The Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate This Week, May 12

Ayocote beans and greens at Honey Hi.

The editors at Eater LA dine out several times a week, if not per day, which means we’re always encountering standout dishes that deserve time in the limelight. Here’s the very best of everything the team has eaten this week.

Chadolbaegi (Sliced brisket) from Baekjeong in Koreatown

Sliced brisket (chadolbaegi) from Baekjeong on the grill in Koreatown.

The new Baekjeong marks a major return for the Korean barbecue chain, arguably the best one in the country, to LA’s Koreatown, where the restaurant first landed from South Korea. While its prior digs in Chapman Market plaza couldn’t be more central to the neighborhood, the new location on Eighth Street has a lot more space and a snazzy, street-inspired interior. The food mostly resembles the offerings from other Baekjeong locations in Torrance, Temple City, and Buena Park. One difference here is the large paper menu with a terrific illustration on the back listing some Koreatown-only bowls, in case a full tabletop barbecue isn’t in the cards for lunch.

We landed straight from our vacation in South Korea and had dinner at Baekjeong last week, and the chadolbaegi hit really well. Tender, beefy, and bursting with juicy flavor after dipping in Baekjeong’s soy wasabi sauce, there’s something special about chadolbaegi that feels right at the start of a Korean barbecue dinner. (The cut isn’t that popular in South Korea, whose restaurants favor short rib, rib-eye, and beef “skirt”.) All the sides have been re-energized at Baekjeong lately thanks to director of operations Samuel Kim, a longtime fine dining chef who’s overseeing the brand’s new era. Even though there’s a Baekjeong closer to me in the South Bay, I can’t wait to return to the Koreatown one for its energy vibes. 3429 W. Eighth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90005. — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

Ayocote beans and greens at Honey Hi in Echo Park

Ayocote beans and greens at Honey Hi.

Even after almost 10 years, enduring all-day Echo Park restaurant Honey Hi remains one of the best stops in the neighborhood for daytime dining. The restaurant has leaned further into its very LA style of eating— produce on the menu is sourced locally and comes from farmers practicing regenerative agriculture, and the breads are gluten-free, made with flours like buckwheat and hazelnut. The ayocote beans and greens dish, made with beans from Rancho Gordo, is a standout on the menu. Leek and garlic confit kale is nestled into soft beans, which swim in a chipotle broth. A bright orange egg, cooked sunny side up, rests on top with a drizzle of cilantro oil and pistachio salsa macha. It’s reminiscent of frijoles de la olla, and hits just right even on a hot day. 1620 W. Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026. — Rebecca Roland, editor, Southern California/Southwest

Chicken Caesar salad wrap from Neighborly in Westlake Village

Chicken Caesar salad wrap from Neighborly in Westlake Village.

There are a few food items in LA that are less familiar to me, mostly due to the proclivity of my diet, but my colleagues have really taken to the popular dish. In my attempt to follow the trend, I stopped by Neighborly on the way back from a Central Coast barbecue trip for something to eat in the color green. Neighborly, in case you don’t remember, is a sort of food hall-in-one with multiple menus from various vendors served under a roof and prepared in a single kitchen. It’s really the best of all worlds if the place can actually make the food right, and in this case, the chicken Caesar salad wrap from Gaby’s (by food blogger Gaby Dalkin) was really tasty. The fried chicken cutlet pieces were seasoned and crunchy, complementing the crisp chopped romaine lettuce stuffed into the tightly wrapped tortilla. My favorite part was the cheesy, garlicky, anchovy-laden dressing; I asked for a side so I could dab a little bit more onto each bite. If there’s one qualm I had, it’d be that the croutons aren’t even necessary given the texture of the breading on the chicken. Otherwise, I’ll find myself craving this wrap again whenever I feel overloaded with meat. 4000 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Westlake Village, CA 91362. — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

The heirloom tomato salad at Here’s Looking At You

Heirloom tomato salad at Here’s Looking at You.

What’s there to say about Here’s Looking At You? Until it closes forever on June 14, 2025, those who dine out regularly in LA claim it as a restaurant darling, where favorite dishes can initiate a conversation about a particular night, cocktail, or dish in the heart of Koreatown. Co-founders Lien Ta and Jonathan Whitener (R.I.P.) opened this spot nearly 10 years ago, where dishes like the heirloom tomato salad are best shared. And if this dish sounds basic, it’s anything but. Starting with carefully selected produce, the kitchen places a swirled layer of creme fraiche with wonderfully salty and garlicky bagna cauda mixed with lap xuong Chinese sausage and tomato slices into a bowl. Topped with chives for freshness, it’s the dish that might make a two-top fight over the last bite. Listen to the wonderfully ’90s and 2000s playlist while sipping the Muy Mindful cocktail with mezcal, hibiscus aperitif, carrot, ginger, lime, honey, and soda water. Though seats are hard to find during HLAY’s final days, walk-ins are worth a try. 3901 West Sixth Street, CA, 90020. — Mona Holmes, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest