About How to Eat L.A.

How to Eat L.A. is a trove of intelligent, accessible, and independent journalism that celebrates the unheralded, the culturally significant, and the excellent restaurants in Los Angeles County. With a map to help everyone find them!

Author Katherine Spiers is an independent journalist and food anthropologist who has written locally for the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, KCET/PBS SoCal, Eater LA, LA Taco, and Rogue 99, among others. Katherine is also the producer and host of the award-winning Smart Mouth, a popular food culture podcast and newsletter. She's a former James Beard Awards judge and a member of the National Council on Public History. 

Inspired by the work of food-world thinkers like Jonathan Gold, Dana Goodyear, and Anthony Bourdain, Katherine covers unsung restaurants across L.A., always considering the context of L.A.'s fascinating history and culture. There are some fun dives into L.A.'s long-gone classics, too. How To Eat L.A. is about appreciating the whole breadth of this complex county, from the perspective of a long-time insider who's always learning more.

Use the map to search for restaurants by neighborhood, or click a tag to read more about your favorite cuisine (or about "Columbo" episodes that featured real restaurants). You can also subscribe to the free newsletter to get the lastest dispatches and history pieces. How to Eat L.A. doesn't cover the newest, flashiest restaurants, it lets you know what makes L.A. tick.