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!)
Before we get into this week’s Plugs, I want to reiterate that restaurants are really struggling right now, and they need your support. You can read about the grim reality of the industry right now from my peers who have been tirelessly reporting on relief efforts and the state of restaurants in the links section below.
For many restaurants, one really slow week can be a matter of survival. And, as I’ve heard from many sources, it’s been a slow month. December’s holiday season, generally a big sales boost for restaurants, was all but because of how the calendar fell, leading much of the dining population to skip town for weeks. January is a historically slow month for restaurants. And now, the deadly wildfires have displaced tens of thousands of Angelenos, while others have self-cocooned at home out of fear, uncertainty, and emotional exhaustion—understandably.
Restaurants are here for us, though, as they always have been. Visiting them will be vital to the rebuilding process, not just later but now. If you don’t feel comfortable eating out, order take-out or buy a gift card (or a few) at your favorite places to use later. If you’re not in Los Angeles, buy gift cards for all your friends who are. Or donate to restaurants to support their efforts to feed first responders and evacuees. More info here.
I’ll be publishing some of my own reporting early next week. In the meantime, the links section today is bigger than usual—there is so much incredible work being done to highlight. Please take a moment to read one or a few of those stories (Plugs is free this week so everyone can.) Hang in there, angels!
#64 is Olivia Hagerty, the lead line cook at Damian, the under-appreciated, excellent Mexican restaurant in the Arts District owned by renowned restaurateur Enrique Olvera. There, Olivia runs the woodfire grill (some even call her the “grill master”). Think prawns a la parilla, pollito al pastor, and dry-aged branzino alla talla. Before Damian, she was the opening sous chef at Girl and the Goat, and before L.A., she lived in New York, where she spent three years in the kitchen at Lilia. She also does some private cheffing. Considering Olivia’s obvious talent, I wanted to have her on to share where she likes to eat, drink, and hang around L.A. Here are her Plugs!
Restaurant — Dear John’s
I recently discovered Dear John’s in a “shotgun” style dinner. My mom was flying into LAX to see me, but the catch was that she would only be in L.A. for 4 hours (crazy, I know). Essentially, we only had time for an early dinner together, and I was to oversee finding a spot that was relatively close to the airport. Dear John’s came highly recommended.
We were there right at 5:30 when they opened and were met with a line of people. Upon entering, we were escorted through the doors, behind heavy velvet curtains, and into a candle-lit dining room dripping in old-school charm. We immediately fell in love. Get a dirty martini (blue cheese olives), the wagyu beef pigs-in-a-blanket, and the Caesar salad for two—it’s made tableside, and it’s perfectly heavy on the lemon and Worcestershire sauce.


Bar — Ye Rustic Inn
I don’t go out for drinks nearly as often as I did when I was living in New York. But recently, I’ve found myself frequenting Ye Rustic Inn. It’s cozy, the wings are great, and it reminds me of dive bars from the Great Midwest. It feels close to home.
I spent many October nights posted up at the bar here watching the Dodgers secure the 2024 World Series victory alongside my good friend Drew Wheeler, a die-hard Dodgers fan.
Shop — Shorthand
I love handwriting letters. This was something that I discovered when I moved away from home for college. There’s nothing quite like ripping open a letter that a friend or family member has lovingly taken the time to write for you, purchased a stamp, and driven to the nearest Post Office just to send your way. That’s love.
Expressing yourself through the stationery you write on is just a part of the fun, and Shorthand has one of the best and most well-curated collections of stationaries in the Los Angeles area. They have a new location in Larchmont, but the Highland Park location is just a bit bigger. There, the entire store is organized by color—it’s a rainbow of the coolest pens, notebooks, erasers, and other paper goods that you never knew you needed. To top it off, they can make you custom stationery sets here, all printed in the back of the shop.
Ingredient — Peanut butter
Not only do I have a Planter’s Mr. Peanut man tattoo on my arm, but I also have a sizeable collection of vintage peanut stuff scattered around my house. So, I don’t put it lightly when I say that I’m a big lover of peanut butter.
Though I do love JIF, Skippy, and other grocery store varieties, my favorite peanut butter in the world comes scooped out of a bulk bucket at my local co-op, Oryana, in my hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. It leans more towards the “natural” category of peanut butter, but it doesn’t separate like others do. It’s creamy, salty, earthy and, quite simply, perfect. Whenever I’m home to visit my family, I scoop myself a quart, duct tape it shut, throw it in a plastic bag, and hope that it doesn’t explode in my luggage on the flight to LAX.
So, this one comes as a little less of a “plug “and more of a cry for help. Angelenos — where in this city are you finding high-quality peanut butter?! Please let me know.
Person — Grace Pérez and Esteban Ramón Pérez
I have the privilege of working with Grace at Damian, where she is the lead bartender. She’s a badass bartendress and is incredibly creative with the drinks that she creates. She also runs a group called Chicas on the Rocks, a mujer-owned and operated roving group of bartenders who do events and occasionally pop up at different bars around Los Angeles.
Her husband, Esteban Ramón Pérez, is a prolific artist who shows in L.A., New York, and most recently in Milan. He produces sculptures and massive leather hanging pieces with the skills that he learned while working in upholstery alongside his father.
Separately, they’re two incredibly creative souls that inspire me to reconnect to my roots as an artist. Together, they’re one of the coolest power couples that I know. Not to mention they have quite possibly my favorite dog in all of Los Angeles—Xula, a miniature Xoloitzcuintle. She can frequently be found dolled up in a leather spike collar and Carhartt dog jacket visiting the bar at Damian.
Treat — A glass of wine (or two) at the Vista Theatre
In my opinion, movies as dates will never go out of style. This is why, when my boyfriend, Alex, and I want to plan an unplanned date, we drive down the street from our house to see a movie at the Vista Theater. Recently re-opened by the great Quentin Tarantino, the Vista is a piece of old Hollywood history. They only show movies in 35mm and 70mm, and you buy paper tickets at the box office.
They have just about anything you would want from a movie theater: popcorn, a huge assortment of candy, White Castle burgers, and beer and wine. They also happen to give quite large pours of wine. If you aren’t careful, by the end of the movie, you might stumble out of there. But my personal favorite thing about the Vista is that they play the movie’s audio in the restrooms... so even if you must go, you never miss a thing. It’s all in the details.
Find the Plugs map of every place ever plugged on The Angel here.
Essential read from the ELA team: “Customers Are Not Coming In”: LA Restaurants Reach a Breaking Point Due to the 2025 Wildfires [Eater LA]
And another from Danielle Dorsey: The destruction of Altadena reverberates across Black Los Angeles [LAT]
This, too, from Cindy Carcamo and Stephanie Breijo: Fires burned up their restaurant jobs. ‘From one day to another, we have no work’ [LAT]
And Jenn Harris: Altadena chef loses home in Eaton fire, says visiting restaurants is more important than ever [LAT]
Some more, slightly uplifting stories:
Stephanie Breijo: Dozens of pizzerias gather to make hundreds of free pies for one food-relief mission. ‘Why not pizza to bring us together?’ [LAT]
Bill Esparza: LA Is a Taco City: The Street Vendors That Mobilized Quickly to Feed First Responders [Eater LA]
Hailey Branson-Potts: This young Altadena weather guy had a growing following. In the Eaton fire, he saved lives [LAT]
: No. 71: For Los Angeles: Supporting Los Angeles' creative community after the fires. []: Why Altadena Girls went viral []If you need to tune out of L.A. for a brief moment, tap into the only New York restaurant scene report you need: a new column written by
, my dear friend and the most well-fed, tapped-in person I know — Where Colin Ate: Ha’s Snack Bar, Octo, Zimmi’s. Subscribe to The Supersonic to get the next edition in your inbox.I also liked this piece by Blackbird, Resy, and Eater founder
(another industry pro) on the closing of Frog Club: There Would Be No Progress Without Places like Frog Club []
The best freshly made peanut butter in LA might well Magee's peanut 'nut butter' at LA's Farmer's Market: https://mageesnuts.com/
Cheers,
Margaret
+1 re_grocery. Cookbook also sells Michigan’s own Koeze Cream-Nut PB.