The Los Angeles Times Dropped Its 101 Best Restaurants List

The Los Angeles Times has released its annual list of 101 best restaurants around greater LA. The Herculean task was mostly handled by food critic Bill Addison and spans restaurant styles, cuisine types, and neighborhoods up and down the coast. The list is not ranked, only alphabetized, and there are separate pullouts for pop-ups and places to drink (beer, wine, cocktails, coffee). Congrats to all the winners. Elsewhere, the Infatuation has also released its list of the 15 best restaurants of 2021.

Drive-thru news to know

Big news for fast food fans: Jack in the Box has agreed to acquire Del Taco, the Lake Forest-based taco chain. Per the LA Times, the deal is worth a full $575 million.

A good cause for LA

Chef Michael Voltaggio is stepping in to help the LA Mission’s Race to Feed campaign, which seeks to hand out at least 300,000 meals in South LA this season. Voltaggio is working with the non-profit to make ready-to-eat meals, offer recipe cards, and staple pantry items to food-insecure families this December.

Wine and bites in Downtown

Good Clean Fun is popping up at Mezcalero tonight with food specials and wine from Mexico’s Bichi Winery. The party includes a three-wine flight for $25 and oyster mushroom vampiros, with a start time of 7 p.m.

A different set of rules in Santa Monica

Unlike Los Angeles proper, the standalone city of Santa Monica does not currently have a mandatory proof of vaccine policy, reports the Santa Monica Daily Press. That’s creating a mishmash of mandates that are leaving some customers (and business owners) a bit confused.

A party in Chinatown

Wes Avila’s Angry Egret Dinette is celebrating its one-year anniversary at Mandarin Plaza in Chinatown on Saturday. For the party, Avila will be partnering with Biite Club to make an exclusive spiny lobster and mushroom torta; the team will also be serving drinks and doling out merch. Tickets required.