Where the Stars Eat: Los Angeles

Find out where the experts eat with this guide to Cooking Channel stars' favorite spots in the City of Angels.

The Original Ramen Burger

A beyond-creative mash-up of two comfort foods, The Original Ramen Burger sandwiches a thick beef patty between halves of a bun made of seasoned ramen noodles. On The Real Girl's Kitchen, Haylie Duff went to check out how it's done, and found that it's worth it to go taste the magic firsthand.

Primo's Donuts

Primo's Donuts owners Ralph and Celia Primo have been making crack-of-dawn doughnuts since 1956, and when Chuck Hughes stopped by on Chuck's Eat the Street, they showed no signs of slowing down. Whether you want a classic glazed, a cinnamon twist or a bacon-topped bar, they've got it.

The Serving Spoon

When you're craving Southern food in Southern California, go to The Serving Spoon. The G. Garvin-approved restaurant is famous for its meat-packed breakfasts — egg dishes come with a choice of meaty sides, including bacon, six different sausages, pork chops, catfish, wings or a T-bone steak. 

Guisados

Pizza Masters stars Sal Basille and Francis Garcia don't just know their way around a good pie — they're taco aficionados, too. Try one of their favorite spots, Guisados, for spicy Cochinita Pibil (aka slow-cooked pork) tacos, wrapped in homemade corn tortillas.

Steel City Sandwich

At Steel City Sandwich, the meat is stacked so high, few jaws stand a chance. When Eat St. visited the food truck, the shop served its best-selling sandwich, The Champion. It features pastrami, turkey, ham, salami, capicola, provolone and a fried egg, served "Pittsburgh-style," which means loaded with french fries, Italian slaw and tomato. They also have fry-topped salads, pierogies and more.

Plan Check Kitchen + Bar

Plan Check Kitchen + Bar puts a Korean spin on the deli classic with its Pastrami Nosh sandwich. Unique Eats visited to dig into the double-smoked pastrami, melted Swiss cheese, kimchi mustard, pickles and a sunny-side-up egg. By the way, those pickles are homemade — they keep at least five varieties in rotation.

Coolhaus

These days, you can find Coolhaus' architecture-inspired ice cream sandwiches at the Culver City shop or at roving food trucks in LA, New York City and Dallas. Go for a classic like Mintimalism, with mint chip and chocolate cookies, or try a wacky combination like avocado sea salt ice cream with maple flapjack cookies.

Mizu 212

There is no shortage of delicious Asian food in Los Angeles but shabu-shabu spot Mizu 212 in Little Osaka stands out for Chuck because of its supreme quality. All of the hot pots feature antibiotic- and hormone-free, organic meat, including unique options like buffalo rib eye. 

Semi Sweet Bakery

Semi Sweet Bakery is a Unique Sweets favorite, serving inventive morning pastries like blueberry cornbread, savory goat cheese-and-prosciutto danishes and peanut butter crunch "ding-a-ling" cakes. They also make their own cruller-croissant hybrid, called the Crullant.

Baco Mercat

Meet your new favorite sandwich: the Bäco. The puffy invention of Chef Josef Centeno, Bäco Mercat's trademarked dish is a flatbread-bao-style sandwich that impressed the Unique Eats hosts with combinations like The Original (pork, beef carnitas and tomato-based sauce) and The Toron (oxtail hash with cheddar and horseradish). 

Pearl's Liquor Bar

Haylie Duff has reason to love the late-night menu at her friend's restaurant Pearl's Liquor Bar: She created it, with dishes like bacon-wrapped dates, jerk chicken wings and Cubano sandwiches. They go quite well with signature cocktails like the tequila-passion fruit Mickey Cohen.

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