About a year ago, I wrote a post entitled &#8220;8 Weeks&#8221;, about Andrew Bynum&#8217;s knee injury, which was supposed to keep him out of the lineup for 8 weeks after a teammate landed on his knee and popped his kneecap in a game against Memphis. Big Drew missed the entire season including the playoffs. Deja…

Not Again!!! ~ LA Lakers

core/image

core/paragraph

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

People

From Florida to SoCal: The Vietnamese Creator Spotlighting Hidden Gem Restaurants for Millions

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

Sports

From the Kitchen to the Octagon: One L.A. Chef’s Journey Into the World of Mixed Martial Arts

Featured

This 26-Year-Old From the Pacific Northwest Is Calling Out MAGA-Owned Latino Businesses

Phoenix Tso

Los Angeles

Why did L.A. Public Library cancel its ‘Read Palestine Week’ talk?

Marina Watanabe is director of video and a reporter at L.A. TACO based in Koreatown. Previously, she worked as a video reporter for 404 by Los Angeles Times and a video producer at Condé Nast publications Teen Vogue, Glamour, and Them.

Marina Watanabe

Rows of burned cars in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire that destroyed much of Altadena in January, 2025. Photo by Maks Ksenjak for L.A. TACO.

Books

We Don’t Need to Imagine Octavia Butler’s Post-Apocalyptic L.A. It’s Already Here.

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

Den of Den's Tea posing next to their mascot.

L.A.’s Hidden Matcha Master: Masanori Den Shirakata, the Low-Key Legend Only Insiders Know

Explore

Footer - NEW

Legal Footer

Main - NEW

Mobile

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

This is member's only content.

Members get unlimited access to all of our stories, along with incredible perks like free tacos, invites to our events, access to our mobile app, and much more!

Become a Member of L.A. TACO

Free registration

Please register for L.A. TACO to Vote 

Register to continue

L.A. TACO

Aisha Wallace-Palomares

Exclusive: Wife of Hunger Striking Detainee Speaks Out on Inhumane Treatment

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?

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

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 man and woman sit on a colorful staircase together

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

I moved to L.A. 15 years ago after recovering from a crippling case of East Coast Bias. Viva California.

Cz Bartok

post

Shawn Stern playing at the Terragram Ballroom on Sunday, May 18th, 2025.