We all love to travel. It is exciting to visit places we have never been, meet people we don’t know, and experience cultures and histories different from our own. Of course, a good dining experience is one important part of traveling.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, a city with almost 4 million residents, is the second largest city in the United States after New York. It is also one of most ethnically diversified metropolitan areas in America, with a population composed of 47% Hispanic or Latino, 29% Caucasian, 12% Asian, 8% Black, and 4% other. As ethnic and cultural diversity is celebrated throughout the city, first time visitors will often be blown away by its rich selection of restaurants and dining places. Hopefully, our guide will give you some direction to enrich your L.A. experience.
Bottega Louie – Italian Food / Dessert
When you have a craving for comfort food, Bottega Louie is one place to go. Located in the heart of downtown, this restaurant has a huge dining hall, a gourmet market, patisserie and café. It is a perfect place for brunch or afternoon tea while you are sightseeing through the streets of L.A. Dishes you need to try are pizza, egg benedict, and certainly macaroons.
Italian pasta served at Bottega Louie.
Newport Seafood Restaurant – Chinese / Vietnamese Seafood
Located in the San Gabriel Valley, where many Chinese people reside, Newport Seafood Restaurant is an epic dining spot for many locals. Its legendary dish is the house special lobster. When it is perfectly paired with beef loc lac, clam with basil, fish belly soup and fried rice, you will have the ultimate dining experience of Chinese food outside of China.
The house special lobster served at the Newport Seafood Restaurant.
King Taco – Mexican Fast Food
It is almost a crime to visit L.A. without trying any authentic Mexican food. Although there are hundreds of taco places in town, when you ask locals about tacos, they will often point you to King Taco. Founded in 1974, King Taco has fed generations of Los Angelenos with its specially prepared tacos and burritos. This restaurant is one of the few surviving original restaurants in L.A. When you ask locals “what’s for dinner?”, the answer is “tacos, of course!”
The beef taco served at King Taco.
Crab House – Modern Korean / Live Raw Food
Feeling adventurous? Why not try some live sea urchin, crab or fish? Situated in the heart of Koreatown, Crab House is not your typical Korean Restaurant with silky tofu soup and barbecue beef short ribs. This house specializes in raw seafood. Its famous dishes are raw crab marinated in soy or spice sauce and live sea urchin with rice.
A raw sea urchin served at Crab House.
Discussion questions:
What places in America do you like to visit and why?
What do you think is the most authentic American food?
Other than food, what other things do you think will give you the most cultural experience when visiting a new place?
Definitions:
Metropolitan: adjective. of, noting, or characteristic of a metropolis or its inhabitants, especially in culture, sophistication, or in accepting and combining a wide variety of people, ideas, etc. of or relating to a large city, its surrounding suburbs, and other neighboring communities
Ethnic: adjective. relating to a population subgroup (within a larger or dominant national or cultural group) with a common national or cultural tradition.
Diversity: noun. the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.
Craving: noun. a powerful desire for something.
Gourmet: adjective. high quality (for food)
Legendary: adjective. remarkable enough to be famous; very well known
Authentic: adjective. of undisputed origin; genuine.
