It’s a spooky milestone — 150 episodes of The LA Food Podcast! In this special Halloween edition, Luca Servodio and Father Sal dig into your listener questions in our first-ever mailbag episode: from the meals we felt peer pressured into liking to the undercooked food stories LA media ignores, and even what we’d do for restaurants if we were Mayor of Los Angeles. Expect chaos, confessions, and Father Sal’s unsolicited online dating advice.
We also recap recent meals at Cafe Triste, RVR, Anajak and more.
Then in Part 2, Luca sits down with Katie Parla — bestselling author, Italian food expert, and self-publishing trailblazer — to talk about the state of Roman cuisine, her new book Rome, and how she sees LA’s Italian food landscape evolving through chefs like Evan Funke, Gino Angelini, and the rise of Eataly.
Insightful, funny, and deliciously nerdy — it’s the perfect episode to celebrate 150 with us.
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Did the New York Times just cross the line with its brutal review of an LA dining icon? 🍽️ This week on The LA Food Podcast, we unpack Tejal Rao’s headline-grabbing critique of Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, the Beverly Hills institution she labeled merely “Satisfactory.” On our segment Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, we debate: was this fair criticism, coastal bias, or just plain nonsense?
Plus, we’re diving into:
🍔 Bold new California legislation that could transform how restaurants operate
💸 Our insider tips for eating three meals in LA for under $25 a day, inspired by The LA Times article on doing the same
🏛️ The heartbreaking, food-related fallout of the ongoing government shutdown
📺 Father Sal’s sharp-tongued review of Netflix’s Next Gen Chef — did the LeBron James-produced show cook up something special or flop like a soggy soufflé?
And don’t miss our 150th-episode announcement — we’re hosting our first-ever listener Q&A! Send your questions via DM to @TheLACountdown or @ItsAcquiredTaste.
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Today on The LA Food Podcast, we’re flipping the script — focusing not on the restaurant, but on you, the diner. Joining Luca and Father Sal is James Beard Award–winning author Adam Reiner, whose new book The New Rules of Dining Out redefines how we experience hospitality from the other side of the table. Reiner shares insider wisdom on how to dine like a pro, earn the respect of even the most jaded servers, and why “enlightened hospitality” might be due for a rethink.
Plus, Father Sal recaps recent eats including Quarter Sheets Pizza in Echo Park (was it worth the line?), and the guys unpack Great White’s racist controversy, LA Taco’s questionable Mexican restaurant rankings, the new rules of visiting gentrified Mexico City, and Tyra Banks’s mind-boggling new “hot ice cream.”
A candid, funny, and occasionally spicy conversation about what it really means to be a good diner in 2025. Powered by Acquired Taste.
🎙️ Featuring: Luca Servodio & Father Sal 📚 Guest: Adam Reiner, author of The New Rules of Dining Out 🍕 Topics: LA dining culture, restaurant etiquette, hospitality myths, Quarter Sheets Pizza, Great White LA, Tyra Banks hot ice cream, Mexico City food scene
#TheLAFoodPodcast #LAFood #AdamReiner #TheNewRulesOfDiningOut #Hospitality #QuarterSheetsPizza #LATaco #GreatWhiteLA #TyraBanks #MexicoCityFood
What do Marilyn Monroe, Jeff Bezos, and Henry Kissinger have in common with The LA Food Podcast host Luca Servodio? They’ve all dined at Chez Jay, the legendary Santa Monica dive bar that’s been serving surf, turf, and stories since 1959.
In this week’s episode, Luca sits down with Mike and Chris Anderson, the father-son duo behind Chez Jay, and longtime chef Memo De Arcos to celebrate the restaurant’s 66th anniversary. They talk Hollywood lore, surviving Santa Monica’s transformation, and how they fought to keep Chez Jay alive when a shiny new park threatened to take its place. Stay tuned after the credits for bonus celebrity tales starring Pierce Brosnan, Fergie, and Elon Musk.
Plus, Karen Palmer returns to discuss the culinary rise of Hermosa Beach, a Los Angeles restaurant’s cameo in the latest Taylor Swift album, and which classic LA restaurants she can’t live without. In Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, we’re talking pythons in drive-throughs, $100 smoothie kits, Priya Krishna on opening a restaurant in NY, and restaurants taking Bitcoin.
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On this week’s LA Food Podcast, Luca Servodio and Father Sal recap recent eats in NYC and LA before diving into Tejal Rao’s review of Baby Bistro — is it really the perfect encapsulation of LA dining in 2025? We also break down the new North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list: Atomix takes #1, New York dominates, Canada surges, and LA lands just three spots (Providence, Holbox, Kato). Plus, in Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, we tackle modern steakhouses, Eater LA’s new “Dining Report,” California’s allergen-labeling law, Zohran Mamdani’s food-fueled campaign, and Genghis Cohen’s big move.
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Santa Barbara might be known as the American Riviera, but its food scene is finally demanding the spotlight. This week on The LA Food Podcast, we recap 72 hours of eats — from surprisingly great Mexican food to a bao joint everyone’s obsessed with — and explain why SB might just be California’s most exciting dining city right now.
Plus, we sit down with the team behind Dom’s Taverna, the Basque-inspired newcomer from Dominique Crisp, Raj Nallapothola, and Ben Carey that’s redefining Santa Barbara dining.
In Chef’s Kiss/Big Miss: goodbye Birdie G’s, the rise of convenience sushi, and a burger list showdown (how dare you, Farley Elliott).
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This week on The LA Food Podcast, we dive into one of the most heated debates in the LA dining scene: why are Angelenos calling for a boycott of Enrique Olvera’s acclaimed downtown restaurant Damian? Is the backlash justified, or has a whistleblowing media outlet (LA Taco) gone too far?
Father Sal joins the conversation as we unpack the Damian controversy, celebrate the two Los Angeles spots that landed on Bon Appétit’s 2025 Best New Restaurants in America list (Komal! Camelia!!), and highlight four beloved LA restaurants saved by community support (The Reel Inn! The Pantry!! Dulan’s!!! Cole’s French Dip????). We also break down the New York Times’ lukewarm review of one of America’s most famous dining rooms (Alinea).
Plus, we recap recent eats across the city—from the new tasting menu at Firstborn in Chinatown, to the ever-popular Saffy’s in East Hollywood, to Father Sal’s first (and unforgettable) trip to the celiac-unfriendly cult favorite, Courage Bagels.
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Today on The LA Food Podcast, Dave Beran—the award-winning chef behind Santa Monica’s Pasjoli and the tasting-menu temple Seline—sits down for his most candid interview yet. We talk about stepping into roles before you feel ready, the line between an intense kitchen and a toxic one, fundraising and vision, and how he truly feels about Seline not earning a Michelin star in year one. We also rewind to his Chicago years with Grant Achatz at Alinea and Next, and dig into how those experiences shaped his approach to leadership, hospitality, and creativity in Los Angeles.
Before that, part-time co-host Karen Palmer joins for recent eats in Ojai, what she’s working on next (including a shockingly great pizzeria in a surprising location), and Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss:
Food & Wine’s LA snub on its latest Best New Chefs list
Which LA spots made The New York Times 50 Best Restaurants in America (2025)
The latest trend sweeping LA restaurants and how we actually feel about it
If you care about fine dining, honest kitchen culture, and where Los Angeles food is headed next, this one is for you.
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Today on The LA Food Podcast, we’re joined by none other than Nancy Silverton — LA’s Queen of Carbohydrates, President of Pizza, and Secretary of Sourdough. Recorded at Osteria Mozza, our free-flowing conversation covers Nancy’s legendary career, her impact on multiple eras of Los Angeles dining, and why she continues to bring new and exciting concepts to life. We also preview her upcoming panels at LA Chef Con 2025, including a tribute to Jonathan Gold and a celebration of 10 years of Netflix’s Chef’s Table.
But first, Luca and Father Sal finally make it to Kato, the #1 restaurant on Bill Addison’s 101. Did Jon Yao and Ryan Bailey’s Michelin-starred spot live up to the hype? We break it down.
In Chef’s Kiss, Big Miss, we dive into Jenn Harris’s review of Nobu, a buzzy new West Hollywood hotspot from a Southern celebrity chef (Sean Brock), plus an ode to the timeless Chinese American combo plate from a local legend.
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What happens on the pod, stays on the pod—or does it? Following the hit Palm Springs recap, Luca is joined once again by his wife to break down a herculean three-day eating marathon at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, the Strip’s buzziest new food destination. From Mother Wolf’s pasta to indulgent dinners at Don’s Prime and Chyna Club, dim sum at Washing Potato, and an ambitious food crawl at the Promenade Food Hall, they ask the big question: is Fontainebleau the best Vegas dining resort for true food obsessives?
In Part 2, Luca sits down with Chef Laetitia Rouabah, executive chef of La Fontaine, who built her career alongside Alain Ducasse in Paris, London, and New York before bringing her classic French sensibilities to Vegas. They dive into her inspiration for leaving NYC, how she adapts French cuisine for a new audience, and the biggest misconceptions about Vegas as a food city.
And of course, there’s Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss—covering the latest Cracker Barrel controversy, a new California restaurant requirement, a killer Infatuation Wallflour review, and the viral US Open cocktail that has everyone buzzing.
If you love Las Vegas dining, fine dining perspectives, and food world hot takes, this episode has it all.
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This week on The LA Food Podcast, Luca and Sal dig into the biggest story in food media: the latest round of layoffs at Eater. With reporters like Jaya Saxena and Amy McCarthy let go and LA’s newsroom slimmed down, what does this mean for local food journalism, restaurant coverage, and the future of dining media in Los Angeles? We also debate whether influencer content and guides like The Infatuation can really replace in-depth reporting, and whether there’s a path forward for food journalism in LA.
Plus: our signature Chef’s Kiss or Big Miss segment—covering everything from the rise of tableside carts and Florence’s iconic Pino’s Sandwiches opening in Los Feliz, to Anajak Thai’s renovations, Netflix’s new Next Gen Chef competition, and the return of the Gelato Festival World Masters.
If you care about LA’s dining scene, the role of food critics and journalists, and the culture wars playing out in restaurants, this episode is for you.
The LA Food Podcast is powered by Acquired Taste Media. Be sure to check out our sister shows: Taqueando with Bill Esparza and Let It Rip. And don’t forget to rate and review!
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Today’s LA Food Podcast is a first — our debut three-part episode. First up, host Luca Servodio breaks down the week’s biggest food stories, from Eleven Madison Park’s bold new pivot to Bill Addison’s glowing RVR review and how Ozempic is reshaping restaurant menus. He also sings the praises of recent meals at Budonoki, Lasita and Teddy’s Red Tacos. Then, LA Chef Con founder Brad Metzger joins us to preview the October 6 event at Redbird and Vibiana, bringing together the city’s top chefs and industry leaders. Finally, our headliner: Michael Voltaggio, the Top Chef season 6 winner, bad boy of molecular gastronomy, and creative force behind restaurants like ink. and The Bazaar. We revisit his groundbreaking career, unpack how the 2010s put LA fine dining on the global map, and explore why he’s still relentlessly pushing culinary boundaries.The LA Food Podcast is powered by Acquired Taste Media. Be sure to check out our sister shows: Taqueando with Bill Esparza and Let It Rip. And don’t forget to rate and review!
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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 Son of a Gun space, he joins us for a deeply personal conversation on mental health, why tasting menus still matter, and what it means to create work that truly lasts.
But first—Father Sal returns to unpack Joe Rosenthal’s bombshell exposé on YouTube mega-chef Joshua Weissman, featuring allegations of recipe plagiarism, toxic workplaces, sexual harassment, and more. Is Weissman just another ego-driven chef—or something darker?
In Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, we’re talking Nancy Silverton’s Korean-Italian pasta bar, a radical new hospitality business model in Sonoma, the heartbreaking closure of LA Cha Cha Chá, and yes… breast milk–flavored ice cream.
If you care about food, restaurants, and the messy, fascinating people behind them, this is your episode.
The LA Food Podcast is powered by Acquired Taste Media. Be sure to check out our sister shows: Taqueando with Bill Esparza and Let It Rip. And don’t forget to rate and review!
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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! https://thelonelyoyster.com/
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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 the food—or dig deeper?
Plus: Karen teases her new feature on California’s barbecue boom, and in Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss, we unpack:
A spicy New York Times review that reads like a political takedown
And a potential happy ending for LA institution Cole’s French Dip
The LA Food Podcast is powered by Acquired Taste Media. Be sure to check out our sister shows: Taqueando with Bill Esparza and Let It Rip. And don’t forget to rate and review!
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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! https://thelonelyoyster.com/
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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods
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 local dining scene with bold new restaurants like Lola Rose Grande Mezze, Bar Issi, and Hall Napa Valley, plus buzzy food events and chef collabs that are finally giving the Coachella Valley its due.
Plus, in a very special twist, Luca is joined by his wife as guest co-host — and let’s just say she might be coming for Father Sal’s spot.
In Chef’s Kiss Big Miss, we react to the opening of Elon Musk’s Tesla Diner, the In-N-Out heiress Lynsi Snyder’s California exit, the just-announced destination for Top Chef Season 23, and the epic return of LA Chef Con.
Listen to our sister shows Taqueando with Bill Esparza and Let It Rip, and don’t forget to leave us a review.
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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 bleeding.
Before that, Luca and Father Sal break down the top LA dining trends of 2025 so far—no year-end list required. There’s Bar Everything, supper clubs galore, collab overload, and much, much, more.
Then in Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss:
A $1B hot chicken chain, per The LA Times’ Stephanie Breijo
Tejal Rao reviews Mori Nozomi for The New York Times, introducing us to the concept of “bromakase”
Punch awards a LA-based bartender for their tea-based cocktails
Eater’s Bettina Makalintal covers the surprising rise of protein-packed Uncrustables, questioning whether MAHA has ruined everything
New York Magazine’s Adam Platt confirms what we’ve all always known - restaurants use too much salt
The LA Food Podcast is powered by Acquired Taste Media. Don’t forget to check out our sister shows Taqueando with Bill Esparza and Let It Rip, and leave us a review wherever you pod.
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, this one’s for you), Lunetta shares stories, insights, and what keeps him inspired.
Plus: the shocking closure of Cole’s after 117 years, the return of Gladstone’s, the El Gato Night Market, and a farewell to The Angel—one of LA’s most essential independent food publications. Oh, and Luca issues a heartfelt apology to Evan Funke.
Also check out our sister shows Taqueando with Bill Esparza and Let It Rip, the companion pod for FX’s The Bear.
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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! https://thelonelyoyster.com/
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🎆 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 Patterson’s new Jaca Social Club and what it reveals about his upcoming fine-dining project on West Third. In Chef’s Kiss Big Miss: Maido AKA best restaurant in the world, Noma’s LA residency, the “hot people food map,” Beli saves Gen Z, Jenn Harris on trompe l’oeil desserts, and Tejal Rao’s first review as the NYT’s new chief critic.
In Part 2, we preview Let It Rip — our brand new Bear companion podcast with the crew from Compliments to the Chef. Whether you’re watching Season 4 or not, it’s a podcast about food, friendship, and chaos in the kitchen.
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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! https://thelonelyoyster.com/
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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 quietly hold the crown for best restaurant in California.
Then in Part 2, we recap Top Chef Season 22 with Nancy Dasilva and Bits Nicholas of Compliments to the Chef and content creator Jessie Evans AKA Jessie Eats—including who won this season’s Top Chef fantasy pool.
Plus: we celebrate LA’s newly crowned Michelin-starred restaurants, including Providence and Somni, now the city’s only 3-star destinations.
And don’t miss the trailer for our new pod Let It Rip, the unofficial companion to The Bear on FX, dropping July 1.
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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! https://thelonelyoyster.com/
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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods
🎧 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 Andrew Lawson, the duo behind Etra and Café Telegrama, two of the hottest restaurants reshaping Melrose Hill. They share insights on building community through food, creating intimate neighborhood spaces, and what’s next for their corner of LA’s culinary world.
📍 Whether you’re a die-hard foodie or just want to stay in the know on LA’s ever-evolving restaurant scene, this episode has you covered.
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#JamesBeardAwards #LosAngelesFood #LArestaurants #MelroseHill #JonYao #Kato #BestChefCalifornia #EtraLA #CafeTelegrama #LAfoodie #LAeats #AcquiredTasteMedia
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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! https://thelonelyoyster.com/
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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods