Ahead of A24’s “Tony,” here’s what’s still standing from Bourdain’s two “Parts Unknown” trips through the city of angels.
If there’s one thing I’ve taken from countless hours binging Anthony Bourdain’s travel episodes, it’s his own advice: move. So ahead of A24’s Tony — a biopic based on a chapter of Bourdain’s memoir Kitchen Confidential, tracing a 19-year-old Bourdain’s formative summer washing dishes in Provincetown, Massachusetts, long before he ever picked up a knife professionally, let alone a microphone — I went back through the two Parts Unknown episodes where his adopted city was the star: 2013’s tour through Koreatown and 2017’s trip through Latino Los Angeles.
Both episodes skipped the Instagrammable stuff on purpose, chasing what Bourdain called “the largely unphotographed — the 47 percent of Angelenos who don’t show up so much on idiot sitcoms and superhero films.” Bourdain wanted taco carts, family-run banchan counters and a Sizzler salad bar. Essentially, the places that told him something true about the city, even if they’d never make a “Best New Restaurants” list. Some are exactly where he left them, while others didn’t survive the decade. Koreatown alone lost three of Bourdain’s stops to the pandemic.
Koreatown, 2013 — Parts Unknown, Season 1, Episode 2
Bourdain’s first Parts Unknown L.A. episode paired him with Kogi founder Roy Choi and artist David Choe for a night that ping-ponged between old-school Korean BBQ and, memorably, the salad bar at Sizzler. It’s one of the show’s most personality-driven hours, less about food tourism than about Choe and Choi showcasing what makes someone a “bad Korean.”
Still Open:
Kogi BBQ Truck
Short rib tacos, pollo asado, and a BlackJack quesadilla (with some tres leches cake for good measure)Credit: Kogi
The truck that started LA’s food-truck boom in 2008 is still rolling and very much in business, now running a small fleet across the city (plus a permanent Kogi Taqueria storefront in Palms). Check kogibbq.com or their real-time Twitter/X feed for the day’s location. Yes, over 15 years later and that’s still how it works.
Sizzler
The actual Sizzler from the “judgment-free zone” scene is still slinging steak-and-salad-bar combos in Koreatown at 400 S Vermont Ave, hours and all. This is the rare Bourdain stop where you can recreate the exact meal, cheese toast included.
Myung In Dumplings
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The hand-folded Korean-Chinese dumpling spot Bourdain visited with David Choe is still open at 3109 W Olympic Blvd, and has even expanded to a handful of other Southern California locations since the episode aired.
Jollibee
The Filipino fast-food chain (located on 3821 Beverly Blvd) Bourdain and Choe ducked into after Swadesh, where Bourdain sampled the Aloha Burger, the Spam “Little Big Bite” sandwich, and halo-halo, is still open on Beverly. It’s one of three Jollibee locations now in LA.
Monte Carlo Bar
The dive bar where Bourdain declared “if that sign does not sing to you, then we cannot be friends,” is still standing at 3514 W 3rd St, sign and all.
Permanently Closed:
Dong Il Jang
One of Koreatown’s oldest Korean restaurants, in business since 1979, is where Bourdain sat down with Choi for bulgogi and banchan. Sadly it didn’t survive the pandemic. The restaurant closed for good in August 2020, and the building itself was later gutted by a fire. If you want a taste of what made it special, old-school grill houses like Park’s BBQ or Genwa Korean BBQ carry a similar torch nearby.
Chego
Roy Choi’s rice-bowl spot bounced from Chinatown’s Far East Plaza to Palms and eventually shuttered its standalone locations. A limited Chego menu has occasionally popped up at Kogi Taqueria, but there’s no dedicated Chego storefront left to visit.
A-Frame
Choi’s Culver City restaurant (in a converted old IHOP) went through a Hawaiian-food rebrand before closing entirely. The building has since been repurposed by Chef Ray Garcia (more on him below).
Swadesh
This Little Bangladesh grocery-and-restaurant combo, one of the first stops to introduce American audiences to LA’s Bangladeshi community, has closed. Nearby options like Bangla Bazar & Restaurant and Aladin Sweets & Market still serve the neighborhood.
Beverly Soon Tofu (Beverly Tofu House)
This is one of LA’s most mourned pandemic-era closures. Founder Monica Lee closed the restaurant for good in September 2020 after 34 years, but published a cookbook of her recipes, Sohn-Mat, in 2023. The next best thing to the original bowl.
Latino Los Angeles, 2017 — Parts Unknown, Season 9, Episode 1
Bourdain’s second LA episode was more overtly political—filmed and aired amid a heated national conversation about immigration that feels eerily familiar today—and spent its runtime almost entirely east and south of the Hollywood sign.
Still Open:
Gish Bac (relocated)
The Oaxacan restaurant famous for its 30-ingredient mole negro has moved from its original Washington Blvd location to a new spot on Vermont Ave, now operating as Casa Gish Bac, run by the same family. The barbacoa we hear is still the thing to order.
Cielito Lindo
The Olvera Street taquito stand, in business since 1934, actually made headlines in 2026 when rising costs forced a temporary closure that is until the community rallied and raised over $53,000 on GoFundMe to keep it open. It’s back to serving its famous rolled taquitos with avocado sauce, run by the founder’s great-grandchildren.
Trejo’s Cantina
Danny Trejo enjoys a meal and a non-alcoholic drink at his Trejo’s Cantina in Hollywood on Feb. 2.Credit: Justin Graziano
Danny Trejo’s Hollywood restaurant, where Bourdain and Trejo talked about unifying LA’s Mexican community over a health-conscious dinner, is still open on Cahuenga Boulevard, and has since expanded to multiple LA-area locations.
Broken Spanish
Chef Ray Garcia’s downtown modern-Mexican restaurant closed permanently in 2020, a pandemic casualty that stung LA’s dining scene hard. But Garcia brought it back in late 2025 as Broken Spanish Comedor in Culver City, reviving the signature chicharrón and lamb barbacoa dishes in a more neighborhood-scaled space.
Tacos Indiana
The taco cart where Bourdain talked gentrification with the Boyle Heights Bridge Runners over carne asada and lengua tacos has since become a proper stand at 1057 S Indiana St, still serving the same late-night crowd.
Permanently Closed:
La Reyna
This 7th Street late-night spot, where Bourdain met tattoo artist Mister Cartoon and photographer Estevan Oriol, has closed.
Of the sixteen spots across both episodes, six featured eateries are now gone, but never forgotten, living in perpetuity if not in the community’s consciousness, certainly in the Parts Unknown episodes. The other ten are still standing, including two restaurants (Cielito Lindo and Broken Spanish) that came back from the brink specifically because people showed up for them. If Tony puts you in the mood to retrace some of Bourdain’s steps in LA this month, Koreatown and Boyle Heights are still the places to start. Just call ahead for the food trucks.
Tony, the A24 Anthony Bourdain biopic starring Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers) as a young Bourdain, will be released in theatres on August 7, 2026, in Los Angeles, with a nationwide release on August 21. a24films.com.