The Brief

Sitting directly next to downtown, Chinatown as we know it today was originally a mixed neighborhood of different immigrant communities, Asian but also Mexican and Italian. It became known as New Chinatown in the 1930s after residents of the original Chinatown were displaced due to the construction of Union Station.

These days the issue of displacement remains a concern. Walking around Chinatown, you get the sense that it’s an area rapidly changing, with old storefronts either sitting vacant or being torn down, and new highrise structures serving as a backdrop.

While many from Asian communities have moved to the suburbs, other low-income and elderly residents have stayed put, fighting for proper living conditions and access to grocery stores.

Food is often political and can serve as a vehicle for this systemic change, from encroaching chain restaurants like the Buffalo Wild Wings on Cesar Chavez Avenue to newer independent restaurants spaces such as Lokels Only, located in the Jia Apartments building, which serves as an incubator for local pop-up restaurants.

Grassroots organizations like the Chinatown Community for Equitable Development have been confronting these new businesses, holding them accountable to the community's needs.

Here at Cheap Fast Eats, we strive to accurately represent the neighborhoods we visit, so we’re featuring both old and new Chinatown restaurants to give you a sense of what it's like to dine in the area.

This is Cheap Fast Eats Chinatown.

Long Family Pastry

Chicken buns, zongzi, shumai, har gow, sesame seed balls, BBQ buns and egg tarts amongst other items from Long’s Family Pastry.

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While dim sum carts are becoming a thing of the past due to restrictions brought on by the pandemic, and while there are some traditional sit-down restaurants in the area, if you’re in a hurry, to-go dim sum is the way to go in Chinatown.

Long’s Family Pastry is a perfect example. When you enter the small indoor space, located on a quiet part of Spring Street, you’ll be welcomed by brightly-lit bakery cases packed with a variety of dim sum, plus pastries with fillings of everything from hot dogs to red bean paste.

At Long’s, the special chicken bun is a crowd favorite. Tearing into the bun, you’ll find a mixture of ground chicken, lap cheong (cured Chinese sausage), hard-boiled egg, and other mixed vegetables. A couple of the buns are more than enough to fill you up. If you want more variety, there’s the zongzi, advertised as a Chinese tamale, a sticky rice dumpling filled with lap cheong, peanuts, and different veggies wrapped in bamboo leaves. Digging through it with your fork almost feels like a treasure hunt.

You can also get your fill of shumai dumplings, taro, and turnip cakes to enjoy at home, the perfect parting gift to yourself for future dim sum cravings.

Pedestrians and customers outside of Long’s Family Pastry.

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My Dung Sandwich Shop

Pedestrians and customers outside of Bánh Mì Mỹ Dung.

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A banh mi sandwich is one of life’s many pleasures, with its crusty bread, fresh garnishes made of sweet-tasting carrots and daikon radish, and a protein combo of your liking. A good banh mi can be found in areas such as the San Gabriel Valley or Westminster in Orange County, known as Little Saigon. However, finding them in other parts of Los Angeles can sometimes be more challenging.

One under-the-radar gem is the tiny storefront of My Dung, located on Ord Street between Broadway and Spring Street. It doesn’t exactly scream neighborhood sandwich destination upon the first arrival. You’re greeted by fresh produce stacked outside the entrance, including bunches of bananas hanging from the outside awning. The same goes when entering what appears to be a corner store, but take a quick stroll to the back, and you’ll find a menu board with about eight different sandwiches for around $5 - $8.

Grab a seat inside or hang outside while you wait for sandwiches. When they call your number, unwrap your offerings and dig in. The perfect crusty roll, which maintains the same level of softness on the inside of the bun, envelopes the sandwich's contents, whether it be cold cuts, barbeque pork, or shredded tofu, with a helping of pâté slathered inside, plus carrot, daikon, cilantro, and cucumber providing that extra bit of roughage. The ultra-fresh ingredients, paired with the salty-savory cuts of meat creates a highly satisfying experience.

Brian De Los Santos and Gab Chabrán with sandwiches from Bánh Mì Mỹ Dung.

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Angry Egret Dinette

Customers sit outside at Angry Egret Dinette.

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Chef Wes Avila's cafe inside the Mandarin Plaza feels like an oasis off busy Broadway. Avila, originally of Guerilla Tacos, opened up Angry Egret Dinette in Oct. 2020 as a pandemic project where he could serve whatever food he could dream up, via a window in an open-air patio setting.

The type of cuisine that Avila serves at Angry Egret Dinette could be classified as many things, from "Alta California cuisine" to comfort food, but whatever it is, it's nothing short of mouthwatering. With a variety of influences from growing up in nearby Pico Rivera and working in fine dining restaurants, he serves up several sublime dishes he calls L.A.-style cuisine.

Owner/chef Wes Avila at Angry Egret Dinette.

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Order the egg sandwich for $8 with a pillowy pile of soft scrambled eggs, layered on both sides of an American cheese sandwich, on an ultra cushiony bolillo bread sourced from a bakery in East L.A.

For a couple of bucks more, try the McTorta, made with perfectly seasoned beef gyro, then topped with an over-easy fried egg, sealed on both sides with equal amounts of American cheese on one blissful bolillo. Don’t forget to douse your sando with their chile de árbol salsa, as fresh as it is fiery, especially if you’re looking for that extra spice.

The McTorta and Egg Sandwich at Angry Egret Dinette.

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Amboy Quality Meats & Delicious Burgers

The Amboy classic amongst the fancy and steakhouse classic burgers from Amboy Quality Meats and Delicious Burgers.

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The lively brasserie-esque storefront is owned and operated by Alvin Cailan, previously of Eggslut and, more recently, the popular YouTube series The Burger Show, co-hosted with George Motz. In the show, Cailan and Motz travel to remote cities throughout the country, trying different regional styles of burgers. This extensive research is put on full display at Amboy.

For around $10, you can get the Amboy classic, featuring a sesame seed bun, a smashed patty (for a little extra, you can add another patty), American cheese, grilled onions, and their signature burger sauce, Cailan’s take on something like In-N-Out’s. This sweet, creamy tanginess melts into the rest of the burger.

Meanwhile, the Steakhouse burger comes with their house steak sauce, a far cry from A1, with a robust taste that's equal parts sweet and umami perfectly complementing the rest of the burger. If you’re feeling extra special, opt for the Fancy Classic, made with melted provolone and aioli. Because you’re worth it.

Pedestrians and customers outside of Far East Plaza, where Amboy Quality Meats & Delicious Burgers.

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Perilla L.A.

Kimbap and the banchan rice combo from Perilla LA.

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Anyone who’s been to a Korean barbeque restaurant knows that one of the best things, aside from the glistening cuts of meat grilled in front of you, are the side dishes accompanying your meal.

Chef Jihee Kim, formerly of Rustic Canyon, has brought her specific spin to the style, creating a dining experience that solely focuses on the side dishes.

With offerings changing daily, based on what produce is readily available at the farmer's market, when we visited the banchan our choices included a soy sauce marinated okra with a slight char. It had a perfect flavor and texture in each bite, an interplay between the vegetable's saltiness and bitterness. Other choices include kimchi made with collard greens, a substantive and memorable taste, with aromatic spice and hearty leafy greens. Another favorite is the rolled egg, made with a rolled omelet with seaweed in its center, resulting in a cool refreshing sweet bite.

Pedestrians and customers outside of Perilla LA.

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Raul Malo, the leader of the country band The Mavericks and one of the most recognizable voices in roots music, died Monday night, according to a representative of the band. The guitarist and singer had been battling cancer.

He was hospitalized last week, forcing him to miss tribute shows staged in his honor at the Ryman Auditorium over the weekend. He was 60 years old.

"No one embodied life and love, joy and passion, family, friends, music and adventure the way our beloved Raul did," read a statement released by his family.

Malo's group, The Mavericks, mourned the loss of their leader in a social post.

"Anyone with the pleasure of being in Raul's orbit knew that he was a force of human nature, with an infectious energy," the statement read. "Over a career of more than three decades entertaining millions around the globe, his towering creative contributions and unrivaled, generational talent created the kind of multicultural American music reaching far beyond America itself."

Over a career that lasted four decades, The Mavericks lived up to the band's name, challenging expectations and following a roadmap crafted by Malo's expansive musical upbringing as the son of Cuban immigrants in Miami.

"I grew up in a very musical household. There was all kinds of music around always," he told WHYY's Fresh Air in 1995. "We listened to everything from Hank Williams to Celia Cruz to Sam Cooke to Bobby Darin. It didn't matter."

In 1992, Malo told NPR that his widespread influences weren't always understood or appreciated in his South Florida hometown, but he said that his struggle to fit in taught him to trust his instincts. Malo had become the guitarist and lead singer for The Mavericks in 1989, alongside co-founders Robert Reynolds and Paul Deakin, and his roaring, sentimental voice defined the band's sound and remained its constant as the group's catalog moved from slow, tender ballads to full-throttle rock songs. In 1995, the band released its biggest hit with "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down," a swinging country song featuring an assist from Tex-Mex accordion legend Flaco Jimenez.

As the band grew in members and devoted listeners, The Mavericks continued to push the boundaries of American music, weaving a richly layered tapestry of textures and stories. With more than a dozen studio albums, The Mavericks collected praise and recognition from the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association and the Recording Academy. Although they took a hiatus for several years, Malo never stopped making music — and returned to his bandmates with renewed inspiration.

Following its 30th anniversary, the group released its first full-length Spanish album in 2020, aptly titled En Español. The record reimagined Latin standards and folklore-tinged popular tunes; it also made an implicit political statement about Latin music's contributions to American culture.

"In our own little way, if we could get somebody that perhaps is on the fence on issues and hears us singing in Spanish and perhaps reminds them of the beautiful cultures that make up what this country is trying to be and what it should be, so be it," Malo told NPR at the time. "Yeah, I'm OK with that."

The following year, the Americana Music Association recognized The Mavericks with the Trailblazer Award. In 2024, the band released its last studio album, Moon & Stars. The release coincided with news of Malo's cancer diagnosis, which he discussed openly with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe.

Before being hospitalized last week, Malo had been scheduled to perform with The Mavericks at a pair of tribute concerts held this past weekend at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Over 30 artists, including Patty Griffin, Jim Lauderdale and Steve Earle, still gathered to pay tribute to Malo, with some of the proceeds of the night going to the cancer prevention organization Stand Up To Cancer.

According to his spokesperson, though Malo was too ill to attend, the concert was streamed to his hospital room Friday night.

Copyright 2025 NPR

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has mostly blocked efforts to investigate misconduct within its ranks, according to the county inspector general, who announced his retirement Tuesday after 12 years on the job.

In an open letter, Max Huntsman cited examples of how the county has thwarted his efforts to watchdog the department, which in the past has been plagued with accusations that deputies use excessive force and lie on the job.

Huntsman said one example is former Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s misuse of criminal enforcement powers to discredit critics, such as opening an investigation into former County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.

Villanueva was sheriff from 2018 to 2022.

“My requests for investigation were rejected,” Huntsman’s letter reads. “Even after receiving an official subpoena, the Sheriff’s Department has failed to turn over records regarding the improper surveillance.”

He added: “Sometimes members of the public wonder if frightening new surveillance techniques will be used for improper purposes under the guise of criminal investigation. Sadly, the answer is yes.”

Before becoming inspector general in 2013, Huntsman, 60, was a deputy district attorney who specialized in public corruption. He told LAist on Tuesday that the inspector general job wasn’t something he wanted initially.

“I didn’t want to go work for politicians,” he said. “But the need to provide some kind of independent reporting and analysis was significant.”

The Sheriff’s Department issued a statement saying it valued the Office of the Inspector General and all county oversight bodies and that it wished Huntsman and his family well in his retirement.

The department said it “continues to make great strides in advancing the department in a transparent manner.”

LAist also reached out to the county CEO and county counsel for comment, but they declined.

After George Floyd

In the letter, Huntsman says the state of California has come a long way in strengthening the power of local law enforcement oversight bodies, in part because of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

After widespread protests — and lobbying by Huntsman — the state provided authority to inspectors general to enforce subpoenas requiring law enforcement agencies to hand over documents and authorized external investigation of police misconduct, including deputy gang conduct.

The Sheriff’s Department — backed by county lawyers — has resisted.

“Los Angeles County may not follow those laws, but it will not be able to avoid them forever,” Huntsman wrote. “The county refuses to require the photographing of suspected gang tattoos in secretive groups that the undersheriff has identified as violating state law.”

“Just a few weeks ago, we requested some information regarding an investigation, and a pair of commanders refused to give it to us,” Huntsman said in an interview with LAist.

Origin of the office 

The Inspector General’s Office was created by the county Board of Supervisors in 2013 in response to a scandal that included former Sheriff Lee Baca covering up the abuses of jail inmates.

Baca went to federal prison.

Since then, the office has issued dozens of reports with recommendations for improving living conditions inside jails that some have described as “filthy,” stopping abuses of juveniles inside juvenile halls and providing shower privacy for inmates as part of the requirements under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

“All of these abuses were reported by the Office of Inspector General and recommendations were ignored,” Huntsman wrote. Often, it took court orders to enact change.

“When we first blew the whistle on the torturous chaining of mentally ill prisoners to benches for 36 hours at a time, it was only a court order that ended the practice,” he wrote. “Time and time again, this pattern repeated itself.”

Huntsman wrote the county has permitted the Sheriff’s Department to block oversight and defunded the Office of Inspector General by removing a third of its staff.

“It's not surprising the county has driven out two successive chairs of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission,” he wrote.

“Government always claims to value transparency and accountability, but shooting the messenger is still the most common response to criticism,” Huntsman wrote.

Despite setbacks, Huntsman values work 

Huntsman told LAist on Tuesday that he was proud of his career as a public servant.

“I’ve really enjoyed the work and I’m sad to have it end,” he said.

It’s a sentiment he echoed in his letter, adding that despite the setbacks and roadblocks, he was proud of the people with whom he shared the office.

“It has been my honor to work with a talented, brave and tireless group of public servants to ensure that the public knows what its government is doing,” he wrote.

He noted the inspector general’s reports are fact-checked by the office and public.

“When government abuses occur, they are sometimes kept secret, but that is no longer the case for much of what is happening in Los Angeles County,” Huntsman wrote. “What you do about it is up to you.,”

Huntsman’s last day is Friday.

Topline:

The backstory: Last month, the council's Transportation Committee voted to bring a proposal forward to implement a policy change that allows the city to impound and immediately destroy abandoned or inoperable RVs worth less than $4,000. The change is inspired by new state law AB 630, which was created to prevent previously impounded RVs from ending back up on the street.

The motion, authored by Councilmember Traci Park, reports that abandoned RVs pose as public and safety hazards.

What's next: Councilmember Nithya Raman requested that an implementation plan be presented to the council's public safety and housing and homelessness committees.

Go deeper: L.A. pushes policy to make it easier to remove RVs from city streets.