For LA locals, nothing seems better than a day of Los Angeles food adventures with our best buddies. If you watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and love Guy Fieri as much as internet memes do, these spots are worth the road trip. No need to be indecisive because I handpicked these restaurants from the DDD list, each repping a different category: Gastropub, Hawaiian, Italian, Traditional American, and Mexican.
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1. Beer Belly
Photo courtesy of @beerbelly_la on Instagram
Located behind two cafés in the busy streets of Koreatown, Beer Belly serves up popular duck dishes like Death By Duck, which includes french fries fried in duck fat, duck skin cracklins, and duck confit. One of the “duck-a-licious” dishes Guy himself loved was The Duck French Dip along with their spicy chicken wings. Beer Belly is also known for their rotating craft beer selection. Make sure to check out their amazing Happy Hour deals.
2. Rutt’s Hawaiian Cafe
Photo courtesy of foodnetwork.com
You know this place is worth trying when Gene Simmons from KISS comes in for a plate of Hawaiian Royale featuring teriyaki beef, bean sprouts and scrambled eggs all on a bed of white rice. Guy recommends the Laulau Plate, a blend of pork and butterfish wrapped in taro leaves. Serving the best of Hawaiian dishes in Los Angeles, locals frequent the business for the large portions and low prices.
3. Eastside Market Italian Deli
Photo courtesy of @eastsidedeli on Instagram
A perfect stop post-Dodgers game, Eastside has been serving “incomparable deliciousness” from hot to cold sandwiches, Tuesday and Thursday specials and Guy’s favorite, the D.A. Special. It’s a loaded sausage, meatball, roast beef, and pastrami sandwich. If that doesn’t make your mouth water, you should get your taste buds checked.
4. Tub’s Fine Chili
Photo courtesy of @tubschili on Instagram
Tub’s Fine Chili and Fancy Fixin’s is a Wild West-themed restaurant. Six varieties of chili are served in an individual toasted flatbread tub. If you would like, you can choose your own tub: baked potato, brown rice, greens, pasta, or cornbread. Guy recommends to try the Turkey Drive, a hearty chili with ground turkey seasoned with a generous amount of chili powder and Cajun spices. Other than the chili bowls, Tub’s offers chili dogs like the Double-Barrel Dingo Dog (YEE-HAW, sorry couldn’t resist) made with homemade corn bread, topped with fixins like cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, cilantro, jalapeños, corn nuts, onions, and their own mashed mustard.
5. Mom’s Tamales
Photo courtesy of @hillaryswarrior on Instagram
Located in Pasadena, Mom’s homemade tamales taste like home away from home. Each tamale is made from scratch and steamed. Guy recommends the chicken molé, corn and cheese and beef tamales. Don’t forget to also try the queso fresco, sopes, stuffed peppers and asada. Mom’s also serves some delicious menudo, $6 burritos, and yummy taquitos. If you’re ever fixing for a tamale, buy in dozens for a great value.