Plugs — Michael Francesconi
L.A. food, drink, and leisure recs from a hospitality operator + LINKS
I’m in New York right now, but my heart is in Los Angeles with the restaurant community and the city at large. L.A. and greater America are nothing without the immigrants who grow our food, pack our food, cook us food, wash dishes, bus tables, and care for our children. Immigrants are responsible for the best cooking in Los Angeles. They prop up our favorite restaurants. They are integral to our economy, culture, and society. This is obvious, frankly. Many of my peers are conducting essential reporting on the ground as ICE raids continue to put our city in peril. I’m including some of their links below. Today’s edition of Plugs is free.
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; upgrade your subscription to receive all six!)
#85 is Michael Francesconi, the co-proprietor of Park Hospitality and co-owner of Donna’s, Bar Flores, Lowboy, and Wolf & Crane Bar. Alongside his business partner and best friend, Matthew Glaser, Michael began building restaurants and bars in 2013 with the opening of Wolf & Crane in Little Tokyo, just as Japanese whisky was becoming a big thing. Before that, he worked for Arianna Huffington and Barry Diller, and before that, he and Matt ran a “very entrepreneurial” grease recycling business for L.A. restaurants, working with clients such as Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s pre-Animal catering business, Pacific Dining Car (RIP), and Rick’s on Riverside. Currently, they’re gearing up to open a highly anticipated cocktail bar in Los Feliz, on Hillhurst. Here’s Michael with his Plugs!
Restaurant — Firstborn
Firstborn thrilled me last week. The fried chicken and cabbage have been well discussed. I’ll add that the tofu dumplings are a thing — Anthony is riffing on gnudi in a way that’s true to his menu, and it’s a beautiful success. Floor staff is attentive, non-intrusive, hospitable, and ready with details about every dish and cocktail. Our server paired our fried chicken with the Lambrusco by the glass — perfection. Kenzo Han’s cocktails are some of the best in recent memory. I love the Spring Martini with celery oil and the low-ABV Shochu Bamboo with manzanilla sherry and yellow Chartreuse. I told half a dozen friends to go before I left the table.
Bar — Jones Hollywood
In no particular order, my bar recs are Wolf & Crane, Lowboy, Bar Flores, and Donna’s. After those, it’s Jones. The sidecar martini tins. The full dining room on a weekday at 10:30 p.m. (harder and harder to find). That massive low-slung banquette spilling over with people and latecomers hanging over your shoulder trying to grab a cocktail while you eat a pizza at the bartop, and a ripping hot apple pie hits a few stools over. Those four or five seats tucked behind the bar where you can watch it all unfold. The energy can feel like another city at times. (You can tell Jared Meisler understands this energy, too, if you go to his spots.) The servers and bartenders have the right amount of experience and enough impatience to create a no-nonsense good time. We used to smoke cigarettes with Kiefer Sutherland out front. I saw one of the Obamas on a recent visit. Everyone is comfortable there. Long live Jones.
Shop — Riley O'Neill Latta’s CSA Wine Club & Mortal Tasting Room
I was first tipped off to Riley by Kae Whalen, and then again by Tatiana Ettensberger — two bankable L.A. wine minds with fast-moving careers (watch this space). Joining Riley's CSA last fall has been a very good decision — his wines are singular and exhilarating. Not to mention you’re supporting hyperlocal wine. Riley has used grapes from counties all across the Southland and Central Valley, and he tells me he’s harvesting in Malibu this year. And it all comes together in Pasadena. It’s genuine L.A. winemaking, and he’s a genuine human being. Keep an eye on IG for Mortal Room’s hours and events. In the meantime, you can get three, six, or 12 bottles delivered to your door.
Ingredient — Black sesame
After opening Wolf & Crane, we started traveling to Japan, and those trips introduced me to the simple joy of black sesame — so versatile, shining in flavor and texture in savory sauces and sweet desserts alike. Personal favorites: a simple vegetable sauce, everything bagels, shortbread cookies from Sugarbloom, mochi from Fugetsu-Do, and a never-ending supply of Uli’s Black Sesame Gelato.
Person — Rusty Reed
Rusty is the Culinary Director at Bavel, Bestia, and Saffy’s. Which basically means he has the explicit trust of Ori Menashe and is responsible for some of L.A.’s most important dining rooms, not to mention the careers he’s helped develop and launch into the world. Talk to him about hip hop or food and come away richer. There is no one better looking in a forehead bandana. You will often see him working the pass or on station in each of those large, open kitchens, and it’s clear how much the teams respect him. There’s a growing family tree of notable chefs born of the Menashes: Melissa López, Lord Maynard Llera, Avner Levi, Andrew Ponce. Add to the list, sooner rather than later, Rusty Reed.
Treat — Largo at the Coronet
When I crave feeling more connected to the city in a shrunk-down, tangible way, I head to Largo. There’s never a bad show. The names are big, but the room is small, and the audience always feels intimate and engaged. Something always unexpected and magical happens. Jim James walked out the last time I was there between some up-and-coming stand-ups, played a haunting cover of “Ooo Baby Baby” by The Miracles, and then shared a minutes-long voicemail Burt Bacharach left him just before he passed away. L.A. is the best. Grab a Guinness at the bar like Jon Brion and soak in the decades-long brilliance of Mark Flanagan — an under-the-radar legend who deserves a spot on L.A.-nightlife Mount Rushmore.
Find the Plugs map of every place ever plugged on The Angel here.
Stephanie Breijo reports on the street vendors who used their aguas frescas to fight tear gas at anti-ICE protests [LAT]
Rebecca Roland covers Everything to Know About the Los Angeles Immigration Sweeps and Anti-ICE Protests [Eater]
Memo Torres: Taqueros are now closing due to ICE raids [L.A. Taco]
Jessica Garrison, Melissa Gomez, and Andrea Castillo detail ICE’s expansion of immigration raids into California’s agricultural heartland [LAT]
Not only did Bill Addison co-write the 101 Best Restaurants in L.A. this year, but he also just published the 101 Best Restaurants in California, featuring so many places I need to add to my to-dine list. Kudos, Bill! [LAT]
ICYMI: In a move “to expand starred restaurant reviews across the country,” Tejal Rao and Ligaya Mishan are named co-chief restaurant critics for The New York Times. Congrats to both! (This is excellent news for L.A., from where Tejal will continue to be based.) [NYT]
(correctly) analyzes NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s bagel order []Tanya Bush asks and answers: What Does Virality Taste Like? (funny!) [i-D]?
Super excited about the NYT placements - Tejal and Ligaya; can't wait to see how they begin to review the nation on a larger scale. I think it's a smart move for NYT to branch out across the country.
I love Lowboy