Christine Chiao

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.

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.

The city's dairy legacy may not be as apparent as Artesia's dining profile continues to grow.

Our list features some of the restaurants that helped situate the neighborhood's latest major shift.

To this day, some of the better, and more memorable, Highland Park eats stay affordable.

If the prevalence of breakfast-mostly joints is any indication, there's a particular appreciation for breakfast in this coastal community.

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.