Places making noise in LA that Mel hasn't eaten yet. Vote for what you want reviewed first. Suggest something she's missing. Highest votes get eaten first.
"The al pastor trompo has been spinning at this corner for decades. Every food person in LA has been here. I have not. This is embarrassing and will be corrected immediately."
"Ori Menashe's pasta has been making people lose their minds since 2012. The charcuterie program is allegedly one of the best in the country. The reservation wait is a war crime. I'm going."
"Evan Funke makes pasta in a glass room so you can watch him do it while you eat it. This is either the most pretentious thing in LA or the most honest. I need to find out which."
"French bistro energy on Melrose. The patio is a people-watching arena. The wine list is long and the charcuterie is allegedly very good. This is exactly the kind of place I need in my life on a Tuesday."
"Four courses in what feels like the Parisian catacombs, Nordic hip-hop in the bathroom, and golden scissors to cut a sticky bun. I need to understand this immediately."
"DIY handrolls on little wooden planks, gochujang eel, caviar potato pancake. The kind of place that shouldn't work and apparently absolutely does."
"Sourdough pizza from the guy who built a bakery in his house that grew to serve 200 restaurants. The audacity. The ambition. The crust."
"A $24 wagyu cheesesteak that's allegedly better than anything in Philadelphia. I will be the judge of that."
"Kris Yenbamroong's Thai food is the kind of thing that makes you realize every other Thai restaurant you've been to was lying to you. Spicy. Funky. Loud. Exactly right."
"The regular Holbox counter is already legendary. A full tasting menu version from the same kitchen? I don't know what I did to deserve this but I accept it."
"A converted church hall in a neighborhood nobody goes to, serving tiny martinis and a lasagna that is allegedly not a lasagna. The most interesting reservation in LA right now."
"Cheesy corn agnolotti and doenjang caesar in a marble bar in Koreatown. Either this is genius or it's a cry for help. Only one way to find out."
Know somewhere that should be on this list?