Los Angeles: The Best Place in the World to Eat. (San Francisco: oceanfront, restaurants)

[Island_OnThe_Land]

The Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic, Johnathan Gold pens an homage to L.A. dining in the current issue Saveur magazine.

The Hungry Metropolis by Johnathan Gold.

The Hungry Metropolis - Saveur.com

[iJazzy]

I guess I will have to go eat there some day.
OH I can dream.

[bhcompy]

It's true. Excellent options for all Asian, Mexican, South/Central American, American, and even European cuisines, and at all price ranges. Some of the most revered and/or enduring restaurants/foot stands/diners/whatever are the inexpensive or inconspicuous options, which is not something you'll find in Manhattan or San Francisco.

[pbergen]

los angeles is unquestionably one of the top eating cities, given the high quality of food that can be found at every price point and across an extremely wide spectrum of cuisines due to the area's large immigrant population.

geography also plays a role:
california's fertile soil and mild-to-warm year-round climate provides fresh produce that can be shipped from farms to the city very quickly instead of being plucked early and forced to "ripen" while in transit to a colder and remote inland location that has a shorter growing season. similarly, the oceanfront location allows for fresh seafood that hasn't been sitting for a couple of days while being shipped, which is a problem for inland/landlocked locations.

i'm always surprised how many people are unaware of LA's status as an elite food city, but maybe i shouldn't be, as many of those people seem to harbor an irrational hatred of the city/region across the board.

[Fontucky]

Gold also writes a restaurant column for laweekly.com

[uptown_urbanist]

I love Gold! His book is fabulous, too. LA definitely does not often enough get its due for being such a great food city. The dining options, especially the sheer variety available at an affordable price, are amazing. And like pbergen notes, there's also nothing like having year-round fresh produce.

[Island_OnThe_Land]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Gold also writes a restaurant column for laweekly.com

Yep, and Gold used to be a music critic for the LA Times, circa 1980 to the early 1990's.

[Fontucky]

He's much more useful to me in his present job of work.

[BRinSM]

I couldn't agree more. This weekend I ate typical LA cuisine at Lemonade and California Chicken Cafe, had Brazilian Churrasco in Koreatown of all places and had Japanese Shabu Shabu on Sawtelle, not to mention Mexican food. All were absolutely delicious and affordable, minus the churrasco (but that was for V-day and came with unlimited wine so it was no big deal).

[trunky]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

Some of the most revered and/or enduring restaurants/foot stands/diners/whatever are the inexpensive or inconspicuous options, which is not something you'll find in Manhattan or San Francisco.

??

Just curious, how do you possibly figure you can't find those things in Manhattan or San Francisco?