Plugs — Cole Billik

L.A. food, drink, and leisure recs from a food world insider + LINKS

Plugs is The Angel’s recs column. Every week, you’ll get six picks—a restaurant, a bar, a shop, an ingredient, a person, and a treat—from someone in Los Angeles who knows what they’re talking about, plus a selection of Angel-curated links. (Plugs are for paid subscribers of The Angel only. However, if you’re in the restaurant industry and want a free subscription, hit me up. :))

#43 is Cole Billik, a Los Angeles-based staffer at Care of Chan, the certified cool creative marketing and event production agency whose latest feat was throwing the premiere party for season three of The Bear. Cole manages programming and partnerships for clients like Yola Mezcal, Gucci Osteria, Ghia, and J.Crew. But he was exposed to the inner workings of the food world much earlier on. He hails from Maine, where his upbringing was marked by his dad’s career in smoked salmon procurement. Later on, he lived in Brooklyn where he worked in food nonprofit before moving to L.A. Cole is tapped in to the food scene in a special way—he’s often putting me onto people and places I’ve never heard of, including Prospect. I’m not surprised his restaurant pick is situated outside of the city limits, as he loves a quick escape north, even if just for dinner in Ojai or a weekend in Marin. Here are his L.A. Plugs!

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Restaurant — Rory’s Place

Some people are surprised when I tell them that my favorite place to eat in L.A. is actually in Ojai, but they’ve clearly never been to Rory’s Place. It’s rare to witness a restaurant get everything—design, menu, cocktails, atmosphere, merch—right, but that’s what keeps me coming back time and time again. The passion fruit aguachile nearly makes me forget about the 90 minute drive.

Photo by Cole Billik.