Greg “Sparrow” Graham, Irresistible’s Contributing Culinary Editor, took some time out from his busy mediaaaaahhhh schedule to pop over to LA and check out the edibles. He pushed back on all the celeb invites to get real with the best LA food establishments, from the rooftop restaurants to the roadside food trucks. Just another saint in the City of Angels! Here’s what he had to say.
I went to LA and the food was the real star! I was up for it all on my week- long foodie adventure in LA, from the fancy places in Beverly Hills, to the Downtown hoods near Skid Row. Ready to roam the home of Hollywood, I brushed off my encounters with movie celebrities and got down to business. It was my taste buds that were expecting Academy Award performances. The diversity and contrasts in LA are always prominent, or even shocking. Of course, there are Michelin-starred restaurants in upmarket neighbourhoods, and then there are brilliant food trucks in industrial areas serving the best quesadillas you’ve ever had, with a homeless tent city on the same block.
I remember when the LA food scene was dominated by Wolfgang Park in Beverly Hills, and the best hamburger was an In-N-Out in West Hollywood (actually, In-N-Out is still one of my favourite hangs.) The scene has evolved for the better; there is now a huge range of mid-priced restaurants serving up scene-stealing food at incredible locations. If you’re visiting, two foodie must-sees are Grand Central Market, a landmark since 1917, and Smorgasburg LA, which is open every Sunday on the five- acre site of the weekday Amameda Produce Market, as well as the pop- up Smorgasbar at the same place, Row- DTLA, on Thurdays and Friday evenings
The market vendors at Grand Central market include Egg Slut, Broad Street Oyster Co, Jose Chiquito, and La Tostaderia. It’s all fantastic, and a lot of fun. Smorgasburg LA offers a star-studded production, with a showstopping diverse cast of vendors like Black SugarRib Co, Correas Mariscos, Lobsterdamus, Los Dorados, Smoke Queen BBQ, and Urban Pizza.
After much deliberation and California- Soul searching, I have arrived at my Top 10 LA list of Foodie-winning performances: 
- Best Overall Meal – Bestia, Downtown
- Outstanding Lobster Roll – Broad Street Oyster Co.- both at Grand Central Market & Smorgasburg LA
- Best Food Truck– Adrians Taco’s, Downtown
- Star Breakfast Performance – Calabra Restaurant & Bar, The Proper Hotel rooftop, Santa Monica
- Classic Hollywood Steak – Dear John’s, Culver City
- Winning Mexican -Guerrilla Tacos, Downtown
- Best Supporting Foodie Experience – Smorgasburg ROW DTLA, Downtown
- Original Screenplay Brunch – Gjusta, Venice
- Best Italian – Rossoblu, Downtown
- Best Location – Manuela, Downtown
Leave your top tips for Sparrow or for LA eateries in the comments.
You have mentioned very interesting points! ps nice website.