To those who have been to this hole-in-the-wall, the fact that this Jamaican restaurant made the list is hardly front page news. Intensely fragrant jerk chicken and oxtail arrive in styrofoam boxes accompanied with rice, beans and plantains. Chase the heat with a cold bottle of Kola Champagne (Jamaica’s national soft drink) or a glass of housemade ginger beer.

This spot might be a favorite with the local police and LAXPD, but the giant nondescript ring-shaped pastry perched atop this Westchester establishment is not a donut. Instead, it’s a purveyor of no-nonsense bagels that would make even the most hardened East Coast visitor... well, briefly stop complaining, at least. Keep up with the fast-talkers with the shop’s iced coffee, which comes with coffee ice cubes.

Fried rice and drunken noodles are the go-to dishes at this Westchester Thai food restaurant. Cap off your meal with an order of the seasonal mango with sticky rice — Ayara Thai has one of the better renditions of the dessert in the entire city, Thai Town included.

An essential stop for anyone who’s been without it (or will be without it) for a prolonged period of time, the In-N-Out in Westchester serves up God’s favorite quick-service hamburger to travel weary Angelenos and Double-Double neophytes alike. If you’re new in town, the correct answer to “would you like onions on that?” is always “grilled, please.”

It has to be better than bad pizza, right? This “chain” goes two locations deep — with another location in nearby Playa Del Rey — but the food is all down-home goodness. The notion of fries on a barbecue chicken pizza might sound enticing, but opt for the more reasonable Capricciosa pizza instead: The pie comes absolutely loaded with artichoke hearts in addition to prosciutto ham, pepperoni and mushrooms.

The restaurant name indicates it serves chicken, but you might want to go straight for the pupusas. The savory Salvadoran pastry is browned perfectly on both sides, and the queso con pollo pupusa elevates the humble disk of dough to a dish at least worth naming your restaurant after.

In true L.A. fashion, this sushi restaurant is tucked away in a strip mall off Manchester Ave. Expect a pretty wide variety of rolls (some rolls of the “heavily sauced” variety) and extra-thick swaths of tuna, white albacore and salmon sashimi. Don’t skip the freshwater eel hand roll, which comes with a generous helping of the caramelized fish and a dab of masago.

If the Googie architecture and classic ‘50s diner aesthetic of Pann’s seems familiar, it’s because it is: the owners of Pann’s Restaurant once owned Holly’s in Hawthorne, the location of the infamous coffee shop scene from Pulp Fiction. What Pann’s lacks in Mexican standoffs and Samuel L. Jackson quoting Bible verses, though, it certainly makes up for in excellent comfort food. With gargantuan ham steaks and fried pork chops served with eggs, breakfast is the meal of choice at Pann’s. If you don’t dig on swine, though, don’t worry: the restaurant also offers a superb plate of fried chicken and waffles.

For those who just suffered through those minuscule, un-American portions overseas, this oak-adorned trattoria serves up massive portions of their excellent chicken piccata and big, hearty plates of pasta. Diners pack it in to split pizzas heaped with cheese and break up hot rolls to dip in the restaurant’s garlic olive oil.

Truxton’s is an American-style bistro famous for their house “monkey bread,” but it’s not the sweet and sticky coffee cake you’re thinking of: Truxton’s monkey bread is actually a cheesy, garlicky vessel of carbohydrate worship accompanied with garlic, ranch and marinara dipping sauces. If you’ve managed to completely block out the images of your disapproving personal trainer/cardiologist, feel free to tuck in to their cookie skillet, a massive cookie a la mode reminiscent of a B.J.’s pizookie.

Small, charming and affordable, Courtyard Café offers up a variety of sandwiches priced under ten dollars in addition to a massive Mexican breakfast burrito made with potato, eggs and chorizo. It’s a spot to take food on the go and a great way to thwart the steep prices of the food options inside LAX.

Roscoe’s inclusion on this list might elicit a little controversy, but support of the LA landmark has been bipartisan: former United States Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon were regulars at the restaurant, and George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and current leader of the free world Barack Obama have all stopped by for a fix of the odd combination of fried chicken and waffles that Roscoe’s made famous.

Southern style fried seafood is surprisingly hard to come by in Los Angeles, but Delta Pride’s specialty is cornmeal breaded fried catfish. Sides can be hit or miss, but the yams, hush puppies and macaroni and cheese are popular options. Portions err on the smaller side, but with food this heavy, that might be a good thing.