Hello Friends,

Every time a pal visits from out of town I take them on a taco crawl. No one understands how foundational tacos are to LA dining unless they experience the depth of variety on offer throughout our extensive geography. The fact that the LA Times food section was able to put together a list of the top 101 Tacos here is beyond impressive. We're blessed.

It's no secret that I had a moderate success in the restaurant business with my Angeli restaurants. My failures were pretty public as well. Because I've been public about my ups and downs, I'm occasionally sought out to act as a sounding board for colleagues who are struggling. The business has always been hard but current economics on top of pandemic-caused disruptions make the current food scene in Los Angeles especially challenging. We've been banking a variety of conversations on the subject and today we present them as a kind of public service. My hope is that informed diners are kinder diners.

One conversation was startling to me in its honesty. Co-owner Heather Sperling of Botanica in Silverlake shared one month's P&L with the LA Times, documenting every dollar spent. An owner is rarely willing to be so frank on the record. She calculated that of every $1 spent by a customer in 2023, $1.05 went back out the door. Scroll down to listen to the segment or read the transcript. It's illuminating.

But, of course, there are still restaurants here and in New York where getting a reservation seems to be impossible. There is a dystopian reason for that. I talked to New Yorker writer Adam Iscoe about the auctioneers and private clubs making a profit on restaurant reservations.

A huge bright spot for us is that soon there will be two more stellar places to buy pie in the city. Curtis Stone is closing Maude and bringing back the much-beloved Pie Room in its place, and Sang Yoon's much-anticipated reimagining of Helm's Bakery is inching closer to opening. I did a pie tasting there yesterday and was blown away by a certain cherry pie. I wish I had another slice now. There can never be too much great pie.

Evan

Adam Iscoe discusses the challenges of securing restaurant reservations in New York City while raising ethical concerns about illegal activities and the impact of digital platforms like OpenTable and Resy on the industry. He highlights the exclusivity of third-party reservation services, the potential loss of personal connection between diners and restaurateurs, and the importance of maintaining a human touch in the reservation process in his piece for The New Yorker.

Behind most kitchen doors, restaurants are hemorrhaging money. Botanica's Heather Sperling documented every dollar her restaurant, Botanica, spent over the course of a month and shared it with the LA Times. Sitting along a heavily trafficked stretch of Silver Lake Boulevard, Botanica only managed to make a 1.19% profit in 2023. 

As chefs and restaurateurs struggle to maintain profitability while adapting to changing economic conditions. LA Times food writer Stephanie Breijo spent months talking to those in the industry. Some are fighting to stay open because they can't afford to close their doors.

LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison singles out his favorite tacos in a Top Ten list featuring Sonoratown, Mariscos Jalisco, and Tacos La Carreta, known for their northwest asada-style tacos. For fish tacos, he cites Bee Taqueria, where Chef Alex Carrasco makes a crisp shrimp and scallop taco that he calls a media luna. Fernandez and Addison say finding good al pastor sliced fresh off a trompo can be hard, but both agree the best is found at Tacos Los Güichos on Slauson.  

Alex Weiser is known for the quality and variety of the melons he brings to market from his farm in Tehachapi. Some argue they're the best melons in California. Quarter Sheets' Aaron Lindell uses two types of his melons, the Brilliant melon, which offers texture, sweetness, and crunch, and the softer, juicier Bonny melon. He dresses them in a vegan fish sauce, lime juice, melon nectar, and toasted coriander for this “refresher” dish.

Sometimes summer seafood dishes are the easiest to make. They're light and healthy (usually), tasty whether it's served hot or cold, and can be grilled, broiled, baked, fried or, in some cases, served raw. So if you've been avoiding making fish or seafood, here is a little push to try again. Also, seafood cooks sooo fast.