The LA Food Podcast

Melissa Lopez is the James Beard semifinalist chef behind Barra Santos, one of the buzziest restaurants in recent memory to grace Los Angeles. Barra Santos is a tiny, sardine-tin of a restaurant in Cypress Park serving up thoughtful, super high-quality Portuguese fare. But as small as the restaurant’s footprint is, the noise it’s made since opening has been nothing short of deafening. After visiting the restaurant myself, I knew I wanted to get to know the mastermind behind the operation, and Chef Melissa did not disappoint. Would I go so far as to say we’ve got one of the country’s brightest rising stars on our hands? Yes, yes, I would. But listen to the interview and visit Barra Santos to make up your own mind on the matter. But first, a nasally rendition of a couple of things that caught my eye this week. There’s a Jenn Harris piece on how the tariffs are endangering the diversity that makes LA’s food scene one of the best in the country, a Substack newsletter (Khushbu Shah’s Tap Is Fine) on whether or not we should view influencers as experts, and an exciting new survey (from Emily Wilson at The Angel) on what Angelenos want from restaurants that I highly encourage you to take. Helpful Links:Jenn Harris on tariffs https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2025-04-11/los-angeles-restaurants-tariffs-southeast-asian-foodLaurie Ochoa on chili crisp and tariffs https://www.latimes.com/food/newsletter/2025-04-12/its-too-late-to-tariff-the-globalization-out-of-american-cuisine-more-chili-crisp-please-tasting-notesKhushbu Shah on influencers, amateurs, and expertise https://khushbushah.substack.com/p/when-did-we-all-become-afraid-of?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2026436&post_id=161441896&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=31nins&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=emailEmily Wilson’s survey in The Angel https://www.theangel.la/p/what-angelenos-want-from-restaurants-survey?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1717567&post_id=161269590&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=31nins&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email&hide_intro_popup=trueGab Chabran and Suzanne Levy on grants for restaurants from the California Restaurant Foundation https://laist.com/news/food/10-000-grant-available-for-restaurants-affected-by-la-firesBarra Santos https://www.barrasantosla.com/–Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠–Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

The New York Times dropped a list of “The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now.” Coming on the heels of the paper’s 2023 Restaurant List a few weeks ago, critic at large Tejal Rao describes the new list as her “current favorites in one of the greatest food cities in the world.” Father Sal joins me to comb through the selected restaurants, opine on the quality of the list as a whole, and share a couple of Rao’s choices that left us scratching our respective heads. We also ask ourselves the questions who is this list really for, what’s the point of having so many similar lists floating around in the ether, and what would be an even better way to do this whole listicle journalism thing? But first, Father Sal and I round up the headlines to sift through what matters and what doesn’t. There’s a waste controversy at Erewhon, another round of harassment allegations at Nobu Malibu, and a sad landlord story affecting one of LA’s most beloved Japanese cafes. We also talk robot food delivery, coffee omakase, and my new favorite topic, dining in the nude. We finish the episode off with a brand new segment called “Bad Yelp Review,” where we each share a moment from the past week in which the people in our lives would have been justified in leaving us a shitty Yelp review as humans. Podcasting was gonna be fun, they said.

Gustavo Arellano is one of Southern California’s most influential voices in food and culture over the course of the last 25 years. Gustavo is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and he’s also currently the namesake of KCRW and Gustavo’s Great Tortilla Tournament, which culminates this October 8 at Smorgasburg in Downtown LA. He’s a best-selling author, he was the long-time food critic of the storied OC Weekly, and his TV appearances include the likes of David Chang’s Ugly Delicious, Chelsea Handler’s Chelsea Lately and Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. He joins the pod today to tell us about his storied career, from his days at the OC Weekly to his more recent endeavors with the Times and KCRW. His anecdotes are absolutely hilarious, and his takes are hotter than the chili peppers he apparently grows in his front yard. More than anything, I found Gustavo’s whole approach to food wholly refreshing. The joy, curiosity and excitement with which he approaches pretty much any topic is contagious, whether he’s talking about the current state of food journalism or what distinguishes a good tortilla from a crappy one. And by the way, we get into both on this podcast! Helpful links: Gustavo's website https://www.gustavoarellano.org/newsletters/ The tortilla tournament https://www.kcrw.com/events/tortilla-tournament Alta Baja Market https://www.altabajamarket.com/ Taco USA https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Taco-USA/Gustavo-Arellano/9781439148624 Gustavo's LA Times page https://www.latimes.com/people/gustavo-arellano Gustavo on X https://twitter.com/GustavoArellano Gustavo on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gustavo_arellano/?hl=en

Carmen Dianne and Kara Still are the co-founders of Prosperity Market, a farmers market on wheels whose mission is to support local black farmers and food businesses throughout L.A. and create food access in communities where it’s currently lacking. They believe that by focusing on the local food system, they can feed their neighbors, and create a substantial economic impact. Carmen and Kara join the pod today for a fascinating conversation on how Prosperity Market was born, the systemic challenges facing black farmers and business owners in today’s society, and what we can do as consumers and concerned citizens to create an ecosystem where everyone can thrive. Father Sal also joins us to discuss a week of escape rooms and good eatin’ in our City of Angels. We break down the tasting menu at Holbox, debate the criteria for what makes a good taco crawl, and reminisce on a pretty epic night out at The old Airliner in Lincoln Heights on the heels of the news that it’s now being re-oponed as a fancy pan-Asian restaurant. Helpful links: Prosperity Market https://www.prosperitymarketla.com/ Together We're Greater fundraiser https://www.prosperitymarketla.com/its-bigger-than-us-initiative/ LA Times Prosperity Market article https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2023-08-18/prosperity-market-helps-black-owned-businesses-stay-open-los-angeles Food insecurity info https://www.prosperitymarketla.com/about/#why Poltergeist article https://la.eater.com/2023/8/30/23851438/poltergeist-restaurant-button-mash-echo-park-los-angeles-service-check Airliner re-opens https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2023-09-04/century-old-lincoln-heights-bar-the-airliner-reopens Tesar fired https://pagesix.com/2023/09/01/top-chefs-john-tesar-out-at-own-eatery-after-three-months-following-altercation/

UK cooking show Five Star Chef has finally made it to Netflix, and Father Sal joins me today to break down what can only be described as the best British export to grace these shores since Harry Styles began serving angelic sounds and androgynous fashion choices. Five Star Chef follows a cast of up-and-coming chefs as they compete to take over the iconic Palm Court restaurant at the five-star Langham Hotel in London. The show is a bona fide rollercoaster of emotion, and whether you’ve seen it or not, I think you’ll enjoy our discussion of what makes a cooking show actually good, as opposed to the gimmicky nonsense clogging up our Hulu home screens. But first, Sal and I get into the Los Angeles food news of the past couple weeks. We discuss an absolutely heinous list brought to us by the LA Times, why a vegan restaurant in Santa Monica has decided to add meat to their menu, and what the heck is driving all of the high profile restaurant closures we’re seeing in 2023. Tallulah, we hardly knew ya. Helpful links: Five Star Chef https://www.netflix.com/title/81507383 Margo starts serving meat https://la.eater.com/2023/8/21/23840379/margos-former-plant-based-adds-meat-to-menu-santa-monica-restaurant Restaurant closures https://la.eater.com/2023/8/22/23840539/biggest-restaurant-closures-los-angeles-summer-2023-news Etta-gate https://la.eater.com/2023/8/22/23842250/etta-culver-city-eviction-staff-layoffs-los-angeles-news Kristen Kish feature https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/dining/kristen-kish-top-chef.html LA Times NY list https://www.latimes.com/food/list/15-nostalgic-new-york-inspired-restaurants-for-a-slice-of-the-big-apple