Every Single Piece of Food from Grub Crawl Los Angeles

We're fresh off the redeye from Los Angeles and still trying to process everything that went down at the Bon Appétit Grub Crawl, an 80-degree Saturday of Ray-Bans, T-shirts, ocean views, and incredible food.

The day crawl started in Venice, on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, the epicenter of all things Southern California beach-y chic. Things kicked off at Salt Air, best described as a "beach bistro": There was enough weathered, reclaimed wood and nautically themed light fixtures to make even the most die-hard landlubber jealous. Then we crawled over to The Brig, a textbook dive bar on an otherwise schmancy block, where we were graced by the presence of L.A. kingpin Roy Choi's Kogi taco truck. Not having to check Twitter for the über-popular truck's location was worth the price of admission —plus we got to skip the line. Next were craft beer and pizzas at The Otheroom, followed by salmon sliders and more beer at 3 Square Bakery + Cafe.

Finally, the last stop of the day crawl took us to Barnyard, where chef Jesse Barber hand-cut fresh cavatelli, which he served with a sauce made from mortared lima beans, pecorino, and mint. A plate of badass pasta served in an airy bungalow is a surefire way to convince a group of New Yorkers that this whole Southern California thing might not be so bad.

So, back to our hotel we went...for about an hour. Then it was time to make the crosstown journey to downtown L.A. for the night crawl. Drinks and a D.J. at rooftop bar Perch, with its epic view of downtown, are as good a way as we can think of to get the night started. And following it up with Prosecco and seaweed-and-tofu beignets at Alma, our pick for America's Best New Restaurant this year, pretty much ensures that you're going to become a Grub Crawl devotee. Down the block was Broadway Bar, the type of dark drinking establishment at which we Bon Appétit-ers could seriously lose all track of time. Plus, they served boxes of cheese pizza and aluminum takeout containers of chocolate chip cookies from Two Boots Pizza, so you can't really beat that.

We ended the night with a one-two punch from Bäco Mercat chef-owner Josef Centeno at his two latest restaurants—his three-week-old fine-dining spot, Orsa & Winston, and Bar Amá, his temple of Tex-Mex. Needless to say we entered a food coma as soon as we tried Amá's guacamole (Centeno ingeniously adds celery purée to the avacodo) and were all but finished off by the time the "Breakfast in a Shell" (coddled egg, sherry vinegar whipped cream, maple syrup, pancetta, and chives) hit the table at Orsa.

Missed our L.A. crawl? Good news, tickets are still on sale for this weekend's outing in the equally sunny and sharp Miami. Now, please excuse us while we undergo a five-day juice cleanse to prepare for the eating and drinking to come.