Los Angeles is, without a doubt, one of the world’s great culinary destinations. Southern California’s sprawling metropolis is home to many large immigrant communities, some of them having claimed their own neighborhoods: Koreatown, Thai Town, Historic Filipinotown, Little Ethiopia. Tamale carts and taco stands populate the city’s intersections, and chefs’ access to pristine produce—by way of top-tier farmers markets—is unparalleled.
And, because LA is so far west and relatively young (as far as history books account for), tradition doesn’t count for much, which makes the food scene uniquely unbound. A Taiwanese American tasting menu offering a brilliant nonalcoholic beverage pairing, an Indian sports bar serving dosa-battered onion rings and achari Buffalo wings, and a Venezuelan Californian café pairing strawberry matcha lattes with jamón Serrano–stuffed arepas all fit right in.
Surrounded by ocean and mountains, LA is also ripe for nature-oriented expeditions, from foraging fruit trees to hiking, filling the time between meals. A word to the wise: Visiting requires a bit of geographical strategy. Crossing the city several times a day means hours in traffic, so depending on how long you’re staying, it’s best to pick a pocket—Eastside, Westside, or Central—and keep your exploration contained. Venture farther only for particularly special destinations, some of which we highlight below…