Plus fancy French soft serve Magic Shell sundaes, Yemeni whole fish, "fish fries," and a South Korean coffee shop giving Quentin Tarantino a run for his money.

What to Eat This Weekend In L.A.: Puerto Rican Plantain Sandwiches, King Oyster Mushroom French Dips, Baja Abalone Fritto Misto, and Lamb Mandi In Westwood

level

core/heading

sizeSlug

linkDestination

caption

credit

creditUrl

lightboxSrc

originalHeight

originalWidth

srcset

height

width

core/image

core/paragraph

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

Karina Soriano is a Los Angeles-based journalist who covers the crossroads of music, food, art, and social issues. She spotlights the everyday people who really keep L.A. moving. Usually, while stuck in traffic, looking for a good place to eat.

Karina Soriano

Julianne Le graduated from UCLA in 2025 with a major in English and minor 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

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

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

Andrew Bangs, or simply Bangs to his compatriots, is a long-time LA Taco supporter and occasional contributor. He spends a lot of time thinking about his dog.

Andrew Bangs

Chicken wing skewers grilled over charcoals

L.A. Taco Guides

The 21 Best Street Kebabs in L.A.

Taco Members Only

L.A.’s Best Arepas Find a Permanent Home In Mar Vista

Sobuneh and Tacos 1986 Are Making Breakfast Tacos Together For Only 6 Days Next Week

Food

Watts’ Viral Tri-Tip BBQ Smoker Just Wanted to Feed His Sick Dad. Now He Feeds a Community

An achiote-and-saffron-marinated chicken in a handheld pita

A Persian-Mexican Jam For Hoja Santa Lamb Shanks and Flash Tattoos

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.”

Janette Villafana

a man and woman hold passports they created outside a food truck

South Central Is Going Old School to Revive Its Economy: Coupons

Explore

Footer - NEW

Legal Footer

Main - NEW

Mobile

Neighborhoods

Top Guides

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

L.A. TACO is paid for by readers, not billionaires. 7,800 Angelenos keep this newsroom independent. Memberships start at $5.95/month.

This one's for members.

No advertiser paid for this. No hedge fund owns us. Investigations take records requests, lawyers, and reporters on the ground for months at a time, and 7,800 members are the only reason we can do them. Memberships start at $5.95/month.

This investigation took months.

We're paid for by readers, not billionaires. 7,800 Angelenos keep this newsroom independent, and members read everything. Memberships start at $5.95/month.

Keep reading L.A. TACO.

Free registration

Please register for L.A. TACO to Vote 

Register to continue

We don't take endorsements and nobody pays us to cover local politics. Create a free account to keep reading, and we'll send you the next voter guide before you need it.

Free to Read, just share your email 

Every place on this list was visited by someone on our staff. Create a free account to read all of it. No payment, no catch.

The rest of this guide is free. We just need an email.

Create a free account and keep reading. No payment, no catch. We're reader-funded, and this is how we get to know who we're writing for.

Read this one on us.

Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

L.A. TACO

The Whole ‘Hood Knows He’s Innocent. Will He Finally Be Freed After 20 Years In Prison?

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 woman dressed as a clown pulls a ribbon from her vagina as a bit

Party Pics

This Clown Sex Party Creampied 12 Brave Souls in DTLA (for Charity)

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

Ivan Ehlers

Comix

Sunday Taquitos #32: Total Recall

Aisha Wallace-Palomares

a drawing of a federal immigration agent behind caution tape

What to Do If a Federal Immigration Agency Kills Your Loved One

post

A French Dip sandwich made with king oyster mushrooms

Born in Chengdu, Wendy Zeng is a pioneering chef of Sichuan cuisine in the U.S. and the winner of Food Network’s Chopped 420. Based in Northeast L.A., she owns Drizzle Catering and runs Secret Garden Club, a 420-friendly gathering space, creating food and experiences that bring people together as a community.

Wendy Zeng

Jim Thurman is a long-time freelance writer, specializing in food, local history and local sports history. He grew up in San Diego, but has lived much of his life in Los Angeles County and has lived in the Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley as well. He loves chou dofu.

What to Eat This Weekend In L.A.: Puerto Rican Plantain Sandwiches, King Oyster Mushroom French Dips, Baja Abalone Fritto Misto, and Lamb Mandi In Westwood

Commerce