Jump to content

LA Weekly Restaurant Listicles


Recommended Posts

The 2017 edition of LA Weekly's 99 Essential Restaurants has dropped!

This year they also have inaugurated a Freshman 15 list of newcomers to watch.

In the past I've found their lists to be interesting and the majority of recommended restaurants I've tried have been worth the visit for the reasons described.  For the 99 List, I especially appreciate their mapping and sorting-by-neighborhood features. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Sundae in the Park said:

The 2017 edition of LA Weekly's 99 Essential Restaurants has dropped!

This year they also have inaugurated a Freshman 15 list of newcomers to watch.

In the past I've found their lists to be interesting and the majority of recommended restaurants I've tried have been worth the visit for the reasons described.  For the 99 List, I especially appreciate their mapping and sorting-by-neighborhood features. 

Christine, do you know who the individuals are responsible for the lists? (The individuals are (to me) far more important than the publication - when it comes to restaurants, there's really no such thing as "corporate knowledge" - it's the individuals who either are good, or aren't (which is exactly why you're our LA Forum Host, btw - likewise Josh in Houston.))

We're damned lucky to have both of you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Christine, do you know who the individuals are responsible for the lists? (The individuals are (to me) far more important than the publication - when it comes to restaurants, there's really no such thing as "corporate knowledge" - it's the individuals who either are good, or aren't (which is exactly why you're our LA Forum Host, btw - likewise Josh in Houston.))

We're damned lucky to have both of you.

Aw, thanks. Besha Rodell is LA Weekly's food critic who came in 2012 as the heir to Jonathan Gold. She's got a few Beard nominations under her belt plus a win in 2014. A lot of the writeups seem to come from her, and the rest come from other staff members..."This year I was helped by our Food Editor Katherine Spiers, our Managing Editor Drew Tewksbury, our contributor Garrett Snyder and our Editor-in-Chief Mara Shalhoup. As always, our food photographer Anne Fishbein has provided beautiful art to illustrate the issue."

I've been reading this list since about 2011, slightly before I moved here and I've noticed that some of the reviews for long-standing listees don't get updated every year. That is not to say this is wrong, because the focus of the list is the "essential" nature of the restaurant to the Greater LA food scene/specific neighborhood/cuisine. So the essential nature of the spot is less likely to change from year to year. Though it is nice to see a refreshed review or mini review! I don't know about their methodology, but I can say that, while the places I have tried haven't always been "the best of" they are almost always worth visiting for the item or reason highlighted and just generally good places to check out. Many experiences have been quite outstanding. I don't actually get down to LA all that often so I'm appreciative of this list as a resource that allows me to spend my dining capital wisely. I particularly like it in terms of seeing LA through a tourist's eyes - the "essential" nature of the list means that the listees aren't necessarily the newest, hottest, or even best, but might be the originator or proudest standard bearer of some local and/or cultural tradition, which YMMV but is something I'm seeking out when I visit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's that time of year again - the 2018 edition of the LA Weekly 99 Essential Restaurants list is out! I haven't been down to LA in over a year (thanks, kids) but I've generally found that this list is a good place to start for figuring out what to eat where in LA (yay, map and neighborhoods functions!). This year's edition seems to have a lot of newcomers, which is interesting.

Cross reference with Jonathan Gold's 2017 Lists: October's best 101 restaurants (more map function!) and December's 10 best dishes and you have a great start to any LA eating journey.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...