Vivian Ku's Joy on York Boulevard, Highland Park, Los Angeles serves Taiwanese family-style on a covered patio. Sister room to Pine and Crane in Silver Lake.
Must order: Beef noodle soup and the scallion pancakes.
Tip: Sister to Pine and Crane but takes bookings; ask the host for the back patio when you book.
Address: 5100 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042
Burritos La Palma in East LA, Los Angeles wraps birria de res in handmade flour tortillas from Jerez, Zacatecas. James Beard finalist since 2018.
Order: Birria de res burrito wrapped in Zacatecas flour tortilla.
Tip: Open 09:00 to 17:00; the burritos sell out by 14:00 on weekends. Eat in the car.
Broken Mouth - Lee's Homestyle in Downtown Los Angeles serves Korean-Hawaiian rice bowls and spam musubi at lunch from a single counter on Hill Street.
Order: Spam musubi and the kalbi rice bowl.
Tip: Lunch counter, downtown business district; closed Sundays. Cash and card both.
Burritos La Palma in East LA, Los Angeles wraps birria de res in handmade flour tortillas from Jerez, Zacatecas. James Beard finalist since 2018.
Order: Birria de res burrito wrapped in Zacatecas flour tortilla.
Tip: Open 09:00 to 17:00; the burritos sell out by 14:00 on weekends. Eat in the car.
Tito's Tacos in Culver City, Los Angeles has fried hard-shell beef tacos at the same walk-up window on Washington Place since 1959. Cash only.
Order: Hard-shell beef taco and a chile relleno burrito.
Tip: Cash only at the original walk-up window; the picnic tables are 1959 vintage.
Cofax Coffee Shop on Fairfax, Los Angeles updated the LA breakfast burrito with chorizo verde and house-fermented hot sauces. A reliable Mid-City stop.
Order: Chorizo verde breakfast burrito and a flat white.
Tip: Counter and patio only; queue at 09:30 weekends, walk-in fine weekdays.
Sun Nong Dan in Koreatown, Los Angeles serves seolleongtang ox-bone soup 24 hours a day and a cheese-topped galbi jjim that built a TikTok following.
Order: Galbi jjim braised short rib with cheese, finished tableside.
Tip: 24-hour, two-hour wait at 22:00 Friday; come at 23:30 instead, lines clear.
Tsujita LA in Sawtelle, Los Angeles is the LA outpost of Tokyo's Tsujita, simmering tonkotsu broth for 60 hours and serving it as ramen and tsukemen.
Order: Tonkotsu tsukemen at lunch only.
Tip: Tsukemen is served exclusively before 15:00; after 15:00 the menu switches to ramen and stays open until 02:00.
