L.A. Times Unveiled its Annual 101 Best Restaurants Guide 2026 at Barker Hanger.

LA Times Unveiled its Annual 101 Best Restaurants Guide 2026 at Barker Hanger.

   (Santa Monica, CA - October 23 2026)

 

            WESTHOLLYWOODTODAY.BLOGSPOT

             Photos & story Karen Ostlund 

                           

                                 

(left) Chicken Tikka by BADMAASH and Grilled Beef Salami Slider by MISH Delicatessen, paired with Skyduster Beer and Panna Water.

The Los Angeles Times unveiled its annual 101 Best Restaurants guide, presented by OpenTable and Square, at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, on the evening of October 23 2026
                                 

Norm Langer winner of  L.A. Times Gold Award.  

The 2026 winner of L.A. Times Gold Award was given to Norm Langer of Langer’s Delicatessen, which is an L.A. institution since 1947,

The award was created in 2013 by the late, Pulitzer Prize-winning restaurant critic Jonathan Gold.

Langer’s Delicatessen is located near MacArthur Park (7th & Alvarado) and is famed for its hand-cut pastrami steamed for 2.5 to 5 hours and signature twice-baked rye bread. Best known for the No.19 sandwich, with pastrami, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing.
                               

Rustic Canyon,
Oyster Mushrooms Al Pastor,
Chef Elijah G. Deleon
Farmers’ Market-Driven Californian | Santa Monica.

Guests enjoyed unlimited sips and bites, while The Times Food critics team Bill Addison and Jenn Harris unveiled this year’s 101 honorees with a live countdown to the coveted No. 1 spot.
                            

         Two Hommés, Afro-Centric.

 Plantain & Crab salad, Chef Mando and Chef AB.

The 101 Best Restaurants has become a hallmark of The Times Food section and quintessential guide to the places that shows the Southern California food culture.

                                   

LA Times 101 Best Restaurants Nominees 2026 on stage.

The Top 10 Restaurants (2026) from LA Times 101 Best Restaurants list are:

Lielle (Pico-Robertson) — Subterranean Nordic-Californian fine dining, opened in early 2026,  led by Chef Marcus Jernmark.
Jernmark was earlier a Chef at Swedish restaurant Frantzén in Stockholm, and Aquavit Restaurant in New York. The kitchen focuses on a rotating, product-driven seasonal format, with signature dishes like hay-grilled California squab, agnolotti with black truffles, and complex seafood preparations.

Kato (Downtown L.A.) — A modern Taiwanese tasting menu destination. Traditional Taiwanese flavors with luxury ingredients as Caviar, Dungeness crab, and A5 Wagyu. Led by James Beard Award-winning, Chef Jon Yao,

Holbox (Historic South-Central LA) — Renowned Yucatecan coastal seafood counter inside Mercado La Paloma. Founded in 2017 by Chef Gilberto Cetina Jr., who in the past cooked alongside his father at the neighborhood restaurant Chichen Itza.

Dunsmoor (Glassell Park) — Heritage American open-hearth cooking, run by Chef-owner and James Beard Award semifinalist Brian Dunsmoor. Famous for its Edna’s Sour Milk Cornbread, baked in cast iron, layered with white cheddar, Hatch chile, cultured butter, and honey.

Baroo (Arts District) — Inventive modern Korean fine dining run by Chefs Kwang Uh and Mina Park. It features a contemporary tasting menu inspired by Buddhist temple cuisine.

n/naka (Palms) — Modern upscale Japanese kaiseki. Led by Chefs Niki Nakayama and Carole Iida-Nakayama. Signature dishes nclude the al dente spaghetti with abalone, mentaiko (pickled cod roe), black truffle, and kaiware, alongside grilled Miyazaki A5 wagyu with aged miso.

Hayato (Downtown L.A.) —  Modern Japanese kyo-ryori and bento, led by Chef Brandon Go.
Signature dishes include, grilled Hokkaido scallops, charcoal-grilled kinki, California spot prawns, abalone, and snow crab.

Providence (Hollywood) — Premier high-end seafood and tasting menus. Led by Chef's team: Executive Chef Michael Cimarusti, Chef de Cuisine Tristan Aitchison, and Pastry Chef Mac Daniel Dimla, co-owned with Donato Poto.

Morihiro (Echo Park) — Artisan Edomae sushi counter. Led by master chef Morihiro "Mori" Onodera—a protégé of legendary sushi masters.
Highlights include seafood like otoro, chutoro, kohada, and Santa Barbara/Hokkaido uni, alongside with house-made tofu, sakura-smoked jidori chicken, and desserts as Hojicha Panna Cotta and Japanese Musk Melon.

Alta Adams (West Adams) — Elevated soul food. Favorites are the ember-roasted sweet potato with brown butter soy and smoked chili crisp, with hamachi crudo with coconut-lime-ginger leche de tigre. Led by Chef Keith Corbin.

                                   

Anajak Thai,
Braised Beef. Curry with peanuts and carrots.
Chef Justin Pichetrungsi
Thai | Sherman Oaks
Beverage, Skyduster beer and Panna Water.

Additional restaurants featured at the event, included Kato, Holbox, Sqirl, Vandell, Wilde's, Saffy's, Komal, Yerord Mas, Dunsmoor, Fat + Flour, Funke, Henrietta, Jade Rabbit, Komal, Lucia, Mini Kabob, Mírate, Moo's Craft Barbecue, Pasjoli, Perilla LA x Nongshim, and Real Charmer.
                             

Budonoki,
Hambagu-Wagyu Pepper Slider
Chef Dan Rabilwongse
Japanese | Virgil Village
Natalie's Juice and Tigerfire French Vodka.

For more information and full list of restaurants, visit www.latimes.com/food and latimes.com/101
www.LAFoodbowl.com

                                  

Broken Spanish Comedor, CHICHARRON.

Sponsors and partners for the LA Times Foodbowl 2026 lineup included;

China National Tourist Office
Cutwater
Fever Tree
Lee Kum Kee
Lunasia Dim Sum House
Nongshim
Philippines Tourism
Sanpellegrino and Panna Water
San Simeon Wines

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center with its 200,000-square-foot expansion of the California Science Center will open November 13 2026

 The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center with its 200,000-square-foot expansion of the California Science Center will open November 13 2026

   
Los Angeles, CA - WestHollywoodToday.blogspot.
(October 19 2026) By Karen Ostlund.

                             

California Science Center announced  that advance reservations for the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, the permanent home of Space Shuttle Endeavour, will be available beginning Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 9:30 a.m., ahead for the new Air and Space Center’s public opening on Friday, November 13 2026.
California Science Center Members will receive early access to reservations beginning, today October 19, at 9:30 a.m.


"Fourteen years after Space Shuttle Endeavour arrived at the California Science Center, following its incredible overland journey across Los Angeles and Inglewood, reservations will soon become available to see it in its permanent home this November,” said Jeffrey Rudolph, President and CEO of the California Science Center.
Rudolph continued, “The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center fulfills a decades-long dream and provides us with our biggest platform yet, to inspire science learning in everyone.”

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center is a 200,000-square-foot expansion of the California Science Center that will nearly double the museum’s exhibit space.
                              

The new center features more than 100 artifacts, including rare and historic aerospace objects, along with 100 new hands-on exhibits, featuring interactive experiences focused on science, technology, and engineering.

The 3 multi-level galleries – the Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery, the Korean Air Aviation Gallery, and the Kent Kresa Space Gallery – represent the third and final phase of a three-decade master plan to develop one of the world’s leading science learning centers.

At the heart of the new center, Space Shuttle Endeavour will be displayed vertically in a launch-ready configuration with authentic solid rocket boosters and the last remaining flight-qualified external tank, ET-94.

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center opens to the public on Friday, November 13, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.

Advance reservations at: 
https://californiasciencecenter.org/visit/get-reservations-tickets or by calling 213-744-2019.


General admission to the California Science Center is free.
Reservations for the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center – including Space Shuttle Endeavour, are encouraged, because of high demand. 

A $4 reservation service fee, per person will apply, but the fee will be waived for California Science Center Members.

More information about California Science Center Membership can be found at californiasciencecenter.org/member

EndeavourLA is the California Science Center Foundation’s fundraising campaign. that enabled the acquisition and previous temporary display of the space shuttle..
EndeavourLA supports the work to complete the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center and to continue ongoing exhibits, programs, and operations.
The project’s lead donors are the Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Oschin Family Foundation and the State of California, joined by principal donors Korean Air and the Kresa Family Foundation, along with numerous individuals and organizations.

The California Science Center and IMAX Theater are located in historic Exposition Park just west of the Harbor (110) Freeway at 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles.
It's open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
 https://californiasciencecenter.org