BA's Grub Crawl Heads to L.A. This Weekend, Home of the Nitpicker (Uh-Oh)

And of course, he's got something to say about it

July 11, 2012

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Usually The Nitpicker shows up to complain. But today he's sharing a mash note to his hometown, LA, as the BA Grub Crawl heads his way

Some of team BA is headed to L.A. on Friday for the third installment of the Bon Appétit Grub Crawl. (Remember those 36 hours of booze, pork, and hotties we experienced in Brooklyn and NOLA? Now it's the West Coast's moment in the sun.) The L.A. crawl will span three days and 14 restaurants in Downtown L.A., Hollywood, Weho, Culver City, Venice, and Abbot Kinney. If you're in the area, please join us. If not, you can follow along on Twitter and Instagram for what's sure to be some seriously good-lookin' foods.

There to hang out will be our very own Nitpicker, Mr. Jason Kessler, who's based in the City of Angels. To get amped up, we asked Kessler to write a love letter to his home town.

Dear Los Angeles,

When we first met, I didn't think it was going to last. You had taquerias instead of hot dog stands, Koreatown instead of Greektown, and a seemingly endless supply of farmers' markets instead of a bar on every corner. No, you were not Chicago. Not by a long shot. Your hottest restaurants were popular because of who was eating there and not what they were eating. Vegan wasn't just an epithet you hurled at your most hated enemies. I had to drive everywhere and there was never any free parking. I cursed every time somebody asked me if I wanted to add avocado to my sandwich. Eight years later, though, I can't imagine life without you.

Now your farmers' markets have replaced my trips to the grocery store because the produce is the best in the nation. Fresh isn't just an aspiration here--it's a way of life. Your ethnic neighborhoods are so diverse that "Mexican food" is merely an umbrella category with many regions represented, from authentic Oaxacan moles to beautifully broiled pescado zarandeado from Sinaloa and everything in between. I willingly go out for Korean now and take trips out to the San Gabriel Valley for amazing Chinese food that doesn't look anything like the Mongolian beef that terrorized my youth. And the sushi! My God, the sushi! For a city with hardly any seafood, you certainly get the best fish I've ever tasted and it's prepared by masters who are only rivaled by their competitors in Japan.

You still have those glitzy hot spots that attract celebrities, but you've grown so much. New restaurants helmed by chefs who are creative and driven and working to establish a new working model of Angeleno cuisine: farm-to-table, nose-to-tail, and mostly without pretension. From the Mozzas to Sunnin, Urasawa to Guelaguetza, Providence to Zankou Chicken, you're everything I could ever ask for.

Yours Truly,
Jason Kessler
(a.k.a. The Nitpicker)