The best things Time Out Los Angeles ate in 2023

I’ve tried hundreds of dishes from new restaurants in the last 365 days, but the most memorable one of all comes from the dinner service that debuted last fall at Chris Yang and Maggie Ho’s four-year-old farm-to-table restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley. In a glowing five-star review (one of just three I awarded this year), I praised the fried chicken wings, Hainan fish rice and TransparentSea prawn ceviche, but Chris Yang’s vegan-friendly dan dan campanelle shines brightest in its application of traditional Chinese ingredients to California cuisine. The fluted, curly edges of each noodle wrap around the rich peanut-sesame sauce, which gains brightness from the scallion ribbons and housemade chili crisp that grace each bowl. It’s the kind of dish that’ll have you planning a return visit before you’ve even walked out the door.

In an all-encompassing effort to authoritatively update Time Out’s sandwich shop guide, I took it upon myself to try over a 100 different sandwiches across Los Angeles this year. Even after trying Florence’s world-famous All’Antico Vinaio, James Beard-recognized chef Chris Bianco’s Pane Bianco and Eastside-ish local favorites Maison Matho and Bub and Grandma’s, I would still consider this sandwich from Jordan Snyder and Alex Williams’s pop-up inside Santa Monica’s JuneShine to be the best one I’ve had all year. The beautiful, impossibly crackly focaccia crust bookends the vegetarian-friendly Mozzarella’s namesake soft cheese with pickled red onions, sliced avocado, alfalfa sprouts and a creamy za’atar mayo. Each golden, buttery half is the epitome of gluten-ful decadence. As someone who usually considers sandwiches a semi-annual treat, rather than something I regularly enjoy for lunch, this is one sandwich I’d actually buy off the clock.

Growing up, my Chinese Filipino mother often made humbà—a soy-braised pork dish from the southern Philippines served over rice. Fatty, umami-rich and tender, the flavor profile of this dish from my childhood is all but identical to this standout braised pork rice dish from Luyixian, a mom-and-pop Chinese restaurant in Alhambra serving dishes that draw from Shanghainese, Sichuan and other regional repertoires. Tipped off by L.A. Times food critic Bill Addison, I arrived at the tiny parking lot outside Luyixian well after rush hour with three friends in tow. While I initially ordered a variant of this dish—pork elbow (shank)—to split among a group, we loved this dish so much we ordered a second variant that used the original pork belly. Paired with cabbage, pickled greens and a soy-braised egg, the braised pork rice dazzles, especially with the supplemental red chili peppers thrown into the mix; they aren’t particularly hot, so if you usually enjoy a medium level of spice, I highly recommend springing for them.

On my visit to Shins Pizza, I ordered every single item on the menu—it saves me time, and grief, whenever I get accosted online by a given restaurant’s superfans for not including their objet d’affection in Time Out dining guides. (“But did you try X?” they cry out.) While the mortadella-topped white slice has set the internet (or let’s be real: just TikTok) on fire, it’s the spicy meat lover’s slice that lives rent-free in my head even after trying 25 other L.A. pizza shops in the last 365 days. Topped with Indonesian sambal, Chinese sausage and speck, the unique Asian-inspired toppings pair well with the slightly chewy crust. The heat is subtle yet palpable. I also do not particularly like pizza, so Shins should consider this a major victory.

Stay mad, Howlin’ Rays fans! During my 36-stop fried chicken journey across town, I walked into the restaurant’s Chinatown location recently to sample their medium-spicy fried chicken, only to find myself wishing for an order of chicken from North Hollywood’s Humble Bird. Opened by former Howlin’ employees Louis Silva and Brandon Walthrop in 2021, the Valley restaurant manages to best the original with a depth of flavor that manages to cut through the burn and a slightly drier, more flavorful coating. If you consider yourself a Nashville hot chicken superfan, don’t let Howlin’s mindless disciples dissuade you from giving Humble Bird a try. You’ll be glad you did.

Traveling 20-plus miles for tacos wasn’t my idea of a good time until I visited this Orange County export, which opened its first L.A. location in Huntington Park earlier this year. Open until midnight most days of the week (and 1am on Fridays and Saturdays), Tacos Los Cholos serves some of the best tacos I’ve ever had. Yes, I mean ever. I might lack the exhaustive knowledge of, say, L.A. Taco’s Javier Cabral or Latin American food expert Bill Esparza, but I know what taco greatness looks and tastes like when I see it. Though a few of the regular price tier ($2.35) options are just fine, the premium ($3.50) options offer a wealth of mesquite-smoked, meaty greatness, including the costilla de res (pork ribs) and arrachera (skirt steak). Throw in the self-serve topping station, which includes a creamy chipotle mayo and several varieties of salsa, and you’ve got a great late-night snack worth driving for.

If you're reading this, it's not too late: This Laotian pop-up inside Chinatown's Lokels Only will sadly close at the end of the month, so I suggest you act now to enjoy this complex, flavorful and all-around delicious dish. This sukiyaki comes from a recipe that chef-owner Tharathip Soulisak’s mother first created and sold in a Thai refugee camp after the Laotian Civil War. The umami-rich chicken and pork broth pairs beautifully with thin strings of mung bean noodles, plus fish balls, shrimp and other bits of seafood. “Refugee” tends to carry a negative connotation in the United States, but after reading Viet Thanh Nguyen’s A Man of Two Faces, I’m convinced we should reclaim the word for what it really is: a testament to the ingenuity and sheer will of violently displaced people to survive, start new lives and preserve their culture in whatever way, shape, or form is possible. In addition to being delicious, this soup exemplifies all of that. Get it while you can, and follow Yum Sະlut on Instagram to see where it will pop up next—possibly in a brick-and-mortar of its own one day?

It frustrates me to no end to see that Los Feliz’s Dal Milanese has been getting blasted online for having “bland” food. As a native Angeleno, I’m well aware that L.A. tends to favor maximalist flavor profiles that burst with salt, fat, acid and heat—in other words, everything that Samin Nosrat wrote about. But even I can appreciate the unvarnished simplicity of the northern Italian fare from this Milanese import, including their truly excellent tortino di cioccolato. The Italian chocolate cake is perfectly melted in the center and comes simply adorned with powdered sugar, plus a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s the platonic ideal of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s lava cake—and I’d happily fight anyone who disagrees.

I’m usually doubtful of NYC imports claiming to be the very best, but in a year when I ate through over three dozen of L.A.’s brick-and-mortar fried chicken joints, second-generation Chinese American restaurateur Eric Huang’s chili fried chicken easily would make my top five options I’ve tried this year. (And would have made our list if this summer’s Pecking House pop-up in Sawtelle was permanent!) Pecking House’s version uses a buttermilk brine and a coating of Tianjin chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, MSG, salt and sugar to create a uniquely delicious crust worth seeking out the next time you find yourself in Brooklyn. It’s distinctive enough from local Asian-inspired chicken operations like Go Go Bird and Daybird to stand out, and the unique numbing, spicy quality of the chicken offers heat and flavor without being overwhelming.

Over the course of this year, I slowly ate my way through all three of pasta maestro Evan Funke’s L.A. restaurants: Funke in Beverly Hills, Mother Wolf in Hollywood and Felix in Venice. While I enjoy the grandeur of Mother Wolf’s dining room and appreciate the unflagging consistency at Felix, the showstopping desserts in Beverly Hills by pastry chef Shannon Swindle have had me recommending Funke to friends and family above the namesake chef’s two other restaurants. On my second visit to Funke, I arrived towards the end of peak Harry’s Berries season to try this ruby-red meringue-topped creation brimming with rhubarb granita, the best strawberries I’ve ever tasted and a delicate verbena panna cotta. Since the meringata uses seasonal fruit, Swindle has already changed the dish, but make a note to dine at Funke next summer, when the strawberry version is sure to make a comeback.

There's much to love in the vegetable realm at Douglas Rankin’s Bar Chelou, but I’ll never forget the chef’s rainbow trout, which comes with psychedelic swirls of verdant garlic-chive oil and a side of “corn rice,” a delightfully crunchy, sweet mixture that adds flavor and texture. I tend to glance over French-influenced fish preparations, which I usually find quite boring, but Bar Chelou’s rainbow trout is anything but that. The dish offers so many distinctive pops of flavor and texture, and has had me reconsidering my avoidance of European-style cooked fish dishes. It also makes me hopeful for the newest restaurant inside the Pasadena Playhouse-adjacent space, which has had a high rate of turnover in recent years. If you haven’t yet made it to Bar Chelou, consider this your sign to make a reservation: It’s one of the best new restaurants of the year for a reason.

For the very best ganjang gejang (soy-marinated crab), I still prefer the much-heralded Soban, but the version at this Western Avenue seafood specialist is a close second. The all-female crabs contain sweet orange roe, sit in a pool of dipping sauce, and come topped with jalapenos, onion and a sprinkling of salmon eggs. Pickle-flavored rice and gim (dried seaweed) accompany every order, and the elegant presentation makes a difference—after all, ganjang gejang is a special-occasion dish for most people. Either way, the meat is sweet, tender and worthy of the same public recognition as a New England-style lobster roll, Mexican shrimp aguachile and Italian crudo.