L.A.’s food universe has cuisines from so many cultures to taste. This diversity helps restaurants, food trucks, taco stands, and other eateries survive, and sometimes thrive, in the city.
You can find food from almost every part of the world, from the Horn of Africa in Little Ethiopia to numerous Central American spots in the Pico-Union neighborhood, to regional Chinese cuisine and Korean gems peppered across the city, and, of course, Mexican food—to name just a few.
Restaurants are often seen as neutral spaces for people to share a meal with loved ones and catch up on life. Embedded in that experience is the politics that shape the dishes on the menu. Recently, international politics have become more visible and important to customers, especially for those considering Israeli-owned eateries, since the genocide that has seen over 73,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, primarily by Israel’s military, the majority of them women, children, and non-combatants.
One of the clearest examples of how politics is ingrained in food comes from the Tel Aviv-inspired restaurant Miznon, which has two locations in Los Angeles and a third on the way: one in Downtown’s Grand Central Market, another on 3rd Street near the Grove, and a third in Culver City. Its menu features pita-wrapped sandwiches stuffed with ingredients like ribeye, chicken schnitzel, mushrooms, and cheeseburgers.
Miznon is one of 40 restaurants owned by The Good People Group, an Israeli hospitality company founded in 2008 by Shahar Segal and Eyal Shani, the celebrity chef and “Masterchef Israel” judge who created Miznon and its menus.
They also own HaSalon, which has locations in New York, Las Vegas, Miami, Australia, Austria, and France. Additionally, they own Shmoné, Port Sa’id, Malka, Teder.fm, and Beit Romano.