From handmade tortillas in Boyle Heights and Vietnamese classics in the San Gabriel Valley to Thai boat noodles, Ethiopian feasts, Japanese soba and a jazz club built around baked potatoes, these are the restaurants we return to across Los Angeles.

Since 1969, Harold & Belle’s has served gumbo, fried catfish, étouffée, po’boys, and other Creole staples in Jefferson Park. Now run by the founders’ grandson and his wife, the restaurant remains one of the clearest links to Los Angeles’s historic Creole community.

For nearly 80 years, Langer’s has remained one of Los Angeles’s defining delicatessens, famous for its hand-sliced pastrami and iconic #19 sandwich. Today, founder Al Langer’s granddaughter carries that tradition forward at Daughter’s Deli, adding a new chapter to one of the city’s great family food stories.