LA Grub Street reports today that well-known graffiti curator &#038; author Roger Gastman (interview here) has a list of banned restaurants. No, not places that won&#8217;t let him in, but rather spots that are basically on his shit list. From the article: &#8220;I hold a serious culinary grudge,&#8221; Gastman says, &#8220;like pretty much forever. If…

Roger Gastman’s List of Banned Restaurants

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<p>Marina Watanabe is a multimedia journalist, social media editor, and video creator based in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Previously, she was a social media reporter for 404 by Los Angeles Times and Bitch Media, and her work has been featured by Teen Vogue, Elle, and GLAAD.</p>


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.

<p>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).</p>


Javier Cabral

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

People

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

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

Interview

Punk Icon Shawn Stern On the World’s Best Underground Scene (and Surviving Slam Dancing in the Desert)

Obituary

The L.A. Food and Drink World Mourns Jose “Chuy” Tovar, a Community Legend, Dead at 55

<p>Alexis Zhou (she/her) is a freelance writer. Always down for hot pot, H Mart, and housing policy reforms.</p>


Alexis Zhou

Food

Homeless Chinese Man In DTLA Goes Viral With ‘American-Style Begging’  Videos, Branding Him Both a Hero and Villain Across the Pacific

<p>Yaileen Ramos is a young Latina born and raised in East L.A. In her free time, she enjoys watching the Dodgers and Lakers. Yaileen aspires to be synonymous with her city.</p>


Yaileen Ramos

New Dancing With the Stars champions Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy

Echo Park’s Own Xochitl Gomez Wins The Finale of Dancing With the Stars

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Music

Punk Bands Are Bailing on ‘Punk in the Park’ Over Founder’s Trump Donations

<p class="p1">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.</p>


Memo Torres

<p>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.</p>


Izzy Ramirez

<p>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.</p>


Erwin Recinos

Aisha Wallace-Palomares

Featured

DAILY MEMO: Communities and Lawmakers Start Preparing For ICE’s Next Move

L.A. TACO STAFF

A painting of a Los Angeles street showing makeshift tents, a "New Homes" sign, and Griffith Observatory in the background

Glendale’s Brand Library & Art Center Is Highlighting Southern California’s Independent Artists With Hyper SoCal

<p>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.</p>


Julianne Le

a bowl of gumbo with shrimp and crab sticking out

L.A. Taco Guides

L.A.’s Nine Best Creole and Cajun Dishes, According to a Louisianan

<div>Ivan Ehlers is an Ecuadorian-American cartoonist and writer. He is a regular contributor to <i>The New Yorker</i>, <i>MAD Magazine</i> and the <i>Los Angeles Times</i>.</div>
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<div>IG: <a id="m_-8957504711371111195plusReplyChip-0" class="gmail_plusreply"></a>@ivan_ehlers</div>


Ivan Ehlers

Comix

Sunday Taquitos #15: Less Lethal Than What?

<p>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.</p>


Ivan Fernandez

Protests

Thousands March on City Hall in Support of Iranian Crown Prince’s Global Day of Action

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<p><span class="OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none">Janette Villafana is an award-winning bilingual multimedia journalist. Her heart lies in community-based reporting, and her work is highly centered on showcasing and uplifting community voices, with a significant focus on the Latino community. She developed her beat at L.A. TACO, covering street vending communities in Los Angeles. Past work has been featured on NBC, LAist, Latino Rebels, and more. She is currently featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington in an exhibit titled “¡De última hora! Latinas Report Breaking News.”</span></p>


Janette Villafana

Politics

‘These Animals Saved My Life:’ L.A.’s Equestrian Communities Fight Ordinance Seeking to Ban Local Rodeos

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