A Guide to the Unheralded Culinary Treasures of L.A.

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Los Angeles is the best food city (and county) in the world because amazing food experiences with unrivaled diversity are more accessible here than anywhere else. Lucky for us, L.A., as one of the friendliest and most inclusive cities in the world, is widely misunderstood and undervalued. But, there is a lack of substantive cultural journalism that unlocks the true value of dining in L.A. for anyone looking for amazing food and authentic Los Angeles experiences.
On a broad scale, journalism - especially local, independent journalism - is facing tremendous pressures in the digital age. Jobs for writers are become more scarce as cultural journalism, especially, is increasingly replaced with content tied directly to commercial interests. This is illustrated clearly in the decreasing number of food journalist posts at L.A.'s most important publications.

"How to Eat L.A." is a broadly accessible guide that celebrates, and helps people find, unheralded and/or culturally significant restaurants in Los Angeles County through intelligent, accessible, and independent journalism, inspired by the work of Jonathan Gold, Dana Goodyear, and Anthony Bourdain.
The LA2050 grant will help make "How to Eat L.A." one of the primary destinations for anyone looking for amazing food and authentic Los Angeles experiences. LA2050 will help us establish a new criteria for, and awareness of, restaurants that are "essential" to the multicultural landscape of Los Angeles. Work of this nature has a proven impact on further elevating the position of underrepresented entrepreneurs in our community and providing well-paid jobs in challenged industries like journalism and cultural writing.

We hope to elevate the position of underrepresented entrepreneurs in our community and provide well-paid jobs in challenged industries like journalism and cultural writing. More broadly, by establishing a new criteria for and awareness of restaurants that are "essential" to the multicultural landscape of Los Angeles, we hope to further public appreciation (and patronage) of the unheralded culinary treasures of Los Angeles. As the impact of isolation in the digital age spreads, we also hope to use digital tools to drive in-person socialization and micro-communities, known to improve public mental health and foster multi-perspective dialogue. The growth of "How to Eat L.A." also allows visitors to learn about and engage with neighborhoods and cultural aspects of Los Angeles that are not yet widely known, complementing public transportation and the tourism economy.

Broadly, success will be defined by progress towards our mission-driven goals: To celebrate and help everyone find unheralded and/or culturally significant restaurants in Los Angeles County through intelligent, accessible, and independent journalism
To be one of the primary destinations for anyone looking for amazing food and authentic Los Angeles experiences
To establish a new set of criteria for/approach to “essential” LA restaurants that is broadly adopted in cultural dialogue
Operationally, we will track key metrics that indicate our progress towards these goals: Product and Content Relevance - Regular customer feedback initiatives; Community engagement metrics (like mentions on social media)
Product Usage - Number of visitors to free digital guide; Number of paying subscribers to publications; etc. Product Expansion - No. of restaurants in guide; Add'l media content w/ engagement metrics
Mission Impact - The inclusion of our principles and selections by other L.A. dining guides