Frogtown ~ El Camino Real ~ Los Angeles wild grape!

Frogtown Jungle ~ L.A. River

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Julianne Le is a recent grad from UCLA where she majored in English and minored in Asian American Studies. Maybe it&#8217;s because she isn&#8217;t jaded yet, but she is super eager to peek into the overlooked corners of L.A. and write about them. Le is the former editor-in-chief of UCLA&#8217;s Pacific Ties Newsmagazine and was a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press&#8217; &#8220;Podcast of the Year&#8221; award in 2024.

Julianne Le

Two women sit next to one another and are working on preserving birds through taxidermy.

Meet the Young Women Reimagining Taxidermy In L.A.

Professional punk and Editor-In-Chief for James Beard Award-winning L.A. TACO. Associate Producer for JBA-winning Las Crónicas Del Taco. Former restaurant scout for Jonathan Gold. Co-author of &#8220;Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico (2019, Abrams) and &#8220;Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling&#8221; (2023, Abrams).

Javier Cabral

News

Land Back: Over 500 Acres of Ancestral Territory in North L.A. Returned to Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians

Memo Torres is the Director of Engagement and multimedia journalist for the James Beard award-winning L.A. Taco. He is also the host of the Daily Memo and writes for Apple Maps’ ‘Where Memo Torres Eats in L.A.’ You can see him on Netflix&#8217;s Taco Chronicles and Pressure Cooker.  You can hear him on KCRW’s ‘Good Food’ occasionally. He was a finalist for the Ruben Salazar Award for Latino journalists and a former third-generation landscaper.

Memo Torres

Urban Wilderness

Are Organic Gardening Products Safer? A Pro Landscaper Weighs In

Five Common Plants to Avoid When Creating Your Green Spaces in L.A.

A Cat Person’s Complete Guide On What to Do When You Find Stray Kittens In Los Angeles

Daniel Thalkar is a writer and a history teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District. He lives in El Sereno.

Daniel Thalkar

El Sereno’s Guerrilla Gardeners Sow Native Plants To Resist Gentrification In Developer-Contested Land

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L.A. TACO

One of L.A. TACO&#8217;s co-founders, Hadley Tomicki is a writer and editor on food, travel, and culture whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, UrbanDaddy, High Times, and many other places.

Hadley Tomicki

"The Smokescreen," with mezcal, Aperol, and pineapple, at The Last Canteen. Photo via The Last Canteen.

Taco Members Only

Weekend Eats: On-Tap Sarsaparilla and Soylent Green Cocktails At This Apocalypse-Themed Bar

Lexis-Olivier Ray is an award-winning staff investigative reporter for L.A. TACO known for holding powerful people in Los Angeles accountable and his reporting on Los Angeles culture. As well as an artist and filmmaker. In 2022, the Society of Professional Journalists&#8217; Los Angeles chapter named Ray one of their &#8220;distinguished journalists.&#8221; In 2023, Ray won a second place Anthem Award in their Health Innovation category for a texting service geared towards the unhoused community and service providers that he launched in 2021 with L.A. TACO and Subtext. Ray was a 2020 USC Center For Health Journalism (CHJ) Data Fellow. As well as a 2022 CHJ Impact Fellow. As a freelancer, Ray has contributed to the L.A. Times, Men&#8217;s Health Magazine, KCET and SFGATE.

Lexis-Olivier Ray

LAPD motorcycle officers grab journalist's arms and escort him behind police line.

Investigations Newsletter: L.A. TACO Reporter Detained While Reporting (Again)

Drink

Craft Breweries Are Struggling. So How Does This One Keep Expanding?

Izzy Ramirez is a Los Angeles-based staff reporter with L.A. TACO, documenting immigration enforcement and state power as it unfolds on the ground. Their work centers real-time alerts and long-term public archiving throughout the Southern California region.

Izzy Ramirez

Erwin Recinos is a seasoned visual artist with an eye for capturing life as a working commuter aboard public transportation in and around Los Angeles. For 20 years now, Recinos has been documenting the urban landscape, street culture, and Hispanic communities of Los Angeles utilizing his daily routine and the city of Los Angeles as an inspiration. Recinos also works with popular food and event websites such as LATACO.com and Eater LA to capture the cuisine and culture that is so important to the city of Los Angeles and across Southern California.

Erwin Recinos

DAILY MEMO

Daily Memo: Immigration Lawyers Overwhelmed With the Number of Detainees Needing Representation

A.k.a. Afroxander; Weekend Editor at L.A. Taco and a lecturer at San Diego State University. He has covered arts, culture, history, politics, and sports with an emphasis on Latin America and its U.S. diaspora for over two decades.

Ivan Fernandez

a man and woman sit on a colorful staircase together

This WWE Power Couple Is Venturing into L.A.’s Coffee Roasting Scene

Blending her time in the kitchen as a line cook with her passion for storytelling, Lauren Bethke writes about community, inclusivity and the city she loves the most—Los Angeles.

a woman sits outside wearing a black long sleeve outfit

Lauren Bethke

a man smiles from inside a restaurant kitchen

Food

These Nine L.A. Dishwashers Are the Real Heroes of Your Favorite Restaurants

Colin Browne is a critic and journalist whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, and Hollywood Mirror.