Farley Elliott
is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.
Roy Choi is closing cult favorite restaurant Chego in Chinatown, ending a six-year run inside Far East Plaza.
Long before the lines descended on Howlin’ Ray’s for Nashville-style hot chicken and Lasa started doing modern Filipino food, there was Chego at Far East Plaza. Choi was among the first new tenants to take to Chinatown’s cavernous shopping centers, and he watched as more than a few restaurants — Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok among them came — and went. The same could be said of the pan-Asian rice bowl genre as well, with Choi long leading that charge in the face of increasing competition from around the city.
Still, competition became tougher over the years as Chinatown overall continued to expand its offerings into bao buns, coffee, and sandwiches from Wax Paper. So now, six years along, Choi is moving Chego somewhere back to the Westside, though he’s not sure exactly where yet. Check out the heartfelt Instagram post below:
Chego will run in Chinatown until the end of April, at which point some of the better-selling items will transition over to Kogi Taqueria in Palms until Choi finds a new permanent Chego home. Some of the bowls are also still available at the Alibi Room.
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