Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published September 27, 2024 5:00 AM
Beef Stew Noodle from Phnom Penh Noodle Shack in Cambodia Town in Long Beach.
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Julie Leopo
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for LAist
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Topline:
Long Beach houses the largest population of Cambodians outside of the country, with Cambodia Town the location of some great restaurants. LAist food editor Gab Chabrán met up with James Tir, a Cambodian American food influencer, to learn more about the cuisine.
What’s on the menu? Charred fragrant beef sticks, Texas meets Cambodian BBQ, smooth and creamy noodles, a very bitter green and whole fried yellow catfish, to name a few.
How is it different to other South Asian cuisines? “It’s less about balance and subtlety and more about enjoying a broad range of experiences in one sitting, unabashedly playing with bitter and acrid flavors," Tir says.
I’ve lived in Long Beach for almost seven years. While I’ve eaten my way through many of the city’s food offerings, I’ve only made it to Cambodia Town's restaurants a handful of times.
Part of that was because it wasn’t something I knew much about. What should I order? How is it different from other Southeast Asian cuisines, like Vietnamese or Thai?
Unconsciously, I think I was holding out for a chance to experience the food firsthand from someone who understood its culture and origins.
So when James Tir, an Instagram food influencer, aka Long Beach Food Coma (LBFoodComa), reached out to ask if I wanted to take a tasting tour of Cambodia Town restaurants, I immediately said yes.
From left, LAist Food Editor Gab Chabrán and James Tir, food influencer known as LB Food Coma, share a meal at Monorom in Long Beach
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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Tir is Cambodian-American and grew up in Long Beach. He regularly covers a variety of food in the city and has the knowledge of Khmer cuisine I was looking for. He seemed the perfect guide.
When we met, he explained that Long Beach became a landing spot for Cambodians in the 1970s and 1980s after the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror. And, like many immigrants, they brought their traditional cuisine with them.
Cambodian cooking is influenced by rice fields, tropical jungles, and the Mekong River, using ingredients such as lemongrass, tamarind, and prahok (fermented mudfish).
Most people’s reference point for Southeast Asian cuisine is Thai or Vietnamese food, but Tir says Cambodian cuisine is distinctive.
“Its flavor profiles are less about balance and subtlety and more about enjoying a broad range of experiences in one sitting,” he says. “It unabashedly plays with bitter and acrid flavors and harmonizes with, rather than hides the intensity of, those dishes.”
With that quick education, we were on our way.
About Cambodia Town
Cambodia Town is a 1.2-mile stretch along Anaheim Street between Atlantic and Junipero Avenues.
It’s home to the largest Khmer (also known as Cambodian; the two terms can be used interchangeably) population in the U.S.
Many Cambodians arrived in Long Beach as refugees in 1980s after the overthrow of the totalitarian Khmer Rouge regime.
Battambong BBQ (Smoked Twako)
Chef Chad Phuong serves up BBQ at his Battambong BBQ pop-up at Ten Mile Brewing in Long Beach.
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Julie Leopo
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James:
It’s hard to talk about Cambodian-American cuisine without mentioning Chad “The Cambodian Cowboy” Phuong’s take on Cambodian-Texan fusion.
His hardened journey from the war-torn countryside of Cambodia to the panhandle of Texas to the streets of Long Beach has instilled a uniquely Khmer twang to the smoke-encrusted meats of Texan-style barbecue. His brisket is kissed by the heat of Kampot black pepper (a sharper sting compared to the more citrussy ubiquitous Tellicherry); his pork belly is lacquered in a soy sauce, scorched sugar, ginger, and star anise-tinged dance on your tongue, and his twako is the showstopper.
The twako is a Khmer descent sausage comprising ground beef, galangal, and rice. The galangal effuses a depth that’s more floral than its cousin, ginger, whilst the rice ferments the sausage, adding a nice acidic bite to the affair.
The casing has a snap, but its contents spill from the tiniest toothy massage. Traditionally grilled, Phuong tosses them into a smoker adding an extra layer to the complex sausage.
A combo plate of different meats is served at the Battambong BBQ pop-up at Ten Mile Brewing featuring Twako, a Cambodian sausage
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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Gab:
I’d actually sampled Battambong BBQ before our tour. Phuong has staged several pop-ups all over Long Beach since 2022 and can also be found at Smorgasburg, LA, every Sunday.
While we were there specifically to try the twako, Phuong didn’t miss miss an opportunity to showcase his battalion of ‘cue consisting of beef sausage, brisket, and tri-tip. The pork belly ends stood out for me; small rectangular cubes of pork belly with a sweetly coated caramelized outside and a succulent inside.
I inhaled the twako, though. It contained earthy umami notes, similar to hearty mushrooms, recalling morcilla (Spanish blood sausage) but with more sweetness. The addition of smoke catapulted the sausage to the next level entirely.
Sitting on the northwest border of Cambodia Town is the tiny but mighty Phnom Penh Noodle Shack. Opening in 1985, it was the first Cambodian restaurant in the region, serving up piping hot bowls of noodles to the Khmer community. The eponymous shack is famous for one thing: Phnom Penh noodles, a regionally distinct rice noodle dish that is a close cousin of Vietnam’s phở.
However spectacular that dish may be, the beef stew noodles (khor ko) might be my personal favorite. It has colonial French roots, drawing inspiration from beef bourguignon, but is punctuated by the flavors of lemongrass, star anise, and fish sauce, neatly commingling with the acidity of tomato paste. This collagen-thickened broth suspends tender chunks of tripe, tendon, and braised beef between delicate strands of rice noodles.
When paired with cha quai, a crispy, broth-sopping length of deep-fried bread, the dish is elevated to another level of satisfaction.
The interior of Phnom Penh Noodle Shack in Long Beach.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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Gab:
James really took me to school with this dish. I thought it would be similar to Taiwanese beef noodle soup, but this was not that. It was a large bowl of deep red broth filled with rice noodles and tripe. At this point, James looked up from the bowl with a soft smile and said, “It’s like menudo.”
James, of course, was right on the money with his Mexican soup reference. The thick cuts of tripe and chunks of beef sop up the tangy, starchy taste of the rice noodles, and the collagen from the tendon adds to the soup's viscosity, delivering spoonful after spoonful of hearty comfort. The result tastes and feels like it has exceptional therapeutic properties — perfect for curing a hangover.
Location: 1644 Cherry Ave., Long Beach
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Pho Hong Phat (Banh Sung)
James:
Pho Hong Phat is a Cambodian-owned phở restaurant serving some of the best Vietnamese noodles in the city. What betrays the facade of the primarily Vietnamese menu is the “not pho” section, which includes Phnom Penh noodle soup, Hainan chicken rice, and banh sung.
Banh sung is the Cambodian cousin of the Vietnamese bún chả giò, both of which are a vermicelli noodle salad with fried egg rolls. The aforementioned shares a bowl with leafy greens, a wealth of herbs, shredded carrots, and grilled marinated pork, resulting in a salad that involves a carousel of textures.
Like the bún chả giò, it’s served with sweet fish sauce, chili sauce, and crushed peanuts. Unlike bún chả giò, the Khmer variant also incorporates more than a splash of coconut milk steeped with chopped green onion. The last ingredient mellows out the intensity of the fish sauce, creating an experience that coats the palate with a bright umami.
Banh sung dish from Pho Hong Phat
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Julie Leopo
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Gab:
I’ve eaten at Pho Hong Phat a few times, but I’ve inhaled the sweet smell of the pho broth simmering in the kitchen far more often.
That’s because they open at 8 a.m. for folks looking for hot breakfast soup. When I stop for coffee at the cafe across the street, Good Time, (a local favorite amongst locals, including myself and James), I often get an enticing whiff of the day’s cooking wafting over.
I had only eaten pho during my previous visits, but James opened my eyes to the “not pho” section featuring Khmer options. Adding the pleasant flavors of coconut milk brought a new depth to the cold rice noodle dish. The smooth texture and creaminess provided a nice balance with a mix of greens, peanuts, and sliced bits of eggroll, which are always a winner.
The exterior of Pho Hong Phat in Long Beach.
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Julie Leopo
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Location: 3243 E Anaheim St, Long Beach
Hours: Monday through Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Wednesday
A & J Seafood Shack (Lemongrass Beefsticks)
James:
At one point in my life, I worked many years both front and back of the house at Hak Heang, a banquet-style Cambodian-Chinese seafood joint in Long Beach that served as a hub for the Khmer community since the early 90s. Be it weddings or graduation parties, it was a special occasion spot, where you’d get wok-fired lobster or crab that’s been tossed in a medley of jalapeño heat and MSG to flex your wealth while downing generous shots of Hennessy cognac.
A & J takes this concept and serves these revered dishes (sans cognac, as far as I know) out of takeout boxes — allowing you to enjoy these special occasion experiences in a more casual context.
Though a seafood joint serving some Viet-Cajun boils, they are Khmer through and through, embedding both lemongrass beef sticks and twako on their seafood-studded roll call.
The beef sticks, in particular, are an item found on most Khmer menus. The beef is marinated in kroueng, a mortar-and-pestle bashed paste of lemongrass, turmeric, galangal, garlic, shallots, kaffir lime leaves and chilies that’s pervasive throughout the cuisine. It’s then skewered on bamboo sticks and cooked over an open flame. The outcome is a supple treat that is crispy from the char of the grill.
It’s hard to beat the time-tested formula of meat on a stick.
The exterior of A&J Seafood Shack in Long Beach.
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Julie Leopo
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LAist
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The Beef Stick Rice dish from A&J Seafood Shack
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Julie Leopo
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Gab:
I featured A&J in my Cheap Fast Eats Long Beach edition. It’s a great option for their Cambodian dishes and various pan-Asian-inspired dishes, including their garlic shrimp plates, which take nods from shrimp trucks from the North Shore area of Oahu.
In my previous visits, I’ve opted for the beef stick sandwich, made with a demi baguette-style roll (similar to Viet Bahn mi or Khmer num pang) containing two beef sticks, green pickled papaya slaw, and Sriracha mayo. Per James's recommendation, we had the beef sticks on their own over a bed of rice and a side of slaw.
The ultra-savory flavors of the aromatic beef, mixed with the light char and forkfuls of jasmine rice, make for a great light meal.
Location: 3201 E Anaheim St., Long Beach
Hours: Open daily, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Monorom Cambodian Restaurant (Prahok Ktis)
James:
Monorom, like A & J, also has a fantastic lemongrass beef stick. But they also have a catalog of traditional eats such as the prahok ktis (or prahok creme as they have it labeled on their menu).
One of the most common ways food is consumed in Cambodia is to have an assortment of in-season vegetables and a dip, precisely what you’d get with prahok ktis.
It’s ground pork married with the pungency of prahok paste, the omnipresent fermented mudfish product, and the creaminess of coconut milk. The prahok ktis are presented with a shallow basket carrying thin cross sections of raw Chinese eggplant, Thai eggplant, cucumber, yardlong beans, and cabbage.
Monorom carries a similar vibe with its seating setup. During our stop there, a multigenerational family was enjoying a meal together, adding to the personal nature of the atmosphere.
The extensive menu felt overwhelming. Luckily, we already had a plan to start with the prahok ktis.
The cut-up raw vegetables come with a side of the reddish-orange prahok paste containing loose bits of ground pork, which makes for an excellent dip. It made me think of that Northern Thai dish, nam phrig noom (a roasted green chili dip) served with crispy frieded pork skins, which is go-to order of mine and my family at Renu Narkron in nearby Norwalk.
Location: 2150 E Anaheim St., Long Beach
Hours: Monday through Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Wednesday.
Crystal Thai Cambodian (Trei Aundain Chean)
Crystal Thai in Long Beach
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Julie Lepo
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James:
Much more Khmer than Thai, Crystal Thai Cambodian is the quintessential spot for experiencing a traditional Cambodian meal — things you’d find in a Khmer home, where parents and grandparents have preserved culinary memories of a pre-genocide Cambodia.
Their menu is a voluminous encyclopedia of the Khmer greatest hits, ranging from the backyard party noodle nom p’jok (a thick rice vermicelli noodle dish that’s beset by a turmeric-stained catfish broth) to duck feet salad (a mélange of saccharine-vinegar slaw dotted with the cartilaginous webbed feet of waterfowl).
When I’m looking to impress the adventurous, I always order the trei aundain chean, which translates to whole fried yellow catfish. The catfish arrives at the table with a bouquet of greens, including slivers of green leaf lettuce, Vietnamese coriander, fish mint, bean sprouts, cucumber, and branches of sadao—the latter of which are the flower buds of the neem tree. Imagine the pithy florets of broccoli but with a medicinally astringent flavor. It’s bitter. Incredibly so.
You begin this meal by tearing into the catfish, peeling away the chicharrón crispy skin, and revealing a brilliant yellow flesh. The flesh is flaky, moist, and surprisingly clean-tasting despite the jaundiced pallor — not fishy. Then, you nest the contents into a leaf of lettuce, stack the herbs high, and roll yourself a wrap.
The wrap is accompanied by a sour and sweet tamarind sauce and green mango salad, creating a Russian doll-like flavor experience of slowly unveiling the entire roster of taste with each bite.
Mekong River catfish dish from Crystal Thai
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Julie Leopo
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Gab:
I had heard tales of Crystal Thai and its bodacious bowls of nom p’jok, the yellow curry dish, for a while now. But James was down to explore the menu a little more.
I can’t remember the last time I had a whole catfish (maybe never, filets, sure). Arriving at your table the fish has been scored and deep-fried, along with a separate plate of greens. The sadao was the standout, given its striking appearance resembling wild baby broccoli. I assembled the the D.I.Y. lettuce wraps with torn chunks of the fish mixed with tamarind sauce and mango salad. It all paired together. Nothing short of memorable.
Artist Shepard Fairey will have more than 400 prints on display at Beyond the Streets
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Courtesy Gold Atlas
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In this edition:
Meet a turkey, eat a turkey, trot like a turkey, and more Thanksgiving events for your holiday week.
Highlights:
Is scaring the living daylights out of your extended relatives a good game plan for your holiday weekend? If so, Paranormal Activity, inspired by the movie, is now a stage show that’s been a success in London and just opened in the U.S. in Chicago. Now, it’s here at the Ahmanson. Center Theatre Group made its first foray into the horror-theater category with 2:22 in 2023, and I was pleasantly surprised (well, OK, totally scared, but in a good way) that one could translate a movie jump-scare to the stage. The L.A. Times said the new production of Paranormal Activity is "brilliantly pulled off” — you’ve been warned!
On the more traditional end of the holiday entertainment spectrum is the utterly wholesome and ethereal music of the Vienna Boys Choir. Talk about a lasting impact — for six centuries, their renditions of holiday classics have defined the Christmas season. Kick your holidays off by catching their angelic voices when they come to Orange County at the Soka Performing Arts Center in Aliso Viejo.
Whether you have one mile, 5K or 10K in you before Thanksgiving dinner, there’s a run for you at the annualL.A. Turkey Trotin downtown L.A. Put on your sneaks and head to City Hall for an early start before you dig in to all that apple pie later in the afternoon. There’s an afterparty near the finish line in Grand Park so you can hang with your fellow runners, and money raised goes toward local organizations like the Midnight Mission.
Shepard Fairey’s prints are synonymous with activism and social change, from his original OBEY posters to the iconic Obama HOPE image (which was just an answer on Jeopardy! last week). This new exhibit at Beyond the Streets showcases over 400 of Fairey’s prints and works inspired by print, commenting on the power of mass communication.
We here at LAist wish all our listeners, readers and members a Happy Thanksgiving! If you’re still looking for a great place to eat this weekend and don’t want to go the turkey route, Gab Chabrán has a list of unique ways to celebrate with cuisine, from Caribbean to Korean.
It’s also a big week for sports locally ahead of the holiday, with Tuesday’s Clippers vs. Lakers game at Crypto.com arena — and the 2026 World Cup isn’t that far away, as more teams move toward qualifying, so keep a lookout for which games will be played in L.A. this summer. Music-wise, Licorice Pizza recommends singer-songwriter and former Moldy Peaches member Kimya Dawson (of Juno soundtrack fame) at the Troubadour, indie-rock comic Fred Armisen is at Largo and psychedelic trio Khruangbin is playing two nights at the Fonda. Tuesday, Damiano David of Italian rockers Maneskin goes solo at the Wiltern, and Icelandic indie-rockers Of Monsters And Men play the Palladium. Thanksgiving eve has alternative rapper Danny Brown at the Bellwether, and the reunited Mars Volta are at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Through Sunday, December 7 Ahmanson Theatre 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A. COST: FROM $40.25; MORE INFO
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Kyle Flubacker
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Center Theatre Group
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Is scaring the living daylights out of your extended relatives a good game plan for your holiday weekend? If so, Paranormal Activity, inspired by the movie franchise, is now a stage show that’s been a success in London and just opened in the U.S. in Chicago and now is here at the Ahmanson. CTG took its first foray into the horror theater category with 2:22 in 2023 and I was pleasantly surprised (well, ok, totally scared but in a good way) that one could translate a movie jump scare to the stage. The L.A. Times said the new production of Paranormal Activity is "brilliantly pulled off” — you’ve been warned!
Vienna Boys Choir's “Christmas in Vienna”
Monday, November 24, 7:30 p.m. Soka Performing Arts Center 1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo COST: FROM $60; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Philharmonic Society
)
On the more traditional end of the holiday entertainment spectrum is the utterly wholesome and ethereal music of the Vienna Boys Choir. Talk about a lasting impact – for six centuries, their music has defined the Christmas season. Kick your holidays off by catching their angelic voices performing Beethoven, Britten, and more as they come to Orange County at the Soka Performing Arts Center in Aliso Viejo.
L.A. Auto Show
Through Saturday, November 30 Los Angeles Convention Center 1201 S. Figueroa Street, Downtown L.A. COST: FROM $45; MORE INFO
An L.A. tradition for car enthusiasts, the annual L.A. Auto Show is in town for 10 days, taking over the Convention Center with new models from all the big carmakers, concept cars that will define the future of the roads, demonstrations and much more.
Gentle Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 27, timed entry from 10 a.m. Gentle Barn 15825 Sierra Hwy., Santa Clarita, CA COST: $75; MORE INFO
Benjamin Franklin wanted to make the turkey our national bird, and with good reason — they are intelligent, courageous and native to America. You can honor the turkey by visiting the Gentle Barn for their annual Thanksgiving meet and greet with turkeys, where you can feed them treats and spend some time with these special birds.
Turkey Trot Los Angeles
Thursday, November 27, 8 a.m. L.A. City Hall 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown L.A. COST: FROM $45; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Generic Events
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Whether you have one mile, 5K or 10K in you before Thanksgiving dinner, there’s a trot for you through downtown L.A. Put on your sneaks and head to City Hall for an early start before you dig in to all that apple pie later in the afternoon. There’s an after-party near the finish line in Grand Park so you can hang with your fellow runners, and the money raised goes towards local organizations like the Midnight Mission.
Have a few days off this week? Staying in town? Consider volunteering for one of the many local organizations that need your help to reduce food insecurity during the holiday season. LA Works has a huge list of options, including this one working the annual Thanksgiving Feast at the L.A. Boys & Girls Club.
Thanksgiving Gratitude Meditation with Heather Hayward
Thursday, November 27, 9 a.m. Online COST: DROP-IN $39; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Unplug
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We all need a moment of zen before dealing with holiday stress. Take 45 minutes out of your morning for this online meditation session with Unplug Santa Monica teacher Heather Hayward.
Shepard Fairey: Out of Print
Through Sunday, January 11 Beyond the Streets 434 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Gold Atlas
)
Shepard Fairey’s prints are synonymous with activism and social change, from his original OBEY posters to the iconic Obama HOPE image (which was just an answer on Jeopardy! last week). This new exhibit at Beyond the Streets showcases over 400 of Fairey’s prints and works inspired by print, commenting on the power of mass communication.
L.A. Times Feature Documentary: Out of Plain Sight
Monday and Tuesday, November 24 and 25, 1:30, 4:20, 7:10 p.m. Laemmle NoHo 5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood COST: $14.50; MORE INFO
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Courtesy LA Times
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Built off the deep environmental reporting of LA Times investigative journalist Rosanna Xia, the new documentary Out of Plain Sight follows Xia’s reporting on a toxic waste dump off the coast of L.A. Her reports found that as many as half a million barrels of toxic waste had been quietly dumped into the ocean decades ago. The film follows Xia as she searches for answers at sea, in the lab and up and down the California coast. The evening screenings are followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and special guests.
Thanksgiving Potluck
Thursday, November 27, 12 p.m. Weary Livers 2819 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Los Angeles Fun Events
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Eventbrite
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Games, karaoke and drinks (of course) are all on tap at Weary Livers for this untraditional (but sure to be fun) Thanksgiving potluck. Meet some new friends and sing your heart out if you’re staying in town this weekend.
Voodoo Doughnut Thanksgiving Pie Box
Through Sunday, November 30 Various locations COST: CALL TO CONFIRM; MORE INFO
The Portland-based donut chain developed four holiday-themed creations to include in a special Thanksgiving Pie Box. Call 661-786-6366 to pre-order your Thanksgiving Pie Box to pick up between November 24 and 30. Partial proceeds from the limited-edition box will go to support local food banks and food pantries.
Elly Yu
reports on early childhood, including how it intersects with homelessness.
Published November 24, 2025 5:00 AM
Wayne and his family have had to live in their car as they haven't been able to find housing resources.
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Elly Yu
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LAist
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Topline:
L.A. County is proposing cuts to homeless services next year, at a time when families have already been struggling to find shelter.
A family’s struggle: Since October, L.A. resident Wayne has had to stay in his car with his partner and young child after being told by service providers there’s no housing assistance available. “A lot of the days is trying to make sure we can get a meal or two in limited funds, is trying to think outside the box and see if there's any other organizations to connect to,” he said.
Wayne hands over a toy car to his son, A, at a park in Mid-City. The 4-year-old rolls it across a bench near the playground and watches it fall onto the pavement below.
“He'll find fun in most things,” Wayne said. “He’s pretty happy all the time. Nothing really bothers him very much — just going to bed.”
Bedtime, recently, has been a lot harder for A, who’s on the autism spectrum. Since mid-October, Wayne, alongside his partner and their son, have been staying in their car. (We’re using A’s first initial and Wayne’s first name only to protect their family’s privacy.)
“He does not like it, he hates it,” Wayne said. “The only way he'll sleep in the car is if he's literally on, usually my lap.”
They’re one of the many Los Angeles families who have struggled to find housing over the past several months as options dry up. And now it’s likely to get even harder for families like theirs, in the face of more funding cuts.
Wayne and his family lost their apartment in June after falling behind on their rent. They stayed in motels across L.A. county with about 40 days worth of vouchers — 32 days from the CalWorks program and 8 days through 211.
Despite touting progress on helping unhoused individuals over the last year, the city and county Los Angeles has not made progress on helping unhoused families.
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But they haven’t been able to get any more since, and the family shelters they turned to have been full. They pawned off some items, like a guitar, to help stay indoors, but that only helped in the short-term. He says it’s been a struggle to find a safe place to sleep with a young child.
“The first time we slept in the car it was really, really hot, and he ended up with heat rashes all over his back,” he said.
They had money saved up
In April of last year, Wayne was laid off from his job in A/V tech support. His partner has a chronic illness so he’s the sole earner. Up until then, he had saved up for a rainy day situation. He’d invested in retirement, and even had some stock.
“I’m a dad now — obviously it’s such a different way of thinking about the short term, future term, long term,” he said.
He had $30,000 saved up, enough to stay afloat for about six months to eight months… but then, he couldn’t find a job. By November of last year, they had run out of money.
“It's been awful. Most of the jobs now are like part-time or temporary positions,” Wayne said. The jobs didn’t offer enough to sustain a one-bedroom apartment in L.A.
Wayne's family got a stack of papers to resources from a recent visit to PATH, a homeless services provider. Providers say they haven't been able to offer housing assistance to new families seeking help because of recent cuts.
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In order to reasonably afford a one-bedroom in the L.A. area, workers need to earn at least $40.02per hour, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Aside from the job searching process, Wayne has spent most of his days trying to find a meal or two for his family — and on the phone trying to find any other resources. He’ll also take his son to the park or the library.
“The most important thing is trying to make sure he basically is comfortable as much as possible, that he's [having] fun, that he's not really understanding what's going on — which I think we're doing a good job [at] so far,” Wayne said.
Trying to find housing
Recently, they went to a family solutions center at PATH, a homeless services provider in LA. There was no housing assistance available, so they gave Wayne a list of other places to try. He and his family had already tried those resources.
Wayne’s car has a stack of papers like these ones, pointing to laundry services and food banks and Medi-Cal resources.
Sasha Morozov, regional director of services at PATH, says that’s what her agency has had to do in recent months, as they’ve been unable to take on new families due to recent funding cuts. She said they’ve had to change their strategy from trying to get people housed imminently to connecting them to other resources — such as childcare or school-based help.
“ That really has shifted, not because people don't want to help, but the resources aren't there. It’s heartbreaking.”
Recent funding cuts include a 71% reduction in state dollars that have helped families experiencing homelessness. Morozov saidshe’s worried the situation will get even worse with new federal cuts as well as a proposed cut of $300 million to county funding for homeless services next fiscal year. LAist reported in August that homelessness among families with children has been rising.
Data from 211 LA show that calls for emergency shelter from January this year to early September were up by more than 20,000 calls, compared to the same time period last year.
For Wayne and his family, they’re now looking to move out of state. After a year and a half of job searching, he recently got a job offer from a company out in the Midwest. Though he’s grown up in California, he says he has to leave.
“It felt like a slap in the face,” he said. “Most people can't afford a one-bedroom on a full-time job here. There's nothing to celebrate. Everyone is closer to homelessness than they are to stability. Most people who are working class, especially young people, probably 40 and under, cannot afford a one bedroom by themselves.”
His new job is supposed to start in January. He said as soon as he can save up enough money for a security deposit and rent a new place out of the state, they’ll be driving out there.
Wayne says his son doesn't understand what's going to happen next, but says he'll adjust quickly.
“As long as he has, like, ice cream and the snacks that he wants, he's happy to go anywhere,” he said. “He loves when we drive around. I already know on the road he would absolutely love to see all the change in the scenery and he's gonna be excited.”
Tech companies are pouring billions into AI chips and data centers.
Why it matters: Increasingly, they are relying on debt and risky tactics.
Why now: Financial analysts are worried there's a bubble that will soon pop.
Perhaps nobody embodies artificial intelligence mania quite like Jensen Huang, the chief executive of chip behemoth Nvidia, which has seen its value spike 300% in the last two years.
A frothy time for Huang, to be sure, which makes it all the more understandable why his first statement to investors on a recent earnings call was an attempt to deflate bubble fears.
"There's been a lot of talk about an AI bubble," he told shareholders. "From our vantage point, we see something very different."
Take in the AI bubble discourse and something becomes clear: Those who have the most to gain from artificial intelligence spending never slowing are proclaiming that critics who fret about an over-hyped investment frenzy have it all wrong.
"I don't think this is the beginning of a bust cycle," White House AI czar and venture capitalist David Sacks said on his podcast All-In. "I think that we're in a boom. We're in an investment super-cycle."
White House AI adviser David Sacks speaks onstage during The Bitcoin Conference at The Venetian Las Vegas in January.
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Ian Maule
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"The idea that we're going to have a demand problem five years from now, to me, seems quite absurd," said prominent Silicon Valley investor Ben Horowitz, adding: "if you look at demand and supply and what's going on and multiples against growth, it doesn't look like a bubble at all to me."
Appearing on CNBC, JPMorgan Chase executive Mary Callahan Erdoes said calling the amount of money rushing into AI right now a bubble is "a crazy concept," declaring that "we are on the precipice of a major, major revolution in a way that companies operate."
Yet a look under the hood of what's really going on right now in the AI industry is enough to deliver serious doubt, said Paul Kedrosky, a venture capitalist who is now a research fellow at MIT's Institute for the Digital Economy.
He said there is a startling amount of capital pouring into a "revolution" that remains mostly speculative.
"The technology is very useful, but the pace at which it is improving has more or less ground to a halt," Kedrosky said. "So the notion that the revolution continues with the same drum beat playing for the next five years is sadly mistaken."
The huge infusion of cash
The gusher of money is rushing in at a rate that is stunning to financial experts.
Take OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker that set off the AI race in late 2022. Its CEO Sam Altman has said the company is making $20 billion in revenue a year, and it plans to spend $1.4 trillion on data centers over the next eight years. That growth, of course, would rely on ever-ballooning sales from more and more people and businesses purchasing its AI services.
There is reason to be skeptical. A growing body of research indicates most firms are not seeing chatbots affect their bottom lines, and just 3% of people pay for AI, according to one analysis.
"These models are being hyped up, and we're investing more than we should," said Daron Acemoglu, an economist at MIT, who was awarded the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
"I have no doubt that there will be AI technologies that will come out in the next ten years that will add real value and add to productivity, but much of what we hear from the industry now is exaggeration," he said.
Nonetheless, Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft are set to collectively sink around $400 billion on AI this year, mostly for funding data centers. Some of the companies are set to devote about 50% of their current cash flow to data center construction.
Or to put it another way: every iPhone user on earth would have to pay more than $250 to pay for that amount of spending. "That's not going to happen," Kedrosky said.
To avoid burning up too much of its cash on hand, big Silicon Valley companies, like Meta and Oracle, are tapping private equity and debt to finance the industry's data center building spree.
Paving the AI future with debt and other risky financing
One assessment, from Goldman Sachs analysts, found that hyperscaler companies — tech firms that have massive cloud and computing capacities — have taken on $121 billion in debt over the past year, a more than 300% uptick from the industry's typical debt load.
Analyst Gil Luria of the D.A. Davidson investment firm, who has been tracking Big Tech's data center boom, said some of the financial maneuvers Silicon Valley is making are structured to keep the appearance of debt off of balance sheets, using what's known as "special purpose vehicles."
An aerial view of a 33 megawatt data center with closed-loop cooling system in Vernon, California.
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The tech firm makes an investment in the data center, outside investors put up most of the cash, then the special purpose vehicle borrows money to buy the chips that are inside the data centers. The tech company gets the benefit of the increased computing capacity but it doesn't weigh down the company's balance sheet with debt.
For example, a special purpose vehicle was recently funded by Wall Street firm Blue Owl Capital and Meta for a data center in Louisiana.
The design of the deal is complicated but it goes something like this: Blue Owl took out a loan for $27 billion for the data center. That debt is backed up by Meta's payments for leasing the facility. Meta essentially has a mortgage on the data center. Meta owns 20% of the entity but gets all of the computing power the data center generates. Because of the financial structure of the deal, the $27 billion loan never shows up on Meta's balance sheet. If the AI bubble bursts and the data center goes dark, Meta will be on the hook to make a multi-billion-dollar payment to Blue Owl for the value of the data center.
Such financial arrangements, according to Luria, have something of a checkered past.
"The term special purpose vehicle came to consciousness about 25 years ago with a little company called Enron," said Luria, referring to the energy company that collapsed in 2001. "What's different now is companies are not hiding it. But having said that, it's not something we should be leaning on to build our future."
Enormous spending hinging on returns that could be a fantasy
Silicon Valley is taking on all this new debt with the assumption that massive new revenues from AI will cover the tab. But again, there is reason for doubt.
Morgan Stanley analysts estimate that Big Tech companies will dish out about $3 trillion on AI infrastructure through 2028, with their own cash flows covering only half of that.
"If the market for artificial intelligence were even to steady in its growth, pretty quickly we will have over-built capacity, and the debt will be worthless, and the financial institutions will lose money," Luria said.
Twenty-five years ago, the original dot-com bubble burst after, among other factors, debt financing built out fiber-optic cables for a future that had not yet arrived, said Luria, a lesson, it appears, tech companies are not worried about repeating.
"If we get to the point after spending hundreds of billions of dollars on data centers that we don't need a few years from now, then we're talking about another financial crisis," he said.
Circular deals raise even more concern
Another aspect of the over-heated AI landscape that is raising eyebrows is the circular nature of investments.
Take a recent $100 billion deal between Nvidia and OpenAI.
Nvidia will pump that amount into OpenAI to bankroll data centers. OpenAI will then fill those facilities with Nvidia's chips. Some analysts say this structure, where Nvidia is essentially subsidizing one of its biggest customers, artificially inflates actual demand for AI.
"The idea is I'm Nvidia and I want OpenAI to buy more of my chips, so I give them money to do it," Kedrosky said. "It's fairly common at a small scale, but it's unusual to see it in the tens and hundreds of billions of dollars," noting that the last time it was prevalent was during the dot-com bubble.
Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks during Snowflake Summit 2025 at Moscone Center in June.
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Lesser-known companies are getting in on the action, too.
CoreWeave, once a crypto mining startup, pivoted to data center building to ride the AI boom. Major AI companies are turning to CoreWeave to train and run their AI models.
OpenAI has entered deals with CoreWeave worth tens of billions of dollars in which CoreWeave's chip capacity in data centers is rented out to OpenAI in exchange for stock in CoreWeave, and OpenAI, in turn, could use that stock to pay its CoreWeave renting fees.
Nvidia, meanwhile, which also owns part of CoreWeave, has a deal guaranteeing that Nvidia will gobble up any unused data center capacity through 2032.
"The danger," said the MIT economist Acemoglu,"is that these kinds of deals eventually reveal a house of cards."
Some high profile investors see bubble-popping on the horizon
Some influential investors are showing signs of bubble jitters.
Tech billionaire Peter Thiel sold off his entire stake in Nvidia worth around $100 million earlier this month. That came after SoftBank sold a nearly $6 billion stake in Nvidia.
And in recent weeks, AI bubble pessimists have rallied around Michael Burry, the hedge-fund investor who made hundreds of millions of dollars betting against the housing market in 2008. He was the subject of the 2015 film The Big Short. Since then, though, he's had a mixed reputation for market predictions, having warned about imminent collapses that never came to pass.
For what it's worth, Burry is now betting against Nvidia, accusing the AI industry of hiding behind a bunch of fancy accounting tricks. He's homed in the circular deals between companies.
"True end demand is ridiculously small. Almost all customers are funded by their dealers," Burry wrote on X. He later wrote: "OpenAI is the linchpin here. Can anyone name their auditor?"
As tech companies sink billions into data centers, some executives themselves are freely admitting there looks to be some over exuberance.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told reporters in August: "Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited about AI? My opinion is yes. Is AI the most important thing to happen in a very long time? My opinion is also yes."
And Google chief executive Sundar Pichai told the BBC recently that "there are elements of irrationality" in the AI market right now.
Asked how Google would fare if the bubble burst, Pichai responded: "I think no company is going to be immune, including us."
A record number of people are expected to travel within the U.S. for Thanksgiving, be it plane, train or automobile.
Why it matters: Nearly 82 million are projected to travel at least 50 miles from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, an increase of 1.6 million people compared to last year's holiday, according to an AAA report released on Monday. Most of them will be hitting the road in a car, with about 73.2 million people expected to drive, AAA said.
Read on... to find out when's the best time to hit the road.
A record number of people are expected to travel within the U.S. for Thanksgiving, be it plane, train or automobile.
Nearly 82 million are projected to travel at least 50 miles from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, an increase of 1.6 million people compared to last year's holiday, according to an AAA report released on Monday.
Most of them will be hitting the road in a car, with about 73.2 million people expected to drive, AAA said. That's 1.8% more car travelers compared to the 2024 holiday period.
AAA projected 6 million people to travel by plane within the country for the holiday, a 2% increase from last year. Due to concerns over recent flight delays and cancellations, however, AAA also said that number could end up dropping slightly if travelers make last-minute arrangements to use other forms of transportation. Staffing shortages during the prolonged government shutdown earlier this month resulted in mass flight disruptions.
The FAA lifted its directive that called for an emergency reduction in flights, allowing airlines to return to operating normally. Aviation experts warned it could take some time before flights return to normal, but industry leaders appeared confident that airline operations would return to normal pre-shutdown levels in time for the Thanksgiving travel frenzy. Weather forecast to bookend the holiday in some parts of the country could cause flight disruptions and delays.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Friday it expected the upcoming holiday rush to be the busiest Thanksgiving travel time for air travel in 15 years, with Tuesday being the busiest flying day.
Travel across other transport modes — bus, train and cruise — was forecast to increase 8.5% this year, with a likely uptick in last-minute bus and train bookings
"People are willing to brave the crowds and make last-minute adjustments to their plans to make lifelong memories, whether it's visiting extended family or meeting up with friends," Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel said in a statement on Monday.
Here is what else to know:
Driving in the afternoon? Think again
Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon are expected to be the most congested times for drivers in major metro areas, according to INRIX, a transportation analytics firm.
If driving, the best times to hit the road for the holiday will be before noon on Tuesday and 11 a.m. on Wednesday to avoid backups, according to the firm. Thanksgiving Day will have minimal road traffic impacts.
When returning home after the holiday, travelers are advised to start driving before noon on any day except Monday. The Sunday after Thanksgiving will likely have heavy traffic most of the day and the best time to travel Monday will be after 8:00 p.m., INRIX said.
Weather could be messy, but should clear up for your trip back
During peak travel times, from Monday through Wednesday, rain extending from Southern Texas up to Minnesota will move across the country to the east, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
"Monday into Tuesday will probably be a little problematic anywhere from Texas, eastern Oklahoma, into Arkansas and northwestern Louisiana," Bob Oravec, lead forecaster for the NWS, told NPR.
By Thanksgiving Day, things will be a little drier across the U.S. Temperatures will be colder than average for a majority of the country on Thanksgiving morning, with central parts of the U.S. seeing temperatures in the teens. On Black Friday, there will be warmer than average temperatures from the Great Plains to the West Coast, with places like Denver, Colo., seeing temperatures in the mid-50s, Oravec said.
Some of the worst weather will be across much of the central and eastern U.S. where there will be lake-effect snow showers coming off the Great Lakes, Oravec said.
For holiday travelers returning home on Friday and Saturday, the weather should be decent for a large portion of the country, he said. But a storm system is expected to develop over the weekend.
On Saturday and Sunday, the system could bring heavy snow across western Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota as well as parts of Minnesota into Wisconsin, according to Oravec. On Sunday, from Texas up into Missouri and Illinois, chances of rain are forecast to increase.
