Lisa Ling on why Asian food in Los Angeles matters.
A black cod goes from the Pacific to Shibumi.
Keeping cool when the kitchen gets hot.
One restaurant’s many pandemic pivots.
Two different takes on Indian food.
Every day’s a hustle at Woon.
From Asian farms to Los Angeles restaurants.
Why in L.A. they’re not boring.
Three restaurants breaking boundaries.
Mastering values at Yang’s Kitchen.
Two chefs go behind the blade.
Omakase and ramen join the neighborhood.
The coronation of soju and makgeolli.
Three women open the bar they want to walk into.
Indonesian community through cuisine.
On working with Mom and Dad at Anajak Thai.
Los Angeles before sushi.
Inside the staff ritual of eating together.
Three Vietnamese restaurants expand the city’s palate.
One chef has some thoughts.
Waking up Los Angeles to Burmese cuisine.
The couple behind Shiku goes with the flow.
An ode to those who keep them going.
Michelle Bernstein embraces the competition.
One restaurant’s epic journey from debt to success.
The couple behind Boia De and Walrus Rodeo play by their own rules.
Vermouth gets a bar of its own.
On the business of BBQ in Miami.
Recipes for navigating an uncertain economy.
The secret to never getting old in a town obsessed with what’s new.
How two pioneers of omakase introduced Miami to a new way of dining out.
Chasing a childhood memory one arepa at a time.
Why Miami’s mainstays of Middle Eastern food aren’t phased by the influx of glossy newcomers.
David Foulquier on his shapeshifting ambitions.
The Black chefs behind a vegan movement in Miami.
Two Cuban sandwich masters talk shop.
A new generation’s take on the classic Jewish deli.
Miami’s mavericks of sustainable growing and dining.
An intimate glimpse inside restaurants after the last customer leaves.
Creating a culture where employees stick around.
A new kind of bottle service takes root in Miami.
The art of staying put in a changing city.
The city’s ventanitas created a culture all their own.
Philadelphia Magazine’s food critic on the irrepressible attitude that is the key ingredient of the city’s restaurants.
How one restaurant gave birth to many.
The cheesesteak may be the global mascot of Philly. But a contingent of pioneering chefs and restaurateurs have made the city a hub of vegetarian innovation.
The city’s Eritrean-Ethiopian restaurants serve up more—way more—than delicious food.
How Juan Carlos Aparicio baked his way to running a restaurant (that isn’t a bakery).
How Alex Tewfik went from being a food editor in Philly to owning one of the best restaurants in town.
Two restaurants that share a belief in how cooking can be force for change.
How Chutatip Suntaranon channeled her upbringing in Thailand—and life spent flying around the world—into one of Philly’s most singular restaurants.
Stopping by the warehouses in Kensington where artisan upstarts are breathing new life into the city’s food scene.
The Ongoing Evolution of Philly’s Classic Sandwiches.
Chloé Grigri, Amanda Shulman, and Ellen Yin on upending the rules of the game.
Mike Solomonov takes stock of his journey.
When a customer becomes a friend.
Ange Branca was forced to close her beloved restaurant in 2020. That was just the beginning.
How do you build a restaurant in a space that was never meant for a restaurant? In Philly, a city of Revolutionary Warera buildings and colonial row houses and ancient warehouses, it can be a bit like playing Tetris with Benjamin Franklin.
Three Philly couples get frank and intimate in sharing their recipes for romance.
Inside the world of homespun pop-ups and unexpected collaborations that have made Philly’s dining scene like nowhere else.
The classics are easy enough to master by anyone with fine liquor and a recipe.
The city has long been a vibrant hub of Vietnamese food. Today, a new generation is striking a balance all their own—between creativity and tradition, innovation and memory.
An ode to the unsung heroes of restaurant kitchens from a comedy writer who couldn’t take the heat.
A cell phone has been invented that allows you to send one text message to your younger self. What do you write?
Staffing Up in Uncertain Times.
Running a restaurant is a perpetual tightrope walk—on one foot, while juggling, with a smile on your face in front of a literally hungry crowd—that can only be pulled off with a solid team. While high turnover has long been part of the industry, one of the most pernicious aftershocks of the pandemic has been a nationwide staffing shortage—one that, while overwhelming, restaurants have found ways to cope with that have resulted in even tighter staffs than before. Here, four mainstays of Miami’s food scene share how they’ve created environments where employees want to stick around.
Co-owner of Cafe La Trova and Sweet Liberty
Number of employees: 138
“One important piece to holding onto our staff is continuous training via seminars and classes. We do them on everything from service to knife skills, along with having a financial advisor who comes in to talk about budgeting, investing, and how to save for retirement—something many people in the hospitality industry may not have knowledge about.
To make sure everyone is happy—and to give them an opportunity to see Miami in the way our guests do—we also occasionally treat our staff to a boat day, or a spa day at the Standard Hotel. Similarly, we also exchange gift cards with other Miami restaurants, like Zak the Baker and Macchialina, and then hold contests for our staff to have the chance to win them. Both of our concepts do pop-ups around the world—London, Mexico City, Chicago, Grand Cayman—and we rotate which members of the team get to join us. We also have what we call a Legacy Program that allows workers to train for internal management positions, along with paying for sommelier certification for servers who take a great interest in wine.
But I really think the most important thing is understanding that we aren’t just owners—we are therapists, counselors. That means understanding and respecting how people in the kitchen are a different breed than the guy behind the bar, and knowing how to speak with everyone. The kitchen is also where many immigrants find their first jobs when they come to this country and you’re part of their entrance to this new life. Giving them that safe space while they find their footing in an unfamiliar world is something owners have to prioritize.”
Co-owner of Jaguar Sun
Number of employees: 20
“We provide full insurance coverage, because we think that’s important. But it’s not only financial incentives that we’re offering to our employees. We try really hard to provide more than just jobs—we want to create careers. And we do our best to make sure that we make everyone feel included. I've yet to have someone interview for a position who's asked how much they're going to make—and while they absolutely should ask that question, they're more concerned about if they're going to walk into a chaotic workplace every day. We strive to not make that the case. We want to make sure our employees feel like they're taken care of and like they're a part of something bigger. Both our kitchen staff and bar staff have input on new items that go on our menus, it’s not just about one person creating a cocktail or dish and everyone else learning how to make it. It’s a collaborative effort and everyone has the chance to showcase their talents. We have turnover just like everyone else does, but we try our hardest to make this a safe space that everyone looks forward to coming to every day.”
Co-owner of La Boulangerie Boul’Mich
Number of employees: 120
“We are really focusing on the overall well-being of our employees. To do this, we regularly schedule leisurely activities outside of the workplace, such as sports events, yoga, and meditation, and have just begun a new initiative where our HR director visits each location. It’s a chance for our team members to share their thoughts, challenges, and hopes, and clearly communicate what support, if any, they need from each other, the managers, and our executives. While we offer financial incentives for performance, we’re really focused on making sure people feel there are opportunities for growth within the company—to move from the floor, say, to a management position. On a personal level, we make a point of providing employees with monetary assistance, offering no-interest loans if needed for medical or other emergencies.”
Co-owner of Phuc Yea
Number of employees: 50
“We provide a family-forward environment for our staff. We treat everyone with respect, and value everyone equally no matter the position. We charge a 20 percent service charge and that gets distributed throughout the entire team in the restaurant; besides their hourly wage, this acts as a bonus and it's been working well for us as everyone makes a bit more money at the end of the month. We also do outing days, where we take our staff bowling, golfing, or out to restaurants, as a chance to bond and kick back together. We reward them with gift cards and allow them to have a discount at any of our other locations. We are proud to have an open-door policy that allows the staff to feel comfortable and talk to management about any issue. We used to offer to cover 50 percent of their health insurance in the past, but the staff has preferred to keep the extra money and use it as they need. Still, it’s always available for anyone who would need it.”
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