![\"Short](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/kogitaq1.jpg\")
Short rib tacos, pollo asado, and a BlackJack quesadilla (with some tres leches cake for good measure)Credit: Kogi<\/p>\nAhead of A24\u2019s \u201cTony,\u201d here\u2019s what\u2019s still standing from Bourdain\u2019s two \u201cParts Unknown\u201d trips through the city of angels. <\/p>\n
If there\u2019s one thing I\u2019ve taken from countless hours binging Anthony Bourdain\u2019s travel episodes, it\u2019s his own advice: move. So ahead of A24\u2019s Tony \u2014 a biopic based on a chapter of Bourdain\u2019s memoir Kitchen Confidential, tracing a 19-year-old Bourdain\u2019s formative summer washing dishes in Provincetown, Massachusetts, long before he ever picked up a knife professionally, let alone a microphone \u2014 I went back through the two Parts Unknown episodes where his adopted city was the star: 2013\u2019s tour through Koreatown and 2017\u2019s trip through Latino Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Both episodes skipped the Instagrammable stuff on purpose, chasing what Bourdain called \u201cthe largely unphotographed \u2014 the 47 percent of Angelenos who don\u2019t show up so much on idiot sitcoms and superhero films.\u201d 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\u2019d never make a \u201cBest New Restaurants\u201d list. Some are exactly where he left them, while others didn\u2019t survive the decade. Koreatown alone lost three of Bourdain\u2019s stops to the pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Koreatown, 2013 \u2014 Parts Unknown, Season 1, Episode 2<\/p>\n
Bourdain\u2019s 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\u2019s one of the show\u2019s most personality-driven hours, less about food tourism than about Choe and Choi showcasing what makes someone a \u201cbad Korean.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still Open:<\/p>\n
Kogi BBQ Truck<\/p>\n
Short rib tacos, pollo asado, and a BlackJack quesadilla (with some tres leches cake for good measure)Credit: Kogi<\/p>\n
The truck that started LA\u2019s 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\u2019s location. Yes, over 15 years later and that\u2019s still how it works.<\/p>\n
Sizzler<\/p>\n
The actual Sizzler from the \u201cjudgment-free zone\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Myung In Dumplings<\/p>\n
Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jollibee<\/p>\n
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 \u201cLittle Big Bite\u201d sandwich, and halo-halo, is still open on Beverly. It\u2019s one of three Jollibee locations now in LA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Monte Carlo Bar<\/p>\n
The dive bar where Bourdain declared \u201cif that sign does not sing to you, then we cannot be friends,\u201d is still standing at 3514 W 3rd St, sign and all.<\/p>\n
Permanently Closed:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dong Il Jang<\/p>\n
One of Koreatown\u2019s oldest Korean restaurants, in business since 1979, is where Bourdain sat down with Choi for bulgogi and banchan. Sadly it didn\u2019t 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\u2019s BBQ or Genwa Korean BBQ carry a similar torch nearby.<\/p>\n
Chego<\/p>\n
Roy Choi\u2019s rice-bowl spot bounced from Chinatown\u2019s Far East Plaza to Palms and eventually shuttered its standalone locations. A limited Chego menu has occasionally popped up at Kogi Taqueria, but there\u2019s no dedicated Chego storefront left to visit.<\/p>\n
A-Frame<\/p>\n
Choi\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n
Swadesh<\/p>\n
This Little Bangladesh grocery-and-restaurant combo, one of the first stops to introduce American audiences to LA\u2019s Bangladeshi community, has closed. Nearby options like Bangla Bazar & Restaurant and Aladin Sweets & Market still serve the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Beverly Soon Tofu (Beverly Tofu House)<\/p>\n
This is one of LA\u2019s 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<\/a>, in 2023. The next best thing to the original bowl.<\/p>\n Latino Los Angeles, 2017 \u2014 Parts Unknown, Season 9, Episode 1<\/p>\n Bourdain\u2019s second LA episode was more overtly political\u2014filmed and aired amid a heated national conversation about immigration that feels eerily familiar today\u2014and spent its runtime almost entirely east and south of the Hollywood sign.<\/p>\n Still Open:<\/p>\n Gish Bac (relocated) <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Cielito Lindo<\/p>\n
![\"Danny](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dannytrejoattrejos-1200x800.jpg\")
Danny Trejo enjoys a meal and a non-alcoholic drink at his Trejo\u2019s Cantina in Hollywood on Feb. 2.Credit: Justin Graziano<\/p>\n