A new student’s guide to L.A. dining


We all have our own favorite dives in our city, neighborhood or town. That regional hot spot could be a non-franchised hole-in-the-wall that serves messy, sleeves-up grub or the jazzy new talk of the town, established by a celebrity chef and frequented by young hipsters.

Good eats - The Original Pantry Café located on Ninth and Figueroa streets was established more than 80 years ago. Currently, the historic restaurant offers its trademark culinary items 24 hours a day. - James Watson | Daily Trojan

Whichever it is, it’s the food and atmosphere that keep you coming back, and you remember it fondly whenever you leave home. It’s time to develop some new personalized local favorites, right here in Los Angeles.

Are you a breakfast lover who would tuck into eggs and bacon at midnight? Do you love the idea of pitch forking into a greasy mountain of food for minimal dollars? Consider camping at The Original Pantry Café, just a 10-minute drive from USC at Ninth and Figueroa streets and open 24 hours a day. Established in 1924, The Original Pantry has been serving up hot grub for more than 80 years, non-stop.

Don’t go looking for kohlrabi puree on gleaming china; the diner lives up to its name and only sells iconic, original greasy spoon fare such as crisp-fried bacon, omelets with processed cheese, fluffy griddle pancakes, basic French toast, golden hash, country fried steak and good ol’ American apple pie— accompanied by complimentary sourdough bread and vegetables in the form of creamy coleslaw.

Likewise, The Original Pantry still maintains the traditional diner modus operandi and has its menu chalked into the walls. If you’re by yourself, skip the long lines by getting a seat by the counter. Watch the cook grill your bread right in front of you — if you can handle watching the amount of oil they use. Leave the plastic at home, the Pantry only takes cash.

On the other end of the spectrum, perhaps you care about animal cruelty and keeping the doctor away. If you like your food clean, fresh and cooked with minimal suffering of animals and the Earth, then take a drive out to The Veggie Grill on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.

The Veggie Grill is a vegan cafe serving high-organic, meat-free, dairy-free, trans fat-free, cholesterol-free food that, surprisingly, still manages to retain great flavor.

Give it a try before you start smirking at its Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ burger and Chop-Chop Chef salad. The “meat” tastes surprisingly authentic, and the salads are vibrant and plucked-from-the-garden fresh. Since everything is practically guilt-free anyway, go ahead and indulge yourself with a batch of Sweetheart Fries, crisp and flavorful sweet potato fries served with a snazzy chipotle “ranch” or with a ladle of Bean Me Up Chili.

Another plus? Parking validation, affordable prices, warm service and Trader Joe’s right next door. This is one place you’ll leave feeling warm fuzzies for your health and moral conscience.

Of course, you cannot live in Los Angeles and miss its Latin cuisine. Expand your gastronomical geography in the Latin world and give some other regional tastes a whirl (Taco Bell does not count).

Seek out Salvadoran food from Sarita’s Pupuseria at the Downtown Grand Central Market on Broadway Street. Sarita’s specializes in homemade pupusas, a traditional Salvadoran thick pancake handmade from masa, or dough, and stuffed with your choice of meats, seafood, cheese, beans or vegetables before griddled to perfection in front of your eyes.

Don’t expect fawning waiters, though; the service is quick and brash, and if you get lucky, you might lean up against the counters to enjoy your hot pupusas with plenty of napkins and hot sauce. But that’s all part of the experience. And at just $2.40 each, you can spend the rest of your money shopping for cheap fruits, vegetables and dried goods at the other market stalls.

If you’re willing to break away from the usual burrito and nacho “Mexican” fare, you need not go far to try yet another interesting regional food of Mexico. Chichen Itza, a small restaurant on Grand Avenue squeezed into the Latin marketplace Mercado La Paloma, offers a unique Yucatan culinary experience with an exquisite blend of Mayan, Spanish and Lebanese influences. USC students are lucky to have this restaurant so close to campus, because authentic Yucatan cuisine is rare in Los Angeles.

Chichen Itza is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Don’t worry about the unfamiliar dish names — everything tastes good here. Despite the fact that none of the dishes cost more than $10, each is presented elegantly with bright colors and meticulous plating.

One popular dish is the Cochinita Pibil, pork marinated in a famous Yucatan spicy paste made of annato seed and called achiote, sour orange juice and spices, and then wrapped in a banana leaf and baked until tender and fragrant. Vegetarians can try the papadzules, a corn crepe stuffed with creamy boiled eggs, drenched with mellow ground pumpkin seed and epazote sauce then topped with a tangy tomato sauce for contrasting flavors and colors.

Each of these places have their own unique style of food and atmosphere. Los Angeles might be dotted with high-end, celebrated restaurants and generic fast food chains, but it is just as easy to find a middle ground: someplace low-key with good, affordable food and a warm, inviting ambience. It all depends on your own tastes, personality and preferences. Keep a curious mind and an open stomach, and you’ll be fast on your way to establishing your own personal local favorite in Los Angeles.