{"id":476735,"date":"2026-09-26T20:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T20:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/476735\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T20:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T20:04:10","slug":"a-new-guide-to-l-a-s-most-unusual-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/476735\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Guide to L.A.\u2019s Most Unusual Restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unique Eats and Eateries of Los Angeles fits in your glovebox and sets you up for a year of food exploration<\/p>\n

Legacy restaurants capture the soul of a city like few other institutions. Of course, you can appreciate the architecture of a place when you travel or admire its museums of theaters, but it\u2019s those rare historic dining rooms that capture my time-travel imagination more than most other aspects of a visit.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll never forget the amazing collection of antique pipes mounted on the ceiling of Keens <\/a>Steakhouse in Manhattan or the grand luxury of living like a 1970s casino owner at Michael\u2019s Gourmet Room<\/a> in Las Vegas or the amazing wall of autographed photos at the Tee Pee <\/a>in Phoenix where you feel like one of the local celebs might come up and slap you on the back. The best of L.A.\u2019s historic restaurants capture the feeling of personally connecting with the culture of another place or time and I am completely obsessed with them.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kouraku restaurant in Little TokyoCredit: Photo by Danny Jensen<\/p>\n

Danny Jensen\u2019s new book Unique Eats and Eateries of Los Angeles<\/a> is a glovebox-sized guide to more than eighty special restaurants spread out all over the L.A. county. While most of them have a rich history going back decades (including Saugus Caf\u00e9<\/a>, as old as the Statue of Liberty!) Jensen includes more contemporary joints that have already captured their place in the city\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

\"\"Philippe the Original Credit: Photo by Danny Jensen<\/p>\n

Rest assured that the Mount Rushmore of historic L.A. restaurants dating back a century or more, including Philippe<\/a>, Musso & Frank<\/a>, the Tam o\u2019Shanter<\/a> and El Cholo<\/a> are properly and lovingly fawned over. But also be prepared to see these old favorites in the company of post-Covid pop-ups like Lei\u2019d Cookies<\/a> and the ever-changing flavors of Downtown\u2019s Smorgasburg<\/a>. Readers are directed to both the 106-year-old Grand Central Market <\/a>and a couple miles south to its 21st century descendant, Mercado La Paloma<\/a>, a warehouse converted into a food hall in 2001.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chili John\u2019s in BurbankCredit: Photo by Danny Jensen<\/p>\n

Jensen\u2019s picks run the gamut from the snug counter at Burbank\u2019s Chili John\u2019s to the supper club chic 1946 Smoke House<\/a> just down the street. He highlights a mini mall donut shop<\/a> and a weekend food court outside a Thai temple<\/a> in the San Fernando Valley. Jensen shows off L.A.\u2019s only floating fish joint<\/a>, our oldest Japanese, Mexican and Cambodian restaurants, Hollywood\u2019s glamorous Formosa Cafe<\/a>, and even makes a pit stop at the grand temple of googie, Pann\u2019s coffee shop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n

\"\"Formosa Cafe in HollywoodCredit: Photo by Maxim Shapovalov<\/p>\n

Keep this new guide in your car and you\u2019ll be set for more than a year of weekend dining adventures. I\u2019ll see you at the counter of Pie \u2018n Burger<\/a> where the new batch of butterscotch pie arrives every Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pastrami sandwich at Canter\u2019s Deli Credit: Photo by Danny Jensen<\/p>\n

Danny Jensen will be presenting Unique Eats and Eateries of Los Angeles<\/a> at the Los Feliz Library on Thursday, October 15, at 6:45 pm as part of the Friends of the Los Feliz library<\/a>\u2018s Architecture and Beyond series.<\/p>\n