The Brief

After hundreds of meals across Southern California this year, these 12 dishes stand out for me — not just for how they tasted, but for what they revealed about our region.

2025 took me from makeshift taco stands in Vernon to Michelin-starred counters in Little Tokyo, from strip-mall gems in Garden Grove to high-profile chef collaborations in Santa Monica and downtown L.A.

I tasted underappreciated cuisines finally get their due, discovered that some of the most memorable meals cost less than lunch at a chain restaurant, and felt embraced by love as a Long Beach chef turned a dinner into a wildfire fundraiser. What tied it all together? Each dish told a story about who we are as Angelenos — our immigrant roots, our creative spirit, our refusal to choose between honoring tradition and pushing boundaries.

So without further ado, here are my best dishes of 2025.

Aguachile at Mariscos Chiltepín (Vernon)

Aguachile mixto with salsa verde and salsa negra at Mariscos Chiltepín in Vernon. Chef Francisco Leal dusts the fresh shrimp with crushed chiltepín peppers for extra heat.

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In the never-ending quest to find the best mariscos in all of Los Angeles, after a few tips from some trusted colleagues, I found myself at Mariscos Chiltepín, a small makeshift outdoor restaurant run by Francisco Leal, who's from Sinaloa, Mexico. Leal's tenure in Los Angeles began when he helped start Del Mar Osteria, a popular mariscos truck located off La Brea, for which he still consults.

These days, Leal can be found on the streets of Vernon making some of the most memorable aguachiles that I've had in recent memory. I ordered a mixture featuring fresh, opaque shrimp splayed in a circle, bathed in two different salsas on either side, which Leal makes himself. I ordered a salsa verde along with his signature salsa negra, both dusted with crushed bits of chiltepín, a tiny, fiery wild chili pepper that's also Leal's stand's namesake, providing that extra added heat. The salsas are dynamic beyond belief, each with its own distinctive flavor profile that combines sweet, savory and spicy notes, highlighting the integrity of the fresh shrimp and making the dish super memorable.

Roasted duck breast at Backbone (Montrose)

Roasted duck breast with caramelized endive and roasted black figs at Backbone in Montrose.

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I've always been a sucker for a good comeback story when it comes to restaurant vets, especially in places like Los Angeles, where there seems to be endless fascination with the new, best thing.

But what if chefs and restaurateurs used their platforms as jumping-off points to grow and develop into something that recognizes its past while embracing its future? That's the vibe I caught while visiting Backbone, located on North Verdugo Road in the Montrose neighborhood, run by Karen Yoo and Nathan McCall. They were the original owners of McCall's Meat & Fish at its first Los Feliz location before selling it. McCall and Yoo have also spent time cooking in some of the most revered kitchens in the world, including the Michelin-starred Daniel in New York and Arzak in San Sebastián, Spain.

That talent is on full display at this cozy neighborhood bistro, where you can grab a seat at the bar or any one of the tables and still get a good view of the team pulling out all the stops. A standout dish for me was the roasted duck breast, dressed in a buttery golden sauce, served alongside caramelized endive with roasted black figs over a bed of greens. It was both seasonal and timeless, capturing McCall and Yoo's ability to stay as relevant as ever, just in a different era of their careers.

Lamb biryani at Jikoni (Culver City)

Goat biryani and sides including kale egusi at Kiano Moju's pop-up Jikoni, which operated at Citizen Public Market in Culver City before the market closed.

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This past year, I had the privilege of hosting the LAist live event series Cookbook Live, in partnership with the James Beard Foundation, where I participated in live cooking demos and conversations.

One of the guests was Kiano Moju. Moju was born in California to African immigrant parents — her mother is Kenyan, and her father is Nigerian. In 2024, she published her cookbook AfriCali.

I got to try some of Moju's cooking at her pop-up Jikoni at the Citizen Public Market in Culver City before it closed earlier this year. When our social media producer, Brandon Killman, and I arrived, Moju informed us that the special of the day was goat biryani. I'm a huge fan of lamb protein and love the gamey flavor it adds to each dish, and I always jump at the chance to try it in a way I haven't had before.

The rich flavors from Moju's version didn't disappoint. The same goes for the seemingly endless side dishes she served with it, which included her egusi, a traditional West African dish with cooked-down kale, where the bitterness of the greens and the nutty flavors of the crushed melon seeds came together with the soft bitterness of the roughage.

Jikoni ended right before the Citizen Public Market closed its doors; however, Moju and her team are still popping up around Los Angeles. Follow her on Instagram to see where she'll be next.

Chochoyotes with squash blossoms, roast Petaluma chicken with pepián at Rustic Canyon x Acamaya (Santa Monica)

Chochoyotes with squash blossoms (top) and roast Petaluma chicken with pepián at the Rustic Canyon x ACAMAYA collaboration dinner in Santa Monica.

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Elijah Deleon's work at Rustic Canyon has consistently demonstrated that Mexican cooking doesn't need to compromise its soul to earn fine-dining recognition. For this collaborative dinner at his home base — where he serves as chef de cuisine — Deleon partnered with Chef Ana Castro of Acamaya, the acclaimed New Orleans mariscos restaurant known for blending Mexican traditions with Louisiana Gulf Coast ingredients. Castro brought the same infectious energy to her cooking as she did working the dining room that night, flitting from table to table like a monarch butterfly with plenty of joie de vivre. The result was a multicourse showcase of what happens when Mexican techniques meet California's peak-season abundance.

The chochoyotes course — an ode to Oaxacan cooking made from the masa from Chef Fatima Juarez's KOMAL, the craft molino located in the Mercado de Paloma — made the strongest case: those distinctive thumb-pressed masa dumplings swimming in a vibrant golden-green sauce built from Valdivia Farms squash blossoms, eggplant and habanada peppers (a fruity, floral cousin of a habanero minus the spice). Whole squash blossoms — some bearing delicate char marks — floated alongside the dumplings, their petals still intact and tender. Where traditional preparations might serve chochoyotes in simple broths, the sauce is carefully emulsified to preserve that just-picked vibrancy rather than the heavier, earthier notes of conventional moles.

The roast Petaluma chicken with pepián proved equally revelatory. That ancient pumpkin seed sauce — golden-green and glossy with natural oils from ground pepitas — pooled around perfectly cooked chicken, topped with a tangle of sunflower shoots and edible flowers. Deleon's refined take maintained a distinctive nutty, earthy complexity, while fresh plums added subtle sweetness to the sauce's savory depth. It was the cooking of both chefs that honored its roots while speaking fluently in California's agricultural dialect — precisely the kind of work that defines both Rustic Canyon and Acamaya's overlapping missions.

Gimmari at Kato x Animae (Downtown Los Angeles)

Gimmari, Korean seaweed rolls filled with shrimp, pork and perilla are topped with salmon roe and are meant to be eaten by hand, wrapped in the perilla leaves.

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When Jon Yao and Tara Monsod, two chefs operating at the highest level of Asian American dining, came together for a Sunday Summer Series dinner pairing, it felt inevitable. Both are committed to honoring tradition while refusing to be constrained by it. But it was the opening course that set the tone for everything that followed: gimmari, those humble Korean seaweed-wrapped noodle rolls, reimagined as sleek rectangular packages filled with shrimp, pork and perilla, then crowned with glistening salmon roe.

Served on wooden planks atop fresh perilla leaves, the dish demanded interaction — you wrapped the crispy, glossy nori bundle in the aromatic leaf. You ate it with your hands, almost like a taco, with the ikura bursting against the savory filling. It was refined and playful, luxurious and humble, a perfect synthesis of both chefs' approaches. This wasn't just elevated banchan; it was a thesis statement about what California's Asian diaspora cooking can be when two masters collaborate.

Carnitas at Carnitas Los Gabrieles (downtown Los Angeles)

Michoacán-style carnitas tacos at Carnitas Los Gabrieles in Downtown's Piñata District.

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There's something fitting about a Gabriel (that’s me) finding his way to Carnitas Los Gabrieles in the Piñata District — call it destiny or just good marketing, but either way, it delivered. This is Michoacán-style carnitas done right: all parts of the pig, slow-cooked until they achieve that impossible texture where the meat simultaneously holds its shape and melts the moment it hits your tongue.

Served on freshly made tortillas that were still warm, the carnitas needed nothing more than maybe a squeeze of lime and some salsa to let that pork fat work its magic. Every bite was pure, unapologetic indulgence — the kind of straightforward, technically perfect cooking that reminds you why carnitas remain one of Mexico's greatest gifts to the taco world.

Tasting Menu at Restaurant Ki (Little Tokyo)

Dungeness crab soup with pine mushrooms and fresh noodles made by Keizo Shimamoto at Restaurant Ki in Little Tokyo.

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Chef Ki Kim earned his first Michelin star this year, and one evening at his Little Tokyo counter made it clear why. The $285 multicourse tasting menu is nuanced dining storytelling at its finest — each plate building on the last, taking you on a culinary journey that feels both meticulously crafted and surprisingly intimate. Kim's cooking has a quiet confidence that never announces itself, letting technique and ingredient quality speak without unnecessary flourish.

What sets Restaurant Ki apart from other high-end tasting menus is its approachability. Despite the price point and the precision on display, there's nothing precious or intimidating about the experience. Kim and his staff engage directly with diners from behind the counter, explaining dishes without pretension, making you feel included in the creative process rather than merely observing it. It's the kind of meal that justifies its cost not through luxury ingredients or theatrical presentation, but through thoughtfulness, skill, and genuine hospitality — the markers of a chef who understands that a Michelin star is just the beginning of the conversation.

Makali pita at Sababa Falafel Shop (Garden Grove)

Makali pita at Sababa Falafel Shop in Garden Grove, stuffed with fried eggplant, potato, vegetables, pickles and tahini.

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In the suburban sprawl of Orange County, finding a parking spot in a strip mall lot can be just as challenging as scoring a reservation. Sababa Falafel Shop in Garden Grove has been quietly earning recommendations for years, tucked into one of those spaces that reward the effort. This is the kind of place that does one thing exceptionally well: stuffing impossibly good ingredients into warm, soft pita bread until it can barely contain itself.

The makali pita was a revelation — fried eggplant and potato tumbling together with assorted vegetables, sharp pickles cutting through the richness, all drizzled with creamy tahini that tied everything together. Every bite delivered that perfect contrast of textures: crispy, tender, tangy, smooth. And as the name suggests, their falafel lives up to the shop's reputation, which everyone is given a free sample of before they order — herbaceous, perfectly crispy outside, fluffy within.

Sesame cold noodles at Liu's Cafe (Koreatown)

Sesame cold noodles with chili crisp and chili wontons at Liu's Cafe in Koreatown.

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What if I told you one of my favorite meals in Koreatown this year wasn't actually Korean food, but instead a hybrid Taiwanese and Hong Kong-style cafe with a modern bent? Liu's Cafe is just that place. Walk inside and you might think it's strictly a spot for coffee and tea — which it is — but you'd be missing the point entirely if you didn't explore the lunch menu, particularly the noodles.

The sesame cold noodles with chili crisp sound simple on paper, but that simplicity is exactly what makes them remarkable. Fresh, extra-chewy egg noodles get bathed in house-made sesame sauce and chili oil, topped with crisp cucumber. Each bite builds on the last, reminding you that not everything needs to be elaborate to be exceptional. The chili wontons hit that same sweet spot — spicy, savory, beautifully textured, tasting exactly like the platonic ideal of what the dish should be. Washing it all down with one of their Taiwanese fruit teas over ice added the perfect fruity counterpoint to all that savory heat. I haven't stopped thinking about this place since, and I'm already planning my return.

Afro-Caribbean shrimp dumplings at Si!mon (Venice)

Afro-Caribbean shrimp dumplings in coconut bisque with coconut rice at Si!mon in Venice.

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It was a Monday night and I was on assignment to write about a $27 Panamanian-style lamb neck tamal, so I made a late reservation at Si!mon in Venice — 8:45 p.m., late enough to put my kids to bed first. Chef Jose Olmedo Carles Rojas' restaurant had been on my radar for years, ever since it opened, but I'd only had Panamanian food once before and honestly had no idea what I was in for.

My server didn't need to work too hard to convince me to order beyond the tamal. The Afro-Caribbean shrimp dumplings arrived in a pool of coconut bisque, highlighted with charred scallion oil and fresh herbs — essentially shumai that had taken a tropical vacation. Alongside it, the coconut rice looked unassuming. Still, it delivered some of the most memorable rice I've tasted this year: deeply coconut-forward with crispy, caramelized bits throughout that left me almost at a loss for words. I ended up pacing myself through both dishes, partly to save room but mostly because I wanted to bring some home for my wife to share in the discovery.

Si!mon is a special restaurant, and I'm already ready to go back to soon — hopefully at a more reasonable dining hour.

Crispy smoked lamb belly at Selva (Long Beach)

Crispy smoked lamb belly at Selva in Long Beach. Chef Carlos Jurado, who grew up in Long Beach, blends Colombian influences with techniques learned at Nashville's Husk and Beverly Hills' Bouchon.

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I'd be remiss not to mention a Long Beach restaurant on this list (where I live), especially when Selva remains one of my favorite places in the city. Chef Carlos Jurado has built a reputation as something of a local culinary alchemist, playfully blending Colombian food with influences from the American South (he worked with Sean Brock at Husk in Nashville) and Southern California fine dining (Thomas Keller's Bouchon in Beverly Hills).

The crispy smoked lamb belly exemplifies his approach — similar to pork belly but lighter, with a distinct gamey richness that sets it apart. It arrived over a bed of forbidden black rice, topped with a heap of purple spring onions and a thick triangle of pickled golden beets that cut through the richness with sharp acidity. It's exactly the kind of dish you get from a chef who honors tradition without being bound by it.

Chicken parmesan at Ellie's (Long Beach)

Chicken Parmesan at Ellie's in Long Beach. Chef Jason Witzl turned this dinner service into a fundraiser for those affected by the Eaton fire, asking guests to donate directly to a friend who lost his home rather than paying for their meals.

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The wildfires that hit Los Angeles were felt everywhere throughout the Southland, even all the way down here in Long Beach. When my wife and I were invited to a special dinner at Ellie's — a charming Italian American bistro run by Jason Witzl, blocks from the ocean — we knew we were coming to support our mutual friend Andre Soto, whose house was tragically lost in the Eaton fire. What we didn't realize was what Chef Jason had planned for the evening.

When he came out to address the whole dining room, he announced he wouldn't be charging anyone that night — instead asking guests to donate directly to Andre and his family. There was an audible gasp. Nobody expected that kind of generosity, but the leadership Chef Jason showed that evening, rallying the Long Beach community around a victim of the Altadena fire, made this one of the most important meals I attended all year. The chicken parmesan — deliciously breaded chicken breast blanketed in mozzarella and swimming in bright San Marzano tomato sauce, served with a simple arugula salad — was exactly the kind of comforting, generous food the moment called for. It was a perfect meal to celebrate a friend and support a good cause.

The Los Angeles County fires last year drove up insurance costs for many Californians. Now, a proposed settlement means some State Farm policyholders whose premiums rose won’t see additional increases, and others should even get refunds.

State Farm, the largest insurer in the state with about 20% market share, received approval for unprecedented emergency insurance rate increases in California last May. The company told the state that the billions of dollars it expected to pay out after the deadly fires placed it in financial peril.

The proposed deal among the state Insurance Department, consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog and State Farm, disclosed late last week, comes after months of public hearings convened by the insurance department and settlement talks.

Consumer Watchdog, which questioned the rate increases State Farm asked for, says the settlement saves the company’s California policyholders a total of $530 million. From the proposed settlement:

• Homeowners’ rate hikes will stay at the previously approved interim rate of 17% instead of the 30% the company sought.
• Condo owners who saw interim rate hikes of 15% will see their rates drop to an increase of 5.8%, and get refunds with interest dating back to June 1, 2025.
• Rental unit owners with interim rate hikes of 38% will see those increases drop to 32.8%, and receive refunds with interest. 
• Renter policyholders will see an increase of 15.65% vs. the interim rate hike of 15%.

In addition, State Farm has agreed not to cancel any new policies this year, and it won’t be canceling some policies it had planned not to renew in wildfire-affected areas. The insurance department characterized those provisions as important to the continued stability of the state’s insurance market, which has been beset with availability and affordability issues.

“When consumer advocates are able to challenge the data and present their own analysis, excessive requests are reduced and consumers are protected,” said Harvey Rosenfield in a statement. Rosenfield founded Consumer Watchdog and wrote Proposition 103, the voter-approved law that governs insurance in California.

State Farm has paid out more than $5 billion in claims from the L.A.-area fires so far, said spokesperson Tom Hartmann.

After consumer complaints and lawsuits, the insurance department is investigating the company’s handling of claims from the fires and expects results from that examination later this spring.

The agreement, which must be approved by an administrative law judge, also requires State Farm to undergo additional review of its rates in 2027. The company will be required to make a one time 2.5% premium discount available to renewing policyholders if its ratio of premiums to available cash reaches a certain level; Consumer Watchdog litigation director Will Pletcher said the deal will give the group more timely access to the company’s annual financial statements to help keep it accountable.

The insurance department expects the judge to decide on the settlement by April 7. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will then review the judge’s decision and have the final say.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Iran's state media issued what it said was a statement by Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, vowing to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and keep up attacks on U.S. bases in the region, as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran entered its 13th day.

It was purported to be the new leader's first statement since he succeeded his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war.

The statement said Iran will avenge the blood of its "martyrs," including the victims of a March 1 attack on a girls school in the city of Minab, which Iranian officials say killed at least 165 people, many of them children. NPR has confirmed the U.S. military is investigating how it could have targeted the school.

The Iranian statement said the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for a fifth of the world's oil supply, should remain closed. It said Iran continues to believe in friendship with its neighbors but will continue targeting U.S. bases in the region.

"The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must undoubtedly continue to be used.," the statement said, according to an English version published by Tasnim News Agency, run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

It's unclear if the statement was from Mojtaba Khamenei himself. Another person was heard reading out the remarks on Iranian state media, with a photo of Khamenei posted on the TV screen, as it was broadcast around the world.

There's been speculation about the leader's current condition and whereabouts. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, told NPR that Khamenei was lightly injured early in the war.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

Here are other major updates about the conflict.

To jump to specific areas of coverage, use the links below:

Attacks on vessels | Oil stockpiles | Strikes across the Gulf | Israel-Hezbollah escalation | Iranian school attack

Two oil tankers hit in Iraqi waters

Two oil tankers were hit in Iraqi territorial waters near the southern port area of Basra, Iraqi officials said Thursday. It is the first oil-related strike reported in Iraq's waters during more than a week of war, in another sign of the conflict's escalation.

Iran, a critical ally of Iraq, took responsibility for attacking one of the tankers, which it said was owned by the U.S.

A port official said the attack targeted vessels near Basra's port approaches, and Iraq's security spokesman described it as sabotage.

Iraqi officials said one person was killed, and 38 crew members were rescued, with search operations continuing.

Iran has stepped up attacks on energy infrastructure and commercial shipping in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes, warning that the world should brace for oil prices to double.

— Jane Arraf

U.S. and allies to release record oil stockpiles  

The U.S. confirmed it will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a coordinated International Energy Agency (IEA) release of 400 million barrels from emergency stockpiles.

The U.S. contribution amounts to roughly 40% of the total, to be released gradually over about four months.

The IEA's executive director, Fatih Birol, said the goal is to keep the supply of oil flowing as the conflict disrupts shipping routes and energy infrastructure. But analysts warn stockpile releases can only partially offset prolonged disruption in the Gulf, where roughly a fifth of global oil consumption normally transits the Strait of Hormuz.

On Wednesday, President Trump said the price spike is temporary and said the reserve release would push prices down.

According to the popular app Gas Buddy, the current average cost of regular unleaded is now up to $3.61 a gallon.

- Camila Domonoske

Iran continues attacks on Gulf States

Countries in the Gulf reported new incoming threats and interceptions Thursday, as Iran continued firing drones and missiles across the region – including at U.S. military bases.

The UAE's defense ministry said air defenses were responding to Iranian missile and drone attacks, and that sounds heard in parts of the country were from intercepts.

Kuwait's defense ministry said its air defenses intercepted ballistic missiles and drones that penetrated the northern and southern parts of the country's airspace.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed drones headed toward the Shaybah oil field.

The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday condemning Iran for recent attacks across the Persian Gulf region, calling them a "breach of international law" and "a serious threat to international peace and security."

- Rebecca Rosman

Israel launches large strikes on Hezbollah sites in Beirut after rocket fire into Israel

People inspect homes damaged by a projectile launched from Lebanon, in Haniel central Israel, on Thursday.

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The militant group Hezbollah launched its biggest rocket attack against Israel since the start of the war with Iran. The Israeli military said the Iranian-backed group fired heavy volleys toward northern Israel overnight into Thursday, triggering interceptions and sending residents repeatedly into shelters.

The Israeli military responded by launching more attacks against what it said were Hezbollah launch sites and command infrastructure.

Huge booms were heard across the capital and large black smoke billowed from the Dahieh neighborhood in south Beirut, while an attack in central Beirut – where thousands of people are displaced – killed 8 people and injured 31, according to Lebanese officials.

Wide evacuation orders for south Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs have displaced at least 800,000 people so far, according to the Lebanese government.

Lebanon, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has unusually called for direct talks with Israel to end the escalating fighting with Hezbollah. Israel has not officially responded.

Israeli strikes on Iran have continued, with Iran firing missiles at Israel intermittently, including overnight.

Israeli military officials say about half of the missiles Iran has launched at Israel have carried cluster warheads, which spread out into smaller bombs over a wider area – increasing the risk to civilians.

- Daniel Estrin, Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Rebecca Rosman

Pentagon: Preliminary assessment suggests U.S. likely responsible for strike on Iranian school

The Pentagon has opened a formal investigation into the missile strike on an Iranian girls school that killed at least 165 civilians, many of them children, after a preliminary assessment suggested the U.S. was at fault, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The investigation is expected to take months and will include interviews with all those involved, from planners and commanders to those who carried out the strike.

If a U.S. role in the attack is confirmed, it would rank among the military's most deadly incidents involving civilians in decades. Congress created a special Pentagon office to prevent the accidental targeting of civilians but it was dramatically scaled back by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth soon after he took office last year.

"This investigation is ongoing. As we have said, unlike the terrorist Iranian regime, the United States does not target civilians," said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

NPR previously reported — based on commercial satellite imagery and independent expert analysis — that the strike was more extensive than initially reported and appeared consistent with a precision strike on a nearby military complex, raising questions about whether outdated targeting information contributed to the tragedy.

- Tom Bowman, Kat Lonsdorf, Geoff Brumfiel

Rebecca Rosman contributed to this report from Paris, Jane Arraf from Erbil, Iraq, Hadeel Al-Shalchi from Beirut, Daniel Estrin from Tel Aviv and Camila Domonoske, Tom Bowman, Kat Lonsdorf and Geoff Brumfiel from Washington.
Copyright 2026 NPR

The story first appeared on The LA Local.

If you’re a soccer fan — or just a fan of South Korean phenom Son Heung-min — you may have heard that the Los Angeles Football Club planned to put up a larger-than-life mural of the footballer in Koreatown last month. But the mural has yet to appear. 

LAFC planned to reveal the mural during the launch of their 2026/2027 jersey at The LINE Hotel. Now the reveal has been pushed back to sometime in June. 

The delay stems from issues with the city’s mural approval process, at least according to city officials. 

Gabriel Cifarelli, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, said they received a mural registration application for the site. But the department said it could not issue a notice to proceed because the application was “ineligible and incomplete” under the city’s mural ordinance and administrative rules.

“DCA staff offered the applicant advice and further guidance, and remains available for questions,” Cifarelli said. 

If a mural includes a team logo it is considered an advertisement and not original artwork, according to the city department. In that case, the permit must be issued through the city’s Building and Safety Department.

A new application has not been submitted through the mural program, Cifarelli said, and it was not immediately clear whether LAFC applied for a permit through the Building and Safety Department. 

LAFC spokesperson Danny Sanchez didn’t confirm if a new permit has been submitted.

“The mural unveil was rescheduled to June to better align with World Cup festivities,” Sanchez said. 

Dave Young Kim was commissioned to paint the mural and previously painted a Son mural on the side of the Crosby building in Koreatown in October, but that was only up for a few weeks.

He still plans to paint the mural on The LINE Hotel in June.

“I’m assuming at this point, LAFC is likely trying to line it up for a more opportune time,” said Kim. “The mural was originally supposed to line up with the launch of the new jersey so something similar.”

Leo Hernandez, 35, said he hopes the mural goes up before the World Cup.

“I didn’t know it was pushed back all the way to June,” he said. “I’ll be in Mexico for the World Cup.”

Hernandez, who goes by “El Soccer Guy” on Instagram and has nearly 50,000 followers, has been attending LAFC games since 2018. He said Son’s arrival to L.A. has brought a new wave of fans to the club.

“I’ve never seen so many Koreans,” he said. “He’s bringing a whole new community to LAFC. I don’t know if they love soccer or they love Son or both, but it’s amazing to see.”

“Son is starting to be my favorite on the team,” he added. “He’s so good. He wants the team to shine. And I love his positivity and energy.” 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is all about people with superpowers living in a world very much like our own.

And there’s a lot of real Los Angeles mixed into the recent MCU series “Wonder Man,” now on Disney+, which makes for a version of the MCU that feels a little more grounded in reality, especially for Angelenos.

It's an action-comedy about two struggling actors also dealing with superhuman forces and secret government agencies. Think The Studio meets Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Sir Ben Kingsley reprises his Iron Man 3 character Trevor Slattery, the messy British actor hired to play a bad guy called The Mandarin. And Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man.

Through their adventures trying to book the gig-of-a-lifetime while surviving the perils of the MCU, L.A. landmarks and cultural references abound, and ground the series in a relatability for many Angelenos, including lots of inside jokes for those working in the entertainment industry.

3 cultural references that make Wonder Man feel like real Los Angeles

Historic places, some we’ve had to part with

There’s a series of roughly 100-year-old small, independent movie houses used as locations in Wonder Man — the Eagle Theatre now home to Vidiots, Westwood's Village Theater now operated by American Cinematheque (with views of The Bruin Theater across the street), and the Highland Theatre which closed in 2024.

A scene from 'Wonder Man' on Disney +.

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Speaking of iconic L.A. spots breaking local hearts, the vintage bar within Echo Park’s Taix French Restaurant was used as an interior location for the series. Taix is closing at the end of the month to make way for new development.

“Taix, the Highland Park Theatre — these places that it was only three years ago were there,” Wonder Man showrunner Andrew Guest told LAist, “a lot of these establishments sadly, are not surviving. And this town is in a rough, rough place.”

(Though actor/director Kristen Stewart recently said in an interview with Architectural Digest that she bought The Highland Theatre and is restoring the building.)

L.A. traffic (especially around the Hollywood Bowl on a performance night)

Traffic is part of life in Los Angeles and with so many scenes shot in Hollywood, even the main characters of Wonder Man must experience that bumper-to-bumper frustration.

Though, because it is a TV show, they were able to indulge in the fantasy of beating that traffic in a way that in reality would be highly dangerous (and illegal).

“We got to shut down Sunset Boulevard for a little while to shoot a car going onto the sidewalk in front of the Palladium,” said Guest. And surprisingly, he explained, they didn’t have to shoot in the middle of the night to make the shot happen: “That was Friday night…. We didn't close all lanes of traffic. The street was open. We were shooting while Los Angeles was still going strong.”

The scene also references the frequent traffic back up during big shows at the Hollywood Bowl, even earning the show a social media repost of the scene from Chaka Khan.

Having family and friends 45 minutes away, who you rarely visit

Wonder Man includes an episode titled Pacoima where the main character visits his family and childhood home.

“My wife grew up in Chatsworth, and one of the things I found fascinating about her experience growing up there was that many of her friends and their families never went to Los Angeles,” said Guest.

“The idea that Simon grew up close to, but far enough away that Hollywood and Los Angeles did not feel like they were part of his life…so when he moved to the city, Pacoima is not a place he goes to a lot. And I feel like that's a part of L.A. that is true to this city. That doesn't get explored a lot and felt like it was another detail that we got to sort of throw into the show.”

There’s lots of other Southern California. references to enjoy from the Talmadge Apartments, an historic renaissance revival building on Wilshire Blvd., a mural of Danny Trejo, and even a cameo from Gisellle Fernandes, real-life L.A. broadcaster for Spectrum 1 News.

Should you get lost in the multi-verse, at least this L.A will be pretty familiar.

BONUS: Could there be a Season 2 of Wonder Man? And would it still be set in L.A.?

Guest couldn’t confirm anything about a possible Season 2, but told LAist, “It’s still on the table as an option, potentially."

As for whether a potential Season 2 would also film in Los Angeles and continue to highlight the city in new ways, Guest said it’s occurred to him that one of the best ways to write about Hollywood could be “ to send our show somewhere else because everybody in this town who's working has to move — whether it be Budapest or London or Ireland or Vancouver — very little is actually happening in this town. And that’s a story that I don’t think is being told right now about L.A.”

Season 1 of ‘Wonder Man’ is now streaming on Disney+.

Watch Julia Paskin's interview with actor/comedian X Mayo, who plays Simon Williams' agent in 'Wonder Man':