Matthew Kang is the Lead Editor of the Southern California/Southwest region, and has covered dining, restaurants, food culture, and nightlife in Los Angeles since 2008. He hosted a YouTube show called K-Town, covering Korean food in America and has been featured on Netflix’s Street Food.
Two of LA’s most prominent Black comedians and actors — Anthony Anderson (Blackish) and Cedric the Entertainer (real name Cedric Antonio Kyles; The Neighborhood, Barber Shop) — opened food court restaurant AC Barbeque on May 7 inside the Westfield Century City. The restaurant’s smoked meats incorporate flavors and styles from their upbringings in Compton and St. Louis, respectively. AC Barbecue occupies a prime slot toward the front of the mall’s rooftop food court deck.
The restaurant is inspired by Anderson and Kyles’ A&E show, King of BBQ, which chronicles their passion for barbecue in the U.S. Before debuting at Westfield Century City, the pair previously opened a campus kitchen at Jackson State University and a food truck at Howard University in Washington D.C. in 2024. At the restaurant’s launch party on May 6, a celebrity crowd that included Don Cheadle, Martin Lawrence, and Marlon Wayans was in attendance, vibing to dance music on the patio in between bits of pulled pork, brisket, and St. Louis rib sliders…