Los Angeles Restaurants Have Come a Long Way

The now thriving Los Angeles restaurant industry has come a long way. As a product of influences from all areas of the world, the Los Angeles dining scene has become a veritable melting pot of international flavors and styles. Los Angeles restaurants offer a whole host of cuisine and imported specialties unseen anywhere else.

Just thirty years ago, Los Angeles dining was still in its Cro-Magnon stage. Southern Californian epicures often felt the need to escape north as far north as San Francisco in search of a good meal. Even twenty years ago, Los Angeles restaurants were infamous for pushing “California cuisine,” which featured miniscule portions — served with even less concern for service — under the pretense of hip, new culinary sophistication.

Eventually, even the chicest of Los Angeles restaurant patrons grew tired of this style. At about this time, legendary chef Wolfgang Park emerged onto the Los Angeles restaurant scene and stiffened the industry’s spine by increasing the portion size and building on the one immensely positive aspect of California cuisine: “fusion.” Defined as a process of combining ingredients from all areas of the globe, Los Angeles dining became a truly rich experience.

Today, the sizzling trend in Los Angeles restaurants is “New American Fare.” This culinary style blends generous portions of familiar favorites with exotic extras for a dash of unusual flavor. Drawing from the cornucopia of ethnicities scattered throughout the city, the Los Angeles dining scene currently offers one of the most varied ranges of cuisine. Choices span from mainstream offerings such as Mexican and Italian to rare specialties such as Nigerian and Uzbek.