Sometimes, all you want is a nice meal and an even better Instagram picture. Whether you’re having lunch with your teenage cousin, your influencer friend, or just care about how pretty your plate looks, here are some foodporn-friendly places to choose (and shoot) from:
Eggslut
It doesn’t get more foodporny than Eggslut. “A runny egg probably increases your Instagram likes by 87 percent” mocked the New York Times, but they might actually be right. Get the Gaucho or the Fairfax and don’t forget to hashtag #putaneggonit. Or, if you’re afraid of waiting for hours, drive to the nearest In-N-Out for a similar meal and pic.
Destroyer
Jordan Kahn’s dishes at Destroyer taste as good as they look — especially the beef tartare hidden under a rosace of radish shavings and nasturtium leaves. The portions have gotten bigger, and better with time, and one of the best dishes is their puffed rice porridge: it may not do as well on Instagram but your tastebuds will have a blast.
Mr. Holmes
These may not be the best pastries in town (fortunately, we have roundups of excellent croissants and pies), but they sure are the prettiest. Grab a Mr. Holmes cruffin, slice it in half and pause in front of the ‘I got baked in Los Angeles’ neon sign. And then watch the notifications flow.
Sqirl
If Los Angeles were a dish, it would have to be Sqirl’s ricotta toast. A thick slice of brioche, slightly burnt and then covered with ricotta, with a generous dollop of Jessica Koslow’s jam. As with all the restaurants on this list, you may have to wait in line before you eat, but the ricotta tartine and the sorrel pesto rice bowl will be worth it.
Guisados
There’s a long list of tacos at Guisados — they even made a laminated booklet to help you pick: bistek, mole poblano, chicharrón, tinga de pollo, chuleta, chorizo, cochinita pibil, calabacitas, frijoles, hongos… Make it easier and order the “sampler” with six kid-sized tacos: the hardest part is choosing which ones.
