The LA Food Podcast

Chef Daniel Patterson has lived more culinary lives than most chefs could dream of. From earning multiple Michelin stars at San Francisco’s Coi, to shaking up the fast-food world with Roy Choi and Keith Corbin at Locol , to now hosting a 12-seat tasting menu out of his own home, Patterson’s journey is as unconventional as it is influential. Ahead of opening his new LA restaurant Jaca in the former...

Elon Musk’s space-age Tesla Diner has been grabbing headlines—but when activist group Tesla Takedown staged a protest, it forced the media to look beyond burgers and milkshakes . This week on The LA Food Podcast , SF Gate’s Karen Palmer joins host Luca Servodio to explore how food writers should approach stories where dining intersects with politics, labor, and activism. Should they just stick to...

On today’s episode of The LA Food Podcast, we’re diving into the culinary comeback of Palm Springs. Once dismissed as a “culinary wasteland,” the desert is now attracting big-name chefs like Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger, and Richard Blais — and perhaps no opening captures that momentum better than The Thompson Palm Springs . We explore how this stunning hotel on Palm Canyon is transforming the...

Downtown LA just lost a legend. This week on The LA Food Podcast , we’re joined by Cole’s French Dip owner Cedd Moses and Independent Hospitality Coalition ’s Eddie Navarrete to unpack why this 117-year-old icon is closing—and what it reveals about the crisis facing LA restaurants. Eddie also shares what fixes at the city and state level could provide real relief, and how diners can help stop the...

Santa Monica’s dining scene wouldn’t be what it is without Chef Raphael Lunetta . This week on The LA Food Podcast , host Luca Servodio sits down with the legendary chef behind Lunetta , Marelle , and the iconic JiRaffe to reflect on nearly 40 years in the kitchen. From pioneering California cuisine alongside Josiah Citrin to becoming a regular haunt for Larry David (yes, Curb Your Enthusiasm fans...

🎆 Happy Fourth from The LA Food Podcast ! This week, we go stars over stripes as Michelin unveils its 2025 California Guide — and LA finally joins the 3-star club (shout out Somni and Providence ). Father Sal joins Luca to break down the historic wins for Somni and Providence, and ask: has the Michelin Guide fundamentally changed LA dining since its 2019 return? Plus: a deep dive into Chef Daniel...

On this episode of The LA Food Podcast, we welcome LA Times critic Bill Addison to go deep on his freshly dropped list of the 101 Best Restaurants in California . After years of dissecting his LA-only lists, we finally get to ask: what makes a spot one of the best in the state? Bill takes us behind the scenes of how the guide came together, shares the biggest surprises, and hints at who might quie...

🎧 Today on The LA Food Podcast, we break down the biggest moments and key takeaways from this week’s James Beard Awards — with a spotlight on Los Angeles’ own Jon Yao of Kato , who took home the coveted Best Chef: California award. What does his win mean for LA’s dining scene, and where does Kato fit into the larger conversation about California cuisine? Then, we sit down with Evan Algorri and An...

On this episode of The LA Food Podcast, we're heading south to explore San Diego’s rising food scene. Known for craft beer and beaches, San Diego is now a serious player in the California fine dining landscape. From creative tasting menus to casual neighborhood gems, we spent 48 hours eating our way through the city—and we're sharing every bite. Highlights include: 🍽️ A full San Diego rest...

This week on The LA Food Podcast , we dive into Pete Wells’ provocative New York Times piece on how some of the world’s top chefs are using artificial intelligence to reinvent fine dining. From crafting the perfect sausage to generating entire tasting menus, is AI the secret sauce of the future—or the recipe for a soulless, flavorless culinary dystopia? Luca and Father Sal break it all down. In Ch...

This week on The LA Food Podcast , we're diving into a bold new plan to revive Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade: open-container entertainment zones. Think Bourbon Street meets beachside retail. LA Food Editor Karen Palmer of SFGate joins us to unpack the potential impact on local restaurants and bars, drawing on reporting from other California cities where these zones are already live. Could...

This week on The LA Food Podcast , we dive into one of the wildest chef vs. critic stories in recent memory: Thomas Keller of The French Laundry allegedly asked SF Chronicle critic Mackenzie Chung Fegan to leave the restaurant . Was it a momentary lapse or a sign of a chef in crisis? Then: Chef Ari Kolender of LA seafood hotspot Found Oyster and Eagle Rock’s Queen’s Raw Bar & Grill joins us to...

This week on The LA Food Podcast, we’re joined by Claire Dinhut—aka Condiment Claire —cookbook author, flavor scientist, and social media sensation. Born and raised in Los Angeles but now based in Europe, Claire has taken TikTok by storm with her inventive approach to sauces, spreads, and the science of taste. Recorded at Venice’s iconic Roosterfish bar, this episode covers her global condiment ob...

This week on The LA Food Podcast, we dive into the results of a new survey from Substack favorite The Angel that asked Angelenos what they really want from restaurants. Hosts Luca and Father Sal break down what LA diners say matters most—vibe vs. food, great service, price, and originality—and reveal the surprising (and kind of maddening) contradictions in the data. In Part 2, we’re joined by Nanc...

Is Jordan Kahn's Meteora on track for a second Michelin star? On this episode of The LA Food Podcast , we dive deep into LA’s most ambitious fine-dining jungle—Meteora. After falling for Chef Jordan Kahn’s futuristic tasting menu at Vespertine, we head to his Melrose Avenue follow-up to see if the hype (and the hefty price tag) is justified. Is this lush, high-concept, nature-driven restaurant...

Lele Dinner Club is the buzzy new supper club from Pizzana chef and master pizzaiolo Daniele Uditi, offering an exclusive 10-course Neapolitan tasting menu that’s quickly become Los Angeles’ hottest reservation. With only three seatings so far and a waitlist already topping 6,000 names, this underground culinary experience is redefining LA fine dining. On this episode of The LA Food Podcast, I tak...

Melissa Lopez is the James Beard semifinalist chef behind Barra Santos, one of the buzziest restaurants in recent memory to grace Los Angeles. Barra Santos is a tiny, sardine-tin of a restaurant in Cypress Park serving up thoughtful, super high-quality Portuguese fare. But as small as the restaurant’s footprint is, the noise it’s made since opening has been nothing short of deafening. After visiti...

Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. It’s the word on everybody’s lips this week and, as you’d expect, every food media outlet in the country published some sort of breakdown of what this means for restaurants and the food industry at large. Father Sal and I sift through the noise to distill what this means for LA restaurateurs and diners alike.  Also on this episode, we issue a correction from last episode...

Controversy in Hollywood as news breaks that Elon Musk - yes, THAT Elon Musk - has tapped beloved LA chef Eric Greenspan to helm his upcoming Tesla-themed Diner on Santa Monica Blvd.  Is Chef Greenspan’s choice to take the job in any way defensible, or is he just another DOGE bag? Father Sal and I dig into the news and the backlash to make sense of it all. Plus, the James Beard Awards announced th...

I (Luca) moderated the latest Family Meal panel discussion on how restaurants rose to the challenge during the January wildfires. This is the recording of that panel discussion, featuring four very impressive speakers who I introduce at the top of the recording.  We discuss all matters of important topics including how restaurants can prepare for the next big crisis and what you and I can do to su...

Ryan Sutton is the chief critic and editor at The LO Times, one of the absolute best sources of food writing Substack has to offer. He previously served as Eater New York’s chief food critic for almost a decade, and prior to that, the New York critic at Bloomberg News. He’s won a James Beard Award and been nominated for two more, and today he lets us into his mind to understand not just how one ea...

It’s been five years since the pandemic forced us to wipe down our groceries, binge Tiger King, and pick up hobbies like basket weaving or, in my case, eating 100 pizzas in 365 days.  Of course, COVID also notably sent shockwaves through the restaurant industry, and to this day, the labor market still hasn’t recovered. What’s behind the lag and what are industry pros doing about it? Father Sal is...

It’s time for the 2025 Top Chef Fantasy Draft! Season 22 of Top Chef kicked off this week in Canada. As we do every year, Father Sal and I hosted a draft of the 15 competitors vying for the title of Top Chef. We’re joined by 2024 champion Jessie Evans (alias @Jessie_Eats on Instagram), and Nancy DaSilva and Bits Nicholas of the Compliments to the Chef podcast.  Plus, an LA Times article on a one-m...

We’re joined today by Chef Johnny Lee, the mastermind behind Rasarumah, one of LA’s hottest new restaurants serving inventive Southeast Asian food with a heavy Malaysian bent. Chef Johnny joins us to talk about the new concept, but also about what it was like to say goodbye to his deeply personal project Pearl River Deli. We talk about Hainan chicken, the struggles of learning to be a business ope...

What is going on at The Original Pantry Cafe in downtown LA? Reports of a labor dispute threatening to close down the storied institution have been swirling all week. We try to make sense of the noise, and ask ourselves is there any hope for the house that Richard Riordan built?  Secondly, Silver Lake lesbian bar The Ruby Fruit just added controversy to its menu. The bar has been fighting for surv...