LA Food Scene

It’s hard to resist the optimism of a new year. Though it’s true that you can set goals at any time, there’s something especially promising about a shiny, brand-new calendar year. And of all the resolutions one can make, food-centered ambitions are some of the most satisfying to fulfill.

Just think: You could gain intimate knowledge of our region’s dining scene by eating your way through the 2023 101 Best Restaurants in L.A. list, commit to cooking more with some of our most popular recipes or explore the stalls at a historic food hall. Especially as so many local restaurants struggle to make ends meet, with more than 65 closing in L.A. in 2023, it’s important to make the time to savor them.

Article From LA Times by Danielle Dorsey, Assistant Food Editor

Albert’s curated list

• Gao’s BBQ and Crab: A Texas-based chain with locations in Chicago and New York has expanded to a new outpost in Rowland Heights, combining charcoal-grilled Chinese barbecue with Cajun-style seafood boils. Open until 1 a.m. seven days a week, the menu includes meat skewers with beef, prawns, lamb, quail or squid; stir fries and grilled oysters; while the seafood boil blends crawfish, snow crab, potatoes and corn in a powerful broth with Cajun spices and the Chinese shi san xiang 13-spice blend.

• Gao’s BBQ and Crab Expansion Plans

• Little Fish, a pandemic-born pop-up from Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle, has found a home in Echo Park’s new Dada Market, where they offer an expanded menu with their crowd-favorite fried fish sandwich plus breakfast items like fish congee, smoked whitefish tartine and cottage cheese pancakes, plus dishes like a broccoli rabe melt and wedge salad with crispy fish skin rounding out the lunch menu. Echo Park Location

• Royal Lobster. After running a successful lobster roll stand in Waikiki for two years, husband-and-wife owners Justin Sok and Ashley Cho finally met the demands of visiting customers who begged for an L.A. location. Operating out of a converted 1940s Texaco gas station in Koreatown that previously housed a coffee shop, the pair offer a simple menu with lobster rolls and salads, piled with quality lobster sourced from a Maine distributor, which can be taken to go or enjoyed on the patio. Cho and Sok plan to add indoor dining soon and to open another location in Beverly Hills with a larger menu to accommodate more lobster-centered dishes. Lobster Depot in Koreatown