
Love Local: Time Out supports and celebrates local food, drink and culture
In tough times, we’re backing the independent businesses that represent the soul of the city
Hey Angelenos,
Back in March—what feels like years ago, but, we’re told, was only months ago—Time Out changed its name to Time In as people all over the world were suddenly asked to stay indoors. Both here in L.A. and around the world, we seem to be stuck in a cycle of reopenings and, unfortunately, some reclosures. Basically, it’s becoming clear that social distancing in some form will be with us for the long run, and that spells danger for the places that make city life worth living.
Our editors have been seeking out the best of city life since 1968, when Time Out launched in London. We know that our cities are nothing without their restaurants, cafés, bars, theaters, music venues, nightclubs, movie theaters, art galleries—and all the other local, independently run places where people come together to eat, drink, laugh, think, create, cut loose and fall in love.
If we don’t take action right now, countless places like this will have to close their doors permanently. Many venues, already struggling to pay their bills, face a total collapse in footfall or a huge bill to adapt to social distancing. And millions of bartenders, waiters, cooks, artists, musicians, actors, filmmakers, designers and other creatives and makers have been left unable to earn a living.
We started by officially lending our voice to 16 crucial campaigns that are fighting to support local food, drink, culture and entertainment in cities worldwide, including this city’s own LA Arts COVID-19 Relief Fund. We’re proud to support the organizations raising funds, spreading the word and lobbying decision-makers in order to safeguard the local spots that keep our cities’ lifeblood pumping.
Now, as Black Friday and the holiday shopping season approaches, here’s why you should spend your money with local businesses. Throughout 2020 and beyond, we’ll be devoting ourselves to supporting and celebrating small food, drink, arts and culture spots. Our editors here in L.A. and across the world will raise awareness of venues that need your help, shout about the places that deserve your support, give businesses a platform to reach new customers and celebrate the best neighbourhood spots in cities worldwide.
We’re asking city-dwellers around the world to show support for small businesses every day by going out, spending money with independents and donating to fundraisers. Wherever you are, we’ll help you discover and support the amazing local businesses that make our cities great.
And finally, to the businesses going through a tough time right now: know that we’re with you. We’ll do this together.
Michael Juliano
Editor, Time Out Los Angeles
The latest on Love Local
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In the wake of a public health emergency and economic downturn, one of the nation’s hardest-hit realms is indisputably the restaurant and bar industry. Millions of restaurateurs and employees working this essential service are struggling to navigate labor, food costs, rent and their own safety through modified re-openings, mandated closures and the sporadic announcements of dining regulations, and the cost and uncertainty are proving too great for some—resulting in the closures of some of the best restaurants and bars in all of L.A. A few of the city’s restaurants have pivoted to takeout and delivery specials, while others launched to-go cocktails and patio dining. Some are waiting to reopen in any form, hoping to weather the pandemic without business or staffing; the restaurants below have found that despite their best efforts, their restaurants or bars can no longer hold on.
Thanks L.A. for bringing a bit of beauty to 2020
As we sort out our at-home New Year’s plans and brace ourselves for an evening of sky-filling, not-so-legal pyro, we thought the time was right to share some brief thoughts about the year that must not be named. First, a parade of “thank yous” is in order: to the frontline workers and the social justice demonstrators. To the distilleries who started making hand sanitizer and the restaurants that flipped into corner pantries. Thank you to every independent venue that makes us Love Local. And thank you to the People’s Bodega and L.A. Community Fridges for keeping Angelenos hydrated and fed, the Broad for bringing a bit of infinity to our homes, the Getty for classing up our Animal Crossing islands, Disneyland for blessing us with Dole Whip and churro recipes and the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve for streaming its bloom. And actually, that last one reminds us that we want to extend an extra thank you to nature, basically the only living thing outside of our own house that we could touch without fear in 2020. In a year that made most indoor activities an impossibility, we’ve never been more grateful to live in a city whose best assets are outdoors anyway. The brief closure of beaches and trails in the spring aside, being able to hike up a hillside, walk through a street lined with jacarandas, escape into the mountains, relax at a botanical garden or dip our feet into the ocean (especially when it was turning a shade of Lisa Frank blue) provided instant mood-lifting pi
The best Los Angeles cookbooks of 2020
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As Shania Twain once sang: looks like we made it. We’ve persevered through everything 2020 had to throw at us and we couldn’t have done it without the help of Los Angeles restaurants. As always, they’ve been there for us when we needed comfort, when we were too lazy or overwhelmed to cook and needed delivery, when we needed to force ourselves to eat a vegetable or when we simply required a tray of gelato to the face. We reflected on 2020 and all the meals that helped us get through it, whether it was a new underground pizza pop-up so good we ordered it twice in one week or the stalwart sushi that never lets us down. Here are the dishes that helped keep us sane and fed through it all. So long and thanks for the memories, 2020. (Just kidding—the real thanks go to the restaurants, this year’s real MVPs.) See Also: The 15 Best New L.A. Restaurants of 2020, The Best L.A. Cookbooks of 2020 RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best restaurants in L.A.
Meet Chifa, L.A.’s dreamy family-run restaurant from the cofounder of Opening Ceremony
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Here’s what to eat from Citizen Public Market, Culver City’s new food hall
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