This week on The LA Food Podcast, we’re joined by Claire Dinhut—aka Condiment Claire—cookbook author, flavor scientist, and social media sensation. Born and raised in Los Angeles but now based in Europe, Claire has taken TikTok by storm with her inventive approach to sauces, spreads, and the science of taste. Recorded at Venice’s iconic Roosterfish bar, this episode covers her global condiment obsessions, her viral rise to food fame, and the delicious details behind her new release, The Condiment Book—a must-have for any home cook.

We also dive into Claire’s “Condiment Mount Rushmore,” her hot takes on trending sauce brands, and her go-to LA eats whenever she’s back in town.

Plus: why chefs love and hate burgers, the surprising economics behind oysters, and a major shake-up coming to one of LA’s most beloved French restaurants.

Whether you’re a flavor fanatic, cookbook collector, or just obsessed with where to eat in LA, this episode’s for you.

Helpful Links:

Condiment Claire https://www.tiktok.com/@condimentclaire?lang=en

Julia Moskin on burgers https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/dining/burgers-jeremy-fox-birdie-gs.html

Amy McCarthy on oysters https://www.eater.com/2025/5/14/24430156/oyster-cost-dollar-oysters-restaurant?_gl=1*13g3fhu*_ga*NTY3MzcwNDY5LjE2Nzk1MzY5MTc.*_ga_GMSWCRTSTY*czE3NDczMzM3MzMkbzMyMyRnMSR0MTc0NzMzMzc1NSRqMzgkbDAkaDA.

Jenn Harris on Pasjoli https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2025-05-15/pasjoli-santa-monica-french-restaurant-reopen

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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠

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Go check out Roosterfish

This week on The LA Food Podcast, we dive into the results of a new survey from Substack favorite The Angel that asked Angelenos what they really want from restaurants. Hosts Luca and Father Sal break down what LA diners say matters most—vibe vs. food, great service, price, and originality—and reveal the surprising (and kind of maddening) contradictions in the data.

In Part 2, we’re joined by Nancy DaSilva and Bits Nicholas from Compliments to the Chef for a Top Chef Season 22 midseason check-in. We talk fantasy picks, emerging food trends, and who we think has what it takes to win it all.

Plus, big news: The LA Food Podcast is now part of the Acquired Taste Media network—home to the new show Taqueando with Bill Esparza! If you're into tacos, regional Mexican cuisine, and the LA food scene, this one’s a must-subscribe.

Keywords: LA food scene, restaurant survey, Top Chef Season 22, LA dining trends, Bill Esparza, Taqueando, LA restaurants, Substack The Angel, Mexican cuisine, foodie podcast

Helpful Links:

Taqueando with Bill Esparza https://open.spotify.com/show/5ZY5gUvBo0Z3pRmCJILM6S

James Beard media nominations https://www.jamesbeard.org/stories/2025-james-beard-media-award-nominees

The Angel survey https://www.theangel.la/p/what-angelenos-want-from-restaurants-survey-results

Compliments to the Chef https://open.spotify.com/show/5ySvTZh0inCpq1SJP9baq6

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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠

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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

Is Jordan Kahn's Meteora on track for a second Michelin star? On this episode of The LA Food Podcast, we dive deep into LA’s most ambitious fine-dining jungle—Meteora. After falling for Chef Jordan Kahn’s futuristic tasting menu at Vespertine, we head to his Melrose Avenue follow-up to see if the hype (and the hefty price tag) is justified. Is this lush, high-concept, nature-driven restaurant actually deserving of a second Michelin star? We break it down, course by course.

Plus, it’s Part 4 of our Opening Cafe Esca series with chefs Luke Reyes and Reilly Cox. This week, they walk us through the creative (and chaotic) process of building a food and beverage menu from scratch for their upcoming coastal Italian spot in LA’s Arts District.

And don’t miss our rapid-fire Chef’s Kiss / Big Miss segment, featuring TikTok-famous olive oil squeeze bottles, Apple TV’s new chef series, and maybe the most aggravating pizza guy on the internet.

Helpful Links:

Meteora https://meteora.la/

TASTE on those pesky squeeze bottles https://tastecooking.com/the-big-squeeze/

Careme preview, per The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/arts/television/careme-french-chef.html

Eater on Texas Strip https://ny.eater.com/2025/4/25/24416858/texas-renaming-new-york-strip-steak-bill-texas-strip

Opening Cafe Esca Part 1 https://open.spotify.com/episode/19HDiV4o0i2dP9ZZ7B7E9B

Part 2 https://open.spotify.com/episode/7DoKDMtS74ngrVzjBBkzXI

Part 3 https://open.spotify.com/episode/7J8MZ7HGuMIdRvq6zYezUy?si=hXmPzXKrQ9uwKktH3tIEuw

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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠

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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

Lele Dinner Club is the buzzy new supper club from Pizzana chef and master pizzaiolo Daniele Uditi, offering an exclusive 10-course Neapolitan tasting menu that’s quickly become Los Angeles’ hottest reservation. With only three seatings so far and a waitlist already topping 6,000 names, this underground culinary experience is redefining LA fine dining. On this episode of The LA Food Podcast, I take Father Sal behind the scenes of the entire Lele Dinner Club journey—how to get in, what’s on the menu, and why this immersive, communal experience is unlike anything else in the city’s restaurant scene.

In Part 2, we’re joined by 13-time James Beard Award winner Steve Dolinsky for an exclusive Pizza City Fest Los Angeles 2025 preview. Happening this weekend at LA Live, Pizza City Fest will feature over 40 top pizzerias from across Southern California. I sat down with Steve at LaSorted’s in Chinatown to talk all things LA pizza—what makes it special, how it compares to pizza scenes in New York and Chicago, and why he believes LA is becoming a major pizza capital in the U.S.

Whether you’re a die-hard foodie, pizza obsessive, or just trying to score a seat at Lele Dinner Club, this is one episode you don’t want to miss.

Helpful Links:

Lele Dinner Club https://www.leledinnerclub.com/

Pizza City Fest https://pizzacityfest.com/

Jenn Harris on Lele Dinner Club https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2025-04-21/le-le-dinner-club-italian-food-daniele-uditi

NYT’s Priya Krishna on restaurant design https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/dining/restaurant-ambience-vibes.html

NYT’s Kim Severson on the return of meat https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/dining/meat-beef-restaurants-politics.html

EEEEEATSCON 2025 https://www.eeeeeatscon.com/los-angeles

Antoni Porowski’s cheese raves https://www.eater.com/2025/4/22/24413509/antoni-porowski-interview-queer-eye

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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠

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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

Melissa Lopez is the James Beard semifinalist chef behind Barra Santos, one of the buzziest restaurants in recent memory to grace Los Angeles. Barra Santos is a tiny, sardine-tin of a restaurant in Cypress Park serving up thoughtful, super high-quality Portuguese fare. But as small as the restaurant’s footprint is, the noise it’s made since opening has been nothing short of deafening. After visiting the restaurant myself, I knew I wanted to get to know the mastermind behind the operation, and Chef Melissa did not disappoint. Would I go so far as to say we’ve got one of the country’s brightest rising stars on our hands? Yes, yes, I would. But listen to the interview and visit Barra Santos to make up your own mind on the matter.

But first, a nasally rendition of a couple of things that caught my eye this week. There’s a Jenn Harris piece on how the tariffs are endangering the diversity that makes LA’s food scene one of the best in the country, a Substack newsletter (Khushbu Shah’s Tap Is Fine) on whether or not we should view influencers as experts, and an exciting new survey (from Emily Wilson at The Angel) on what Angelenos want from restaurants that I highly encourage you to take.

Helpful Links:

Jenn Harris on tariffs https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2025-04-11/los-angeles-restaurants-tariffs-southeast-asian-food

Laurie Ochoa on chili crisp and tariffs https://www.latimes.com/food/newsletter/2025-04-12/its-too-late-to-tariff-the-globalization-out-of-american-cuisine-more-chili-crisp-please-tasting-notes

Khushbu Shah on influencers, amateurs, and expertise https://khushbushah.substack.com/p/when-did-we-all-become-afraid-of?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2026436&post_id=161441896&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=31nins&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Emily Wilson’s survey in The Angel https://www.theangel.la/p/what-angelenos-want-from-restaurants-survey?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1717567&post_id=161269590&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=31nins&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email&hide_intro_popup=true

Gab Chabran and Suzanne Levy on grants for restaurants from the California Restaurant Foundation https://laist.com/news/food/10-000-grant-available-for-restaurants-affected-by-la-fires

Barra Santos https://www.barrasantosla.com/

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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠

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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. It’s the word on everybody’s lips this week and, as you’d expect, every food media outlet in the country published some sort of breakdown of what this means for restaurants and the food industry at large. Father Sal and I sift through the noise to distill what this means for LA restaurateurs and diners alike.

Also on this episode, we issue a correction from last episode, we recap a beefy meal at the newly opened Matu Kai in Brentwood, and we dive deep on Meghan McCarron’s piece for the New York Times’ tracking how the decline of middle class restaurants - think Red Lobster, Chili’s, Outback Steakhouse and the like - speaks to a worrying trend in American dining.

In Chef’s Kiss Big Miss, there’s the closure of an iconic Greek restaurant, the launch of a questionable celebrity (Glen Powell) sauce brand, and the announcement of a brand new Vince Vaughn flick that hit a little too close to home for yours truly.

Helpful links:

Jaya Saxena and Bettina Makalintal on tariffs https://www.eater.com/24401316/trump-tariffs-effects-on-food-spices-explained-burlap-barrel-natoora-tuk-tuk-snack-shop-interview

The LA Times’ Patrick Comiskey on tariffs and wine https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2025-04-07/will-tariffs-kill-mid-priced-wines

The NY Times’ Eric Asimov on tariffs and wine https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/dining/drinks/wine-tariffs.html

Matu Kai https://www.matusteak.com/

Meghan McCarron on the decline of casual dining chains https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/dining/middle-class-restaurant.html

Papa Cristos closing https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2025-04-06/papa-cristos-closing-dupars-chili-johns-struggling-la-old-restaurants-in-trouble

Glen Powell BLT https://www.delish.com/food-news/a64410917/glen-powell-blt-recipe/

Molly Baz vegan burgers https://pdx.eater.com/2025/4/3/24398516/portland-oregon-vegan-fast-food-restaurant-face-plant-open-molly-baz

Scott McTominay and tomatoes https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6234877/2025/04/03/scott-mctominay-man-united-napoli-italy-tomatoes/

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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠

Controversy in Hollywood as news breaks that Elon Musk - yes, THAT Elon Musk - has tapped beloved LA chef Eric Greenspan to helm his upcoming Tesla-themed Diner on Santa Monica Blvd.

Is Chef Greenspan’s choice to take the job in any way defensible, or is he just another DOGE bag? Father Sal and I dig into the news and the backlash to make sense of it all. Plus, the James Beard Awards announced their nominees including 5 So Cal establishments, LA Taco’s Taco Madness got underway with one notable absence, and in Chef’s Kiss Big Miss we tackle revolving restaurants, gullible pastry chefs, and a list of rules for modern dining.

Helpful links:

Breijo and Goldman on Greenspan and the Tesla Diner https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-28/la-chef-picked-to-run-tesla-diner-in-hollywood

SoCal James Beard nominees https://la.eater.com/2025/4/2/24399234/los-angeles-james-beard-foundation-award-nominees-2025

LA Taco Taco Madness https://lataco.com/taco-madness-2025

Con Mum https://www.netflix.com/title/81708174

Galuten on best burger / martini combo https://la.eater.com/2025/4/1/24398077/best-bar-burger-martini-los-angeles-noah-galuten

Financial Times’ rules for dining https://www.ft.com/content/dba8928b-0961-4174-bd00-5096a2e65bea

Revolving restaurants https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/dining/revolving-restaurant.html

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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠

I (Luca) moderated the latest Family Meal panel discussion on how restaurants rose to the challenge during the January wildfires. This is the recording of that panel discussion, featuring four very impressive speakers who I introduce at the top of the recording.

We discuss all matters of important topics including how restaurants can prepare for the next big crisis and what you and I can do to support them when shit inevitably hits the fan.

We’ll be back Friday with our regularly scheduled programming. Father Sal and I have a ton to catch up on including my trip to Vegas for Pizza Expo, controversy surrounding the newly minted chef of Elon Musk’s Tesla diner in Hollywood, and Sal’s brazen decision to cheat on me with another podcast this week. You won’t wanna miss it.

Helpful links:

Family Meal https://www.family-meal.us/

New School https://www.newschoolconsulting.com/

Lien Ta https://www.instagram.com/lientigre/?hl=en

Here’s Looking At You https://www.instagram.com/hereslookingatyoula/?hl=en

Alycia Harshfield https://www.linkedin.com/in/alycia-harshfield-92350853

Restaurants Care https://restaurantscare.org/

Alexa Rousso https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexa-carpena-rousso_always-honored-to-represent-homeboy-industries-activity-7310095363577655296-BCed/

Homeboy Industries https://homeboyindustries.org/

Stephen Poux https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-poux-risk-management/

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Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠