For our second most populous city Los Angeles, we move right across the USA, from the east coast to the west coast. What is unique about Los Angeles and California, in general, is that it has a lot of migrants, visitors from the Pacific rim especially Japan, Korea, China, Thailand and of course the migrants from Mexico. There are so many cultures, and nationalities merging in a torrid cauldron leading to a cuisine that is varied from the bland foods of Japan, the spices from the East and the hot, red-hot, sizzling, fiery taste of Mexico with its Spanish lineage. It becomes difficult to just choose from the enormous variety of foods available and hence we have chosen just about five of the most accepted favourites of Los Angeles
At the bottom of the ladder, at no 5, is the Burrito/wraps
Burrito is a Spanish word originating in Mexico. The first burrito was made in San Francisco in 1961 The burrito is quite a large mouthful and consists of a big chunk of tortilla that is filled with baked beans, rice, sour cream, and shredded lettuce, jalapeños, and salsa of course. It is served wrapped in tin foil, ensuring that the wheat roll doesn't break due to its size. There is also a popular practice of adding some sauce to the wraps between bites to make it even juicier.
Burritos can be more than a full lunch/dinner and can be had at any time of the day. Several well-known Mexican restaurants serve burritos such as Burrito King, AI & Bea. It can be found at every street corner in what is called a taqueria, a street-side food stall specialising in Mexican food.
Next up at No 4 is the Ramen Burger
The Ramen Burger — is a Japanese-style soy sauce. glassy, shiny patty in between two ramen buns. It is different from a normal burger in that a Ramen burger is a half burger with a smaller portion of ramen noodles, put into one bowl. It was invented as late as 2013 by Keizo Shimamoto in Brooklyn and it became an overnight sensation. It is normally served during weekends. Some of the popular Ramen restaurants which serve Ramen burgers are IKI Ramen, Tatsu Ramen, and Kotoya Ramen though they are more popular for different varieties of Ramen noodles.
Among the top 3, at No 3 is the French Dip Sandwich also known as a beef dip.
A French Dip Sandwich is a hot sandwich with thin slices of beef on a French roll, mostly with melted cheese, and then dipped into a sauce called “au jus,”. Au jus, a French term that means “with juice”. This refers to a gravy made using fat from meat. It is another way to add flavour to a dish, especially with beef, chicken, or lamb.
The meat is cooked low and slow, sliced then put back in the slow cooker so it takes up all the juices and melts in your mouth. Pile that onto a golden toasted bun with cheese spread on top and then dip it in the heavenly au jus and have the most delicious bite of your life.
The sandwich is an American word, referring to the style of bread. The sandwich is commonly served with a cup of broth on the side, onto which the sandwich is dipped while eating. Originally when it was marketed first, there was no broth served but this is a recent phenomenon.
Cole’s Pacific Electric Buffet and Phillipe the Original have both claimed to be the inventors of the French Dip Sandwich which was introduced into the market in 1908.
A similar sandwich is also known as a Baron of beef
After a lengthy debate, we chose the Salmon smoked Pizza for the No 2 spot.
In 1975, Wolfgang Puck, an Austrian chef came to Los Angeles and very quickly became famous with the Hollywood crowd as a chef of Ma Maison restaurant in Hollywood. His cooking expertise and brilliance that merged tradition with the invention made him very popular and Ma Maison a place that the rich must visit. Unfortunately, Ma Maison closed in 1985.
The background to this delectable dish is that Puck invented this famous dish when Joan Collins, a well-known actress, ordered smoked salmon with sweetened bread - brioche and there was none available. Quickly, Puck replaced the bread with a freshly baked pizza crust and created a lofty version of a bagel and cream cheese
The current recipe has the whole salmon that is cut, sliced, and seasoned with cloves, parsley, bay leaves, and sugar. This salmon is smoked in-house, taking up to four days. It is cooked to order, the pizza is fired with shaved onion and cooked with olive oil until the crust cracks, before it is covered with fresh cream infused with spices for flavour, salt and pepper, and topped with smoked salmon slices and most often caviar. The puck went on to start his chain of restaurants SPAGO, an Italian word meaning “string”. To date, he owns more than 40 premium restaurants in the USA besides some branches abroad.
Taco at No. 1
It was a close fight for the No 1 spot. The choice this time for the top spot is the Taco, which is being proposed as the official food of Los Angeles and this perhaps nudged it to the top of the heap.
Taco is a Mexican food consisting of tortillas topped with a filling. The tortilla is wrapped around the filling and eaten by hand. It can be made with different fillings, including chicken, beans, vegetables, seafood, and cheese, which makes it a very versatile food offering great varieties. They are enhanced with condiments, like, salsa or sour cream, and vegetables, like onion, tomatoes, and lettuce. Tacos are a common form of Mexican street food, which has spread worldwide.
Tacos are similar to burritos/wraps, which are much larger and rolled rather than folded; or tostadas, in which nothing but tortillas are fried before filling.
Some famous Taco restaurants are listed here - Korean Taco, Jim boy’s Tacos, and Tito's Tacos (1959) serving Hard top tacos with shredded beef filling garnished with shredded lettuce and cheese.
In Los Angeles, there are many great taco spots, but the difficulty is in choosing where to start? You can easily find high-end chef-made tacos in the $10 to $20 range made with the finest ingredients and you can find $2 street tacos, to be popped straight into your mouth.
They are the most common food in LA. There are late-night stands in East LA, and family-run Mexican restaurants serving mainly tacos, served with some of the freshest seafood in town, it seems that LA’s taco options are unlimited and that’s a very good problem to solve.
But for every excellent East side taco truck, there are three not-so-good ones your landlord keeps recommending because he’s never left, Marina del Rey. We’re here to avoid those. These are the places where you get the best tacos in Los Angeles.
The search for LA’s best tacos in Los Angeles can go on forever. We’d highly recommend checking out these taco guides from Eater, LA Taco, and Timeout, all of which helped us discover more favourites.
Maricos Jalisco easily serves the best Taco in Los Angeles. There is only one taco on the menu, and it is considered unique. It is called tacos de Cameron, which is a deep-fried base with shrimp and topped with avocado and salsa.
Los Cinco Puntos sells everything from burgers to burritos but their speciality is tacos – Carnitas. With the tortillas are thick and fantastic making you come back again and again once you try it
Phew, this list is finally complete. Why don’t you tell us, irrespective of whether you are a resident or a visitor, what your favourites are by emailing us at support@dyalrental.com? We will know how close we were to your favourites and what we missed out on.
You may also take pictures on your iPhone, which delivers Images that are rich in quality when you dine at these places. If you don’t have an iPhone to complement your visit, you can rent iPhones at an economical price from Dyal Rentals. Rent iPhones in Los Angeles and steal the moment in your memory card takeaway priceless experiences.