The Brief

It seems like only yesterday that hacking fast food meant ordering off the menu. The most famous in recent years was the Starbucks pink drink, where customers would order a strawberry acai refresher and substitute the water for coconut milk.

The drink went so viral on social media that Starbucks eventually added it to its permanent menu… making you pay more in the process.

(Let us also not forget The McGangBang (actual name, apparently), which combined a McChicken and a McDouble into one ridiculous sandwich in the 2010s.)

Now, with food influencers trying to outdo each other, menu hacking has gone even further.

Instead of ordering from just one menu and modifying it, now you can order two items and combine them, or even order items from two different fast food chains and mash them up into one meal.

(Driving from one place to another means the result is anything but fast, but hey, this is creativity).

While I’m a little concerned about where this amalgamation could end — Three restaurants? Four? — I figured I’d pull together some hacks that caught my eye, show you how to make them, and then rate them. Call it public service. You’re welcome.

The In-N-Out Patty Melt

The In-N-Out patty melt made with their Flying Dutchman burger and two toasted buns.

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Sean Vukan

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For LAist

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What to order

• One Flying Dutchman 
• Two buns on the side, toasted

The assembly

For the uninitiated, the In-N-Out Flying Dutchman is not a pirate ship but rather two beef patties with a slice of cheese between the patties and on top of them.

It also comes with grilled onions. (It’s my personal favorite of the In-N-Out off-menu items. It's just a great combination of gooey melted cheese and classic In-N-Out hamburger patties.)

Order one of those, and two toasted buns. Now invert the buns — what’s facing the inside on a traditional burger will now be facing outward. (It’s what makes it a patty melt). Finally, carefully peel off the Flying Dutchman from the paper it’s sitting on and place it in between the toasted inverted hamburger buns. Get ready to enjoy a drive-thru version of a diner classic.

Does it work?

A patty melt is at its best when the bread, hamburger patty, onions, and cheese are all griddled together in perfect harmony. Unfortunately, the bun lets this version down.

When I tried it, the bread was dry, whereas on an actual patty melt, all the juices from the onions and meat have had a chance to seep through to the rye or sourdough. This version was fine, though, and if it came cooked as one, it might have yielded a different result.

Score: 6.5/10 There are better versions of this diner classic throughout Los Angeles, but it’s a fun, newer In-N-Out hack that doesn’t involve using grilled onions as a substitute bun for your burger. Oh, and it does double the trash you’d normally produce, but that kind of goes with all these mash ups.

The Baja Blast Float

A McDonald's soft serve cone dipped into the signature Taco Bell soft drink, Baja Blast. Things are about to get messy.

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Sean Vukan

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For LAist

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What to order

• A large Baja Blast from Taco Bell
• A soft serve cone from McDonald's

The assembly

Because you’re dealing with ice cream, it’s best to get the Taco Bell exclusive soda first, so there’s a small amount of time between dunkage of ice cream and soda.

This also allows time to drink some of the soda to somewhere about the halfway to three-quarters point. Why? Because sticking an ice cream cone into a full cup of soda will cause it to overflow. Once the soda is at an acceptable level, scoop the soft serve from the McDonald's cone into the soda and swirl it around at the same time, allowing the ice cream to mix in partly with the soda.

Does it work?

Yes. But a Baja Blast from Taco Bell has been my personal go to drink from The Bell since it was launched in 2004, so I may be a bit biased. The ice cream combination mixed with the citrusy, tropical lime flavor of the soda was really good and comes off as sort of like a millennial version of an orange soda float.

Score: 8/10 Was I questioning my journalistic choices in the parking lot of a Walmart on a Sunday morning as I was slowly dunking and drinking while balancing the Baja Blast to keep it from spilling everywhere? Absolutely. But the end result made me glad that I followed through with it. This would be a great treat just in time for summer.

The In-N-Out/Dave's Hot Chicken Sandwich

A collection of Dave's Hot Chicken, fries and a burger bun with no meat from In-N-Out. This is about to become a sandwich.

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Sean Vukan

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For LAist

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What to order:

• Cheeseburger w/no meat from In-N-Out
• The Two Tender Combo from Dave’s Hot Chicken, OR ask for one tender a la carte if you don’t want the fries and extra tender. The spice level varies depending on preference.
• Honey packets, spread, Dave’s sauce (optional).

The assembly

Ordering the cheeseburger with no meat saves you the question from the attendant at In-N-Out asking if you want the grilled cheese plain or with the veggies, which you absolutely still want, and in some cases, they may not ask you, so better to be on the safe side and order the cheeseburger with no meat. For the Dave’s portion, the first time I asked for one tender they obliged, but looked at me kind of weird (journalism, folks) so the second time I just ordered the #1 combo, which is the two tenders.

Place a tender between the meatless burger and congrats; there’s now an In-N-Out chicken sandwich.

Does it work?

Look, Dave’s Hot Chicken already has a chicken sandwich so there’s absolutely no need for this to happen unless you’re aching for tomato, grilled onions, and Thousand Island dressing to be a part of it. But welcome to the world of fast food influencers, folks. A world where putting a clickbaity title like “In-N-Out Chicken Sandwich?” on a title card in an attempt to rack up views because you think something new has been launched, but in reality, it’s all a ruse.

Score: 7/10 The original concoction of this called for a Chick-fil-A cutlet to be used, but since I don’t eat at Chick-fil-A and prefer a hotter chicken anyway, I opted for a tender from Dave’s. This was fine. Not mind-blowing in any way. Would it have been different if Chick-fil-A chicken were used instead? Probably not. But to each their own. Order the In-N-Out first because the line will probably be long, and it is probably best to be in an area where a place that serves crispy chicken cutlet sandwiches or tenders is somewhat nearby an In-N-Out.

Del Taco Birria Nacho Fries

The contents of a birria quesadilla placed upon an order of Del Taco nacho fries.

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Sean Vukan

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For LAist

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What to order

• Birria quesadilla or birria combo burrito
• Plain crinkle-cut fries or the special nacho cheese fries
• Hot sauce
• Ask for sides of sour cream and jalapeños

The assembly

Scoop the contents out of the quesadilla or burrito onto the fries. The nacho fries are currently a special that Del Taco is running, which is their crinkle-cut fries topped with nacho cheese.

Depending on your preference, the birria quesadilla is just the Del Taco birria and that classic orange shredded cheese they put on, like, 90% of the items at Del Taco. The birria combo burrito comes with birria and refried beans, but I found the chunks of birria in the quesadilla to be more hearty and meaty than the ones in the burrito.

Once the fillings have been placed atop the fries, top with the sour cream, jalapeños, and drizzle the hot sauce of your choosing atop it.

Does it work?

Yes. I got the idea for this from my friend and fellow food writer, Sarah Mosqueda of the L.A. Times. I texted her prior to the assignment to ask if she knew of any under-the-radar menu hacks or mashups that people wouldn’t know about.

She said that while working at an old restaurant of hers, she would bring in Del Taco fries and pour braised lamb over them for a staff meal. While braised lamb from fast food isn’t necessarily a possibility, it got me thinking that Del Taco could be a possibility for a menu hack whereas initially it wasn’t, and specifically their fries or nachos.

Del Taco currently has their recently added birria in tacos, a burrito, in a cup with consomme, and atop nachos. However, they missed an opportunity to place it on their crinkle-cut fries, even though they already offer the fries with ground beef, chicken, and steak.

Score: 7.9/10 The tender beef birria was a great addition to the fries, allowing just enough of the juices to soak up into the crinkle-cut potatoes. Granted, these are light on diced tomatoes or guac, and I did get the smaller, cheaper version of the fries because I was told the larger option with more toppings couldn’t be modified with the birria. Still, it was really good. The pickled jalapeños and sour cream add acidity to help cut through the hearty beef and potatoes.

Behold the Hammer Boi pizza featuring flatty beef patties, pickles, ‘Hammer sauce’ from Hammer Burger, atop a Focaccia Boi pepperoni pizza.

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Sean Vukan

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For LAist

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Mashups for the soul

When all is said and done, the best mash-ups you can support are those your local small businesses create. Post-pandemic, more and more pop-ups and small restaurants are joining forces for special releases and the results are usually home runs. Here are some of my recent favorites:

• The recent Paradise Dynasty/Pho-Holic mash-up, where OC beef pho restaurant Phoholic had a pho xiao long bao at South Coast Plaza’s Paradise Dynasty — an absolutely genius combination that tasted as good as it reads.
  
• The ongoing A’s BBQ/Quarantine Pizza collab at Smorgasburg Los Angeles on Sundays, where East LA pitmaster and sausage king Alan Cruz of A’s BBQ provides his famous al pastor sausages to Quarantine Pizza for an al pastor sausage pizza.
  
• Daniel Castillo of Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano has been using Burritos La Palma tortillas for his brisket tacos for the past few years.
  

• The recent collaboration between Orange County purveyors, Hammer Burger and Focaccia Boi. Usually in Anaheim, Derek Bracho and his Focaccia Boi pizza has been taking over the kitchen every Wednesday at Loosie’s Pizza in Downtown Santa Ana. Loosie’s also happens to be a stone’s throw from Orange County’s first smash burger truck, now turned restaurant, Hammer Burger.

  The result of this team up? A limited number of slices of The Hammer Boi pizza: flatty beef patties, pickles, ‘Hammer sauce’ from Hammer Burger, atop a Focaccia Boi pepperoni pizza.

The overall verdict

Save the corporate mashups for the influencers just looking for clicks. They’re not struggling. Follow your favorite pop-up, food truck, or small restaurant on social media and be on the lookout for their next collab or mash-up with another local favorite.

Because a pizza burger just might end up being delicious.

Warm temperatures are on tap again today as we head into a toasty weekend with temps set to reach the triple digits in desert communities.

L.A. County beaches will see daytime highs from 67 to 72 degrees. It'll be between 69 and 76 degrees along the Orange County coast. More inland areas like downtown L.A., Hollywood and Anaheim will see temperatures from 75 to 81 degrees.

Meanwhile, the valleys will see varying temperatures. Areas closer to the coast will see highs from 78 to 83 degrees, and further inland, temps will stay in the upper 80s, up to 89 degrees.

Meanwhile in Coachella Valley, temperatures will rise to 101 to 106 degrees.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the valleys will reach the 90s for Mother's Day, up to 100 degrees in the Antelope Valley too. Come Sunday, an Extreme Heat Warning kicks in for the Coachella Valley, where temperatures will stay in the low 100s, with up to 109 degrees possible. Make sure to stay hydrated!

Jessica Wang has experienced delay after delay for nearly two years as she tried to open Gu Grocery in Chinatown. Her father, a contractor, had told her it would take nine months.

Instead, she says, there have been issues with city permits, inspectors, inaccurate information, illness and wayward appliance installers which have pushed things back.

The community didn't take nearly as long. In two weeks, 134 donors contributed nearly $12,000 to keep Wang afloat. But money can't solve her problem — she still needs the city's approval to open the doors.

Wang signed the lease at the end of 2023, envisioning a Chinese-Taiwanese grocery store and community hub where seniors could use EBT to buy fresh tofu, where kids from nearby elementary schools could stop by after class, and where her mother, Peggy, could teach neighbors how to make their grandmother's pickles.

Now, more than two years into a five-year lease, and nearly out of money after paying for permits, buildout, and rent on a space she can't operate, Wang launched a GoFundMe campaign a few weeks ago. The response showed the community believes in Gu Grocery and wants to see it succeed. But she's still waiting for at least seven final inspections by the city before she can open.

The story of Gu

The name "Gu" carries layered meaning: the character 菇 means "mushroom" in Chinese, a traditional symbol of prosperity, while the sound "gu" also means "auntie" in Mandarin — honoring intergenerational caretakers. Wang's mission for the space is to provide a place to purchase Chinese-Taiwanese pantry staples and prepared foods, and to host community workshops.

The communal aspect is central to Wang's vision of social entrepreneurship, not solely focused on profit. In addition to workshops, Gu Grocery plans to accept EBT and offer senior discounts for those on fixed incomes.

"I wanted a space where I could share knowledge and share culture and also just learn from the community," Wang said.

Ultimately, she hopes to convert the store into a worker-owned co-op.

Wang grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and worked as a pastry chef at San Francisco's State Bird Provisions before a pre-diabetic diagnosis at age 29 prompted her return to L.A. She began volunteering with API Forward Movement, a local nonprofit focused on health equity and food access in AAPI communities, and saw firsthand the need during COVID food distributions at L.A. State Historic Park.

Chinatown had lost its last two full-service grocery stores in 2019. Last fall, the neighborhood lost another: Yue Wa Market, a small produce shop that had served residents for 18 years before rising rent and pandemic losses forced it to shut its doors. The closures hit especially hard in a neighborhood where, according to American Community Survey data, half of the residents are low-income and one in five are seniors 65 and older — many of whom rely on walking to shop.

Jessica Wang (center, in black) and her mother Peggy (left, in white and red) smile while serving customers at a farmer's market pop-up for Gu Grocery.

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Daniel Nguyen

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Courtesy Gu Grocery

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Permitting woes

Much of bringing Gu Grocery to reality has been made possible by support from Wang's friends and family. Her father, Willie Wang, serves as her general contractor. When plans were submitted to the city in March 2024, he told her the buildout would take nine months if everything went smoothly.

Instead, she’s experienced delays from all directions, from slow bureaucracy, to issues with contractors. A hood installation contractor rescheduled multiple times, she said, then doubled his price the day before a rescheduled appointment. Drywall contractors said their workers had been detained by ICE and never returned.

The process hasn't just taken time — it's been expensive. One inspector approved a makeup air unit for the kitchen hood system, she said, only to have a senior inspector overturn the decision and order a complete replacement at nearly $6,000. Her father paid out of pocket — even as he was recovering from March surgery to remove a cancerous lung growth.

"Who would have thought that something an inspector asked us to do would be completely overturned by another inspector?" Wang said. "That's just so wild."

LAist has reached out to the city's Department of Building Services for comment but has not heard back.

The financial toll

Wang estimates she's spent more than $200,000 so far — more than $100,000 on buildout and permits alone, plus a full year of rent on a space she can't operate, equipment, insurance and taxes.

She draws no income from Gu Grocery. To cover personal expenses, she teaches fermentation workshops through her other business, Picklepickle, though that work has been inconsistent lately. Her health insurance doubled this year. The GoFundMe money, she said, is a "rainy day fund" in case she needs it to pay future bills.

The financial strain has touched her entire family. Her mother, who received a small inheritance when Wang's grandparents died, got scammed late last year trying to grow that money to help with the store. Targeted through online ads, she was convinced by an "investment tutor" based in Taiwan to hand over cash to a stranger in a parking lot.

"I didn't realize this would become part of what it's like to have aging parents in the age of technology," Wang said. "But it's scary how they get targeted."

Black sesame noodles from Gu Grocery's popup menu. Wang uses black sesame for higher nutritional value and plans to offer the dish as one of the prepared foods when the store opens.

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Aunty J

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Courtesy Gu Grocery

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Rice balls with house pickles from a Gu Grocery pop-up. Wang has been teaching fermentation and pickling workshops for 15 years and plans to serve pickles alongside all meals when the store opens.

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Aunty J.

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Courtesy Gu Grocery

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Addressing Chinatown's needs

Once Gu Grocery opens, it won't operate as a full-service market — there won't be a meat counter. Instead, it will function like a corner store with a focus on healthy prepared foods: butter mochi, sesame noodles and daily congee.

"Something that Chinatown has never had was prepared food that is EBT eligible," Wang said.

In 2020, Wang surveyed seniors through API Forward Movement's Tai Chi fitness program to understand their shopping habits following the closure of local grocery stores. Many told her they now ride the bus to Super King on San Fernando Road in Glendale, nearly 5 miles away, for produce deals, or rely on family members to drive them to 99 Ranch in Alhambra. Some grow their own food in gardening plots, Wang said, "but they can't produce everything they need."

Willie Wang (left), Jessica Wang (center), and Peggy Wang (right) pose inside Gu Grocery. The signs display the store's values in both English and Chinese — Willie's reads "body health" and Peggy's reads "mushroom auntie," playing on the dual meaning of "gu."

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Daniel Nguyen

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Courtesy Gu Grocery

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The community response

When she launched her Go FundMe in mid-April, she was overwhelmed by the response. "I have a hard time asking for help," said Wang. "So actually receiving help, it's very moving."

The donors range from former pop-up customers and friends to a range of assorted well-wishers — a musician who had her food once at an event, fellow food business owners, farmer's market regulars and even her insurance agent.

"The generosity is beyond my expectations," Wang said. "Some of these people only had my food once. People are showing their support truly in a personal way and really believing in the vision."

The GoFundMe money helps Wang stay "afloat for now," but she's had to rethink her opening strategy. She won't be able to afford full inventory when she opens. Instead, she plans a phased opening: prepared foods only, served through a takeout window, then using revenue to slowly stock shelves with the retail items she originally envisioned.

The community raised more than $14,000 in three weeks. After nearly two years of delays, Wang is still waiting for permits. She hopes to open by Father's Day — her general contractor dad's birthday. But she's learned to expect the unexpected.

Many donors sent her direct messages saying simply: "We got this, Jess, we got you."

Olympics organizers have released a first look at plans for a celebration of arts and culture across Los Angeles during the summer of 2028.

Known as the "Cultural Olympiad," the programming will include a poster series by local artists, film screenings across the city and a calendar of events, including live performances and art installations at different institutions. The city of L.A. will also put on its own events, including culture festivals in each council district, in the lead up to the Games.

Arts programming is a long Olympic tradition — starting in 1912 as artistic competitions and eventually evolving into festivals.

When Los Angeles last hosted the Olympics in 1984, the city hosted a weeks-long spectacle that included more than 400 performances and launched with the unveiling of a sculpture by artist Robert Graham topped with two statues depicting the naked female and male form, each without a head. The statues still stand at the entrance to the Coliseum today.

A closeup of the statues by artist Robert Graham atop the Olympic Gateway Arch at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

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David Madison

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Getty Images

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The 1984 festival is credited with transforming the city's arts scene. After the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion put on opera productions in the summer of 1984, local patrons launched L.A. Opera, which had its first season in 1986.

“That moment — when this city chose to present itself to the world not only through sport but through the full force of its artistic imagination — gave rise to an institution that has, for four decades, reflected the scale, diversity and ambition of Los Angeles itself," Christopher Koelsch, president of L.A. Opera said in a statement provided by LA28.

L.A.'s artistic contributions in 1984 in turn transformed the Olympics. John Williams composed the "Olympic Fanfare" for the Opening Ceremony, which is still associated with the Games today.

The legacy of 1984 means expectations for the 2028 Olympiad are high — but most details on what's in store are still to come. Some in Los Angeles have criticized LA28, saying that planning is lagging.

Another big question is funding. The city of L.A.'s initial plan for cultural programming estimates a budget of $15 million, which would cover local festivals in each council district. But the city also painted a vision for what it could do with $45 million in funding, including a seven-week arts festival across the city.

Documents from the city's Department of Cultural Affairs says full funding will depend on external partnerships, including LA28. LA28 told LAist that the Cultural Olympiad will be funded through private fundraising but didn't provide further details.

The first event associated with the Olympiad will launch in July 2027, when winners of the local artist poster contest are announced.