restaurant

Visit Medellín, and everyone will tell you to try one dish: bandeja paisa.

Translated as a “countryside tray,” you’ll find the loaded meat platter at any restaurant in Colombia’s second-largest city. The spread is loaded with savory red beans; white rice; ground beef or grilled steak; a long, curved strip of crispy chicharrón; chorizo; morcilla (blood sausage); a fried egg; golden lobes of sweet plantain; a mini arepa; and a slice of avocado.

Though its origins lie in the mountainous, coffee-growing region of Antioquia, known as the home of the paisas (derived from the Spanish word for countryman), the dish is widely celebrated and eaten across the country. It’s a hearty lunch meal meant for one person, a combination of flavors and textures that transport you straight to Medellín, known for its rich coffee landscape, blooming flowers and eternal spring weather.

“The bandeja paisa is the seal of the Colombians,” said Gloria Hernandez, owner of Nene’s Colombian Food in Lawndale.

The dish is believed to have started as a filling, nourishing meal for campesinos (field workers), providing strength to get through a day working in the fields. “There’s a gathering of various dishes to make a bandeja paisa,” said Cesar Gutierrez, owner of Arepa’s Colombianas in Redondo Beach.

Over 40,000 Colombians live in L.A., according to the Los Angeles Almanac. Three-thousand miles from home, the city is host to several Colombian restaurants, food trucks and even a rooftop night market in downtown L.A.

From a longstanding restaurant in Larchmont to a favorite for modern Colombian cuisine in Long Beach, here are seven places where you can devour a bandeja paisa.

WASHINGTON  — Licensed gun owners have a right to carry a concealed firearm into stores and other private places unless the owner objects, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The 6-3 decision extends gun rights and strikes down laws in Hawaii, California, New York, New Jersey and Maryland.

Those measures would prohibit carrying guns onto private property that is open to the public unless the owner has expressly authorized them.

“This regime hobbles what the 2nd Amendment protects: the right of Americans to carry arms for self-defense as they go about their daily lives. We hold that the law is unconstitutional,” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said for the court.

The new laws, if upheld, would “impose severe restrictions on the daily activities of residents who have satisfied the state’s rigorous requirements for the issuance of a carry permit. When these permit holders leave home in the morning, … they may also be barred from entering many places that people routinely visit in the course of their daily routines, such as gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants, coffee shops, drug stores, grocery stores, ‘big box’ stores, home improvement stores, barber shops or hair salons, dry cleaners, and laundromats.”

The three liberals dissented, saying the law would protect property owners who don’t want guns in their stores.

“There is no constitutional right to enter private property without the owner’s permission, let alone with a firearm,” said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Trump administration lawyers had joined a coalition of Hawaii gun owners in urging the court to strike down these blue state laws in the case of Wolford vs. Lopez.

They said the laws, if enforced, would mean “a person carrying a handgun for self-defense commits a crime by entering a mall, a gas station, a convenience store, a supermarket, a restaurant or a coffee shop.”

This litigation is part of much broader debate over where guns may be permitted or prohibited.

Four years ago, the justices ruled that law-abiding persons had a right to obtain a permit to carry a concealed gun when they left home. They also agreed there are “sensitive places” where guns may be prohibited, such as schools, courts and other government buildings.

In response, lawmakers in California and Hawaii adopted their own lists of “sensitive places.” They imposed restrictions on concealed weapons at parks, beaches, playgrounds, places of worship and public transit as well as bars and restaurants that serve alcohol.

Gun owners sued but the 9th Circuit Court refused to block most of those restrictions in a single 83-page opinion covering Hawaii and California. Both states would prohibit carrying guns onto private property open to the public without the owner’s consent.

The 9th Circuit upheld that measure in principle but said California went too far by requiring the owner to post a prominent sign expressly authorizing guns.

“While today’s ruling in Wolford is disappointing, owners still have every right to decide whether firearms are allowed in their stores and businesses,” said Janet Carter, managing director of Second Amendment Litigation at Everytown Law. “The Supreme Court may have changed the default rule, but it cannot take away a private property owner’s authority over their own land.”

The Firearms Policy Coalition said the court had properly protected gun rights and barred states from carving out their “own regional version of the 2nd Amendment.”

“The historical record does not support forcing peaceable people to obtain advance permission before carrying for self-defense in places held open to them,” the group said.

Last week, the court upheld gun rights in a Texas case and said the government may not make it a crime for an “unlawful user” of a drug such as marijuana to own a gun.

The giveaway that Lima should be on every food lover’s wish list is not just that it is home to the reigning No. 1 restaurant in the world according to the most recent World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking. Maido in Lima’s famed Miraflores neighborhood, a longtime magnet for fine dining, is where chef Mitsuharu “Micha” Tsumura is transforming Peru’s traditional Nikkei cuisine, integrating the flavors of the Amazon in his own blockbuster style.

But it’s what’s happening one neighborhood over, just about three miles away in Lima’s Barranco district that make Peru’s capital more than a stopover for a single splurge meal on your way to Machu Picchu. The epicenter of the food lover’s Barranco is the garden-lush culinary complex, Casa Túpac, home to Virgilio Martinez’s Central, named to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ “Best of the Best” list after its No. 1 ranking in 2023, and to Pía León’s Kjolle, the current 50 Best’s No. 9 restaurant in the world.

Beyond those walls, several other food hubs have emerged. There is the growing constellation of Barranco restaurants that chef Juan Luis Martínez runs with his wife, designer Michelle Sikic. Their Mérito is currently No. 26. on the World’s 50 Best list; Demo is a morning-to-night cafe with beautiful breakfast dishes; and more recently they opened Clon, with accessibly priced a la carte expressions of Martínez’s Venuezulan-Peruvian cuisine.

A few short blocks away are Ricardo Martins’ pair of restaurants, Siete, a romantic spot with beautiful food and cocktails, and La Perlita, devoted to the chef’s nostalgic take on criolla cuisine. Then there is the venerable Canta Rana, run by an Argentine devoted to soccer and ceviche, and, more recently, the Chilean and American partners who created a mecca for coffee and chocolate lovers.

This is just a hint of the culinary activity happening in one of the world’s great food cities.

It’s puzzling, then, why the Michelin guide doesn’t waive its requirement that tourist boards or local governments pay a fee to have its inspectors visit the city. On the other hand, Lima is doing just fine without Michelin stars.

See for yourself with your own visit to Lima. The suggestions that follow are a delicious way to begin your adventure.

A fine place to stop for a milk tea-centered breakfast or lunch after exploring the labyrinth of African, Indian and other international shops and food stalls inside Chungking Mansions — one of the last remaining film locations in Wong Kar-wai’s iconic “Chungking Express,” where Brigitte Lin’s drug-dealing retired actor is seen conducting her business in a blond wig, trenchcoat and sunglasses. Lan Fong Yuen, in the basement of Heath Mall (which is technically part of Chungking Mansions but has a separate street entrance), has its own historic pedigree. Late founder Lam Muk-ho is credited with originating silk-stocking milk tea (it’s strained through a long cloth filter), and possibly yuenyeung (milk tea mixed with coffee), at the still-operating Gage Street stall he opened in Central in 1952. He’s also said to have popularized the thick-cut Hong Kong-style French toast and pork-chop buns so familiar in our own San Gabriel Valley cafes, as well as “lo-ding” instant noodle dishes, especially the chicken-chop version. The Tsim Sha Tsui location opened in 2009 but has an older diner aesthetic that attracts tourists and locals who line up for the scene and affordable Hong Kong comfort food.

Heath Mall basement, Shop No. S09, Chungking Mansions, 44 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Tokyo isn’t one city. It’s many cities, and each is its own universe.

Occasionally — at a certain subterranean bar big enough for only seven people, or a sushi counter on the fifth floor of a random office building — I feel as if I’m stepping into another time or dimension.

Finding your way to any of the millions of restaurants, cafes, bars and shops (some are micro-businesses in an alley in a village in the city) can be like figuring out a many-layered puzzle. Like Tokyo, each experience is dense.

The Japanese word for hospitality is omotenashi. But its meaning goes far beyond just customer service. Even the translations “wholehearted, selfless hospitality” or “flawless care” don’t cover all of the philosophies that make up omotenashi: magokoro (“true heart” or “sincere feeling”), ichigo ichie (“one time, one meeting”) and kuuki wo yomu (“reading the air”). The last refers to the intuitive ability to anticipate guests’ needs before they ask — an idea rooted in tea ceremony, which is rooted in Buddhism. It’s hard to grasp that level of selflessness.

Here are some of our favorite places to lose yourself in Tokyo. — Betty Hallock

If You Stay

When you live in Los Angeles, there are far worse fates than being stuck in the city all summer. Our thriving food capital draws diners out with sunlit farmers markets, midnight taco stands, multigenerational kebab shops and serene sushi dens. Community-oriented breweries, stylish wine bars and glimmering rooftop destinations round out the scene.

Whether you’re a lifelong Angeleno, new transplant or just passing through, you’ll want to get to know the 50 essential dining experiences that define eating in L.A. right now, from a pastrami sandwich at an iconic deli near MacArthur Park to a char-spotted tlayuda at a burgeoning food bazaar in West Adams and an L.A.-shaped churro from a rising Highland Park panadería.

Don’t miss our guide with nearly two-dozen new bar openings across the city. Finally, a handful of sparkling rooftops recently debuted across the city, offering vistas into neighborhoods we rarely spy from up above.

Thoughtfully compiled by our Food staff over the course of several months, we invite you to return to these lists whenever you’re seeking an answer to that perennial question: Where should I go next? — Danielle Dorsey

If You Go

There’s no easier way to get to know a new place than through its food. Wandering markets, eating at food stalls, sitting among locals and fellow travelers at the restaurants that embody a city. Its flavors and customs and ways of living are revealed to us over dinner or even a simple morning coffee.

And for those of us who are lucky enough to write about food for a living, traveling with an eater’s mindset gives us a deeper understanding of places we’ve read about in cookbooks and novels or seen in movies.

Each of us at L.A. Times Food keeps a running list of our favorite restaurants in some of the world’s great cities — and we want to share what we know with you. The recommendations that follow are not meant to be definitive for any given place. These are personal guides by dedicated eaters to some of the places we’ve loved during our wanderings around the globe.

If you’d like to share your own personal favorites with us, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below. — Laurie Ochoa

With more than a dozen locations across the United Kingdom and its first stateside location landing in Manhattan next year, Dishoom is hardly a secret. But each outpost offers a distinct vibe and set of influences, with the location in Shoreditch recalling an eccentric Iranian cafe by way of Bombay with mismatched furniture, bamboo blinds and gently frayed rugs. For breakfast, there are stuffed naan rolls, date and banana porridge or a Bombay-inflected take on a full English breakfast with akuri, bacon, peppery Shropshire pork sausages, masala beans, grilled field mushrooms, grilled tomato and buttered buns, best paired with fresh juice, chai or a sesame espresso martini. The all-day menu features well-established hits such as chicken ruby, lamb and veggie samosas and the famous black daal that’s slow-cooked for 24 hours, with a range of lassi yogurt drinks, Indian beers and cocktails that put a spin on the classics, such as the thandai mai tai with rum, almond milk, black pepper, cardamom bitters and house thandai syrup. The restaurant doesn’t accept dinner reservations, and lines can get notoriously long, but hospitable servers help pass the time with free chai and sherry samples.

7 Boundary St., London E2 7JE

I sat down recently and counted — surprising myself — that I’ve notched visits to 24 of Mexico’s 32 states, for leisure or while reporting. Querétaro is a highland charmer. Nuevo León is the country’s muscular northern colossus. Campeche, a verdant beauty. Everywhere I go in this country, I find new wonders. Then I visited Colima, and it hit me that Mexico is an endless cornucopia that will never vanquish a traveler’s curiosity.

Never heard of button-sized Colima? Don’t fret. A lover of Mexico may be vaguely aware of its important port at Manzanillo, or the state’s spectacular volcano complex. Otherwise, Colima is not commonly on visitors’ radar. The tourism industry is consistently ranked among Mexico’s smallest.

Yet it is a refreshingly contained and relaxed culture, with foods that are only found here. The depth of its riches are laid out in an ambitious recent series of culinary guidebooks by a group called Colima Sabe.

The state has international airports in Manzanillo and Colima, which you might call Burbank-sized, largely serviced by connecting flights from Mexico City. Weekend travelers also come in by road from Guadalajara. There is a smattering of mid-tier or boutique hotels in central Colima or the nearby village of Comala, and a few resort hotels in Manzanillo. If you go, here are a handful of to-do’s for a sure-to-be-surprising Colima journey.

Taste the tuba

Colima’s traditional devotion to tuba, the coconut palm ferment imported from the Philippines hundreds of years ago, comes into focus as you traverse the region and notice vendors congregating on busy street corners or central plazas with gourds or jugs of a milky liquid. It is tart, crisp and infinitely cooling for tropical temperatures. Embrace the “compuesta” style: tuba poured over ice and adorned with crumbled nuts and ruddy red fruit chunks, turning the liquid pink. El Camellón de la Tuba, a well-known stand near central Colima, made the best that I tasted on my visit. Avoid tuba that looks too brown or tastes too vinegary. * El Camellon de la Tuba, Avenida Constitución 2008, Centro, 28017 Colima, @camellondelatubaoficial

Savor Nico Mejía’s restaurants in Manzanillo

La Sal, breezy and surprising in a former carport at his mother’s home in Manzanillo, launched the fame of chef Nico Mejía as a destination cook in 2020. Earlier this year, he moved La Sal (Colima’s coastal lagoons produce excellent salt) to a plot directly on a beach facing the Pacific. The restaurant makes refined regional favorites like ceviche colimense and his tostada de pozole seco, and mixes cocktails with tuba. The white-walled Casa Rangel is Mejía’s power-meeting magnet for internationally inspired local fare. Not too far away, Mejía’s partner Melissa Santamaria Mora runs an excellent bakery called Santamaria. These are restaurants on par with any you’d see in Guadalajara or Mexico City. * La Sal Playa, Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas 797, Playa Azul las Brisas, 28217 Manzanillo, @lasalplaya_

Sip the prizewinning beers of Cervecería de Colima

Winner of the Copa Cerveza México 2025 for best large brewery, Cervecería de Colima has been my go-to for quality, consistency and innovation since I first tasted its pale ale, the Páramo. I’d hold it against any other in this style. Over the years, I’ve found that just about everything Cervecería de Colima brews is satisfying. I’ve enjoyed the session IPA called Piedra Lisa, the bright pilsner Colimita, and the brewery’s recent entrant in the nonalcoholic market, Colima Cero. The headquarters just outside Colima city offer tastings, and in February, co-founder Esteban Silva and his team opened a taproom in the city called Estación Colimita. When a restaurant anywhere in Mexico offers these beers, I know they know what they’re doing. * Estación Colimita, Avenida Constitución 1401-local 1, Jardines Vista Hermosa IV, 28017 Colima, @cerveceriadecolima

Take in coffee and casual dining in Comala and Colima

Comala is a postcard-ready pueblo a few miles north of Colima. Those familiar with Mexican literature will recognize the name matching the fictional town in Juan Rulfo’s 1955 novel “Pedro Páramo,” the groundbreaking book that Gabriel García Márquez said inspired his magical realism masterpieces. The connection is coincidental, yet a certain air of enchantment hangs over Comala’s cobbled streets and tiled rooftops. According to Silva, who lives near Comala, the restaurants worth noting here are Cuaxiote, De La Suerte, and Hacienda Pascual Nogueras with chef Alan Ramos. In Colima city for coffee and a nice meal, visitors should bookmark Puerto Café and Cumbre, a restaurant and bakery that stands out in a scene of growing maturity and ambition. * Cuaxiote, Degollado 81, Centro, 28450 Comala, @cuaxiote

Bite into Colima’s iconic pozole seco

It is Colima’s most famous regional specialty: all the ingredients and most of the preparation of a traditional white pozole, only without the liquid that makes it a stew. Its origins are uncertain, with one tale suggesting that a cook at Manzanillo’s mercado left a pot of pozole over fire and forgot it. When she returned to find the broth dried out, the lore is the cook slathered the remaining mass of meat and hominy on a tostada, and pozole seco was born. Find it at the local markets, cenadurías, comedores, and the sit-down restaurants that ring Colima city’s central plaza, such as Ramos’ new ¡Aquí Es Colima! * Aquí Es Colima! Portal Morelos 1, Centro, 28000 Colima, @aquiescolimaporgloriadedios

Explore Colima’s ancient history

Colima’s major pre-Hispanic site is La Campana, a grid of streets and structural bases that is believed to have been settled as early as 1870 B.C. in Mexico’s Pre-Classic period. The archaeological zone sits right beside urbanized Colima. At the former hacienda community Nogueras near Comala, an impressive museum features historical and archaeological artifacts, and the restaurant Pascual mentioned above. The museum holds ceramics of a dog from ancient times that is native to Colima, similar to Mexico’s more well-known native hairless dog the xoloitzcuintle. Colima’s tlalchichi breed is similar, with shorter legs. Though now sadly it is extinct, the tlalchichi is the state’s unofficial mascot, incorporated in signage, marketing and touristy knickknacks. * Museo Universitario Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo Nogueras, Nogueras s/n, 28450 Nogueras, Comala, @alejandrorangel_udec

Civic pride, sure. But what is it really worth to the city of Anaheim to have its name on the hometown baseball team?

Hundreds of millions of dollars, the city has said. As the Angels’ stadium lease approaches its end, and as Anaheim prepares for negotiations either with Arte Moreno or a potential new owner, it’s worth keeping in mind.

So too is a concept floating around City Hall in Anaheim: What if we could put a new stadium and a youth sports complex next to one another?

Nothing is imminent, and even a bill winding its way through the state legislature would not necessarily require the Angels to return Anaheim to the team name.

It’s leverage: If the Angels’ owner wants to build atop the stadium parking lots, the city can pursue an exemption to a state law that currently restricts what can be built there, which could mean more money for the team and its development partners. In exchange for the exemption, the team name would revert to the Anaheim Angels.

If that’s the carrot, this is the stick: The city would have to approve the zoning changes that could make the land “two to three times more valuable than it is as a parking lot,” Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said.

Said Aitken: “There are no gifts. For an ownership to truly be a partner to the city in what that property could be, there is going to have to be some realization that Anaheim is not Los Angeles.”

The Angels’ stadium lease expires in 2032, and the team can extend it through 2038. A new owner could move the Angels — or at least leverage the threat of a move — but Anaheim offers a 150-acre site with what every owner in pro sports covets: land around the venue to turn the property into a year-round money-making operation.

The standard ballpark villages include restaurants, shops, hotels, homes, offices and entertainment venues. The Ducks are launching one, called OC Vibe, around Honda Center, and within walking distance of Angel Stadium.

What intrigues the city, for at least part of the parking lots around Angel Stadium: a youth sports park for all those travel ball teams. Ontario is building a 199-acre one around a minor league ballpark; Irvine has a 194-acre one up and running at its Great Park.

Katie Wright, who books sports events for Anaheim’s tourism bureau, said there would be a market if her city built a sports park.

“The demand for, specifically, soccer, baseball and softball is tremendous,” Wright told the Anaheim City Council in April. “They would be filled every single weekend, I think.”

What Anaheim has that Ontario and Irvine do not: Disneyland down the street for visiting families, a variety of restaurants within walking distance, and hotel rooms aplenty. In Anaheim, 40% of the city’s general fund comes from taxes on hotel rooms.

“With Angels baseball right next to a youth sports facility, to have the synergy of hotels and restaurants, and players interacting with the Little League kids and soccer fields,” Aitken said, “I just think it’s a unique opportunity.”

Everything old is new again: In 1996, Anaheim pitched a youth sports center called the “Little A” in part of the stadium parking lots as part of a ballpark village that never materialized.

What might be in the best interest of the city now might not be in that of the developer, whether that turns out to be the Angels or a real estate partner. While a sports park might drive tax revenues to the city, a developer might pay the most for land used for hotel and retail properties, said Louis Tomaselli, the Irvine-based executive managing director at JLL, a nationally prominent commercial real estate brokerage.

“A youth sports complex would likely be at or near the bottom from a land value perspective,” Tomaselli said.

That’s all part of the negotiation, and for now the city of Anaheim has no party with which to negotiate. That leaves room for all sorts of brainstorming, including Aitken’s curiosity about flanking the development with high-rise residential buildings, similar to the condominiums that have risen next to Petco Park in San Diego. In some of them, you can watch the game from your balcony.

But let’s get back to the value of the Anaheim name on the baseball team.

“A lot of times, we get the question, ‘Exactly where is Anaheim?’” Wright, the Anaheim tourism official, told the City Council. “We’re always fighting to say, ‘We’re not L.A.’”

In 2005, when Anaheim sued the Angels after Moreno slapped the Los Angeles label on the team, the city commissioned experts that testified the name change would cost Anaheim nearly $200 million over the following decade and close to $400 million through 2029. The Angels dismissed both numbers as wildly high, but that is what the city presented in court.

I asked Sean Moran of Los Angeles-based Innovative Partnerships Group for an update. Moran estimated the worth of the Anaheim name at $26.5 million per year — or more than $500 million over the life of a 20-year deal — based on the value of references to the city on game broadcasts, digital and social media, highlight clips, betting sites, in fantasy leagues, and more.

“I don’t think you can put a monetary value on civic pride and respecting your fan base,” Aitken said. “So, if a new owner wants to come in and start fresh and really respect the fan base in Orange County, the name should not even be a negotiating point.

“It should be the first thing you do, out of respect for where this team is located, and the fan base that is so loyal in good times and bad.”

Perhaps. But, if I’m the new owner of the Angels and the city is on record saying its name on the team is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the first thing I say to the city in negotiations is: You can get your name on the team for that $500 million, which would help me build a new ballpark that could cost $1.5 billion.

Who else could benefit from that? Moreno, as the need for a new owner to pay for a ballpark could lower the sale price.

Even without that exemption from state law, a new owner could pursue a fair amount of development on land Anaheim has failed to develop for 60 years, on a site the city’s own land use plan envisions as “an exciting mix of high energy uses while providing additional housing.” Or a new owner could simply inherit the existing lease and deal with potential development later.

You can start to get the shape of what the bargaining might look like. Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim), the assembly member who introduced the bill in Sacramento intended to spur the return of the Anaheim Angels name, included a provision that says resolution would take precedence over legislation.

“If there is another outcome that takes place, in negotiations or deal-wise, there would be no need for this, right?” Valencia said.

All of that could be years down the road, so no sense arguing all the finer points now. Aitken promises a series of community meetings first, so that Anaheim residents can share how they envision the future of the Angel Stadium property, with or without a baseball stadium.

This should come up for discussion too: The Anaheim Angels name might be ideal for the city, but what, if anything, should the city give up to get it? The last time the city asked, Moreno just said no. If a new owner would be willing, should the taxpayers of Anaheim consider subsidizing the name?

Daiki Kaneko had only 24 hours before his World Cup journey took him to Dallas, where his home country’s squad will take on Sweden.

The Japanese soccer fan was making the most of it on Tuesday in Inglewood, snapping pictures of SoFi Stadium before taking in a different kind of monument: a space-age, two-story branch of the chicken chain Raising Cane’s, complete with a 308-square-foot screen, a mirrored dog sculpture and a massive halo hovering around the exterior.

For Kaneko, 25, who lives in the Tokyo suburbs, it was the perfect encapsulation of American grandeur.

“All this for chicken,” he said. “I love America.”

Inglewood is already diverse — most residents are Latino or Black, and nearly a third are immigrants. But during the World Cup, it’s looking more like the United Nations. English, Japanese, Swiss, Iranians, Paraguayans, Bosnians, Belgians and others are flocking to the city of about 102,000, where eight matches are being played at SoFi Stadium.

Though visitors from abroad may not have heard of Inglewood until now, they’re soaking up the vibes of a city that has long been a major sports and entertainment hub, home to venues such as the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome, and a crucible of Black culture, immortalized in hip-hop songs by artists such as Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre.

“We’re an international city now,” Mayor James Butts said.

Butts said locals were already proud of what the city has become, but the World Cup has put the celebratory feelings over the top.

“We have people from so many different countries migrating to Inglewood, and there’s an explosive sense of community pride,” he said.

City officials are doing everything they can to embrace the spirit of the tournament, including speeding up permits so small businesses and neighborhoods can hold World Cup gatherings and watch parties, Butts said. During the U.S.’s opening match against Paraguay on June 12, the city hosted the Wood Cup, a block party on Market Street that brought in more than 5,000 people.

Businesses across the city are embracing the tournament as well, vying for a piece of the roughly $17 million the city expects to haul in. For a few weeks, concerns about skyrocketing housing costs and gentrification, brought on by the city’s increasing popularity as a place to settle down, are taking a back seat to the sheer fun of international soccer.

The supersized Raising Cane’s had its grand opening on June 11, the first day of the tournament. During the USMNT’s opening match, Cinepolis, a luxury movie theater down the road from SoFi Stadium, turned into a global sports hub, according to CEO Luis Olloqui.

Maddy Daversa, a bartender at the Meeting Spot, a restaurant near the stadium, said 2,000 people poured in when the Americans played Paraguay.

“I was selling beers for five hours straight,” she said. “It was crazy.”

Daversa said the restaurant is usually closed on Mondays but opened in hopes of getting some spillover fans from the Iran-New Zealand game at SoFi.

“Every table was full,” she said. “We’re taking advantage.”

Tuesday was an off day for Inglewood, with no games at SoFi. But the energy was still palpable, with locals sporting soccer jerseys and tourists popping up across the city.

“I just want to be where the fans are,” said David Meier, a Swiss fan in town for his home country’s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday.

Meier, 45, plans to explore L.A. via bars, restaurants and watch parties, taking in every game that his schedule will allow before heading north of the border to Vancouver, where Switzerland will face Canada on June 24.

“Everyone has been so kind,” he said. “Soccer and beer turns strangers into friends.”

The energy carried over to Market Street, a historic shopping district about a mile from SoFi Stadium. Businesses set up signs, posters and international flags to lure locals and tourists alike, while the Miracle Theater hosted a watch party for the match between France and Senegal.

Owen Smith, who co-owns the theater with his wife, Mariana, said a Senegalese friend who grew up in France asked if he would be willing to show the game on the big screen. A day later, fans of both teams assembled inside, snapping photos in front of a giant inflatable World Cup trophy in the lobby.

“The Miracle is a cultural event theater. It’s about accommodating the community,” Smith said.

Benyam Woldegiorgis, who co-owns the Nile Bar on Market Street, is showing every single World Cup match — all 104 of them.

“It brings in business,” he said. “Usually it’s just football, basketball and baseball, but now we’re adding soccer to the mix.”

Dionte Johnson, owner of the streetwear store Kingsrowe, partnered with Adidas to hold a watch party for the U.S. team’s opener and said the turnout was massive, bringing in loads of Mexico fans who are local residents, even though their team had already won their opener the day before.

“The downside of the World Cup is that tickets are so expensive, so a lot of locals can’t go check out the games themselves. That’s why we’re hosting events,” Johnson said. “The games are in our backyard, so this is something people have had on their calendar for a long time.”

Homeowners are cashing in as well, with some renting out their places on Airbnb for a small fortune, figuring that crashing on a friend’s couch or booking a hotel room elsewhere is well worth the lofty payouts brought by World Cup demand.

Across L.A., hotel demand lagged compared with initial expectations, but short-term rental prices still jumped 56% compared with typical rates, and more than 70% of rentals were booked by December 2025.

In Inglewood — especially for rentals walkable to SoFi Stadium — prices became dizzying.

Peggy Orenstein and her husband, David, own a home steps from the stadium that typically rents for $400 a night on Airbnb. For the U.S. team’s opener, the nightly rate shot up to $3,000.

For other matches, the four-bedroom house is going for $1,200 to $1,500 a night. Orenstein said the high demand and international crowds are a teaser for what’s to come.

“Next up is the Olympics,” she said. “This is a great learning lesson for what we can expect.”

Los Angeles is the best food city in the United States. When considering breadth and scope, quality of ingredients and cooking, diversity and innovation, and sheer volume, it just can’t be beat. There’s no beginning and no end to its wonders.

But it’s more than that. Although our city can feel chronically fractured, our foods and restaurants may be the only possible glue that binds us. So we asked our Food writers, what are the local dining experiences that define living in our city?

This is our answer. The following are not the definitive “best” restaurants or meals in L.A. — we have a proper critics’ list for that each year. Instead, these experiences are the foundation for understanding what it means to love L.A. through its foods.

Tell us if you disagree, or if there’s anything you think we missed. Whether you’re a hard-boiled native or a first-time visitor with a big appetite, we’re confident that any combination of these 50 dining experiences will make your heart sing with love for L.A.’s invincible food scene. — Daniel Hernandez

When it comes to exploring Los Angeles, there are three things that actor and comedian Randall Park loves to do: shop, eat and run. Park, a native Angeleno, grew up on the Westside, attended UCLA, chose a career here and can’t imagine living anywhere else.

“I consider myself a small town person who happened to be born in the big city,” Park says. “I’ve traveled a lot for work, and have gotten a greater appreciation for L.A. There’s a little part of everywhere here. There’s so much good food in L.A., so many fun things to do and really great people here.”

The son of Korean immigrants, Park grew up in the South Robertson area, “a part of L.A. that was extremely diverse,” he says. “My friends, growing up and to this day, are all different backgrounds, races and religions. We were like a bunch of punk kids running around the city.”

Park is known for his roles as Agent Jimmy Woo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, FBI Special Agent Edwin Park in the Netflix series “The Residence” and Taiwanese American patriarch Louis Huang in the ABC sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat.”

Recently, Park, his wife (actor Jae Suh Park) and their 13-year-old daughter Ruby left Studio City, where they had lived for 15 years, to move back to the Westside. When asked what his ideal Sunday would include, Park’s answer was jam-packed. It was so jam-packed that it would be impossible to fit it all in one day. So, take his schedule with a grain of salt. This is his magical Sunday where time bends, L.A. traffic doesn’t exist and bellies are never too full.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

9 a.m.: Go for a run before a day of delicious eats

I’d sleep in, then go for a run to the beach and run around Venice. Sometimes my daughter’s up earlier. She’s on the autism spectrum, and really loves art and making stuff. We have a little art room that’s dedicated to her. She’s always painting, drawing, making little sculptures, just always creating.

10 a.m.: Breakfast and then pastries

Rae’s in Santa Monica is a very old-school diner, and we really love it there. They do these biscuits and gravy that are really good. They’re probably not that good for you, but I just ran, so it’s OK. There’s also a great bakery-cafe that we like to go to called Röckenwagner. So breakfast at Rae’s, then a coffee and pastry at Röckenwagner. We’ll be eating all day, which is why I ran in the morning.

11 a.m.: Stroll the farmers’ market

Next, we’d hit up the farmers’ market in Mar Vista. We’ll get fruits and vegetables for later in the week. There’s a hummus stand that I really love. There’s always a band playing, so we just soak it all in. It’s a really nice walk.

Noon: Shopping, with more eating along the way

Then I’d go shopping, and would either drag my family with me, or I’d go alone while they did their thing. First, there’s a small shop called General Quarters on La Brea. I know the owner there, Blair Lucio, and they always carry the coolest stuff. They specialize in California heritage-style clothing for men. Another store I love is Sid Mashburn in the Brentwood Country Mart. They do suits and really cool menswear. I discovered it in Atlanta when I was working on a job and loved it so much that every time I’d be in Atlanta, I’d go to it. Then I discovered they had one in L.A.

Or, I’d go to Sawtelle Boulevard. That whole street is fun with so many great stores. The Giant Robot store there has a lot of pop culture, Japanese and Asian pop culture, a lot of art, graphic novels. There’s also a great record store called We Share Records. It’s mostly vinyl and a lot of it is from Japan. They’ll even have American artists, but the Japanese editions of their records, so it’s really cool to see the Japanese versions of a Whitney Houston album. The last thing I bought there was a Hall & Oates record from Japan.

For lunch, I’ve been really into a place called Sun Nong Dan on Sawtelle. They have a few locations, but the newer one in Sawtelle is the only one that I go to since I’m on the Westside. I usually get either the Galbi-tang, which is a short rib soup, or the Tta Roh Guk Bap, which is a brisket and dried cabbage soup, or the Dduk Mandu Guk, which is a rice cake and dumpling soup. Very much Korean comfort food. Plus, they’re open 24 hours, which sometimes comes in handy.

If not there, I’d go to El Tepeyac Cafe in Boyle Heights, which is one of my all-time favorites as a kid that my dad would take me to. It’s very homestyle Mexican food, and I would get their Hollenbeck burrito, which is pretty epic.

6 p.m.: Baseball or dinner out

If there’s a Dodgers game, I’d go to the game. Growing up in L.A., there’s a lot of nostalgia with the Dodgers for me. I’ve always been a fan. My wife and I will go to the games and eat Dodger Dogs and nachos.

If not, we’d go to Musso & Frank Grill to get a shrimp cocktail and steak dinner. It’s very Old Hollywood, and you can feel the history in there. A lot of the leather booths have a story. I love when L.A. preserves its landmarks. Getting a sense of the history of the city through these restaurants is really fun.

For something more low-key, there’s this restaurant in Koreatown called Kobawoo House. They specialize in bosam, which are wraps with [fillings like] pork. They also specialize in Korean seafood pancakes that are so good.

If we’re going to go fancy, which we don’t often do, there’s a restaurant called Kato at the Row, near downtown. It’s a Michelin-starred Taiwanese omakase-style restaurant that’s so good. You don’t order. They just give you courses, and you can pair it with wine or just order cocktails. I usually just order an Old Fashioned, which is really good there. The food is just out of this world.

8 p.m.: A little night jazz

After dinner, we’d drive down to South Pasadena where there’s a bar and grill called the Barkley. My childhood friend Richie Glaser has a jazz band [the Richard Glaser Quartet] and they play at the Barkley every Sunday night. We’d get a cocktail, listen to the band and hang out.

9:30 p.m.: Winding down for bedtime

We’d come home, relax and watch TV, probably old episodes of “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” My daughter would go to bed before us, and would be asleep before we officially go to sleep. The end of the day is very low-key and quiet. Every Sunday is different, but my ideal Sunday would be one of food, family, friends and frolicking throughout the city.

L.A. will soon explode in color as Angelenos and tourists alike don jerseys and wave flags representing their favorite soccer teams playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with some of the matches taking place at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium.

The action kicks off with Mexico vs. South Africa on June 11 and will continue through July 19, with later matches determined by which teams advance. Forty-eight countries are represented in the tournament, including heavyweights like Brazil and Argentina with multiple titles under their belts, and hopeful underdogs like Haiti, whose men’s team qualified for the competition for the first time in 52 years.

Local restaurants, sports bars, coffee shops and breweries are getting in on the action with World Cup viewing parties, complete with big-screen TVs, extended hours, food and drink specials, games, giveaways and live performances. Some require tickets or a reservation, but many are free, family-friendly and open to all.

Some spots are committed to screening every game throughout the tournament, while others are focused on championing the countries their cuisines hail from, including an Argentinian bistro in South L.A. offering discounted empanadas, a German beer garden in Eagle Rock serving vegan sausages and schnitzel and a Panamanian restaurant in Long Beach where you can watch the Central American team play while you sip soursop lemonade alongside jerk mac and cheese.

From Hawthorne to Sherman Oaks, here are 31 restaurants and bars screening World Cup matches this summer:

First-timers visiting the 35,000-square-foot Mercado La Paloma, take heed: The line likely trailing out the door and into the parking lot is specifically for Holbox, the most decorated and popular among the market’s seven food vendors. Chef Gilberto Cetina’s mariscos creations are revolutionary in their freshness and jigsaw-intricate flavors. Tuna tostada, scallop aguachile, coctel mixto and smoked kanpachi taco number among must-try dishes. Other wonderful options in the mercado await without the Holbox queues. Begin at Komal, where Fátima Juárez’s quesadillas and tacos, as beautiful as they are delicious, showcase the earthy-fragrant masa she crafts daily from heirloom corn varieties, and Chichén Itzá, where the Cetina family serves lush, orange-scented cochinita pibil and other specialties from the Yucatán. The mercado is such a vital sanctuary for the city that fellow critic Jenn Harris and I ranked it number one on our recent guide to the 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Egg tarts are the only food obsession I held as a child that never waned in adulthood. They served as a primary motivator as a toddler. Clean my room? Finish my homework? Dan tat, the egg tarts found on dim sum carts, were always the answer.

I grew up eating Hong Kong-style egg tarts, with pale, glossy tops and nests of either crumbly, cookie-adjacent shortcrust or flaky pastry. They were usually cold, and the filling more like firm Jell-O than custard. Still, I was hooked. When someone brought a box of warm Macau tarts to a mahjong gathering at my grandmother’s house in the early ‘90s, I crushed out on the palm-sized pastry like it was the latest single from Boyz II Men.

While the Hong Kong tarts can be traced to custard tarts from the United Kingdom, Macau tarts are descendants of Portuguese pastéis de nata (until 1999, Macau was a Portuguese colony). Dozens of layers of crisp pastry cradle a crème brûlée-adjacent filling with a glistening top blistered in a scorching hot oven. The shell crackles and the custard trembles, for a confluence of textures that’s addictive and almost maddening. If I’m going to eat a tart, it might as well be three.

When Nata’s Pastries opened in a Sherman Oaks strip mall more than 20 years ago, it was the only Portuguese bakery in the city. Now, you can find Macau tarts and pastéis de nata at restaurants and bakeries all over Los Angeles. The following are seven places that should jump-start your own egg tart obsession.

BRITNEY Spears has been accused of barking, waving a knife around and lighting up a cigarette inside a restaurant by concerned fellow diners.

The Princess of Pop, 44, was said to be in “rough shape” as she arrived at the Los Angeles tavern with witnesses claiming even her own team were helpless to stop her from causing havoc.

Representatives for the Toxic singer have hit back at the reports calling them “completely blown out of proportion”.

They told PEOPLE: “Britney was enjoying a quiet dinner with her assistant and bodyguard.

“She was simply telling the story about how her dog was barking at the neighbors.”

The vehement denial comes after one dinner guest spoke out about Spears having an “outburst” inside the restaurant.

US entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider told Page Six he and a friend turned up at Blue Dog Tavern in Sherman Oaks at around 7pm on Wednesday night.

Spears then walked in a few minutes later hiding behind a big pair of sunglasses.

Pictures show the blonde popstar in a light blue top standing up by the tills before being taken to her seat.

Sneider then claims: “The woman sat down and proceeded to make a lot of woofing or barking noises and just throw a lot of outbursts.”

Spears was accused of constantly leaving her seat and moving around the restaurant erratically.

Her table then ordered food with bar staff bringing out a burger and chips and placing it in front of the Grammy Award winner.

At this point, Sneider alleges Spears stood up while holding a serrated knife which came with her food.

He admitted it looked as if Spears had forgotten she was holding the blade and that no one on his table felt threatened.

But one woman sitting in the restaurant did appear to be in some distress.

Sneider claims the scared diner thought Spears “was going to stab” her.

The journalist did go on to confess: “When she eventually left, I turned around and was like, ‘holy s**t that was crazy!’ to the entire section.”

Britney’s reps said the claims about the knife have been massively exaggerated.

“At no point did she put anyone in danger with a knife,” they said.

The Oops!…I Did it Again star was simply using the knife to cut her burger in half, they assured fans and critics alike.

Back in 2023, fans were concerned for Spears’ safety after she posted a video to her social media of her playing with two knives while in a bikini and boots.

Shortly after the latest alleged knife debacle, Spears lit up a cigarette inside the restaurant near to the door, according to witnesses.

Staff quickly told one of the people she was with that she had to put it out, they added.

Spears wasn’t asked to leave the restaurant at any point but did reportedly leave a mess on the table after “picking” at her food.

No alcohol was seen on Spears’ table with orange juice believed to have been her drink of choice, according to guests.

The popstar’s team added in their statement: “This constant attack on everything that she does and this is exactly what happened 20 years ago when the media tried to depict Britney as a bad person.

“This is ridiculous and it needs to stop now.”

It comes just days after Spears escaped jail by pleading guilty to reckless driving after being hit with a DUI in March.

A judge sentenced Britney to 12 months’ probation, along with one day of jail time already served.

The acclaimed artist checked herself into rehab after her initial arrest following gentle encouragement from her sons.

It’s all too easy to overlook the grilled cheese sandwich when ordering at a restaurant. It can feel like something that is best reserved for picky eaters and the kids menu. But a great version is so much more than bread sealed together with a generous layer of cheese — everything must work harmoniously together. When something is this simple in construction, each ingredient really matters, from the type of bread to the selection of cheese to any additional toppings.

Luckily, restaurants around Los Angeles are taking the grilled cheese seriously, whether leaning into nostalgic versions with American cheese and sourdough bread or experimenting with unexpected ingredients like spicy labneh and caramelized onions. The results are delicious and comforting. Here are nine of the best grilled cheese sandwiches to try in L.A.:

Los Angeles is a city rich with regional specificity when considering the cuisines of Asia. When someone asks for a restaurant recommendation for “Korean food” or “dumplings” or “Thai,” I encourage them to be more specific. Are you in the mood for xiao long bao, mandu, gyoza or momos? You want to know where to get barbecue in Koreatown? Those sizzling grills crowded with galbi, while dependably righteous, only scratch the surface of the breadth and depth of Korean cuisine in what is home to the largest Korean diaspora outside of Korea.

There are omakase experiences for every price point. Cramped izakayas. A restaurant where the sole speciality is lamb prepared in the style of the Uyghur people of China’s Xinjiang province. Pho parlors and banh mi shops with pâté-smeared baguettes. Sunny Taiwanese breakfast restaurants slinging steaming bowls of congee and tightly wrapped fantuan.

AAPI-owned restaurants act as the vital centers of countless communities around the city. The San Gabriel Valley, Westminster, Little Bangladesh, Koreatown and so many more. These are places that are both hubs for thriving immigrant communities and sought-after dining destinations.

Here’s a list of 20 AAPI-owned standouts from our most recent guide to the 101 Best Restaurants in the city. — Jenn Harris

The all-you-can-eat venue says it has had a problem with ‘many customers’

An all-you-can-eat restaurant in Spain is introducing a “vomit fee” for diners who eat until they are sick on the premises. Sushi Toro, located in Gelves near Sevilla, said it had experienced a growing number of incidents in recent months involving customers “eating until they burst” and then vomiting.

The restaurant said the problem had affected tables and bathrooms, creating difficulties for staff and raising concerns over hygiene and customer service. In a statement shared on social media, restaurant staff said: “We have had many customers who keep ordering non-stop and eat until they burst, until they vomit. We have had vomit on the tables and in the bathrooms.”

They added that “the only solution” was to start charging vomiting fees. The restaurant, which promotes a fusion of “tradition and innovation”, offers a buffet menu featuring dishes prepared using fresh ingredients and specialist techniques. Prices range from €16.90 (£14.40) to €23.90 (£20.30), depending on the day and time of dining.

Sushi Toro bosses said their staff “strive hard to get orders out on time and maintain good hygiene” throughout all service periods. They urged diners to “order what you can eat” and apologised for any inconvenience caused by the new policy.

Demand for sushi has been surging in Spain in recent years, with diners increasingly opting for Asian seafood dishes over traditional Spanish fish fare.

BRITS might not know about this short-lived McDonald’s venture that launched in 2023 as it lasted just two years.

Called CosMc’s, the spin-off was a retro space brand by McDonald’s that focussed on ‘otherworldly beverage creations’.

Follow The Sun’s award-winning travel team on Instagram and Tiktok for top holiday tips and inspiration @thesuntravel.

In 2023, the very first CosMc’s venue opened selling a few food items and lots of speciality drinks that weren’t available in its original McDonald’s restaurants.

It was space-themed and based on an early alien character who visited McDonaldland in a series of adverts in the late 1980s and early 90s.

The first venue to open was a drive-thru in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

In its first month, the store reportedly had twice the traffic of a regular McDonald’s.

The opening day saw a large queue of customers – with some even being turned away, and police were monitoring the car park.

CosMc’s then opened in four other locations in Texas – Fort Worth, San Antonio and Allen.

The reason it was so popular during its opening was its unique menu.

Apart from a few items from the ‘McDonald’s Universe’ like an Egg McMuffin and McFlurry, all were only available at these restaurants.

Other available food items were the likes of a ‘Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich’ or a ‘Spicy Queso Sandwich’.

There were also ‘Pretzel Bites’ and ‘McPops’ which are essentially filled donuts – and you could get three for $3.79 (£2.78).

According to McDonald’s, hundreds of thousands of McPops were sold throughout the few years CosMc’s was open.

The spin-off was initially founded to crack the coffee market and mirror the success of other brands like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts.

CosMc’s sold speciality coffees like the ‘Churro Frappe’ and ‘S’mores Cold Brew’ as well as slushies and soft drinks.

The Signature Galactic Boost range were drinks like the ‘Sour Cherry Energy Burst’ and the ‘Blueberry Ginger Boost’.

Across the two years that it was operational, CosMc’s opened at nine locations, all within the US.

Each was aimed at those wanting a quick snack, which is why each was a drive-thru and had no seating areas inside.

Last year it was reported that McDonald’s would be shutting down its CosMc’s chain, with none remaining open as of June 2025.

Thirty years ago, comedian and actor Tig Notaro didn’t have a clear direction in life, so she followed some childhood friends who wanted to get into entertainment to Los Angeles. Secretly wanting to do stand-up, Notaro decided to try her luck at various outlets in town, which became the start of her successful career.

“I stayed on my friends’ couch near the Hollywood Improv on Melrose, and a couple months later, got my own studio apartment in the Miracle Mile area,” Notaro says. “I love all the options for everything in L.A. — the entertainment, the restaurants. I like to stay active. So many people love the hiking options in Los Angeles, and I’m one of them.”

Notaro appears in Season 3 of Apple TV’s “The Morning Show” and is a series regular on Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,” as she was on “Star Trek: Discovery.” She’s also a touring stand-up comic and hosts “Handsome,” a comedy podcast, with Fortune Feimster and Mae Martin. The trio will be taping a live show May 4 at the Wiltern with the cast of Netflix’s “The Hunting Wives.” The live shows include interviews, but also “incorporate some ridiculous things,” she says. For example, upon hearing that some of the hosts always wanted to learn to tap dance, Notaro “hired a tap instructor to come to our live show in Austin and teach us how to tap dance in front of the audience.”

Notaro lives near Hollywood with her wife, actor Stephanie Allynne, their 9-year-old fraternal twin boys, Max and Finn, and three cats, Fluff, Linus and Skip. When she’s not touring, her ideal Sundays include sampling vegan restaurants, wandering through bookstores or museums, and doing something physically active with the family.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.

6 a.m.: Up with the kids

Because we have active children, we still wake up at 6 a.m. or 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, but there’s not as much of a rush to get going. Stephanie and I will often have coffee and chat in the living room together. I love that part of the day. Stephanie may cook breakfast, but Max and Finn are pretty self-sufficient and can make certain little meals for themselves. Max is really starting to take an interest in cooking, so he’d make breakfast for himself. Our family is vegan, but he eats eggs, so he makes himself an egg sandwich with avocado a lot of times.

9 a.m.: Daily morning walk

After breakfast, we usually have a morning walk around our neighborhood. That’s a daily thing I like to do, regardless of what’s going on. Now that I’m not touring as much, tennis is back on the schedule. So I’d go to Plummer Park in West Hollywood and play for a while, then join the family for lunch.

11:30 a.m.: Hike with a side of chickpea sandwich

I love Trails, a cafe in Griffith Park, where you can eat outdoors. It serves simple food, and has good vegan options. I usually get their chickpea salad sandwich. The food there is great. Afterward, we’d visit Griffith Observatory, where there’s lots to see. There are lots of great trails in the park, so we’d go for an hour hike before leaving.

3 p.m.: Browse the shelves for rock biographies

Bookstores are fun, so we’d head downtown for the Last Bookstore, which is in a historic building with lots of vintage books. I really love all things plant-based, and I’m a very big music fanatic. So I love to look for vegan books, nutrition books, rock biographies and autobiographies. It’s just fun to browse around the stacks.

If we didn’t go to the bookstore, we’d probably go to LACMA. Our sons are huge fans of art and want to go for each new exhibit. They love Hockney, Basquiat and Picasso, to name a few.

4 p.m.: Cuddle with cuties at a cat cafe

We’d then make a quick stop at [Crumbs & Whiskers], a kitten and cat cafe on Melrose for coffee, snacks and to pet the cats. It’s best to make reservations in advance. There’s cats all around the place that need to be adopted. You can visit and pet them, or find a new roommate. I’d love to take some home, but we already have three.

5:30 p.m. Italian or sushi, but make it vegan

We’re an early dinner family. One restaurant we like is Pura Vita in West Hollywood. It’s the greatest vegan Italian food, and for non-vegans, nobody ever knows the difference. It’s the first 100% plant-based Italian restaurant in the United States. They make an incredible kale salad and I love the San Gennaro pizza. It’s got cashew mozzarella, tomato sauce, Italian sausage crumble and more.

Then there’s Planta in Marina del Rey. It’s right on the harbor and you can sit outside and look at the boats coming in and out. They have sushi, salads and other plant-based entrees. They’ve got a really great spicy tuna roll that’s made out of watermelon. They are magicians.

Or there’s Crossroads Kitchen in West Hollywood. They play the best classic rock, and the atmosphere is upscale, fine dining. The appetizers that we always get are called Moroccan Cigars, which are vegan meat substitutes fried in a rolled batter. I really like the grilled lion’s mane steak, their mushroom steak with truffle potatoes, or the scallopini Milanese, that has a chicken or tofu option. I get the chicken with arugula on top. I always love to have a decaf espresso with dessert, which is either a brownie sundae or banana pudding.

7:30 p.m.: Comfort watch or word games

After dinner, the kids often like to watch an episode of “Friends,” a show that all ages enjoy, sports or “The Simpsons.” Or we’d play a game where each of us will add a word to a sentence and create a weird or funny long sentence until one of our sons says period. Then they’ll try and remember the whole sentence and repeat it back.

9:30 p.m.: Bubble bath then bed

The boys usually go to bed at 8:30 p.m. and bedtime for us is 9:30 p.m. Stephanie and I would read or chat. I like to take a bubble bath, if people must know. The best Sundays for me mean finding a good balance of relaxing and being active. I feel very lucky that my family and I can do those things together.

WASHINGTON — A man who stole a purse from then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem while she dined at a restaurant under the protection of Secret Service agents was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison for a string of thefts in the nation’s capital.

Mario Bustamante Leiva did not recognize Noem when he grabbed her Gucci handbag from the floor of a restaurant where she was eating with her family in April 2025, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Noem’s purse had credit cards and about $3,000 in cash. Police recovered it from Leiva’s motel room.

Bustamante Leiva, a 50-year-old native of Chile, is facing deportation after his sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden.

“Bustamante Leiva came to Washington illegally to prey on citizens of the district,” said Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, in a statement. “His pattern of theft ends here.”

Noem, who is identified only by her initials in court filings, acknowledged the incident in a statement last year that referred to Bustamante Leiva as a “a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.”

He pleaded guilty in November to three counts of wire fraud and one count of first-degree theft. He was charged and convicted of robbing two other people and charging fraudulent purchases to their credit cards.

Bustamante Leiva was charged along with a second suspect, Cristian Montecino-Sananza, who was sentenced in March to 13 months of incarceration for his role in one of the other thefts.

Investigators said they identified Bustamante Leiva as a suspect in the thefts after he used a stolen gift card to make a purchase.

Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press.