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Christine Chiao

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I write about food and pop culture.

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Lu's Garden Buffet
San Gabriel has strong sociocultural roots woven mostly by descendants of descendants from Central America, East and Southeast Asia, Western Europe, and those native to California. These inhabitants have informed the city’s culinary DNA.
 Sanuki No Sato
Whether it’s an organic tofu factory or Hawaiian shaved ice emporium, the diversity of Japanese American culture is more prominent in Gardena than in many other cities in California.
Surati Farsan Mart / Image courtesy of @amira_lopez
The city's dairy legacy may not be as apparent as Artesia's dining profile continues to grow.
Photo: Christine Chiao
Our list features some of the restaurants that helped situate the neighborhood's latest major shift.
Folliero's Italian Food and Pizza | Photo: Christine Chiao
To this day, some of the better, and more memorable, Highland Park eats stay affordable.
Photo: Christine Chiao
If the prevalence of breakfast-mostly joints is any indication, there's a particular appreciation for breakfast in this coastal community.
German chocolate cake from Jongewaard's Bake'n Broil | Photo: Christine Chiao
To dismiss the state's 7th largest city as another L.A. suburb would be missing out on what it offers Southern California culture (and German chocolate cake aficionados).
On a recent mid-week grocery run to Marukai Market in Gardena, Chef Daniel Roberts of Café del Rey surveyed the seafood counter and, looking at a whole red snapper, he ticked off a general checklist of telltale signs of freshness
Karen Klemens sells small-batch ice cream in the front of her Sierra Madre shop while leading food preservation courses in the back.
Clemence Gossett, instructor of all things sweet, talks midnight cupcake emergencies, croissants that make one weep, and why she won't eat fondant.
Beef rolls can generally be found as supporting players to the heartier cast of noodles - souped and fried - at Northern Chinese noodle joints around San…
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