100 Favorite Dishes: The Whole Menu

G. Snyder

Brisket Banh Mi at Gjelina Take Away

Over the past few months, you've watched us catalog our 100 Favorite Dishes. Catalog being a lovely term meaning eating our way across this town, well, even more than usual. And because we thought you might want a better way to access these, we've collected all one hundred into one piece, a menu if you will.

Turn the page for all 100 dishes. Or, if you're feeling really organized, you can download and print out our 100 Favorite Dishes menu via pdf file. Tape it on your refrigerator, or maybe to the dashboard of your car. Just the thing to look at when you're stuck on the 10 in miserable traffic, right?

No. 100: Dan dan noodles from Lukshon.
Sang Yoon's version of dan dan mian, the classic Sichuan street noodle dish, may not resemble anything you'll ever find at a Chinese restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley. Unless maybe somebody locks Jean-Georges Vongerichten in the back room of JTYH Restaurant some day. (Read more.)

No. 99: Cemita de Milanesa at Cemitas Poblanos Elviritas #1.
There are sandwiches, and then there are sandwiches. The towering Mexican creation known as the cemita, a burly cousin of the torta and specialty of the state of Puebla, is set firmly in the latter camp -- in fact, it has about as much in common with your standard coldcut as a two-door Fiat has with an Abrams tank. (Read more.)

No. 98: Chichen Itza's Cochinita Pibil.
You know the drill. Wind your way down the 110, past the concrete universe of downtown L.A., L.A. Live and USC, and into the Mercado la Paloma; thread past the market stalls and the chairs and tables for people who've paused for ceviche or aguas frescas or guanabana sorbet; and step up to the counter of Chichen Itza, where you will order a plate of cochinita pibil. (Read more.)

No. 97: Tsukemen at Tsujita L.A..
Since opening last August, Little Osaka's Tsujita L.A. has quickly become the most serious purveyor of Hakata tonkotsu in town, a fact validated by the noodle-loving crowds waiting outside the building around opening time. Though it serves its ramen only during an abbreviated lunch hour -- out of concern that the dish's popularity would overshadow the dinner-time kaiseki menu -- the lengthy wait list for a table can often rival something out of the UCLA admissions department. (Read more.)

No. 96: La Cevicheria's Bloody Clam Ceviche. During the most oppressive days of summer, when the beaches are packed elbow to elbow and waves of heat radiate up from the sidewalks, few things are more refreshing than a bowl of chilled, lime-tinted ceviche. La Cevicheria -- a storefront along Pico in Mid-City, painted a pale-blue and decorated with nautical knick-knacks -- is nowhere near the ocean, but the food it serves is the purest form of beach cuisine.
(Read more.)

No. 95: Duck Shawarma at Momed. Beverly Hills might not be the first place that comes to mind when the topic of Mediterranean food comes up. But for just over two years Alex Sarkissian's Momed, a bright and spacious café popular with locals, has specialized in things like spicy soujuk sausage, airy whipped hummus and baba ganoush, and fresh sheets of bread painted with vibrant za'atar and melted akkawi cheese.
(Read more.)

No. 94: Peruvian Chicken at Pollo a la Brasa. The Peruvian chicken joint on Western called Pollo a la Brasa -- which is the same name as the rotisserie chicken dish itself -- has long been one of L.A.'s foodist landmarks. The stacks of wood piled outside the triangular concrete island in Koreatown like an urban fairytale woodcutter's shack.
(Read more.)

No. 93: Squash Blossom Quesadilla at Antojitos Carmen. If you've ever wandered the streets of Boyle Heights on a sleepy Saturday afternoon, you've probably encountered the sights and sounds of street food: the sizzling carne asada on the plancha, the scent of hot oil and fried masa, the guys handing out samples of fresh orange wedges with dashes of chile powder.
(Read more.)

No. 92: Thai Boat Noodles at Pa-Ord. You ask a friend with a reputation for never traveling beyond Sepulveda if she wants to join you for Thai food. She tells you, oh, of course, she loves Thai; can't get enough of it. But you furrow your eyebrows doubtfully as you cruise eastward along Hollywood Boulevard. This isn't pad Thai, or yellow curry, or pad see ew, you explain. This is graduate-level stuff -- the Bitches Brew of Bangkok cuisine. You're headed to a specialist of extra-murky boat noodles, or kuay tiew rua, one of the country's most beloved street foods.
(Read more.)

No. 91: Bäco Mercat's Bäzole. If you pull up a chair at Bäco Mercat, Josef Centeno's downtown restaurant -- a beautiful collection of brick and glass and wooden furniture the chef probably sanded down himself -- you may forget to order the bäzole, even if you've pilgrimaged here precisely for this reason. Because you may get diverted by the bäco, the sandwich Centeno is justly famous for, or any of the small plates of brilliantly envisioned vegetables, or the foie mousse in a Mason jar, or the confit goose leg salad.
(Read more.)