[dropcap size=big]L[/dropcap]os Angeles restaurants, and the nameless thousands of workers that help them run, are facing deep trouble. After citywide shutdowns of dining venues, bars, and street chefs, a large number of these businesses are confronting their very extinction.
By now you likely know that the best way to support restaurants is to order meals for delivery or pick-up, and by buying gift certificates and or restaurant-issued bonds for yourself and your loved ones.
But if you’re on a budget or not living in precise delivery zones, there are still a large handful of restaurants you can support as a home-cook. Several well-known restaurants and cafes have their own products for sale online for shipping or delivery. We’re talking about edible merchandise you can cook with or consume, like sauces, spices, and sweets.
And of course, there are plenty of local chefs the city adores who also offer their own cookbooks so you can recreate some of their favorite dishes from the social distancing comfort of your own home.
Here is our L.A. Taco guide to products and cookbooks you can buy online from our local restaurants. Buy a few for yourself or someone else if you can, it might make a small difference to their survival, as well as to the people who depend on them for their livelihoods. We hope to keep this list updated if there are any products we’ve missed that you happen to love.
L.A. Restaurant Pantry Staples
Amor y Tacos: 5-pound container of braised short rib, chicken tinga, or carnitas with green or red sauce, and a pack of tortillas.
Ayara Thai: Thai BBQ Sauce
Baltaire: Signature Steak Sauce
Belcampo: Bone Broth
Bludso’s BBQ: Dry Rubs and Bludso’s Original BBQ Sauces
Cake Monkey: Dessert Gift Boxes
Chichen Itza: Habanero Hot Sauce
Eataly: Pastas and Italian Pantry Items
El Barrio Neighborhood Tacos: El I-Hooo-Le michelada mix, made by El Barrio chef Ulises Pineda-Alfaro
Ester's Wine Shop: Wine and Caramel Gift Boxes
Front Page Jamaican Grille: Jerk Sauce
Gabi James: Wine, cocktails and gin n' juice Jell-O shots.
Go Get ‘Em Tiger: Subscription Coffee
GoodBoyBob: Coffee and Coffee Subscriptions and Tues. and Fri. delivery of market provisions (such as eggs, cold brew, oat milk, house granola, chicken congee, wine, avocados, Bub & Grandma's bread) when you email ben@goodboybob.com
Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop: Wellness Kits and Food Boxes
Gjusta: Pantry, Spice and Coffee Gift Boxes
Guelaguetza: Pre-Prepared Oaxacan Moles and both I Love Micheladas mixes
Guerrilla Tacos: Emergency Coffee Kits and Cold-Brew Coffee Kits
Joan's On Third: Assorted Snack and Wine Crates
Jon & Vinny's/Helen’s Wine Bar: Chocolate bars
Manuela: Grocery delivery within 10 miles, including egg from its on-property chickens, steaks, chicken breasts, milk, peanut butter, flour and coffee.
Mulberry Street Pizza: Pasta Sauce and Chile Oil
Pablito's Peruvian Tacos: Peruvian Crack Sauce
Philippe the Original: Hot mustard and Pickled Chile Peppers
Rao's: Pasta Sauces, Soups, and Dried Pasta
Salt's Cure: Oatmeal Griddle Cake Mix
Sqirl: Assorted Jams
Trejo's Tacos: L.A. Picante Hot Sauce
Vinovore: Wine Subscriptions
L.A. COOKBOOKS
AOC: The AOC Cookbook, from Chef Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne
Bar Amá: Amá, A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen, from Chef Josef Centeno
Bestia: The Bestia Cookbook, from chef Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis
Birdie G's: On Vegetables: Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen, by Chef Jeremy Fox
Button Mash: Adventures in Starry Kitchen: 88 Asian-Inspired Recipes From America's Most Famous Underground Restaurant
Crossroads Kitchen: Crossroads: Extraordinary Recipes From the Restaurant That Is Reinventing Vegan Cuisine, from Chef Tal Ronnen
Death & Co.: Death & Co Modern Classic Cocktails
Grand Central Market: The Grand Central Market Cookbook
Guelaguetza: Oaxaca: Homecooking From the Heart of Mexico, from Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral
Guerrilla Tacos: Guerrilla Tacos: Recipes from the Streets of L.A., from Chef Wes Avila
Felix: American Sfoglino: A Master Class in Handmade Pasta, from Chef Evan Funke
Kogi/Chego: L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food, from Chef Roy Choi
La Casita Mexicana: A Simple Guide To Great Salsas! (Bilingual), by Jaime Martin Del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu
Lucques/Tavern: Sunday Suppers at Lucques, from Chef Suzanne Goin and Bar Chef: Handcrafted Cocktails, from Head Barman Christiaan Rollich
Matthew Biancaniello: Eat Your Drink
Petit Trois/Trois Mec: LudoBites: Recipes and Stories From the Pop-Up Restaurants of Ludo Lefebvre
République: Baking at République Cookbook, from Chefs Walter Manzke and Margarita Manzke
Sqirl: Everything I Want to Eat: The New California Comfort Food From L.A.'s Sqirl, from Chef Jessica Koslow
Valerie Confections: Sweet, from Valerie Gordon
L.A. Restaurant Merch
Dia de Los Puercos: T-shirts, hoodies, socks, and cups
Cofax: T-shirts
Guerrilla Tacos: Schwag
Evil Cooks: This 'Make Tacos Great Again' T-shirt available via DM on Instagram
Mariscos Jalisco: This Lakers-inspired snapback available via DM on Instagram
Rose City Pizza: T-shirts!
Prime Pizza: Some highly fashionable pizza gear
Tacos 1986: Wear your love for their tacos via T-shirts and more
Editor's note: Please feel free to link and shout out other spots that we missed in the comment section.
