Kadhi Pakora, Makai Palak, and Kashmiri Aloo Matar from Baar Baar in downtown Los Angeles.
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David Tonelson
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Courtesy of Baar Baar
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Topline:
Curry is a kaleidoscope of cultures and traditions encompassing Indian, Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese Japanese and Burmese styles, defining 'home' for millions across the world. In L.A. you can find great examples of these different dishes — we offer a guide.
Why it matters: In popular culture, curry can sometimes be reduced to a cartoon stereotype. But it isn’t just one specific dish. It’s a culinary titan.
Why now: With the rise of gastronomic innovators like Baar Baar in DTLA, international restaurant francises as well as the steady presence of Buddhist and Hindu temples, curry is embedded in today's L.A.
A certain politician recently declared that the White House would smell like curry if their opponent won the election — like it was a bad thing. I thought that after Bridgerton, we were done with the curry jokes. Because curry can’t be reduced to a cartoon stereotype. It isn’t just one specific dish. It’s a culinary titan.
“Indian curries are an intricate tapestry, woven with a vibrant medley of spices that harmonize to craft a culinary masterpiece,” said Chef Sujan of newcomer Indian molecular gastronomy sensation Baar Baar.
Goan Coconut Shrimp Curry at Kahani in Dana Point
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Courtesy Kahani
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Worldwide, the word ‘curry’ is a kaleidoscope, evoking the identities and cultures of people with their own versions of the dish. In L.A., Indian, Chinese, Thai, Burmese, and Japanese arrivals brought their own recipes with them, infusing the city with their own aromatic contributions.
Angelenos — it's time to release this exuberant creation from its narrow cavern and embrace its magnitude. Here’s your journey across curries and cultures.
The history
When writing my own book on Indian spice blends, Masaleydaar: Classic Indian Spice Blends, I found early references to ‘curry’ in mid-19th century British and French cookbooks.
This loose term (which originates in South India) referenced sauce-based dishes containing spices like turmeric, ginger, and pepper. Some offered shelf-stable curry powder recipes, but no two recipes for curry powder were alike, and some contained as many as 20 ingredients! And yet, the word stuck, minus cultural or geographical references, and continued to define many dishes originating across Asia.
Shrimp Malwani Curry at Baar Baar in downtown Los Angeles
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Courtesy Baar Baar
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Chinese and Thai curries
While colonial powers continued to appropriate and profit from Asian cuisines, many Chinese immigrants came to Los Angeles to feed California’s Gold Rush. By the mid 1950s, many Thais also came to the city. As with any immigrant community, some returned to their home countries, others stayed.
Buddhist places of worship served both these communities. Celebrity chef of Thai origin, Jet Tila, observes the overlap between religion and food.
“For Thai people, curry symbolizes the influence of Buddhism. Curry and Buddhism almost go hand-in-hand because they both are from India and are ubiquitous in the culture," he said. "We don't make Masala, we've adapted the idea of curry into a herb paste, more indigenous to the geography of Southeast Asia.”
Where to go:
Wat Thai temple in North Hollywood
Established in 1979, Wat Thai has long served Buddhist Thais. Now, every weekend their parking lot transforms into a robust and lively food market, as local vendors showcase unique Thai dishes. This is the best place to sample homestyle Thai delicacies like (Kaeng) Tai Pla Curry, fermented fish from Southern Thailand or Northern style Thai Khao Soi, a yellow curry broth with egg noodles, pickled mustard greens, chili oil, and chicken legs. Go hungry.
Location: 8225 Coldwater Canyon Ave, North Hollywood Hours: open daily, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights
In contrast, Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple offers a respite from the high-octane energy of Greater Los Angeles. This serene meditation and learning space showcases Chinese culture and Buddhism within its expansive complex of tan, tiled-roofed prayer halls surrounding grand courtyards. Unlike Thai Buddhists, many Chinese Buddhists are strictly vegetarian, so the modest dining hall serves only vegetarian meals during limited hours. Its ambience and food reflect the peaceful harmony of the temple.
Location: 3456 Glenmark Dr, Hacienda Heights Hours: open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Japanese curries
By some records, the Japanese community was part of Los Angeles at a few thousand strong even in the early 1900s. Jane Matsumoto, director of Culinary Arts at the Japanese American Culture & Community Center, said “Japanese food culture in the United States has undergone significant evolution since World War II,” adding that classic Japanese foods are often seen only during traditional celebrations.
Where to go:
Coco Ichibanya
The popular Japanese food chain boasts four locations in metro Los Angeles. Well known for customizable Japanese curries, rich with cinnamon and chili powder, they're served with rice, or surprisingly, naan, which is perfect for soaking every saucy droplet from the bowl. They even offer two unique condiments: pickled radish and tobikara. Tobikara is a dusting spice that reminds me in both taste and texture of mealtime accompaniments in Indian homestyle meals: a spicy methkut from my home state of Maharashtra, western India, or a podi from my husband’s home state in Tamil Nadu in southern India. Tasting something so close to home, in an L.A. Japanese chain, warms my heart.
All immigrants cook with a bit of nostalgia for their home countries. Irvine resident and board member of Les Dames d'Escoffier International, Anita Lau, grew up in Malaysia. She would cook Japanese curry for her son because it was milder. While Japanese curry remains her son's comfort food, Lau prefers the more robust Thai, Malaysian, and Indian curries.
"There is a great deal of care towards the preparation of the spice base… they have a good bit of heat, and complexity… my favorites,” Lau said. She isn’t wrong.
Dishes from Kahani's menu
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Courtesy Kahani
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Vietnamese refugees came to L.A. in the mid-1970s and have created a robust Little Saigon in Westminster, capable of teasing the taste buds into deliriously dizzying heights. Like any Indian grocery store, the spice aisles are stocked high with pre-assembled spice blends for different kinds of pho and Vietnamese curries, with familiar spices like black pepper, black cardamom, and bay leaf.
Where to go:
Brodard in Fountain Valley
Brodard offers a few varieties of curries for those who aren't ready to cook just yet, including a goat curry served with a classic baguette, perfect for dunking into the fragrant and decadent sauce. An additional express location in John Wayne Airport (Gate 13/14, Terminal B/C), makes Vietnamese food even more accessible.
Location: 16105 Brookhurst St, Fountain Valley Hours: open daily, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Burmese curries
Where to go:
Mandalay Morning Star
Mandalay Morning Star in Covina is worth a detour to the eastern edge of L.A. County. Started by Burmese refugees in 1995, it not only offers prepared meals and prepared foods for take out, but is also a mini grocery mart. It prides itself in close-to-home flavors, like the saporous breakfast street food from Mandalay, Nan-Gyi Mont Ti.
A plate of rice noodles tossed in chickpea flour and topped with sliced chicken, garnishes and a bit of Burmese curry sauce comes to the table with a bowl of clear chicken stock, the breakfast of champions.
Location: 750 Terrado Plaza #33, Covina Hours: Wednesday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m; closed Tuesdays
Indian curries
Eventually, however, all these curry interpretations use similar spices (albeit in unique combinations), and connect diners to a cuisine thousands of years old — Indian cuisine.
Weaving through time, geographies, trends, social status, embracing migrations and change, Indian food continues to evolve. Indians have been in California as far back as the Chinese, first in the farming sector, and embracing all of California by the mid-60s. With it, they brought the breadth of Indian cuisine, and made it available to all.
Where to go:
BAPS Shayona in Chino Hills Food interpreted through the lens of sectarian dietary guidelines of the Swaminarayan communities. 15100 Fairfield Ranch Rd, Chino Hills
Any Sikh gurudwara Free langar, or community meals.
Rajdhani,Anjappar, or Bhokein Cerritos Hyper-regional and classic Indian dishe which give you a taste of the breadth of home and community meals.
Kailash Parbat Street-fare forward international restaurant franchise 4517 Chino Hills Pkwy E, Chino Hills
Yellow Chili Celebrity chef-led cuisine 2463 Park Ave, Tustin
Nanking Indo Chinese Celebrates border cuisines with Indian, Chinese and Nepalese dishes 18349 Pioneer Blvd #5532, Artesia
Khan Saab Hearty Indian-Pakistani fare which asks us to leave our politics squarely at the door. 229 E Commonwealth Ave Unit A, Fullerton
Cali Chili Globally inspired Indian-Southeast Asian restaurant 4111 N Viking Way, Long Beach
Kahani Classic and Indian-inspired dishes 1 Ritz Carlton Dr, Dana Point
Baar Baar Modern Indian innovator which takes diners into the mad minds of classically trained chefs pushing diners to explore Indian cuisine through their creative lenses. 705 W 9th St, Los Angeles
Chicken Makhani at Baar Baar in downtown Los Angeles.
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Neetu Laddha
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Courtesy Baar Baar
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Curry is an emotion, not a single recipe. Through its many global interpretations, it showcases narratives of family, tradition and nostalgia and ties in what is here and now. It is the pulse of a community, chronicling their joys and challenges while nourishing their collective soul. It defines 'home' for millions of people, no matter where they are.
Indian cuisine is not not one dish and it is not just one curry. It never was.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, where a massive post-fire rebuilding effort is underway.
Published April 1, 2026 4:44 PM
Fencing lines a sidewalk next to a home under construction.
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Erin Stone
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LAist
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Topline:
As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Council member is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.
Who’s behind it: Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.
The details: The plan calls for returning the 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.
Read on … to learn whether economists think the proposed tax relief could make a difference.
As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Councilmember is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.
The 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund would be given back to consumers under the proposal. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.
The motion, introduced Friday by Park and seconded by Councilmember John Lee, says: “The City should do everything within its power to alleviate the financial burden for these residents and businesses in order to facilitate their return and stabilize the Pacific Palisades community.”
Would it make much of a difference?
Economists told LAist the proposal could help many homeowners mitigate the high cost of rebuilding, but likely wouldn’t tip the scales for under-insured, under-resourced property owners.
“It wouldn't hurt if it's very well designed and easy to use,” said Alexander Meeks, a director at the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute. “But I'm not sure if it's really going to tackle the scale of the financial challenge that survivors are facing.”
Meeks noted that the tax waiver wouldn’t lower up-front costs such as environmental testing, architectural design and permitting. And it may not help homeowners sourcing raw materials from outside the city.
Zhiyun Li, a UCLA Anderson School of Management economist, said the waiver could help some homeowners justify the additional cost of rebuilding more fire-safe structures.
“Homeowners must typically pay out of pocket to upgrade to IBHS+ standards, which are more stringent,” Li said. “The tax waiver could encourage upgrading to IBHS+ standards or investing more in mitigation, thereby reducing future risk and improving the likelihood of maintaining insurance coverage.”
What’s next for the proposal?
The proposed tax relief would not be available to properties that have been sold since the fires started in January 2025.
The motion has been sent to the City Council’s budget and fire recovery committees. If approved by the full council, it would require the city administrative officer, the Office of Finance and the city attorney to report back to the council within 60 days on options for crafting a tax relief plan.
The motion calls for the report to consider factors such as how to minimize the burden of administering the tax relief, what documentation homeowners would have to submit and what it would cost the city to oversee the program.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September. Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.
About the deal: The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate. Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.
What's next: Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects. Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS. If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.
Senate and House Republican leadership have resurrected a stalled plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security after a record 47-day funding lapse.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September.
Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.
"In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited," Thune and Johnson wrote.
The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate.
Johnson called the agreement a "joke" and President Donald Trump declined to publicly endorse the deal. Trump had previously resisted any package that did not include his push to overhaul federal elections known as the Save America Act.
"I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it," Trump told reporters last week.
Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.
"For days, Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement Wednesday. "Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered."
Trump seemed to bless the revived plan earlier Wednesday, writing on social media that he wants a party-line bill to fund immigration enforcement on his desk by June 1.
"We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won't be able to stop us," Trump wrote.
Despite the shutdown, ICE has been minimally impacted because Republican lawmakers approved $75 billion for ICE through another party-line budget reconciliation bill last year.
Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects.
Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS.
"Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote on X. "If that's the vote, I'm a NO."
If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.
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Logan Cattaneo, 6, poses for a photo with the Dodgers mascot during Dodgers Dreamteam PlayerFest at Dodgers Stadium in 2024.
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Michael Blackshire
/
Getty Images
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Topline:
The Dodgers Foundation says it's expanding Dodgers Dreamteam, its program for underserved youth. The foundation says the program will be able to serve 17,000 kids this year, 2,000 more than last year.
Why it matters: Now in its 13th season, the program connects underserved youth with opportunities to play baseball and softball and provides participants with free uniforms and access to baseball equipment. It also offers training for coaches in positive youth development practices, as well as wraparound services for participant families like college workshops, career panels, literacy resources and scholarship opportunities.
How to sign up: For more information and to sign up, click here.
An aerial view of snow-capped trees after a winter snowstorm near Soda Springs on Feb. 20, 2026.
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Stephen Lam, San Francisco Chronicle
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via Getty Images
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Topline:
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season. It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
What happened? Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
Why it matters: Experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains. State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs. “I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.
It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.
On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.
“I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”
Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.
“I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
“Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”
‘It’s pretty bizarre up here’
In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.
“It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”
Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.
“That means we can get more work done,” he said.
It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.
Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.
“In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”
‘A haystack fire’
Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.
Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”
“Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.
Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.
But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.
How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.
“This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”
