The Eater LA Guide to Dining in Your Car – Eater LA

With stay-at-home orders in place to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, Angelenos have gotten creative when eating at their favorite restaurants. While some higher-end places are happy to assemble complete meals for $50 or $60 a person, average restaurants continue to serve special takeout or standard favorites in to-go containers. Over the last two months, Eater editors have continued to eat food from local restaurants, but in a somewhat unfamiliar dining space: the car.

Every Angeleno has consumed something in their car: a double-double, Big Macs, fried chicken sandwiches. But with many restaurants transitioning their menus to takeout, Eater editors have been busy looking for different kinds of meals to eat in the drivers seat. Here now, where to eat everything from fried chicken and blue crab hand rolls to burritos and spicy ramen bowls.

Perhaps the single greatest part of living in Southern California is the access to a variety of landscapes, from winding hillside vistas backed by mega-mansions to leafy streets, sizzling beaches, endless desert, and rocky mountain cliffs. As a person with a lifelong wilderness streak, the terrain of Los Angeles is an important part of my life here, and that hasnt changed even with the county- and statewide Safer at Home mandates in place. It just means that we have to be a little bit more creative when figuring out where to eat that delicious pickup order.

Im fortunate to have a car, and even more fortunate that my car is a Subaru Forester, which means a full-sized hatch in the back and lots of room for tailgate dining. Im always a fan of the classic LA street food move of dining on the hood of the car, but for these lingering pandemic meals, its nice to take the back seat once in a while. Heres my setup: a cheap blanket thrown onto the floor of the car something thats easily replaceable, and that you dont mind getting a little dirty. Other accoutrements can be nice (a pillow, maybe, or some sort of back support if youre lingering for longer), but they arent really required all thats needed is a hot meal and a parking spot you can back into.

And theres the key. It can be the rooftop of the Row parking garage in Downtown (secretly one of the best city skyline spots around), or a dusty dead end street above Pasadena with peekaboo views of the hills. A recent afternoon with Honeybird fried chicken up in La Caada meant a turnout in the Verdugo foothills overlooking Glendale, surrounded by roomy mansions and shade trees. In and around Los Angeles, there are few bad views, so find one that suits the neighborhood youre picking up from, and away you go.

There are many more notable view-and-a-bite examples around LA, of course, like the drive-thru option at Broad Street Oyster Co. out in Malibu, but its important to heed the advice of county health professionals in not doing too much during this moment of physical distancing and stay-close-to-home mandates. Crowding PCH when 2,000 other people are there at the same time is bad for everyone, so just be smart with the shoreline. Luckily, there are endless views available all over, from quiet neighborhood landscapes to sky-high vistas. Pop the trunk, toss down a blanket, and dig in.

During the first few weeks of lockdown, I went for short drives around the city. I figured there was a temporary window to get across town in 20 minutes, so why not take advantage? I was also stir-crazed, restless, and just needed to get out of the house. But I also wanted a first-hand look at restaurant activity in these unusual times.

As hunger hit, I learned that some items were necessary to make my car an ideal spot to dine: an abundant supply of paper napkins, an absorbent microfiber towel for spills, and a playlist that fits the mood of the moment.

In recent weeks, I stepped up my game with some additions: a cloth napkin, a good supply of hand sanitizer, a cooler, and a tray to mimic a table. Im grateful for the ability to explore our city and support businesses while they try their best to make mandated closed dining rooms work.

My initial plan was to MacGyver my Mazda hatchback into a cozy eating spot. But its been fairly warm in recent weeks, so air conditioning was the only way to go while venturing to Sweet Red Peach for the 7-Up pound cake. Be prepared, because Karolyn Plummers Inglewood bakery maintains a lengthy line from the time she opens at 11 a.m. through dinnertime, when only the slimmest of pickings remain. Take a two-minute drive toward the Forum parking lot, unwrap the sweet, moist cake, and watch the construction workers complete SoFi Stadium while the sugar rush kicks in from your drivers seat. Get the peach cobbler for later, since it requires reheating.

According to my Instagram feed, my friends are taking beach treks to Venice, Malibu, or Santa Monica. I found some weekday peace at Long Beachs Bluff Park with Bebot Filipino Soul Foods chicken lumpia and some kalamansi mint iced tea. Chef-owner AC Borals crispy lumpia was an ideally sized snack for my drive back to Los Angeles, passing by folks with blankets out to picnic in the grassy area overlooking the beach. All locals maintained a respectable distance from one another, except on the walking path. I braved the setting from my car, opened the windows, and let the ocean air right in.

Back up toward LA, the iconic and car-accessible Mulholland Drive scenic stops are completely closed. But there are still pull-off parking areas where one can view the expansive San Fernando Valley. Place an order at Sushi Katsu-Ya in Studio City, which could take up to an hour or more. Then drive a half mile over to McConnells curbside pickup before heading up to Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Take it slow, find a spot, and right there is where a romantic two-course meal takes place. Sushi Katsu-Yas hand rolls work best in the car, and dont forget to ask for spoons.

The best lesson I ever learned from eating in my car during the pandemic is that burritos are an amazing thing to eat while cooped up in a vehicle. Ive had burritos from El Barrio in Redondo Beach and Sonoratown in Downtown, and both times, I was so blissfully happy that I almost let the grease roll down my arms and onto the center console of my Honda Civic. Its not an easy task to shift gears with greasy fingers. Thankfully, Ive outfitted my car with plenty of napkins and hand sanitizer. El Barrios shrimp-stuffed, cheese-encrusted Gobernador burrito is one for the ages, with platonic ratios of beans and rice with grilled vegetables. Sonoratowns carne asada burrito on its dreamy lard-flour tortillas is a winner too, especially with a special addition of roasted chile poblano.

My adventures eating in or on my car started right when the dining room closures came down from Mayor Eric Garcetti. I placed a monster order from Mei Lins short-lived takeout operation at Nightshade, getting the whole short rib (with ssam-style accoutrement), the restaurants famous congee, snap peas, and even a big slice of tiramisu. My wife, Rochelle, our photographer Frank, and I feasted, careful not to drip anything onto the hood. Eating such a delicious meal in the deserted Arts District on a Monday night felt so strange and beautiful. It mightve been the best meal Ive eaten since LAs restaurants closed due to the pandemic.

In between, I made sure to pick up the incredible dosirak from Spoon by H, comprising nearly two dozen bite-sized ingredients and enough food for almost two people. Except since Im a big enough eater, I had most of it by myself. The highlights in this Korean tray-sized feast was the galbi jjim, of course, but also the array of pickle and cabbage kimchi. I met fellow food writers Euno Lee and Lucas Peterson, and we all ate within considerable distance in the parking lot. Rochelle opted to sit perched on a ledge with Lee and Peterson while I stayed in the backseat of my car, which gave me a little more space to wolf down the dosirak.

As with many dishes at Spoon by H, Yoonjin Hwang went above and beyond the call for this traditional Korean lunch tray. Usually a dosirak from a supermarket or store in Koreatown might have eight to 10 items. I personally loved the combination of salty, fermented, and even sweet here, from macaroni and potato salad to fusilli to fried dumplings. Its a weird mix, but somehow it all works.

Id be remiss if I didnt note that Ive had a few fails, or at least close calls, while eating in my car. I ordered a spicy ramen bowl from Shin Sen Gumis Torrance drive-thru restaurant (seriously, who else in LA does a ramen drive-thru?) and while it was ideal to eat right away, I kind of wish Id waited until I drove the extra five minutes home. The bowl and soup were scorching hot, the slurped noodles splashed oily broth everywhere, and it was just plain awkward to eat in the parking lot. I probably looked a little looney in front seat trying to wolf down a bowl of hot ramen.

Similar story with Taishi, a Hainan chicken specialist that generously serves nearly two full pounds of sliced chicken with a softball-sized mound of schmaltzy rice and some broth. The meal begs for a flat surface to make dipping the chicken into the gingery soy sauce possible. I learned from this before going to Petite Peso in Downtown LA. Rochelle and I brought some handy Daiso trays with non-slip rubber so we could split the $25 two-person meal with chicken sisig salad, lumpia, and stellar karekare. The lunch was mostly successful, except that it occurred to me that sitting inside your car to eat anything other than a one-handed meal (like a burrito, burger, or sandwich) just felt really strange.

Eating on the hood of your car isnt particularly fun either, unless youre still driving a mid-90s Jeep Cherokee with its flat, table-like hood (trust me: My first car was a deep green Cherokee). We dont have an SUV like Farley, so eating inside the spacious back wasnt an option either. All of this in-car dining just made me wish for a proper table, even a rickety one, and a decent chair.

El Barrio shrimp El Gobernador burrito

Dining in restaurants will likely never be the same, or wont resemble what we knew pre-March 15 in Los Angeles. Restaurants will have to use half or even a quarter of their dining room capacities. Al fresco dining will abound across the city, and the restaurants that invested in patios will benefit greatly. But maybe in-car dining will also trend upward in LA. Someone could design seatback trays for back seats so we can feel like were eating on an airplane. Maybe restaurants will serve meals on one tray (like a dosirak). Maybe burritos will contain more than just grilled meats, beans, and cheese (or maybe the sushi burrito will make a comeback). However restaurants design to adapt to this new reality, Ill be ready to feast. Ill be the first car lined up at the carhop Korean barbecue where they grill the meat and bring it out hot and fresh to eat on the front seat.

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The Eater LA Guide to Dining in Your Car - Eater LA