Emily Wilson is filling a gap in LA food writing. She treats her Substack, The Angel like any other magazine she writes for — LA Times, Eater, TASTE…
She brings a welcomed New York energy to Los Angeles, only slightly more of a hater than a lover. I was flattered when she asked me to contribute to her Plugs vertical. I shared my pick for a restaurant, a bar, a shop, an ingredient, and a person. NGL, it was pretty hard to pick just one for each.
I respect Emily’s journalism immensely and encourage you to get on the other side of that pay wall to read.
A few weeks back, we met at Canyon so I could pitch her a few story ideas. She encouraged me to write them instead. Maybe I will?
Anyway… Here are some bits from our conversation.
Tell us about The Angel — what compelled you to start it? Where would you like it to go?
The Angel is a publication about food culture in Los Angeles, but really about the people and places whose work I’m excited by. I call it a publication as opposed to a Substack or a newsletter (which, to be fair, I call it those things, too), because I report the stories in the same way that I would for a magazine. I started The Angel because there weren’t enough opportunities with existing publications to pursue the stories I wanted to pursue (media these days!), and because I wanted to write more regularly and deeply about why Los Angeles is one of the best food cities in the world. I want to keep doing what I’m doing, but also, for it to grow! The Angel will always be anchored in Los Angeles, but I can tell you that travel guides will be coming soon, timed to spring/summer. I also see a future in which contributors will bring more voices besides my own to the platform.
Is there a particular piece you’ve written you’re especially proud of?
The second-ever story I did for The Angel, Tuna in Los Angeles Never Tasted This Good, is still the one I hear most about six months into the project. David and I went out fishing for bluefin tuna off Catalina Island with Conner Mitchell (of Dudley Market) and the chef Junya Yamasaki of Yess, and the resulting story—about the Japanese methods ike-jime and shinkei-jime, and how this crew is changing the way fish is caught locally and served in our best restaurants—is pretty incredible. David was seasick for 12 hours but somehow still powered through to capture it brilliantly. The Angel allows me to pursue ambitious stories like this one on my own (alongside David!), and that’s pretty cool.
Show us around your workspace! Where do you write? What are you drinking / snacking on?
I do all my writing in what I call my corner office, at home in Los Feliz. I’m not a big snacker. In fact, when I’m writing, I sometimes forget to eat until dinner. But I did recently pick up a bag of smokehouse almonds from Surfas, and I already need to return for more.
Can we see your matches and pen collection? Any favorites?
Unfortunately, the way I store my pen collection makes it so that I cannot pull out a few favorites to show you. However, it also means that no one can steal from my collection! I recently acquired a good one from Mr Chow and an all-time addition is from Randazzo's Clam Bar in Queens. I regret adding a few matchbooks in here.
Tell us about the lover / hater ratio scale. Where are you on it?
I told Kate about my new favorite question: what percentage of you is a hater and what percentage is a lover? It gets people to think critically about how critical they are. Too few people in Los Angeles are critical. I think that’s why How Long Gone is so great, because they embrace criticism. Also, it should be said that being critical and being a hater for hater’s sake are two different things, and the latter is a bummer. I’m 65% hater and 35% lover.
What do you wish someone in LA was writing more about?
Another reason I started The Angel is because although Los Angeles is such a rich cultural city, so few people are covering it in a thoughtful, tapped-in, local way. I want to see more profiles and deep-dives from other cultural spheres like music, film, retail/fashion, art… if you’re an L.A. writer on any of these beats, DM me! I’d love to figure out how to work together.
What’s going on in your kitchen pantry? Any favorite seasonings, sauces, ingredients?
I’ve been on a bagel kick. I bought a dozen for my freezer from Pinyon when I was in Ojai, and recently reupped with Courage loosies, so I like to keep tubs of Little Fish whitefish salad in my fridge. (McCall’s is dangerously close to me.) I also love Queens’ gochujang, Nuttzo (but only the one sold at Costco, the small tubs sold at Erewhon and elsewhere are bad?), and Frankies Calabrian chili oil.
What’s your go-to delivery order?
I rarely order delivery, but when I do, it’s the turmeric fish noodle from Viet Noodle Bar.
What restaurant / grocery / shop do you think we’re missing in LA?
Kalustyan's! Also, I’m not going to say Zabars because I’m not that kind of New Yorker, but somewhere to buy lox sliced to order, boxes of freshly baked rugelach (do not tell me Canter’s), and other appetizing stuff would be very nice.
If you could bring one NY restaurant to LA, what would it be?
Long Island Bar. Or Souen. A devil and an angel.
What LA restaurant would you celebrate your birthday at? (Or have you…)
Honestly, Horses.
Thanks to Emily for taking the time to share :) Be sure to sub to The Angel. She’s way better at writing than I am.
And now, for my normal BS…
Silver Lake’s Café Tropical has reopened under new ownership. Woo!
Here’s proof that Flamingo Estate’s logo can make anything look expensive. Loewe too. 🍆
The HLG guys are writing stuff.
Chris Black wrote a piece called ‘The America That Runs on Sweetgreen’ for GQ.
Jason Stewart wrote about how he’s going to be writing more — for his revived Substack, ‘Jason Stewart’.
This creator started a series comparing NYT Cooking and Bon App’s homepages. Love a little friendly competish.
Shin’s Pizza got new tables and chairs. ‼️
A strong case for chicory on cakes.
Brightland brought back their Castelvetrano Olive Oil. (It’s my favorite olive and I still can’t pronounce it.) 🫒
Cosa Collective launched her Florence Dinnerware Collection and it’s gorg.
The evolution of the ice cream scoop is giving me hope.
TONIGHT: Your fave cocktail makers are throwing a party at HiLi hlp ‘to celebrate that the bar community is nothing without women’. 🍹🍸
I enjoyed this piece by Rebecca Roland talking about the Hinge Prompt ‘What I order for the table…’
While many would say, fries. I think the only impressive answer to that prompt is… ‘Those little felt things you stick to the bottom of each leg so it doesn’t scratch the floors.’
Rebecca also wrote an extremely thorough piece on LA tuna sandwiches. (My personal fave is Bub’s)
One more thing about NY’s Frog Club if you care.
Recent Bites
Raced over to Café Tropical when I saw The Caker dropped off some minis! Ali cut it perfectly down the middle for us to share. Look at that crumb!
My favorite sidewalk spill has to be La Morra + Wavy Wines at Canyon. I saved a slice and the chopped salad for lunch the next day. Perfect.
Enjoyed another sidewalk hang to celebrate Barra Santos' 1st bday! The Porto Tonico brought me right back to Lisbon. This is still my favorite tuna crudo in the city. Can’t wait for summer here…
A quick kimchi biscuit and a cortado from Botanica.
This Táche launch package came at the perfect time, right when I got back from a trip and was out of milk. These remind me of Starbucks bottled frappuccinos in the best way. Thick and creamy. Also, I confirmed for us all… Táche is pronounced like pisTÁSHHEio - (rhymes with ASH)… In case you were wondering. I know I was.
Perlita’s Oysters at Beatrice Valenzuela’s Spring Equinox party. Gorgeous big bois. I love mermaid food.
And lastly, a few more Bay Area bites that didn’t quite make it in to last week’s issue.
Swan Oyster Depot — The Sicilian Sashimi… Often imitated, never duplicated. (But I’m very happy we’re trying!!) Found Oyster has a notable dupe on the menu… Chloe makes a good one too. ;)
Martha Stouman SS24 Tasting at The Mill SF — My favorite wines were the Nero d'Avola Rosato 2022, Patatino, + Solo Act 2022 (a white wine!!!??) Of course, they’re mostly exclusives. : / Guess I gotta join the club.
I love driving bay area food back to LA with me. It almost feels illegal to eat leftover Sol Food in Silver Lake.
🔗 Last Week’s Most Clicked Link
Barra Santos Bday Block Party — which happened this past weekend 3/23 + 3/24.
Long live cafe tropical! And my back is excited for the tables and chairs @ Shins!! Also I always add an extra L in Castelvetrano when I'm trying to pronounce it for a little extra razzle dazzle!
Long Island Bar and Souen in LA would be a dream