Patricia Kelly Yeo

Whether your tastes run classic or contemporary, there’s a delicious sandwich for you in Los Angeles. After all, it’s not hard to stumble across a decent sandwich at a burger stand, farmers’ market, food truck or grocery store—but what about the truly great between-bread experiences, from the crunchy-soft baguette of a budget-friendly banh mi to the wonders of sliced rye, our preferred vehicle for pastrami delivery? Though not all of these shops specialize in a traditional, counter-style sandwich shop experience, these standout L.A. sandwiches are all worth a try in their own right. Some menus run large, others small; others are tried-and-true, while others run more artisan new-school than anything else. No matter their specific menu offerings, we’ve compiled a list of L.A.’s very best sandwich shops (excluding the bagel and fried chicken varieties, which deserve lists all of their own)—because the humble sandwich is worth celebrating every day of the year.

The Original Farmers Market is nearly a century old, but it can sometimes feel like an afterthought for younger Angelenos due to the busier, newer shopping mall next door. In the last two decades, the 89-year-old market has become synonymous with the Grove, and all the traffic and parking headaches that come with it. In fact, many people aren’t even aware that the two are separate entities; the grocery and dining destination is still owned by descendants of the late-19th-century entrepreneur Arthur Gilmore, whose acres of dairy-farm-turned-oil-field are now home to Television City, the Original Farmers Market and Rick Caruso’s artificial, soullessly commercial “town square.” Whenever I’m waxing nostalgic about old-school L.A. landmarks with amazing food, I’ll be honest: the Original Farmers Market isn’t anywhere close to my radar. These days, the Farmers Market has morphed into a tourist attraction whose narrow passageways become frustrating to navigate on foot on weekends, when heavy crowds wander over from the Grove (a place with downright mediocre dining options). It’s not a place I’d typically recommend Time Out readers visit merely off the food. And if you’re mostly looking to bask in the glorious mix of sights, sounds and smells of a food hall, I’d rather direct you to Downtown’s Grand Central Market, where the eclectic, high-quality mix of newer, chef-driven eateries and affordable lunch spots manage to cancel out the lack of free parking and equally hectic weekend atm

These days, L.A. is up to its nose in natural winelists, and while that means everyone and their mother now considers themselves an expert in pet-nat, these particular bars offer the ideal combination of knowledgeable bartenders, diverse bottle selections and even great food. Though the atmosphere at these spots run the gamut from relaxed to slightly pretentious, the complex varietals you'll sip on will more than make up for whatever's missing. Whenever you're not in the mood for yet another upscale cocktail den or a rowdy brewery, these amazing wine bars will be more than happy to pour you a glass. June 2023: After a tragic structure fire, Sherman Oaks' Augustine has temporarily closed, with no plans to open for at least a year. In the time being, we've swapped out the listing with nearby Mirabelle Wine Bar, and added a few new wine bars: Silver Lake's the Ruby Fruit, Chinatown's Cafe Triste, Beverly Hills' Sur le Vert and the Arts District's Propaganda Wine Bar.

On the edge of Downtown L.A. near the Arts District, Little Tokyo dates back to 1886, when a Japanese ex-sailor opened a restaurant on First Street. Today, it’s a historic district, dining and shopping destination and a central touchpoint for L.A.’s Japanese American community. Many of the area’s family-run shops and eateries date back decades, some older than World War II, and the neighborhood is full of delicious Japanese and non-Japanese food alike, a wide array of Asian sweets and even a few late-night cocktail bars.  While the area has long been a go-to among Angelenos for sushi, ramen and Japanese comfort food, a handful of newer destination-worthy eateries have moved in alongside old-school joints, giving even more reason to explore the area’s dining scene. The best part? The neighborhood is small—just a few blocks, really—so a fantastic bowl of noodles isn’t more than a few steps away from a diverse array of sushi spots catering to every seafood whim and price point.  In recent years, Little Tokyo’s proximity to Skid Row and the worsening homelessness crisis citywide have meant that visitors are likely to walk by larger tent encampments nearby. Stay alert while parking, in particular, and in the evenings, when the neighborhood’s bustling crowds tend to thin out. That said, the neighborhood stays fairly busy and safe on weekends and special event days, especially near the Japanese Village Plaza and the Little Tokyo Galleria indoor mall.  Depending on when you visit, yo

There’s no official alfresco season in L.A., a city where outdoor dining is technically possible year-round, so of course it’s full of decidedly alfresco restaurants. You know the ones. These are the types of places where you can hear the waves crashing, watch the city lights sparkle from a rooftop or get lost in the greenery—or scenery—that surrounds your table. While most Angelenos know by now that most meals can be enjoyed outside, whether you’re at a coffee shop, a taco truck or a fine-dining restaurant, there are still plenty of destination-worthy scenic spots worth visiting for the views (as well as the food). Without further ado: Here are the best restaurants for outdoor dining in L.A. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to things to do outside in Los Angeles

Move over, New York City: You might have dollar-ish slices, but these days, the Los Angeles pizza scene has grown to encompass dizzying variety of pizza styles, including Detroit-style squares, classic triangles, Tokyo-style Neopolitan and yes, the California-style flatbreads made famous by California Pizza Kitchen. Since the pandemic, it’s become easier than ever to grab a slice of great pizza in L.A., no matter where you live—almost as easy as stopping by a taco stand or stumbling across some great strip mall sushi.In researching this guide, we tried (and retried) over two dozen different L.A. pizzas, pitting imports from elsewhere like Roberta’s, L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele and Pizzeria Bianco against beloved hometown favorites and up-and-coming newcomers. We’re always hunting for the latest and greatest pizzas in L.A., and we’re not afraid to drop old-timers from the list if quality has dropped off. Gourmet or lowbrow, takeout or dine-in, thin crust or thick—these places are serving the best pizzas in Los Angeles right now, ranked. 

This is L.A., where the word vegan hasn’t raised eyebrows and prompted jokes about nut loaf for years, which means that there’s a smörgasbord of vegetarian and vegan restaurants in L.A. slinging slices of pizza piled high with veggies; upscale Mexican food; and even takes on the traditionally egg-laden Italian classic, carbonara. Here are the very best of the best, all 100-percent vegan.  RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in Los Angeles

While L.A.’s devotion to sushi and ramen are so extreme you’d think they’re the only type of Japanese cuisine in town, the vast array of barbecue, shabu-shabu, soba and kaiseki are equally worth checking out the next time you’re in the mood for a taste of Japan. Taking into account both old favorites and newer hot spots, as well as price point, we’ve rounded up the city’s best Japanese restaurants. This list is as equally handy for your next special occasion as it is your next cozy meal out in sweatpants—so take heart in the fact that yes, four-dollar-sign transportive sushi and booze-laced izakayas make an appearance, but food court favorites and South Bay mom-and-pop shops do, as well.

The self-proclaimed "Heart of Screenland," Culver City is a historic moviemaking town once located on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Today, it's the current home of Sony Pictures Studios, as well as a growing hub for digital media and tech companies. Entertainment, media and tech's outsized influence on downtown Culver City have kept the quiet Westside neighborhood's main dining scene catering primarily to employees of Sony, Amazon, Apple, HBO and TikTok, while the major E Line-adjacent shopping hub Platform Culver City continues to showcase a handful of excellent, but pricey, dining options, like New York export Roberta's. When it comes to restaurants, there's plenty to love in Culver City, both old and new alike, with newcomers like Citizen Public Market and all-around L.A. favorites like Hatchet Hall forging a peaceful coexistence alongside local favorites like Tito's Tacos and S&W Country Diner. While it remains to be seen whether the small city will ever become a true Los Angeles-wide dining destination, here's where to dine, drink and snack in Culver City—from the sleepier Mar Vista-adjacent outskirts to the pedestrian-friendly streets of downtown Culver. RECOMMENDED: Our full guide to Culver City

Los Angeles has the most diverse, expansive and wide-reaching sushi scene in the country, so how does one even begin? This highly vetted guide, for starters. In the process of scouting, I visited dozens of Valley strip malls, Little Tokyo shopping plazas and swanky counters in Beverly Hills in search of L.A.’s best sushi restaurants. These days, pricey omakase experiences predominate my top sushi picks (a reflection of L.A.'s changing sushi bar demographics), but you can still find a few high-quality, affordable à la carte options around the city (if you’re willing to wait, it’s still hard to beat Sushi Gen’s sashimi lunch special). Why should you trust my expertise? I'm an L.A. native who enjoyed my first set of tekka maki as a child at Hide Sushi on Sawtelle. In my high school and college years, I cycled through love affairs with unagi (freshwater eel), saba (mackerel) and SushiStop's famous dynamite rolls. Though it's hard to turn down freshly pressed Edomae-style sushi, I'm still fond of a good spicy tuna crispy rice once in a while, and I've even sampled a few of the city's vegan sushi options. Over my lifetime, I've been to 24 different omakase spots in L.A.—and counting, since there's at least a dozen more I've yet to try. (I've also been to Tokyo, where I visited Daiwa Sushi in the old Tsujiki fish market plus a couple other Michelin-starred sushi spots.)In the high-end realm, I look for places that maximize overall wow factor; even within the upper echelons of L.A. d

Despite all that's transpired during the pandemic, L.A. is still host to one of the most innovative, exciting and diverse food scenes in the country. Brick-and-mortar restaurants, Instagram pop-ups, street vendors and food trucks: No matter the form, you can find amazing food in a city whose reputation is built as much on off-the-beaten-path tacos and pop-ups as it is on fine dining-trained chefs making quick work of farmers’ market produce and mainline access to the top-notch Pacific seafood. At its core, L.A.'s restaurant scene thrives on diversity, resulting in genre-bending formats and cuisines that have given rise to some of the country’s best omakase restaurants, fine dining institutions and strip mall hidden gems. Our experts scour the city for great eats and great insider info. We value fun, flavor, freshness—and value at every price point. We update our list regularly to reflect changes in menu offerings, style of service, new locations and the ever-changing pulse of the city’s food scene. If it’s on the list, we think it’s awesome and worth the hype, wait and money —and we bet you will, too. June 2023: After months of refresher visits and some serious consideration, we're pleased to expand the total number of restaurants to 40, with five new additions: the Arts District's Yangban, Little Tokyo's Sushi Kaneyoshi, Pico-Robertson's Pizzeria Sei, Westwood's Taste of Tehran and the return of Hancock Park's Chi Spacca to the list.

Not every happy hour special is created equal, and what makes a spot someone’s go-to for a much-needed early-evening drink can vary. But we think there’s a little something for everyone among these happy hour spots below. Los Angeles is never short on great bars to try, ranging from your neighborhood dive bars to sports bars and delicious restaurants that compliment that 4pm cocktail with some delectable food. Of course, having to navigate the city’s web of freeways for the perfect special puts a dent in that discount, so we’ve gone ahead and compiled a comprehensive list of the best happy hour deals all over L.A. Set a reminder in your calendar this coming workweek and round up your friends because here is where you can grab a drink and meal for just a fraction of the price.

The long, ultra-touristy stretch along Santa Monica’s Ocean Avenue isn’t usually known for noteworthy cuisine, but a new line of Baja-inspired Japanese items is making Blue Plate Oysterette an oddly compelling place for sushi on the Westside. We enjoyed the umami-rich clam chowder, which mixes dashi broth and white miso and comes topped with seaweed-wrapped rice crackers. But focus in on the handroll sets: In a city full of Kazunori wannabes, Lucky Yu’s distinctive fusion-style offerings stand out with unique flavor profiles and compelling plant-based options. Thanks to the use of tamari instead of soy sauce, the entire restaurant is gluten-free—a boon for those with celiac disease or sensitivities. T    

This family-run Chinatown staple has made excellent Italian sandwiches for over 60 years—and been around for even longer. These days, Eastside Italian Deli has even expanded to a larger outpost in Los Feliz, where you can find the same textbook combination of mortadella, salami, capicola and provolone that has kept this old-school spot around for generations. Our recommendation? The spicy Italian cold cut, which adds hot peppers to the mix. Alongside this standard-bearer you can also get Chicago-style beef (a newer item inspired by The Bear), a mean chicken parm and a host of generously portioned hot sandwiches filled with meatballs, sausage and pastrami that you can definitely share with a friend.

A beautiful, impossibly crackly focaccia crust bookends the delicious creations at this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sandwich pop-up inside Santa Monica’s JuneShine. Despite the limited hours (Wed–Fri noon–5pm), the distinctive housemade bread—plus the prospect of a proper Bread Head storefront along Montana Avenue by summer’s end—translates into a superb Westside lunch destination and soon-to-be top L.A. sandwich shop. Made fresh daily by Jordan Snyder and Alex Williams—formerly of Ludo Lefebvre’s now-closed Trois Mec—each bread slice’s golden, buttery half combines with high-quality meats, luscious cheeses and a mélange of flavorful spreads. Though the pair rotate through six menu items at a time, our go-to evergreen option is the Mozzarella, which pairs the namesake soft cheese with pickled red onions, sliced avocado, alfalfa sprouts and a creamy za’atar mayo.

You can order a decent version of these Puebla-style tortas at your neighborhood taco truck, but you’d miss out on the perfectly constructed, absolutely gargantuan creations at this Van Nuys lunch staple. Stuffed with ultra-ripe avocado, queso fresco, salsa, onions and your choice of meat (or tofu), Don Adrian’s sandwiches punch well above their weight class, especially once you throw in the supplemental Oaxacan string cheese. The milanesa lomo de puerco (a thin, crispy flattened piece of pork loin) and beef milanesa are go-to orders if you’re a first timer here, but you can also diversify later on with queso de puerco (pork head cheese), pata de res (beef tendons) and cecina adobada (a salted, dried meat).

Unlike most L.A. restaurants that have blown up on TikTok, this Dutch crunch specialist along Melrose Avenue is actually good—so good, in fact, that owners Benjamin Sales and Goga Kehkejian recently debuted an outpost within Downtown’s Grand Central Market. Excellent spreads and extra-delicious housemade bread stuffed to the brim with Black Forest ham, Top Round pastrami, chicken drenched in buffalo sauce and other mouthwatering meats make this newer sandwich shop stand out, even if you’re ordering off a delivery app. If you’d like your sandwich fresh as can be, however, we suggest stopping by in person—Ghost Sando’s Melrose flagship, as well as the GCM location, both offer ample seating.

Part of Highland Park’s new culinary guard, Jeff Strauss’s permanent pop-up inside Flask liquor store serves some of the most delicious, one-of-a-kind sandwiches in town. A chaotic mash-up of global ingredients like kimchi (the Kold Kim Cheezy) and chili crisp (the Hainan-Style Chicken Salad) fold beautifully into the shop’s signature creations. For something a little more classic, order the Jubano, which combines thin-sliced smoked pork shoulder with hand-cut pastrami, melted Comte cheese, pickle slices, mustard and aioli; you’ll probably need to take a nap afterwards, but these indulgent sandos make it all feel worth it.

In a sea of wood-fired Neapolitan pies and craggy Detroit-style squares, this West Third Street restaurant dares to be different by serving pinsa, a lesser known Roman-style flatbread. While our hands-down favorite version of the dish comes from GG Kitchen (a West L.A. ghost kitchen concept with a limited delivery range) we'd be remiss not to mention Oste's excellent, more widely available single-serving pies, which diners can enjoy on the restaurant's charming outdoor patio or order to go. Order yours topped with creamy stracciatella and buttery slices of mortadella, or keep things classic with the margherita—either way, you can't go wrong.

Since 2006, this Rose Avenue wine shop run by Norma Alvarado and Oscar Hermosillo has lit up Venice with a solid weekday happy hour (4–6pm, and all day on Mondays). Most nights of the week, the newer startup crowd and older, more artsy locals convene around communal tables—including one made from an old Oregon stump—for the Mediterranean-leaning food menu, over 20 wines by the glass, and plenty of cheese and charcuterie.

Nestled on the far edge of Thai Town, this neighborhood wine bar offers ample space and plenty of booths for large groups. The wine list is funky and there's a decent snack selection, but what sets Tabula Rasa apart is the fact it's open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays—a rarity among wine bars. A daily happy hour from 4 to 6pm nets you $7 glasses of house wine and $2 off all other varieties, making this place a boon for anyone looking for a discounted drinking experience near East Hollywood.

Planted firmly but quietly in the Spring Arcade Building, Garçons de Café is a Francophile haven, and an oft overlooked one. This cozy, classic wine bar gives off strong bistro vibes with tables for two, a long marble bar, and tile inlay on that industrial-chic concrete floor. But the undeniable star is the wines, often organic, and hailing from Loire, Rhône, Bordeaux and even Roussillon, to name but a few. With more than 60 options—with a couple of inexpensive options thrown in—you’ll be there awhile. Better settle in and order one of their impressive charcuterie boards.

This Virgil Village wine bar has one of our favorite patios in the city—and the ever-changing list of small-producer and organic wines offers a compelling introduction to the now-ubiquitous world of pet-nat. Plus, Melody's ever-changing food pop-ups by local chefs and occasional vintner nights add flair to a drinking experience here; depending on which evening you stop in, you'll find anything from wood-fired pizzas to Southern-inspired Filipino food.  Some nights, especially in warmer weather, the converted Craftsman-style house is full-on scene, but the egalitarian ethos and approachable wines keep conversation flowing and vibes generally still quite good. As of late, Melody's resumed hosting live DJ sets on the weekends, plus an all-new Tuesday night drag show, for those who prefer a glass of wine or two with a little extra atmosphere.

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly revisited Singapore’s Banana Leaf. There are a couple of decades-old stalls at the market I'd recommend visiting, but Charlie’s Coffee Shop (est. 1976) sadly isn’t one of them. With just six food vendors left to visit, plus a couple I’ve visited more than once, I’ve finally made up my mind about exactly which old-school spots are worth the time and money in today’s Original Farmers Market: Magee’s Kitchen, Du-Par’s, Bennett’s Ice Cream and Phil’s Deli and Grill. Head to any of these places and you’ll enjoy a delicious meal infused with gauzy L.A. nostalgia, even if the prices are decidedly 2023. On Monday, I walk through the entrance closest to Pasta Corner, ready to finally try Charlie’s. Located in a shady, darker area within the West Patio, the bright orange stand was founded by its late namesake, Charlie Sue Gilbert, and is still run by her daughter Katie today. Open from 9am, the stall serves all-day breakfast plus sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs. The stall’s attempted to keep up with the times, as a tiny vegan section on the peg letter board across the counter makes clear. Today, I’m not in the mood for breakfast food or yet another cheeseburger, so I spring for a classic hot do

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried Trejo’s Tacos. It’s the longest day of the year, and the Original Farmers Market is finally in peak form. Bare-legged tourists of all ages spill from every corner of the market, sampling the pickles at Kaylin + Kaylin, waiting to order lunch from Trejo’s Tacos and even, despite the summer heat, indulging in hot, freshly made crepes from the French Crepe Company. For the first time since the writers’ strike began, I see a half-dozen blue-shirted WGA members waiting in line at Nonna’s Empanadas, fresh off the picket lines.  In the almost uncomfortably warm weather, my appetite wavers. After weeks of gorging myself on pizza and sandwiches, I’m not hungry for a brunch-like tartine from Michelina, sugary pastries from TY Bakery or another greasy plate of diner food from Phil’s Coffee Shop. Instead, after ordering a rotisserie chicken from Market Chicken to take home, I decide to use what little cash I have on my person for lunch at Singapore’s Banana Leaf, which I last visited in February. Though my eye first gravitates to the nasi goreng section, I end up ordering the Singapore curry noodles with chicken ($14.45) and a Thai iced tea ($3). Since my first time visiting SBL for this col

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried Peking Kitchen. It’s the halfway point for Table at Third & Fairfax, and I’ve still got six more market vendors to try before I’ll have tried them all, aside from the bigger chains like Veggie Grill, Starbucks and Chipotle. This week, I’m up to my neck in sandwich and pizza spots for a planned update next week. As a result, I’m thoroughly tired of bread in all its forms, so I want to craft something green and nutritious despite the market’s limited healthy options. Rather than head to Salad Bar, I decide to mod out a salad at Trejo’s Tacos (est. 2018). The fast-casual taqueria is partially owned by Mexican American actor Danny Trejo, who opened the local chain’s original Mid-City outpost in 2016. Since then, he and his partners have expanded to the Original Farmers Market, as well as Hollywood, Downtown, Santa Monica and a doughnut shop. (There was also a short-lived location near USC, which I visited as a graduate student in 2019 and thought was just fine.) Though it’s technically a chain, Trejo’s Tacos is still a hometown operation with such a stereotypically L.A. backstory that I think it merits inclusion in this column. Waiting in line—Trejo’s Tacos is one of the few places o

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried Phil’s Deli & Grill. You’d hardly know it by local media’s collective fawning over new-school places like Pearl River Deli, Needle in Silver Lake and SGV hot spots like 19 Town (City of Industry) and Colette (Pasadena), but truly, deeply, unrepentantly Americanized Chinese cuisine is alive and doing quite well, thank you very much. At the Original Farmers Market on Wednesday afternoon, I’m reminded of this fact while having lunch at Peking Kitchen (est. 1960), a simple West Patio counter operation run by husband-and-wife team Tony and Annie Zhou, who bought the stall from a relative in 1988.Simple and not quite attractively presented, the cafeteria-style offerings at the market’s second longtime Chinese stall—the other being China Depot, which I’ve now also tried—gets straight to the point. All the usual brown-hued suspects are here: orange chicken, which lacks its characteristic glossy sauce, at least until you order it; a thick, cornstarch-rich kung pao chicken; reddish slivers of thinly sliced barbecue pork; thin vermicelli noodles braided with cabbage; chunky strands of light brown chow mein; fried rice, with bits of carrot and pea; and finally, pale-skinned chicken in a ligh

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried Patsy D'Amore's Pizza. In recent weeks, I've begun intermittent fasting, which means my hunger reaches near-uncontrollable levels by the time I walk into the Farmers Market for my weekly visits, which I schedule mostly for lunch. This week, strolling through the East Patio, is no exception. The May gray overhead seems to have dispersed the tourists, though there's still a handful of diners at Monsieur Marcel. Today, I know exactly where I'm headed: Phil's Deli & Grill (est. 1934), an old-school lunch counter serving all-day breakfast, sandwiches and other classic diner fare. Despite plowing through five different sandwiches last week, I'm still drawn to the idea of a thick, juicy heaping pile of pastrami with a side of French fries, so I know I'm basically starving. Phil's Deli is mostly known for its Philly cheesesteaks, patty melts and the pastrami special, which combines pastrami, coleslaw, Swiss cheese and thousand island dressing—in other words, what's probably a pale imitation of Langer's famous #19. Photograph: Time Out/Patricia Kelly Yeo I perch on a stool next to a woman reading Arsenic and Adobo, a Filipino American culinary mystery novel and consider the plastic-cove

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried BHC Chicken again. “Institution” is one of the most overused words in L.A. food media—a thought that first occurs to me occurs to me as I eat a slice of mediocre cheese pizza ($5.60) from Patsy D’Amore’s (est. 1949), one of the market’s oldest vendors and among the city’s very first pizzerias. If you want to get technical, however, the actual honor goes to Casa D’Amore, a now-closed Hollywood restaurant founded in 1939 by brothers Franklyn and Patsy D’Amore. A decade later, the latter split off to open his own place at the Farmers Market, and it’s still owned by his descendants today. The lukewarm slice is just 40 cents cheaper than the cheese slice at nearby Friends & Family Pizza Co., but of slightly poorer quality. The crust is chewy, the marinara sauce is generous and the melted mozzarella is, well, cheesy, but it’s not the kind of pizza I’d rave to friends about or even add to the rotation for home delivery. The pizza is quite literally a slice of history, but the food quality doesn’t actually hold up in the same way other old-school places like the Apple Pan and Philippe's do. Is Patsy’s an institution? Definitely not. It’s just long in the tooth, which isn’t the same thing

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried China Depot. On Wednesday, the parking lot closest to the open-air market is full. After a frustrating, longer-than-normal drive on a hot afternoon, the last thing I want is to jockey for a parking space, so I head a little farther down Fairfax, making a right down Farmers Market Place and a left into the mostly empty lot closest to the North Market, home to Chipotle, Veggie Grill, the Container Store, Pacific Premier Bank and most interestingly, BHC Chicken, which I first checked out back in early March.  I’m sweaty, a little pressed for time and in no mood to fight the lunchtime crowds, so I decide to stop into the South Korean chain and see what else BHC has to offer. Last time, they were out of BHC’s signature Bburing (lemon yogurt) sauce, plus a couple of other items, and my budget and stomach space topped out at trying two kinds of chicken. What I did try then—classic wings and Bburinkle tenders—was compelling enough to recommend and visit again. In fact, I’ll soon be kicking off a thirteen-leg fried chicken crawl across L.A. County (separate from my search for the city’s best fried chicken sandwiches), and BHC feels like a great place to start. As soon as I step inside, a

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried Fritzi Coop. Golden hour approaches on my trip to the Farmers Market this week, which I’ve put off until the eleventh hour. Early on Wednesday evening, I walk through a gate near the West Patio. Most of the tables are deserted, except for a medium-sized cluster of diners near Trejo’s Tacos and Pampas Grill. A few flashily dressed pairs walk into the market through the entrance closest to Dylan’s Candy Bar and Williams-Sonoma, home to the only ATM in the area. After toying with the idea of finally trying the pizza from Patsy D’Amore’s, I decide to grab dinner from one of the market’s two Chinese eateries, China Depot (est. 1948). Originally named China Kitchen, it’s one of the oldest stalls in the market, and also one of the places I’m most reluctant to try for this column. Chinese cuisine comes in many delicious forms, including my mom’s Fujian-slash-Filipino cooking, but a lifetime of experience with L.A.’s (Americanized) Cantonese restaurants has taught me that it’s generally best to lower my expectations. Outside of Panda Express—still my personal gold standard for deep-fried, saucy Chinese takeout—most Cantonese-ish restaurants I’ve had in L.A., Chinatown notwithstanding, hav

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried Sushi A Go Go and Local Ice. Strangely enough, for a job driven by the pleasure principle, full-time restaurant writing demands you become inured to the first-order joys of eating out. A noteworthy, memorable event for most people becomes a near-everyday occurrence; the hedonic treadmill chugs on. The novelty, in my case, wore off quickly enough to kill off any implicit goodwill I once had towards burgers, pizza and brunch—all things people seem to love, and I previously just liked, before traveling hundreds of miles across L.A. to sample dozens of iterations and become semi-fluent in the nuances of each item or meal. Objectivity in media might be a sham, but I’ll be damned before I fail to lay in some serious gustatory groundwork.  On the other hand, my love for fried chicken knows few bounds. As long as it remains, in the wise words of Cookie Monster, a “sometime food” in my diet, my enthusiasm for the seemingly infinite variations of deep-fried chicken isn’t likely to wane. An upcoming update to our guide to fried chicken sandwiches will put my love to the test. In preparation for a snail-paced quest to check out L.A.’s latest, greatest chicken sandos, I spend this week’s Orig

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried the Salad Bar. For the first time in months, the thermostat cracks 80 degrees on Friday, making the market look and feel as beautiful and idyllic as tourists must imagine L.A. to always be. Summer feels imminent when I enter through the West Patio, every table filled with folks enjoying the warm weather, eating tacos from Trejo’s Tacos, pizza from Friends & Family and smoothies from the Salad Bar. Money in hand, I’m ready to visit Sushi A Go Go (est. 2001), one of the few cash-only vendors and the tiniest stall by square footage at the Farmers Market. Founded by Hiro Funaoku and Janet Nicholson, the stand offers inexpensive, everyday sushi, mostly in the form of fusion-style maki: think caterpillar rolls stuffed with imitation crab, dragon rolls topped with crisp teriyaki eel and lots of shrimp tempura. In other words, the kind of fare purists would scoff at, but great for those who love sushi in all its forms. I’m not averse to a well-made roll, but I’m not in the mood to play another game of immune system roulette with my shrimp sensitivity, so I order the 10-piece nigiri market special ($24), asking the employee at the cash register to substitute something else for the shrimp.

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried Roxy and Jo’s. Usually, following five nights of nonstop work dinners, the last thing I want is another decadent meal chock full of oil, butter and salt. After a five-mile morning hike near Echo Mountain on Tuesday, I know exactly where I’m going at the Original Farmers Market: the Salad Bar (est. sometime in the 1980s), home of no-nonsense salads, sandwiches and wraps. Now that Rick’s Produce is closed, the Salad Bar is also the only place in the market where you can find made-to-order smoothies and juices. While waiting in the short line, I consider drinks like the Hawaiian Lost, which combines strawberries, banana, pineapple and coconut milk and try to decide if I want a salad, a sandwich or a wrap. The Salad Bar has a surprisingly limited online footprint,  so I wasn't at all familiar with the offerings before I walked in to find a woman eating a green-tinted pita wrap when I walked in. Hungry and covered in a thin layer of dried sweat, I end up ordering a 16-ounce mixed berry Razzle Dazzle ($8.99) and the chicken strip wrap ($12.99), which ends up to be the same exact thing. Photograph: Time Out/Patricia Kelly Yeo Within 10 minutes, my order is ready. The smoothie is pleas

Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried Pampas Grill. Despite my recently acquired sensitivity to shrimp and squid, I still love seafood, and I’m eager to see what Roxy and Jo’s (est. 2020), the market’s seafood specialist, has to offer. Visions of creamy chowder, lush lobster rolls and other photogenic dishes dance in my mind as I make my way to the Original Farmers Market for the 15th time this year, with our freelance videographer Richard along to capture the visit. Run by Stéphane and Katy Strouk of Monsieur Marcel, the stall was previously owned by Bob Tusquellas of Bob’s Coffee and Doughnuts before changing hands in 2018. Despite the misfortune of opening during lockdown, the nautical-inspired stall now seems to draw a steady stream of customers week after week looking for clam chowder, fish and chips and other classic American seafood dishes. The name of the game, with minor deviations like tacos and poke, is East Coast-style seafood. Across Los Angeles, this particular dining genre happens to have greatly expanded in the last six months. Recently, I reviewed Saltie Girl in West Hollywood, which blows most other competitors out of the water with an enormous, ultra-buttery lobster roll, a first-rate clam chowder