Eater LA - Eater LA Classics Week 2015The Los Angeles Restaurant, Bar, and Nightlife Bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52682/favicon-32x32.png2015-01-30T14:37:42-08:00http://la.eater.com/rss/stream/77279162015-01-30T14:37:42-08:002015-01-30T14:37:42-08:0050 Years in South LA Cements Mama's Kitchen as a Living Legend
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<figcaption><a href='http://instagram.com/elizabethdanielsphoto''>Elizabeth Daniels</a></figcaption>
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<p>Mama's Chicken serves a completely house-made chicken sausage biscuit with cheese during breakfast.</p> <p>One day in 1970, Karen Whitman's older sister asked her to fill in for the day at a small burger shack called Mama's. If not for that happy accident, South LA icon<strong> Mama's Chicken</strong> might not be around today.</p>
<p><span>Karen Whitman, then a petite girl previously deemed too "little" to be working on the tough kitchen line by </span><strong style="line-height: 1.5;">Elbert Hall Jr.</strong><span>, the original owner of Mama's, tried to fill in for her older sister without Hall knowing. That was day 1 of Karen Whitman's 44 year journey with Mama's Chicken on Slauson in South Los Angeles.</span></p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right"><span>Whitman was allowed to stay on after Hall tasted and approved her burgers.</span></q></p>
<p>Weeks had gone by and Hall, an enterprising young man of 19 when he first opened Mama's, was shocked to see little Karen cooking at his restaurant when he dropped by. (He was a busy man who also owned nightclubs and dabbled in the barbershop business). Nervously, he surveyed the customers to check on the food; the frequent diners mocked him for not knowing Karen had been cooking. Whitman was allowed to stay on after Hall tasted and approved her burgers.</p>
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<p><q class="pullquote float-left"><span>She greets everyone warmly, and nothing fazes her.</span></q></p>
<p>Earl Hall died in 2002 due to kidney disease and Whitman ended up with his share of the business, which had included a full service market and liquor store expansion in 1998. Hall had promised her the business when she was a teenager, but on the condition she graduate college after graduating from Crenshaw High School. Whitman, to the best of everyone's knowledge, is the longest employee (and now owner) of any burger shack in Los Angeles. Mama's Chicken, which started out as a burger and dog shack, just celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.</p>
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<p>All these years later Whitman still runs a tight ship, and looks like the first lady of Slauson when manning the registers. She greets everyone warmly, and nothing fazes her. Not the drunk retiree paying for two King Cobra tallboys at 10 A.M., not the nasty girlfriend threatening to dismember her man after he failed to pay for her chicken wings breakfast,, not the out-of-place Asian guy asking for an unscheduled interview. She finds solace on her baking production days, and pridefully cracks a "yo-mamma" joke when a new customer questions the value of her tea cakes. "They're better than yo-mamma's". The new customer dutifully agrees after a small sample. Whitman laughs.</p>
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<p>The "chicken" in Mama's Chicken comes in several formats: chicken sausage links, Southern style chicken sausage patties (available in mild, extra mild, hot, extra hot) and fried chicken. Despite their popularity and local fame, the sausages weren't added to the menu until 25 years ago. The shack started with burgers and hotdogs.</p>
<p>According to Whitman, everything on the menu board sells well, even the chopped chicken sausage taco, which seems to be a culinary oddity. Nevertheless, the best sellers are clearly the chicken sausages and fried chicken meals, because "black people loves fried chicken." All the chicken (and turkey) sausages are produced in-house, on site. Those in the know buy the frozen sausages to-go, in 2 or 5 pound boxes, as the kitchen isn't known for expediency.</p>
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<p>However, the only way to taste Karen Whitman's chicken sausage biscuit with cheese is to head straight to the rear of the store between 9 a.m. and noon, order the sandwich, return upfront to pay, then wait. On the way out, even if it is 10 A.M., grab a peach cobbler to go, but please don't compare her biscuits to McDonald's.</p>
<p>Prices here are absurdly low, with the last increase six years ago despite a significant interior overhall last summer. A SNAP 2-piece fried chicken thigh and leg meal with potato salad rings in at only $3.50, and it has plentiful takers. Mama's is Slauson's famous food hall, and Whitman, despite her business degree, knows her low prices serve the community well.</p>
https://la.eater.com/2015/1/30/7953819/mamas-chicken-south-la-feature-photos-los-angelesTony Chen2015-01-30T13:27:55-08:002015-01-30T13:27:55-08:00LA's Fancy All-Night Restaurant Pacific Dining Car Will Serve Anyone
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<figcaption><a href='http://www.instagram.com/mattatouille'>Matthew Kang</a></figcaption>
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<p>Inside the Pacific Dining Car, serving steaks and casual elegance for 94 amazing years</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://la.eater.com/venue/pacific-dining-car">Pacific Dining Car</a> opened at 7<sup>th</sup> and Westlake in 1921, it was boom times in the City of LA. The Hollywood Bowl had broken ground a couple of years earlier, the Ambassador Hotel opened, and the iconic Hollywood (or "Hollywoodland") sign was a mere two years away. It was in this thriving financial period, fueled by rampant land speculation, that <b>Fred </b>and <b>Grace Cook</b> opened a steakhouse modeled after a railway dining car.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><q class="pullquote">The Dining Car is still a bastion of consistency and elegance</q></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By the mid-20s (and at its current location at 6<sup>th</sup> and Witmer, where it moved in 1923), the restaurant had become a neighborhood favorite and was doing brisk business, charging 65 cents for special sirloin and a $1.50 for filet mignon. The Depression nearly killed it, as did World War II, but it has maintained for nearly a century and managed to stay remarkably unchanged— save for a remodel in the 1970s, the Dining Car is still a bastion of consistency and elegance. It’s a peaceful place—quiet, intimate booths of muted greens and red, with accents of wood and shiny brass.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Most notably, it is the only 24-hour fine dining establishment in the city. At any time, on any day, in any state of sobriety, you can roll in and receive outstanding service, drink out of crystal, enjoy a well-prepared steak, and be treated with a certain level of decorum and regard. And that, I think, is what makes this establishment special — at 2 a.m., the clientele is a motley mish-mash of different types of LA personalities: professionals and Hollywood producers; working class folks in the morning; cops; tourists; the stiffly dressed; club kids off the street. The staff don’t care. Everyone gets treated equally.</p>
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<cite>Matthew Kang</cite>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The ambiance is solemn, but not stuffy. Ensconced in a booth, you know other patrons are in the restaurant, but you can’t really hear them. It allows for a wonderful clubbiness – a sense of privacy and safety that only enhances enjoyment of the food.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The post-11 p.m. late night menu is what makes this wonderful egalitarianism possible, giving access to the restaurant to those who don’t want to, or can’t, drop $70-80 on a steak (There’s currently a <a target="_blank" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.groupon.com%2Fdeals%2Fpacific-dining-car&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fla.eater.com%2F2015%2F1%2F30%2F7953771%2Fpacific-dining-car-24-hour-restaurant-classics-downtown-photos" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Groupon available</a>—definitely snag it. But maybe keep it on the DL if you’re on a date). The food is still expensive by any reasonable standard, but certain items are steeply discounted.</p>
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<p class="caption">[The famous "baseball" steak]</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The baseball steak (from the menu: "<a href="http://youtu.be/EJqSJ2jXEU0?t=40s" target="_blank">made famous by the film ‘Training Day’</a>"), which is about the size of a grown man’s fist, is only $20.95 on the late night menu, and will run you more than twice that amount during the normal dinner hour. Sure, it’s not exactly prime rib— it’s a top sirloin end cut —but it’s tender, seasoned perfectly, and given a beautiful char.</p>
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<p class="caption">[Asparagus with Hollandaise. Eggs Benedict.]</p>
<p><span>Among other standouts: beautiful, thick asparagus spears with hollandaise sauce (and the accompanying lemons have those little lemon nets on them— classy!); eggs benedict with fat slices of Canadian bacon; omelettes that are as generous and immaculate as their accompanying hash browns. And one rumor about the PDC kitchen, at least according to a dining companion who says she has experienced this, is that they’ll prepare you literally anything, if they’re able. It doesn’t matter if it’s not on the menu. Deviled eggs? Why the hell not? Just ask, and they’ll make it for you.</span></p>
<p><q class="pullquote"><span>They’ll prepare you literally anything, if they’re able</span></q></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Eating at the Pacific Dining Car is the quintessential throwback restaurant experience. It’s almost been swallowed by the neighborhood. The Good Samaritan Hospital on one side, a shady gas station and U-Haul rental place on the other. But the minute you step across the threshold and are greeted by the maître d, you’re immediately back in the 1920s, back in old LA. They found oil on Signal Hill. They’re making talkies over at Warner Bros. Didja hear about the Coliseum they built by USC? And the steaks, as ever, are excellent.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Pacific Dining Car is located at 1310 W 6th St (at Witmer) in Westlake. It is always open. There is an additional location in Santa Monica.</i></p>
<p class="credit">Photography by: <a style="line-height: 1.24;" href="http://www.instagram.com/mattatouille" target="_blank">Matthew Kang</a></p>
https://la.eater.com/2015/1/30/7953771/pacific-dining-car-24-hour-restaurant-classics-downtown-photosLucas Peterson2015-01-30T12:30:03-08:002015-01-30T12:30:03-08:00The Spago Timeline: How Wolfgang's Fine Dining Favorite Has Changed Over Three Decades
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<p>The temple to California cuisine first opened in Hollywood.</p> <p>
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<p><img align="right" src="https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3355852/WP_in_1977_-_personal_collection.0.0.JPG" alt="Wolfgang Puck Small"></p>
<p>While Beverly Hills' <b>Spago</b> has been an important landmark in the culinary landscape of Los Angeles for nearly two decades, it comes as a surprise to many that the original location of <b>Wolfgang Puck</b>'s flagship restaurant wasn't on Canon Drive, but Sunset Boulevard. Here now, a brief history of the beginnings of one of the most important contributors to California cuisine:</p>
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<p><b>1981</b></p>
<p>After exploring the potential for California cuisine and attracting the attention of the Hollywood elite, <a target="_blank" href="http://la.eater.com/2015/1/29/7946211/ma-maison-wolfgang-puck-los-angeles">Wolfgang Puck left his first restaurant in LA, <b>Ma Maison</b>, which he co-owned with<b> Patrick Terrail</b></a><b></b>.</p>
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<p><b>1982</b></p>
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<p>Wolfgang Puck created some serious competition for his former Ma Maison partner Terrail when he opened the original Spago on the Sunset Strip. Reports from the time claim that 21 Rolls-Royces fought for parking spots on opening night. Whether the stories are true or just the exaggerated tales of yore, there is no question that Spago instantly became the hottest spot in town, and for valid reason.</p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>The early days of Spago truly laid the foundations for California cuisine, which Puck described at the time as being all about "local products, freshness, simplicity, lower prices, less solemnity and no truffles." And lower prices they were. At a time where there was an enormous divide between restaurants that fell either in the fine dining or casual category, Spago was paving new ground with the most expensive entrée priced at $15.</p>
<p>What a steal that was. Puck was doing some of the most innovative cuisine at the time, with early signature dishes that included haute cuisine pizzas topped with smoked salmon and caviar, and Sonoma baby lamb with braised greens and rosemary. Spago quickly garnered national attention, and Puck would go on to win the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Chef of the Year in 1991 and 1998, and the James Beard Foundation Award for Restaurant of the Year in 1994.</p>
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<p><b>1997</b></p>
<p>Following the wild success of Spago Sunset, Wolfgang opened another Spago on the ritzy Canon Drive in Beverly Hills. The menu included updated Spago classics along with seasonal dishes that drew inspiration for Wolfgang's favorite Austrian classics, like wienerschnitzel and kaiserschmarrn.</p>
<p><b>2001</b></p>
<p>When Spago Hollywood's lease expired, Wolfgang Puck decided to leave the aging building on Sunset Boulevard, closing the Hollywood location. Spago Beverly Hills, with its expansive kitchen, became the flagship.</p>
<p><b>2007</b></p>
<p>Spago Beverly Hills was awarded two stars by Michelin Guide, a recognition achieved by only three LA restaurants.</p>
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<p><b>2012</b></p>
<p>On the heels of Spago's 30<sup>th</sup> anniversary, Spago closed in July 2012 for a revamp of the interior design and menu, and reopened in September 2012. The restaurant now sports a cleaner, brighter interior and a menu updated to feature smaller plates, which Wolfgang believed was more reflective of contemporary dining trends.</p>
https://la.eater.com/2015/1/30/7952639/history-wolfgang-puck-spago-timline-hollywood-beverly-hillsCrystal Coser2015-01-30T12:23:30-08:002015-01-30T12:23:30-08:00Beloved Local Malibu Icon The Country Kitchen Remains in Business, For Now
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<p>Will Barney's Gourmet Hamburger's chain take over Malibu's iconic Country Kitchen? </p> <p><a style="line-height: 1.24; background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.malibutimes.com/news/article_ecb5d70e-59a1-11e4-b77d-736701518a42.html" target="_blank">Around the end of last year, it was reported</a> that the iconic and local-driven <b>Country Kitchen</b> in Malibu lost its lease after more than 42 years in business. Owner <b>Maury Kilbourne</b> has <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yelp.com%2Fbiz%2Fthe-country-kitchen-malibu&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fla.eater.com%2F2015%2F1%2F30%2F7950091%2Fcountry-kitchen-malibu-icon-breakfast-burritos" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">operated the casual eatery</a> since 1972. Situated next to a liquor store, many locals come and grab a burger or one of Country Kitchen's popular breakfast burritos.</p>
<p>Country Kitchen is now month-to-month and appears to still be in the dark about what will happen going forward. Though there are rumors of <b>Barney's Gourmet Hamburger</b> chain moving in, nothing is confirmed at the moment.</p>
<p>Malibu locals have fought to save family-owned businesses before, so perhaps they can do it again. The Malibu Times <a href="http://www.malibutimes.com/news/article_3d99fbea-969d-11e4-8abc-4338d0a68220.html">stated that a petition</a> of over 2,500 signatures has been signed and a community group on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/savethecoumtrykitchen" target="_blank">Facebook</a> has been made. Can this classic Malibu spot be saved?</p>
<p><i>The Country Kitchen<br>21239 Pacific Coast Hwy<br>Malibu, CA 90265</i></p>
https://la.eater.com/2015/1/30/7950091/country-kitchen-malibu-icon-breakfast-burritosKeyla Vasconcellos2015-01-30T11:55:19-08:002015-01-30T11:55:19-08:00Taco Bell Wouldn't Exist Without San Bernardino's Mitla Cafe
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<figcaption><a href='http://noamfilms.com/''>Noam Bleiweiss</a></figcaption>
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<p>Longstanding Mitla Cafe has been left out of fast food history.</p> <p class="p1">By just about any standard, 1937 was a tough year for America. Battered by the Great Depression and already fearful of the impending Second World War, it was a time of unease for most middle class families. And uncertainty loves company.</p>
<p class="p1">So in small, dusty, still <a href="http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/71/769/1674780/" target="_blank">heavily segregated</a> Route 66 towns like San Bernardino, people felt the need to gather. On the west side of the city, where the Mexican families were allowed to live, that meeting point became <b>Mitla Cafe </b>on Mount Vernon Avenue.</p>
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<p class="p1">1937 is the year that Lucia Rodriguez first threw open the front door, serving cheesy Mexican comfort food versions of dishes like chile rellenos alongside more nuanced daily specials. People came early and often, sidling into one of the hand-sewn brown leather coffee counter seats and chatting with their neighbors over a cup of coffee before moving on to start the day. Families arrived on weekends, anchored by the friendly atmosphere and kid-friendly menu.</p>
<p class="p1"><q class="pullquote"><span>People came early and often, sidling into one of the hand-sewn brown leather coffee counter seats</span></q></p>
<p class="p1">Important people in the Mexican community started showing up, too. Cesar Chavez was a known regular who would frequent Mitla when he could. Salvador Rodriguez, husband to Lucia, pulled in businessmen and politicians, warming them with a hot meal and plenty of talk. Burdened by their own lack of access, those same local heavyweights would go on to form the Mexican Chamber of Commerce. They'd meet at Mitla, taking up booths and tables to discuss the next great leap forward for the city.</p>
<p class="p1">Mexican-American baseball teams finished their games with a meal at Mitla. Church leaders led their congregation to the dining room on Sunday afternoons. Parades, demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience stemming from the city’s growing discomfort with its own outright racism all started at Mitla, and would go on to change the landscape of the Inland Empire.</p>
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<p class="p1">Glen Bell also came to Mitla Cafe. It's a story <a href="http://www.ocweekly.com/2012-03-22/food/hole-in-the-wall-mitla-cafe-san-bernardino-taco-bell/full/" target="_blank">now widely circulated</a> thanks to <i>OC Weekly</i>’s Gustavo Arellano and his book <i>Taco USA</i>. Bell would go on to found Taco Bell from a small standalone building in Downey (which, coincidentally, is now <a href="http://la.curbed.com/archives/2015/01/the_worlds_first_taco_bell_is_in_trouble.php" target="_blank">in serious trouble</a>) in 1962, but earned his humble beginning in the years prior by selling hamburgers and hot dogs across the street from Mitla Cafe.</p>
<p class="p1">Bell, as legend holds, watched lines form for the cafe’s signature ten cent tacos dorados, a thinly fried tortilla shell lined with simple meats, shredded cheese and diced tomatoes. The entrepreneur befriended staff and family alike, working his way into the kitchen in order to decipher the secrets behind the beguiling taco that was proving so popular in what was then San Bernardino’s barrio district. Bell wanted in on the blossoming Southern California fast food trend, and he bet successfully that even non-Mexicans would bite on the concept of casual, toned down tacos.</p>
<p class="p1"><q class="pullquote"><span>Bell wanted in on the blossoming Southern California fast food trend</span></q></p>
<p class="p1">But that’s not the story that Mitla Cafe deserves. It’s not even a rare one — disenfranchised Mexican Americans were discounted, cheated and overlooked for decades before and after Glen Bell, with little in the way of retribution available to them. The story that Mitla deserves is one of vitality and enduring success. The original cafe still stands, in the same location, with a historic designation sign outside and framed photographs on the walls inside, showing generations of important Mexican American history, some lost to time and others well known. More than a simple all day eatery, Mitla still stands as the voice of a quiet revolution that helped expand Mexican food throughout the world, that brought relative peace to a neighborhood and a city that was desperate for it.</p>
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<p class="p1">You can still get those crispy tacos, by the way, ground beef and all. They bear a striking resemblance to Taco Bell’s own concoction, just as they have for nearly 80 years. But they’re made to order at Mitla, served with a side of community, respect and history.</p>
<p class="p1"><i>Mitla Cafe<br>602 N. Mount Vernon Ave.<br>San Bernardino, CA 92411</i></p>
<p class="credit">Photography by: <a style="line-height: 1.24;" href="http://www.noamfilms.com" target="_blank">Noam Bleiweiss</a></p>
https://la.eater.com/2015/1/30/7952807/san-bernardino-mitla-cafe-history-taco-bell-feature-photosFarley Elliott2015-01-30T11:00:02-08:002015-01-30T11:00:02-08:00The Dragon Is Where Every Korean American Celebrates Life Milestones
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<p>The restaurant's banquet facilities have been serving Koreatown for nearly 35 years.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The majority of all Korean-Americans living in LA have been to one Koreatown at least once in their lives.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s a little before 5 p.m. on a Wednesday at<b> The Dragon</b> in Koreatown, but that’s not stopping patrons from arriving early and ordering bowls of <i>jjajangmyeon</i>, the hand-pulled noodle dish with a gleaming, obsidian-black roasted soybean sauce that Jonathan Gold once termed "the divine crankcase sludge of Korean-Chinese cuisine."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That spelling of <i>jjajangmyeon </i>is intentional, by the way. Though similar, the Korean-Chinese dish is not to be confused with <i>zhiajangmien</i>, the Chinese noodle dish made from fermented soybean that’s popular in its own right at restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley and Silver Lake’s Pine & Crane. The Korean-Chinese version employs <i>chunjang</i>, a sauce made from roasted soybeans and caramel that’s at once savory, salty and slightly sweet.</p>
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<img alt="Inside a utilitartian Korean Chinese restaurant in LA." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XckyrjAl6OFVvLkogmbxwONzEH8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3356706/IMG_6239.0.JPG">
<cite>Euno Lee</cite>
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<p class="MsoNormal">But back to the restaurant—it’s a bit past five now, and patrons are either disappearing into one of The Dragon’s many private rooms upstairs or filing into the main dining room for what appears to be a routine weekly dinner. Servers promptly attend to diners with steaming plates of <i>tangsooyook</i>, or sweet and sour pork, while the restaurant’s owner, T.J. Wang, walks around and exchanges greetings with some of his regular customers.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><q class="pullquote"><span>Sustained success that doesn't come without repeat customers</span></q></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>"It’s good to see you again," </i>Wang remarks to an elderly patron in Korean before bowing. This is presumably something Wang says often; after all, he’s owned and operated a restaurant that has served the same Korean-American community for almost 35 years — sustained success that doesn't come without repeat customers, and many in the room tonight look like the types who come here every Wednesday.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Mongolian beef at The Dragon</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And why wouldn’t they? In addition to a very respectable bowl of <i>jjajangmyeon</i>, the aforementioned sweet and sour pork is a refined rendition of the Korean-Chinese comfort food staple, taking fried strips of pork that manage to avoid being soggy despite being slathered in a sweet sauce and topped with still-crunchy carrots and cabbage.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><q class="pullquote float-right"><span>Fried strips of pork that manage to avoid being soggy despite being slathered in a sweet sauce</span></q></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wang, a Seoul native and the son of Chinese-born restaurateurs, came to Los Angeles in 1971 and worked as a dishwasher, bus boy, server and sous chef prior to opening a couple of other restaurants with partners, before finally opening The Dragon in 1980.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s no secret that Koreatown in Los Angeles by and large operates as an apt gastronomic microcosm of the Land of the Morning Calm. This is due in no small part to the fact that Los Angeles boasts the largest Korean population of any city in America, and the effect is such that restaurants catering specifically to Korean tastes have managed to sustain success for as long as The Dragon has.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"We started as Mandarin style, and took the style in the northern part of China and transferred to Korea," Wang says. "Korea changed it a little bit to suit the local material and Korean people’s tastes. That’s how we’re surviving in Koreatown. The way it’s cooked is different than restaurants in Chinatown and Monterey Park."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Though the food is plenty well-executed, the larger contributor to The Dragon’s sustained success is its private rooms and banquet halls.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"We have about 14 different-sized banquet rooms, the biggest one hosts 200," Wang said. "We do lots of banquets here."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><q class="pullquote float-left"><span>The Dragon is an inextricable part of Koreatown’s cultural tapestry.</span></q></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Already upstairs in the larger banquet room, a company prepares a presentation on a projector. Other rooms look fitted for wedding receptions with a horizontal table designated for the newlyweds. Wang stops by and greets his guests with a smile and a handshake. The Dragon is such an inextricable part of Koreatown’s cultural tapestry in this way — it provides a central venue which, in 35 years, has seen relatively little change in spite of being located in a restaurant community that has a mind-bending turnover rate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"It’s funny, one time, I had two separate individual regular diners who came into the restaurant on separate days, but later on found out that they were father and son and part of the same family," Wang said. "It always gets me to see little kids who grew up eating our jjajangmyeon coming in here on their own to eat their jjajngmyeon when they are grown up."</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Tang sook yook, sweet and sour pork</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Which only belabors a point; The Dragon has been the site many first birthdays (typically a huge celebration for Koreans), funeral dinners, wedding receptions, or company dinners. The food certainly fills a unique craving, but the space sustains a significant cultural utility for the Korean-American community at large. Everyone, from South Korean soap opera stars to retired athletes, seems to have graced the restaurant with a seat at one point or another to try Wang’s jjajangmyeon or the fried shrimp with hot sauce.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"As a matter of fact, [former Dodgers pitcher] Chan Ho Park was here three weeks ago," Wang said, laughing gently. "The Dragon is already well-known in Korea. People will make sure to stop here from Korea because they know who we are."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And it’s no wonder — with the kind of addictive comfort food his kitchen puts out, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that The Dragon has been a consistent Koreatown classic for the past 35 years. If the banquet room bookings on a Wednesday night are any indication, Wang might need to plan for at least 35 more.</p>
https://la.eater.com/2015/1/30/7938343/the-dragon-stands-at-the-center-of-koreatown-for-almost-35-yearsEuno Lee2015-01-30T10:00:02-08:002015-01-30T10:00:02-08:00Brent's Deli Makes the Meanest Pastrami Reuben in Los Angeles
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<figcaption><a href='http://www.instagram.com/secretstan'>Stan Lee</a></figcaption>
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<p>Is there a better reuben sandwich in Los Angeles?</p> <p>There are two great deli sandwiches in Los Angeles: one is the <a target="_blank" href="http://la.eater.com/maps/a-handy-guide-to-las-most-iconic-sandwiches">iconic</a> #19 at Langer's, which most people know about, but the second is the <strong>grilled black pastrami reuben </strong>at <a href="http://la.eater.com/venue/brent-s-deli" class="sbn-auto-link">Brent's Deli</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Brent's Deli</strong>, founded in 1967, was the second deli to open at this strip mall location in far-flung Northridge. Founder Ron Peskin, who hailed from Cleveland, Ohio, had been working in various deli counters in San Fernando Valley before striking out on his own. Taking over a spot called Brent's Deli, Peskin and his wife Patricia decided to keep the name since they already had a son named Brent. Along with daughter Carie and son-in-law Marc, the family grew this iconic deli on the back of <a href="http://la.eater.com/maps/a-rundown-of-43-iconic-meat-dishes-in-los-angeles">one great sandwich</a>: the black pastrami sandwich.</p>
<p>As for the dish itself, it starts with house-cured pastrami, seasoned heavily with spices so that a black crust forms. The rye bread, which comes par-baked from a nearby bakery, gets another trip to the oven to create a nice crispy crust. House-made russian dressing, and some crunchy sauerkraut round out the ingredients, but it's all about the technique and quality of the meat.</p>
<p>A first bite is telling: the pastrami doesn't fall out of the bread. It's that perfect texture between tender and meaty, with a heavy dose of pepper and salt. Slather on some mustard, and remind yourself that it's the only sandwich making a trip all the way to Northridge (or the newer <a href="http://la.eater.com/2012/11/21/6523401/expansionwire">Westlake Village</a> location).</p>
https://la.eater.com/2015/1/30/7935969/brents-deli-the-hot-dish-northridge-photos-feature-classicMatthew Kang2015-01-29T15:29:53-08:002015-01-29T15:29:53-08:00Classic Pico Rivera Mexican Restaurant Tonia's to Shutter on Saturday
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<p>The three decade old Mexican restaurant is no more.</p> <p class="p1">Looks like there’s been a death in the <a href="http://la.eater.com/classics-week" target="_blank">Classics Week 2015</a> family. Longtime Pico Rivera Mexican restaurant <b>Tonia’s </b>is set to close their walk-up window for the last time this weekend, per the <a href="http://m.whittierdailynews.com/whittier/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=fItRVGL7&full=true#display" target="_blank">Whittier Daily News</a>.</p>
<p class="p1">It’s been a pretty great run for the Zaragoza family behind Tonia’s, who have continuously operated the restaurant for three decades. Ultimately, the restaurant was done in by a variety of city codes and tax issues that leaned too heavily on the eatery’s thin margins, which were made all the harder to maintain by <b>Antonia Zaragoza</b> herself, who hated to raise the prices of anything on the menu, for fear of driving away the beloved locals.</p>
<p class="p1"><span>For anyone in Pico Rivera with fond memories of Tonia’s, better get in line: the last burrito will be served on Saturday night.</span></p>
https://la.eater.com/2015/1/29/7948173/pico-rivera-tonias-classic-mexican-restaurant-closing-shutterFarley Elliott