LA Time Studios' New Podcast ‘Making Los Angeles' Features Interviews with Prominent Angelenos
The debut episode features a conversation with Sen. Alex Padilla, California's senior U.S. Senator. Padilla discusses his upbringing in the San Fernando Valley as a child of Mexican immigrants, his experience studying engineering at MIT and how he ultimately got into politics. Future episodes will feature conversations with Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries; author Michael Connelly; earthquake expert Lucy Jones; award-winning chef Bricia Lopez and many more.
'Making Los Angeles' joins a growing slate of podcasts from LA Times Studios, including 'Rebuilding Los Angeles,' 'L.A. Crimes,' 'Boiling Point' and 'Crimes of The Times.' Additional podcast series are in development with launch dates to be announced.
The first episode of 'Making Los Angeles' is available now; new episodes will be available every Wednesday on all podcast platforms.
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Eater
2 hours ago
- Eater
Chefs from Michelin-Star Kitchens Reshape Oceanside's Restaurant Scene
When chefs from top Michelin-star kitchens break away to start their own ventures, curious eyes often follow them. They bring talent to new towns or cities and deliver the potential to transform a scene with the fine dining skills they pick up. In the past few years, several chefs from celebrated restaurants have departed the places where they cut their teeth and opened restaurants in the north San Diego County city of Oceanside, California. When Michelin's California guide was first released in 2019, only upscale tasting menu restaurant Addison earned a star. Since then, three other restaurants, including Soichi, Jeune et Jolie, and new tasting menu specialist Lilo, have earned stars in San Diego; Addison acquired its third star, and dozens of more casual restaurants have earned Michelin Bib Gourmands. Animae chef Tara Monsod has been a finalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: California for two years in a row. Oceanside earned its first Michelin star in 2023 with modern Mexican restaurant Valle from chef Roberto Alcocer, placing the city on Southern California's dining map, but that was just the first step. The city is becoming an impressive culinary destination, thanks to its distinct terroir and laid-back surf culture, an ideal blend perfect for chefs who are tired of the big-city grind. Oceanside transplants include Nic Webber and Jacob Jordan, a duo who met at San Diego's Addison, and Brandon Rodgers, previously the chef de cuisine at three-Michelin-starred Benu and alum of the French Laundry. Alcocer, who first gained attention for his Valle de Guadalupe restaurant, Malva, says that Michelin's arrival in California in 2019 was like a door opening. 'It was the perfect moment to chase a dream I had carried for years — to build a restaurant in the U.S. that could one day earn a Michelin star,' says Alcocer. After the owners of the Mission Pacific Beach Resort dined at Malva, they offered Alcocer a consulting role for the property's restaurant. Alcocer countered with a different offer; he wanted to lead the new kitchen as executive chef. Cangrejo, a crab, mushroom, and radish topped tostada. Valle A piece of seared fish. Audrey Ma Chef Roberto Alcocer chats with diners at palm tree-lined Valle. Valle Related The Best Restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe South of Mission Avenue, Oceanside's main thoroughfare, at Michelin Bib Gourmand Dija Mara, chef Jason Ambacher serves stylish Balinese preparations like pork belly skewers and a short rib rendang. William Eick's Matsu, a modern Japanese tasting menu spot, offers a 10-course dinner with ingredients sourced from nearby farms and waters, reflecting Oceanside's hyper-seasonality. According to Canvas Rebel Magazine, Eick has cooked 'just about every' cuisine besides African and Indian. He started small with a pop-up, serving just one table per night, three nights a week, honing his craft. Matsu has since grown into a 48-seat restaurant with inventive dishes, like one that comprises every part of the sunflower paired with cuttlefish and chile oil, or oak-grilled sablefish that puffs out like an edible pine cone. The iconic sunflower and cuttlefish dish. Matsu An inventive sweet potato and lobster chowder that doesn't use cream or butter. Deanna Sandoval Beyond fancy places like Valle, Mission Pacific Beach Resort also serves nostalgia and nerdy surf culture. An 1887 Oceanside home featured in an iconic Top Gun scene has been relocated to the front of the hotel, where it serves hand pies stuffed with apples, cherries, or blueberries. Downtown Oceanside's other incredible dishes, all within a few square blocks of one another, include Craft Coast Beer & Tacos' fresh, flame-grilled carne asada, homemade tortillas, and hazy IPAs; Camp Coffee's strong brews; Allmine's pizzas and lasagna Bolognese; and Colima's oversized California burritos. Thursday evenings bring the Sunset Market, where hundreds of vendors cram into a few blocks, including 7 Siblings serving fried tamales with hot sauce, and Ula Loves Sweet Treats, which sells a showstopping fluffy banana creme. South Oceanside, just three miles from the pier, is also quickly becoming a food destination. When Rodgers opened Tanner's Prime Burgers in 2023, he wanted to bring three-star fastidiousness that he gained at Benu and the French Laundry to unfussy American food. Tanner's simple menu serves fries crisped in beef fat; smashed prime beef patties topped with American cheese and caramelized onions on a brioche bun; and milkshakes made with organic dairy. The menu also features hot dogs, sweet tea, lemonade, a few house-made sauces, and Fatty Patties, which blend vanilla ice cream and beef tallow between chocolate chip cookies. There's an underlying complexity to Tanner's menu that doesn't need to shout its quality. These ice cream sandwiches have a secret ingredient: beef tallow. Tanner's Prime Burgers The simple, chic diner decor reflects the menu. Tanner's Prime Burgers A thinly smashed beef patty covered in cheese, bacon, and caramelized onions. Tanner's Prime Burgers Just across the street from the burger joint is Heritage Brewery & Barbecue, where their smoked brisket, tri-tip, and pulled pork star in entrees like mac and cheese, sandwiches, and tacos (it's no longer affiliated with James Beard Award finalist chef Daniel Castillo's Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano). Also in South Oceanside, Davin Waite's Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub focuses on minimizing waste and employing sustainable fishing practices. First opened in 2013, Wrench & Rodent plays with sushi traditions as much as it messes with language. The team dry-ages fish to deepen flavor, serving untraditional items like anchovy nigiri, and impressing guests with plant-based 'Rodent' rolls, a name Waite chose for its lightheartedness and irreverence. While South Oceanside is still close enough to downtown and sits along the Pacific, other chefs are stretching Oceanside's culinary focus inland. In a strip mall a few miles from the coast, a temporary banner hangs by four strings that reads '24 Suns.' The former dive bar was home to a pop-up from fall 2021 until the restaurant permanently opened in January 2025. The modern Chinese restaurant comes from Addison alums Webber and Jordan, a culinary journey guided by the 24 solar micro-seasons that dictate China's agricultural traditions and Oceanside's seasonal ingredients. Short seasons and kitchen inventiveness yield dishes like shrimp Robuchon, a spring-roll-wrapped head-on prawn dabbed with hot mustard, pickled goji berries, and Thai basil leaf. Other dishes include fall-apart wagyu cheek and a tender but toothsome 17-foot longevity noodle, orange sweetbreads, and many takes on duck. Sichuan-style Zhangcha duck is smoked over jasmine tea leaves and wood, aged for a few days, and then basted with cold-smoked butter. Their Fujian duck is slowly simmered with aged ginger, braised in ginger juice, fried until crisp, and finished with fermented ginger honey. Orange sweetbreads are a homage to the classic Chinese takeout dish. Deanna Sandoval 24 Suns is known for inventive duck courses. Deanna Sandoval Chef Nic Webber sends out dishes from the 24 Suns kitchen. Nashelle Brown A bird's nest filled with ribeye tartare and grated bottarga. Deanna Sandoval As summer warms Oceanside, its chefs seem even more alight with creative energy. 'We are excited about the gentler spring onions — creating a kind of kung pao tartare,' says Webber, dreaming up the stuffing for 'a slowly burnt leek.' In a few moons — supposedly by the end of the summer — expect 24 Suns to roll out a tasting menu serving things like shrimp and scallop dumplings paired with asparagus, snap and sugar peas, and grilled mackerel with a homemade XO-green-garlic sauce. The tasting menu dishes showcase refreshing, lactic, and intense preparations that have always been the spirit of Oceanside — buttoned-up yet not too serious. Eater San Diego All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Eater
5 hours ago
- Eater
The Best Dishes Eater's Seattle Editor Ate in July 2025
At Eater Seattle, we have to eat out a lot — it's right there in the website name, next to 'Seattle.' Sometimes, this research shows up in the articles and maps we publish, but sometimes, we eat something so good that we have to tell everyone about it. This running monthly column is a place for us to share especially good dishes with you. Esquites at De La Soil Esquites at De La Soil. Harry Cheadle If De La Soil was on Capitol Hill, it would probably be a hot new Seattle restaurant. Instead it's tucked away inside Copperworks Distilling in Kenmore — and it should be a hot new Seattle restaurant anyway. It focuses on seasonal produce, and I know a lot of places say that, but De La sources nearly everything from a single farm up the road. The standout on my visit was this special special, a riff on Mexican street corn salad that uses charred corn as a base, a corn nut crumble for a bit of crunch, and popcorn for extra texture. It's smokey (from chipotle mayo) and sweet and cheesy, a must-order if it's still on the menu. Matcha Strawberry Cheesecake at Marjorie Matcha cheesecake at Marjorie. Harry Cheadle Marjorie reopened last year at a new Central District location and it's still a Seattle classic with some classic menu items, including a bread pudding for dessert. But on my last visit I decided to be trendy and opted for this matcha number instead. The cheesecake was creamy and thick — you really had to push your fork through it — and the matcha gave it an earthy, grassy flavor. The peak-season strawberry topping might have been too sweet and jammy on its own, but it was a terrific contrast to the decidedly not-too-sweet cake. It may be off the menu soon, if it isn't already, but pastry chef Manda Mangrai is killing it and will surely have another idea just as good. Wagyu Bavette at the Shambles Wagyu bavette at the Shambles. Harry Cheadle I'm trying to update our woefully out-of-date steak map this fall, and I can tell you right now that the Shambles is staying on it. This low-key Maple Leaf restaurant have a great selection of cuts on its chalkboard, including some good options if you're dining solo like I was. I got 5 ounces of wagyu bavette for under $40, and it was perfectly cooked, with a thick char and a bloody interior. It was served with a sage and red pepper butter that added to the richness, but I would have gladly eaten the piece of meat unadorned. Fried rice at Paju Steak and fried rice at Paju. Harry Cheadle The steak at Paju was also great, but arguably overshadowed by the dish the upscale South Lake Union restaurant has become known for: the fried rice. With bacon, squid ink, kimchi, and a smoked quail egg it's sticky, smokey, and more than a bit umami (you don't get a lot of pickly kimchi flavor). Recommending it feels a little like saying, 'You know what's a great show? The Sopranos,' since the fried rice is already one of Paju's most popular dishes (that quali egg yolk sure looks good in photos). If you're coming here, you're already getting the fried rice. But maybe you should get two? Lamb Korma Meat Pie at Little Beast Ballard The lamb korma pie at Little Beast. Harry Cheadle When I talked to Beast and Cleaver owner Kevin Smith this spring about his new meat-focused English-style pub, he said that no one in the whole state of Washington is doing English food like he wants to do it. And you might think, Really? No one is doing, like, a meat pie? Well, no one has meat pies like this. The shredded, slow-cooked lamb neck inside is beautifully tender and fatty, the pastry shell (made with beef fat) is sturdy enough to somehow contain that lamb yet still light and with traces of fat-kissed sweetness. The korma gravy adds another layer of creaminess plus a welcome dose of cumin-y spice (if you get the fries, try dipping them in it). Make yourself a meat appointment here, Little Beast is going to be a hot ticket for the rest of the year. Barbecue plate at Outsider BBQ Sides at Outsider BBQ. Paolo Biccheiri Onur Gulbay's Texas-style barbecue with Turkish-stye sides has settled into its new permanent Frelard beer garden space. The sumac-topped potato salad is a refreshing treat in the summer sun. The corn casserole is an ideal not-too-sweet carby backbone to a pound of prime brisket or pulled pork. Spicy pickled vegetables provide a bit of heat, a pleasant and needed textural balance to the soft give of the bread and meat. Even the bread pudding is an inventive riff on the timeless dessert, an ice cream scoop-looking orb of Nilla Wafers and cream sitting pretty in a to-go brown tray. Consider this is a reminder to spend an afternoon with a cool drink in hand and a heap of smoked loveliness in front of you before the sun's all gone. –Paolo Bicchieri Eater Seattle All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Miami Herald
7 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Forget American Eagle, Dunkin' has its own ad controversy
"Body by Dunkin'" seems like a slogan on a novelty short your friend's chubby dad wears to a barbecue. The chain isn't exactly famous for its health food, but its latest television ad, much like a vaguely similar spot from American Eagle, focuses on genetics at least playfully. In the American Eagle ad, Sydney Sweeney, an actress as known for her body as her acting, appears under the header "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans." That's a bit tongue-in cheek, and maybe slightly more clever than the made-up Dunkin' T-shirt named above. Related: JCPenney strikes massive deal for 119-store sale The commercial itself is not markedly more clever as it connect Sweeney's famous body with genetics playing on the words "genes." "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My genes are blue," Sweeney said in one ad. The ads, as you might imagine, have sent the internet, into quite the kerfuffle, as some have accused the ads of body shaming, while others have gone as far as saying they support eugenics. That's a widely discredited theory white supremacists share that says the human race could be improved by breeding out less desirable traits. Creating an uproar, from a mob of people ready to say "well, I never" and pass out seems to be the point. While invoking genetics in a jeans commercial, the idea that the right "jeans" can improve the look of what your "genes" gave you make some sense. Nobody, aside from maybe peak training Michael Phelps has claimed the Dunkin's menu has improved on whatever genetics may have given them. The coffee and doughnut chain has a new ad starring "The Summer I Turned Pretty" star Gavin Casalengo promoting Dunkin's Golden Hour Refresher by referrencig the actor's "golden" tanned skin. "While the Dunkin' ad's mention of genetics is subtler, it has struck a nerve for praising traits associated with white beauty ideals while mentioning genetics. In the ad, Casalengo says, 'This tan? Genetics. I just got my color analysis back and guess what? Golden summer.' Color analysis refers to the beauty trend of picking colors that look best on based on skin tone," AdWeek reported. More Restaurants New York just got 14 new Michelin restaurantsPopular Mexican restaurant chain makes move for the first timeOff-the-Las Vegas Strip vegan restaurant closes for meaty reason Both ads are designed to provoke outrage, Allen Adamson, co-founder of brand marketing firm Metaforce, told NPR's Morning Edition. "People remember disruption. People remember the edge. Pushing buttons. And this is really important for products that are commodities. Jeans are commodities. You can get them for $20 at Costco and the GAP. And they're selling them for a lot more than that," he said. That same logic applies that Dunkin' ads as well since drinks are everywhere at cheaper prices than the Starbucks rival chain offers. The official TikTok post for the Dunkin' ad has over 5,500 comments and the YouTube version has fewer, but many are fairly pointed. Some just ask the basic question. "Why are ads so obsessed with genetics all of a sudden?" posted Starlight. "Hey Dunkin's what does genetics have to do with your Refresher? Refresh my mind again?" @IamLizabel posted on YouTube. Some people seem really mad about the commercial. "First I have to boycott American Eagle and now Dunkin'. Guess I'm going to be saving a lot of money," ChelsLove-x7x shared. Some people seem to be reading things into the Dunkin' ad that may not be there "The amount of dog whistling in ads lately is somehow equally surprising and unsurprising (sadly). I guess at least the companies are letting many of us know which businesses to avoid," wrote @ErinBrayley2268. Some people have also embraced the ad, probably not in the way Dunkin' wanted. "Unapologetically love this. Bring back BEAUTY and whiteness in ads," shared @CopleyQueen. Related: KFC rival nears Chapter 7 bankruptcy, closes stores, liquidation looms The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
