restaurants project, which went live this morning. |
How to make the most of our 101 essential restaurants guide |
| This list isn't full of super-secret, "undiscovered" amazements hidden in the furthest regions of the state. No. It's built from fantastic restaurants of all kinds — the standouts, telling a collective story about who we are and what we eat. |
| Did I rank them? No, though of course I'm aware plenty of people crave stars and status to argue over. |
| The No. 1 reason to take the time to read over the guide is to see that, in the spirit of usefulness, the 101 restaurants are jumping-off points. There is too much brilliance to highlight at every level in California. So along with many of the write-ups, you'll find "extra helpings" of restaurants similar in style or cuisine or geography. |
| For instance, you might glance down the list of places in San Francisco — the U.S. capital of fine dining, full-stop — and say, "These are out of my budget!" Keep reading, and you'll see I've also included more affordable dining recommendations in the city. |
The list's big takeaway: "Personal narrative" cooking defines what California is |
| Eating well in California has outgrown simplistic notions of perfect fruit on a plate. |
| For almost 50 years, the architects of the modern California-wide dining culture drove the ethos of "seasonal" and "local" into eye-glazing cliches, and we know who farms all our beautiful produce. |
| But over the last decade, the foods of the state's longest-standing immigrant communities — Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino and Middle Eastern, among others — have become engines of creativity for a new generation of chefs cooking from their heritage. |
| At the stove, each person could choose to hue close to tradition or veer wildly into innovation. Someone could re-create their grandmother's pozole, another could infuse the dish's broth with Asian herbs and garnish it with edible flowers. |
| If it was delicious, it found an audience. It was a big element when, in the early 2010s, media and food lovers finally began acknowledging Los Angeles on the world map as a dining destination. |
| That approach — it can go by "third culture cuisine" or "identity-based cooking" — is no less thrilling these days, but it's become a welcome part of our culinary consciousness. |
| The reaction isn't so much, "Whoa, this take on mapo tofu is wild" as it is, "Ah, this is what you bring." It's the closest I have to a modern, working definition of the overly broad term "California cuisine." |
| | | These are the best restaurants in California. From San Diego to the Bay Area and wine country, our food critic guides you to the best dining spots in the state. | | | |
Today's top stories |
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| Los Angeles police prepare to enforce a curfew in downtown Tuesday evening. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) |
Immigration raids across the L.A. area intensify |
- The sweeping federal immigration crackdown that sparked days of protests appeared to be gaining steam across many parts of the region from suburban retail centers to farmland in Ventura County.
- The White House confirmed that 330 people have been taken into custody by federal authorities since immigration sweeps began last week in Los Angeles, prompting days of protests.
- The sweeps come as Mayor Bass imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. across most of downtown Los Angeles.
- Bass said she expects the curfew to remain in place for several days and will consult with law enforcement and elected leaders before lifting it.
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Why L.A.'s food and yard waste is being dumped in the Antelope Valley |
- A California law aimed at reducing the amount of climate-harming greenhouse gases at landfills is exacerbating the problem of illegal dumping in the Antelope Valley, according to local officials and residents.
- Experts say the law appears to be working in most regions of the state, but the Los Angeles area has been a problem because it hasn't invested in the infrastructure it needs to deal with the increased organic waste.
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Harvey Weinstein found guilty of sexual assault in a New York retrial |
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What else is going on |
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Commentary and opinions |
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This morning's must reads |
| | | In a war for control of L.A.'s Armenian underworld, federal authorities say rival crews of gangsters engaged in a series of dramatic shootings and kidnappings across the San Fernando Valley. | | | |
Other must reads |
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| Keep up with California | Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. | | | | | |
For your downtime |
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| On weekend mornings, Barbacoa Ramirez offers moronga de borrego and barbacoa tacos at its puesto in Arleta. (Andrea D'Agosto / For The Times) |
Going out |
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| Staying in |
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A question for you: What's the best advice you've gotten from your father or father figure? |
| John says, "I was thinking about leaving a promising career in the corporate world working 50-60 hours a week to become a teacher. My dad asked me why. One reason was that I would be able to spend more time with my kids. He was retired from a job where he worked 50-60 hours a week and said that he wished he had worked less because he missed out on so much of my and my siblings' lives. He told me to never put work before family like he had done." |
| Katie says, "I grew up in Washington, DC, and was lucky to have a father who loved to take me out to eat at all kinds of restaurants. My father taught me from a very young age to always read the dessert menu first, so you could plan your meal accordingly." |
| Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. |
And finally ... from our archives |
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| Mildred Loving and her husband Richard P Loving in 1965. (AP) |
| On June 12, 1967, the Loving vs. Virginia decision deemed bans on interracial marriage unconstitutional. In recent years, the anniversary of that decision has been informally celebrated by multiracial families across the country. |
| In 2016, The Times invited readers to share their Loving Day stories and how interracial relationships have affected them. |
Have a great day, from the Essential California team |
| Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters |
| How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com. |
