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The Brief

The most important stories for you to know today
  • Take a tour of a mansion with a wild history
    A group of people standing in front of a mansion in the desert.
    Group photo including Albert and Bessie Johnsons in front of the main house of Scotty's Castle.

    Topline:

    A little more than a century ago, a Chicago millionaire visited Death Valley after being conned into investing in a non-existent gold mine. Albert Johnson loved the heat and sparse landscape so much, he built a castle in the desert.

    Why it matters: The story of Scotty's Castle is built on an unlikely friendship between a conman named Walter Scotty and a wealthy Chicago couple. It's a tale as improbable as it is befitting of the American West.

    Why now: The castle has been in recovery since 2015, after damage from a flash flood. The National Park Service is conducting its yearly limited tours of the site to raise money to continue to renovate the compound.

    If the history of the American West is one of reinvention, then one of its prime canvasses is the California desert.

    People have been drawn since time immemorial to that vast emptiness of harsh elements and healing quietude to make something out of nothing, by hook or by crook, where the line between delusion and oasis is always thin.

    In a nutshell, that is the story of Scotty's Castle, a Spanish revival villa that started construction in Death Valley in the 1920s and was built on a bold-faced scam. The mansion has been largely closed to the public since 2015 after damage from a historic storm. This weekend, the National Park Service is holding limited tours of the site through March.

    The conman: Death Valley Scotty

    The Scotty's Castle compound — with a main house, an annex, a hacienda, an unfinished pool and more — is called Death Valley Ranch, but as it's often the case, it's the nickname that tells the fuller story.

    "It was kind of always called 'Scotty's Castle,'" said David Blacker, executive director of the Death Valley Natural History Association.

    A man in a cowboy hat with his arms crossed in a photograph. Above the photo are the words, "Death Valley Scotty".
    Walter Scott, also known as "Death Valley Scotty".
    (
    Courtesy National Park Service
    )

    The "Scotty" in question is Walter Scott, a performer in Old West shows who had worked with none other than Buffalo Bill Cody himself, according to Abby Wines, a spokesperson for Death Valley National Park.

    "He was an amazing storyteller, a great entertainer," Wines said of Scott.

    Scott eventually landed in the desert after he stopped performing. One day, Blacker said Scott rode into L.A. with a bag of gold.

    "He said that he had found a mine out in Death Valley and that he was, you know, going to be rich," Blacker said.

    Blacker said Death Valley Scotty, a nickname he'd come to be known by, proceeded to spend that money freely and loudly.

    He followed that up with a bigger publicity stunt — by chartering a train from L.A. to Chicago around 1905 and breaking the train speed record. The feat, as intended, launched him into the national spotlight.

    An illustration showing a train arriving at a depot, with people cheering.
    The cover of a booklet released by Santa Fe Railway to commemorate the record-breaking train ride commissioned by Walter Scott in 1905.
    (
    Courtesy National Park Service
    )

    "So when he finally arrived in Chicago.... Everybody knew that Walter Scott had this rich mine in Death Valley, and he was coming to Chicago to look for investors," he said.

    One of them he hooked was an insurance magnate by the name of Albert Mussey Johnson.

    Albert Johnson the millionaire

    Johnson was a religious man who made his millions in insurance, but always had an interest in prospecting.

    Johnson decided to grubstake the desert mining operation from Chicago.

    A sepia tone photograph with a well-dressed man smiling at the camera
    Albert Mussey Johnson, the Chicago insurance millionaire behind Scotty's Castle in Death Valley.
    (
    Courtesy National Parks Service
    )

    But, "he didn't hear anything from [Scott]," Blacker said. "And he started writing him letters saying, 'Hey, Walter, how come I'm not hearing anything? What's going on?'"

    When Scott finally wrote back, it was always to solicit more funds.

    "He'd send a telegram and say, 'A heat wave killed my mules, send more coin. Or a flash flood washed away the mine headframe, send more money,'" said Wines from NPS.

    Finally, Johnson got fed up and made the trek to Death Valley, solo. "There's nowhere for Scotty to hide," Blacker said.

    Essentially, that's when the jig was up, but not before Scott staged a failed attempt to cover up his lies.

    "So Scotty roped in a couple of his brothers and a couple friends and had them agree to pretend to rob them or to pretend to attack them," Wines said.

    Shots were fired at the group, and unintentionally hit Scott's brother.

    "Scotty sees this, and he jumps up, and he starts waving his arms, and he says, 'Stop shooting you fools, you've hit Warner,'" Blacker said.

    At that point, it was clear to Johnson that he'd been had.

    "He also knows that he's probably not had more fun, you know, than any time he could think of, and he's out here in the West," Blacker said.

    Construction of Scotty's Castle

    Johnson fell in love with Death Valley — especially the dry heat. In his 20s, Johnson was involved in a severe train accident that left him with a badly injured back. The desert weather felt just right.

    A woman in a dress holding an enormous umbrella.
    Bessie Johnson, wife of Albert Johnson.
    (
    Courtesy National Park Service.
    )

    Soon, he brought his wife to the California desert. Raised in Walnut Creek, Bessie Johnson was one of 150 students who started at Stanford in 1892. Two years later, she transferred to Cornell, where she met and fell in love with Albert.

    Bessie took one look at the barren landscape and told her husband, "Albert, if I'm going to come out here, you're going to have to build me a proper house," Blacker said.

    Thus began the construction of Scotty's Castle over some 300 acres of land in the 1920s. The main house was complete, but many outside features were not.

    That's partly because Albert, an engineer by training, kept having innovative ideas for the compound, like a solar water heater and walking-size tunnels that connected the different buildings.

    "The castle was like a big box of Legos for him," Wines said.

    Another reason for the delay was the land where the castle sat actually belonged to the federal government, instead of the original plot of about 1,500 acres Johnson bought. Construction was paused until an act of Congress granted a land swap. That took well into the Great Depression in the 1930s. By then, Johnson's fortunes had dwindled.

    Two men in hats and suits standing next to each other.
    Albert Johnson and Walter Scott
    (
    Courtesy National Park Service
    )

    But Wines said even into the 30s, the Johnsons would invite guests to the castle. Sometimes, they'd send workers down in the tunnels to make a ruckus.

    "They'd be walking around the grounds in between buildings and hear this noise under their feet and think that it was people mining gold," Wines said. "So they would literally pull the wool over the public's eyes."

    That chapter in the long history of the castle came to a sort of an end when Bessie Johnson died in 1943. With her death, Blacker said, the impetus to finish the castle was also gone. Albert died in 1948. Seven years later, so did Scott.

    One woman and two men sitting in a lushly decorated living room
    Bessie Johnson, Walter Scott, and Albert Johnson in the main house of Scotty's Castle.
    (
    Courtesy National Park Service
    )

    "When you look at the three of them, you're really seeing three people that were born one way, and they decided to come West and be what they wanted to be instead," Blacker said.

    With Albert, he left his life as an insurance man to be an engineer and live a Western adventure. For Bessie, she came out West to do things that women back East weren't normally allowed to do.

    With Scott, Black continued, "he got to come West and live the cowboy life and it made him famous."

    Flood damage in 2015

    The National Park Service acquired the property in 1970, turning it into popular tourist attraction that drew tens of thousands of visitors each year.

    But in October 2015, a storm brought close to 3 inches of rain — around a year's worth of precipitation — to Scotty's Castle in mere hours.

    At the time, Wines had been managing the tours for nearly a decade. She said the rain triggered a flash flood of mud into some of the buildings. But the main house was largely unharmed.

    Wines was able to survey the damage a few days after the storm. She went into her office, wearing wader boots and trudging through mud.

    "I got to my desk and the mud was to within a few inches of the bottom of my chair seat. And everything from that level was untouched and everything below was devastated. And I remember just sitting on my chair and crying," Wines said.

    Recovery efforts have been ongoing ever since, at a cost of roughly $66 million.

    How to join this year's tours

    The National Park Service is now conducting limited guided tours at the site to continue to raise funds for recovery through March.

    Here are the details:

    Scotty’s Castle Flood Recovery Walking Tours
    Tours Dates: Select Sundays, Jan. 4 through March 29
    Price: $35 per person, plus a processing fee. Tickets must be purchased at least 48 hours in advance.
    Info: For tour dates, details and ticket sales, go here

  • Company wants to boost short-term rentals in LA
    A Black woman in a white jacket speaks into a mic at a lectern.
    Mayor Karen Bass, photographed Friday at the opening of the LAX/Metro Transit Center, has signed a $13 billlion city budget.
    Topline:
    Los Angeles officials are considering a pair of Airbnb-backed proposals that would temporarily loosen city regulations on short-term rentals and allow the company to pre-pay a portion of the lodging taxes it collects from tourists.

    Both plans appeared in Mayor Karen Bass’ budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which starts in July. They were initially suggested by Airbnb, according to the company.
    More Airbnbs: If approved by the City Council, the first proposal would allow Airbnb hosts to rent second homes and investment properties on the platform through 2028 — something the home-sharing giant has long sought, but the city of L.A. has prohibited since 2018.

    Bass’ budget proposal instructs the city’s Planning Department to develop a limited vacation rental program that would sunset by Dec. 31, 2028.

    Pre-paying lodging tax: The second proposal would involve Airbnb paying some portion of the transient occupancy tax it collects from tourists to the city of Los Angeles ahead of time to assist with the city’s budget troubles.

    Bass' budget instructs city staff to report back with recommendations “to allow the pre-payment of Transient Occupancy Tax in advance of the 2028 Olympics from any payer that wishes to assist the City in accelerating critical infrastructure projects.”

    That could generate tens of millions of dollars more for the city per year, according Airbnb.

    Los Angeles officials are considering a pair of Airbnb-backed proposals that would temporarily loosen city regulations on short-term rentals and allow the company to pre-pay a portion of the lodging taxes it collects from tourists.

    If approved by the City Council, the first proposal would allow Airbnb hosts to rent second homes and investment properties on the platform through 2028 — something the home-sharing giant has long sought, but the city of L.A. has prohibited since 2018.

    The second proposal would involve Airbnb paying some portion of the transient occupancy tax it collects from tourists to the city of Los Angeles ahead of time to assist with the city’s budget troubles. That could generate tens of millions of dollars more for the city per year, according to the company.

    "Airbnb is a committed partner to Los Angeles and its long-term prosperity with not just words, but with action,” said Justin Wesson, Airbnb’s senior public policy manager in California. “That’s why we have offered to provide tax revenue we already collect on behalf of hosts up front to help fund essential city programs millions of Angelenos rely on."

    Both plans appeared in Mayor Karen Bass’ budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which starts in July, and were first reported by L.A. Material. Both were initially suggested by Airbnb, according to the company.

    Bass’ budget proposal instructs the city’s Planning Department to develop a limited vacation rental program that would sunset by Dec. 31, 2028.

    It also instructs city staff to report back with recommendations “to allow the pre-payment of transient occupancy tax in advance of the 2028 Olympics from any payer that wishes to assist the City in accelerating critical infrastructure projects.”

    Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who opposes expanding short-term rentals, told LAist she has concerns about the prepayment plan.

    "I don’t know anyone in the country running to prepay their taxes, especially any corporations, and it begs the question as to why,” Rodriguez said.

    Pre-paying TOT

    Airbnb has discussed this pre-payment concept with city officials, but has not settled on specific terms, a company spokesperson confirmed to LAist.

    The company told LAist it would work with city officials to come up with the amounts and timelines for any potential prepayment after the City Council approves the mayor’s budget.

    Bass’ office did not respond Thursday to questions about the proposal.

    In the current budget year, the city will collect about $297 million in transient occupancy taxes, including $34.5 million from short-term rentals and $262.9 million from hotels, according to the L.A. city controller’s revenue forecast.

    The Hotel Association of Los Angeles told LAist that hotels, the main driver of bed-tax revenues, have not been part of any conversations about possible pre-payment.

    “City leaders have not engaged hotels on the concept of pre-paying transient occupancy taxes in advance of the 2028 Olympics,” Jackie Filla, the association’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We learned of this issue for the first time while reviewing the proposed budget.”

    The Mayor’s Office first briefed members of L.A. City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee shortly before the Monday release of Bass’ proposed budget, according to one member’s office.

    According to the mayor’s budget proposal, the prepaid tax revenue would be used for curb and sidewalk repairs, park maintenance, street cleanliness and tree trimming.

    Airbnb entered into an agreement with the city of L.A. in August 2016 allowing the company to collect and pay the transient occupancy tax on behalf of Airbnb hosts. The company said it has collected and paid more than $370 million in lodging tax to the city of Los Angeles between 2016 and the end of last year, for an average of about $39 million annually.

    Before L.A.’s 2018 law restricting Airbnbs, there were nearly 29,000 estimated active short-term rental listings in the city of L.A., according to the city’s Planning Department. L.A.’s transient occupancy tax revenue totaled nearly $319 million in the 2018 budget year, according to the city administrative officer. That total includes tax remitted by hotels and it’s unclear how much was generated from short-term rentals specifically.

    Last budget year, there were fewer than 5,000 homes officially listed on short-term rental platforms, according to the city. L.A. collected $305.8 million in transient occupancy tax. About $272 million of that came from hotels. The other roughly $33 million came from short-term rentals, according to the city controller.

    Bass’ budget proposal projects $313.5 million in transient occupancy tax in 2026-2027.

    More Airbnbs? 

    Airbnb has long sought to change L.A.’s short-term rental rules to allow more homes on the platform.

    Last year, Airbnb launched a public campaign for its "Vacation Rental Revenue Plan.” The company argues that increasing L.A.’s short-term rentals will generate more tax revenue from tourists and expand housing options during the Olympics.

    L.A.’s current short-term rental regulations allow homeowners to list only their primary residences on platforms like Airbnb. It also prohibits housing units protected by the city’s rent stabilization ordinance from being listed.

    But existing Airbnb laws are rarely enforced. There were 7,500 properties illegally operating as short-term rentals in Los Angeles, according to the city’s Housing Department’s 2024 estimates. Since 2021, L.A. has issued an average of 125 home-sharing citations per year across all enforcement departments, according to city planning records.

    Airbnb estimates that lifting restrictions on second homes could generate more than $100 million annually for the city in additional revenue from transient occupancy tax and other tourist spending. The company did not provide a further breakdown of those projections or indicate the exact number of new listings it expects would follow.

    There are currently about 5,500 units already operating on home-sharing platforms under the existing rules and thousands more operating illegally, according to city officials.

    On April 2, the city of L.A.’s Planning Department recommended in a report that the city reject the Airbnb proposal to allow second homes, finding it was unlikely to generate much revenue and likely to remove long-term housing from the market.

    On April 15, the department released another report, reversing its earlier position. It clarified that the previous report had only only analyzed a permanent program but that a temporary program tied to the Olympics was worth considering.

    Officials react

    Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, part of the Budget and Finance Committee, said Airbnb has been talking to members about vacation rentals for years. He said he opposes the company’s desired changes and wants to see more enforcement of illegal Airbnbs.

    “I didn't support vacation rentals when it was before us years ago because I feared it would take long-term housing units off the market,” Blumenfield said. “I'm still concerned about it. I still haven't seen a proposal that I would support.”

    Councilmember Tim McOsker, also on the budget committee, did not say whether he would support the Airbnb-backed proposals.

    A spokesperson from his office said in a statement that Osker “will evaluate the entirety of the proposal, including the pre-payment mechanism, within the budget hearings process before taking a position.”

    Airbnb’s political opponents tied to the hotel industry, including hotel workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 11, have consistently fought against efforts to expand Airbnbs. Now they’re also crying foul on the company’s pre-payment plan.

    “ This is just a ruse to to build a larger short-term market, which means less housing for Angelenos in our city,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.

    Noah Suarez-Sikes is an organizer with Better Neighbors L.A., a group advocating for stronger limits on short-term rentals. He said even if the change is temporary, renters will be permanently displaced.

    “ I would hope that council would see that this is a Trojan horse and take it out before it starts harming working class people,” he said.

    Airbnb is the third biggest spender in Los Angeles city elections so far this year, after the LAPD police officers union and hotel workers union UNITE HERE Local 11.

    A committee funded entirely by Airbnb spent nearly $300,000 in support of Jose Ugarte, a former aide to Councilmember Curren Price who is now one of six candidates running to replace him in District 9.

    The committee paid $298,832.00 to a company called Street Level Strategy LLC for “canvassing, consulting, doorhangers, data, and office supplies,” according to records filed with the city.

    "Across the country and at all levels of government, we back causes and candidates that champion home sharing and tourism and Los Angeles is a top focus for us," Justin Wesson of Airbnb told LAist.

    Meanwhile, a committee sponsored by UNITE HERE Local 11 has raised $515,000 and spent more than $440,000 in independent expenditures opposing Councilmember Traci Park and supporting her challenger, civil rights attorney Faizah Malik, in District 11.

    “ We want to support candidates who want to raise wages so that people can live in Los Angeles and lower rents so that people can afford to live in Los Angeles,” said UNITE HERE 11 co-president Kurt Peterson.

    The City Council will begin budget hearings Friday. The panelis expected to hold its first vote on the budget May 21.

  • Sponsored message
  • Tech company will cut 8,000 jobs
    A large white screen in front of a beige and white building with many windows. On the screen is the word "Meta"

    Topline:

    Meta will lay off 10% of its staff in May. The layoffs will take place on May 20 and affect some 8,000 workers. Meta will also not hire for 6,000 open roles that it had intended to fill.


    About the layoffs: In a memo, Meta's chief people officer Janelle Gale wrote, "We're doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we're making. This is not an easy tradeoff and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here." In a separate round of layoffs this month, the company announced that it was laying off some 700 people as part of its efforts in "right-sizing" its investment in Reality Labs, the division that runs the company's Metaverse products.

    Facing a string of costly legal challenges: The company lost two pivotal court cases earlier this year: a New Mexico jury found that Meta failed to protect young users from child sexual exploitation. Penalties in that case could reach $375 million. Meanwhile, a jury in Los Angeles found the company — along with Google — liable for the mental health problems experienced by a woman who used social media as a small child, awarding her $6 million. Meta has said it will appeal both lawsuits.

    Meta will lay off 10% of its staff in May, according to an internal memo which was published by Bloomberg. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the report's accuracy to NPR.

    The layoffs will take place on May 20 and affect some 8,000 workers. Meta will also not hire for 6,000 open roles that it had intended to fill.

    In the memo, Meta's chief people officer Janelle Gale wrote, "We're doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we're making. This is not an easy tradeoff and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here."

    Calling it "unwelcome news" that "puts everyone in an uneasy state," Gale wrote, confirming the layoffs to employees now "is the best path forward, given the circumstances."

    Meta and other big players in artificial intelligence have been spending vast amounts of money to build data centers and try to win the AI race — one in which Meta lags behind competitors such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.

    In January, Meta forecast record capital expenditures this year of up to $135 billion — almost double what it spent last year.

    The pivot to AI comes at a time when Meta seems to be backing away from its previous focus on its virtual reality Metaverse products. The Metaverse was once key to CEO Mark Zuckerberg's vision for the company's future — so fundamental that in 2021, he changed the name of the company from Facebook to Meta.


    In a separate round of layoffs this month, the company announced that it was laying off some 700 people as part of its efforts in "right-sizing" its investment in Reality Labs, the division that runs the company's Metaverse products.

    Meta is also facing a string of costly legal challenges. The company lost two pivotal court cases earlier this year: a New Mexico jury found that Meta failed to protect young users from child sexual exploitation. Penalties in that case could reach $375 million.

    Meanwhile, a jury in Los Angeles found the company — along with Google — liable for the mental health problems experienced by a woman who used social media as a small child, awarding her $6 million.

    In the Los Angeles case, the woman's lawyers argued that Meta's products were designed to be addictive to kids.

    Meta has said it will appeal both lawsuits.

    The company faces similar lawsuits, including one brought by several school districts against Meta and several other social media companies, which will be heard in Oakland, California this year.
    Copyright 2026 NPR

  • Hiding in a Koreatown ghost kitchen
    A fried chicken sandwich from Hokkaido Fried Chicken sits on branded wax paper next to a blue HFC box. The sandwich features a dramatically craggy, golden-brown fried chicken cutlet topped with purple cabbage slaw and sliced green peppers on a brioche bun.
    Zangi-style fried chicken, miso vinaigrette slaw, pickled cucumbers, and chile-truffle shoyu sauce on a brioche bun.

    Topline:

    Hokkaido Fried Chicken opened quietly in January out of a ghost kitchen on Olympic Boulevard on the outskirts of Koreatown, and it's already making a strong case for the best fried chicken sandwich in the city.

    Why it matters: In a town saturated with Korean fried chicken and American fast-casual sandwiches, HFC is doing something genuinely different — bringing Hokkaido's zangi tradition, a deeply marinated and distinctly craggy style of Japanese fried chicken, to a fast-casual format that you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in L.A.

    Why now: The concept is less than four months old, the word isn't fully out yet, and the man behind it — Ronuk Patel, an Indian American chef-owner who came up through cannabis farming in Humboldt County and a ramen bar in Arcata — has a second concept, Hokkaido Soup Curry, already running out of the same kitchen with more on the way.

    The backstory: Patel first visited Hokkaido on snowboarding trips and fell in love with the local food culture. On his first trip to Sapporo over a decade ago, he met Japanese chef Gory, whose family zangi recipe eventually became the foundation of HFC. In 2024, Patel sponsored Gory's visa, brought him to Arcata to help launch Susukino Ramen Bar, and the sandwich evolved from there.

    What's next: Hokkaido Fried Chicken is available for delivery via major apps. Find them on Instagram at @hokkaido_fried_chicken.

    The first thing you notice when you unwrap the fried chicken sandwich from Hokkaido Fried Chicken is the craggy crust, almost geological in its texture — the kind of fry that makes you want to reconsider every other fried chicken sandwich you've ever eaten.

    A close up of a blue box which says HFC Hokkaido fried chicken. Inside is a piece of fried chicken that is brown and craggy looking
    The craggy, crunchy Hokkaido fried chicken
    (
    Courtesy Hokkaido Fried Chicken
    )

    The chicken itself — shattering on the outside, improbably juicy within — holds its own against everything surrounding it. With the miso vinaigrette slaw, the pickled cucumbers, the chili truffle shoyu sauce, it’s a revelation — and for me, the best fried chicken sandwich I’ve ever eaten in L.A., hands down.

    Hokkaido by way of Arcata

    Hokkaido Fried Chicken, which is online-only, has been running since January out of an unassuming ghost kitchen on the edge of Koreatown. It’s the brainchild of Ronuk Patel, an Indian American who grew up outside Chicago, fell in love with snowboarding, and relocated to Arcata, a Northern California town about three hours from the Oregon border.

    A man with a dark skin tone stands behind a prep counter, wearing a denim apron and a cap, with a bowl of Hokkaido Soup Curry in front of him. His black t-shirt reads "Susukino" in Japanese characters.
    Ronuk Patel, chef and owner of Hokkaido Fried Chicken and Hokkaido Soup Curry, at his ghost kitchen on Olympic Blvd on the outskirts of Koreatown.
    (
    Courtesy Hokkaido Fried Chicken
    )

    There, he built a career as a cannabis farmer — and began making regular snowboarding pilgrimages to Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, chasing powder and, eventually, some of the most interesting food he'd ever eaten. It was on that first trip to Sapporo, over a decade ago, that he met Gory, a Japanese chef who would become a close friend and, eventually, his collaborator.

    In 2024, Patel sponsored Gory's visa and brought him to Arcata to help launch Susukino Ramen Bar — named after the Sapporo neighborhood where they first met. It was there, with Gory's family zangi recipe on the menu as an appetizer, that the seed of Hokkaido Fried Chicken was planted.

    What is zangi?

    Most Angelenos with a passing familiarity with Japanese cuisine know karaage — the lightly battered, juicy fried chicken that has become a fixture on Japanese menus across the city. Zangi is Hokkaido's answer to that tradition, and it plays in a different register entirely. Where karaage tends toward a lighter touch — a brief marinade, a delicate crust — zangi goes deeper. The marinade is heavier on soy and sake, more aggressive with garlic and ginger and almost always incorporates a fruit component that varies by chef.

    Patel and Gory pushed it further still, applying a dry batter separately after marinating — rather than mixing everything together in the traditional wet batter method — for a crust that fries up dramatically craggier and crunchier. The result is chicken that is deeply seasoned all the way through and improbably juicy — both of which hit you immediately on first bite.

    A hand with a light skin tone holds an HFC fried chicken sandwich wrapped in branded paper, showing the full cross-section of the sandwich — a dramatically craggy, amber-colored zangi-style fried chicken cutlet topped with purple cabbage slaw and pickled green cucumber on a golden brioche bun.
    The HFC sandwich up close — the craggy, dry-battered crust is the first thing you notice, a direct result of Patel and chef Gory's decision to depart from zangi's traditional wet batter.
    (
    Gab Chabrán
    /
    LAist
    )

    Inside the sandwich

    Bite into the sandwich ($10.99), and you immediately understand why it took four or five months to get here. Every detail is thought through. The miso slaw cuts the richness of the chicken without competing with it. The cucumbers, pickled in a brine riffed from Patel's own recipe, add brightness and snap. The chili truffle shoyu sauce, born from mixing his ramen shop's house chili with a white shoyu-truffle product he'd been experimenting with, ties it together with a depth that sneaks up on you.

    Just getting started

    Fried chicken sandwiches aren't all that's on the menu at HFC. Nuggets and tenders round out the chicken offerings, along with the fries, which are definitely worth ordering — particularly the loaded pork belly fries ($10), topped with chashu pork belly, spicy truffle aioli and green onions over crispy shoestring fries, and the furikake fries ($5), whose umami-rich seasoning makes them a natural companion to the chicken.

    Patel has also launched a second concept out of the same ghost kitchen: Hokkaido Soup Curry, a Japanese dish that combines aromatic curry spices with a lighter, broth-based preparation rooted in the same Hokkaido culinary tradition that inspired HFC — and one that hints at the Japanese-Indian fusion menu Patel says he's only just beginning to develop.

    For Patel, none of it feels calculated — and that, perhaps, is the point.

    "It just happened really organically, naturally, just like us being in the kitchen, having a good time."

  • Monthly bike ride draws 4K cyclists
    Thousands of bike riders along a street ride past a metro station.
    Critical Mass Los Angeles riders roll near the intersection of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard in Hyde Park, August 2025.

    Topline:

    On the last Friday of every month, Wilshire and Western transforms into a human-centered movement that proves LA is more than just its gridlock.

    The backstory: The modern Critical Mass movement began in San Francisco in 1992 as a grassroots effort to reclaim the streets has since grown into a global movement, with Los Angeles now hosting one of its largest rides.

    About the event: The ride takes place on the last Friday of every month on the corner of Western and Wilshire across from The Wiltern. Routes change monthly, turning each ride into a moving tour of the city. Some rides head west toward Marina del Rey, others east toward Mariachi Plaza, passing through neighborhoods that rarely feel connected outside of car travel.

    Read on ... for more on Los Angeles Critical Mass.

    This story first appeared on The LA Local.

    When I first started, I went alone. I couldn’t convince any of my friends to commit to riding 20 miles on a bicycle on a Friday night through a city known for its car culture. It didn’t help that I told them the bike ride would start in Koreatown, among the most densely populated neighborhoods in the whole country. 

    I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. 

    What I discovered is that Los Angeles Critical Mass (LACM) is the largest community bicycle ride in the United States, drawing almost 4,000 riders each month, according to the group’s own records. 

    The modern Critical Mass movement began in San Francisco in 1992 as a grassroots effort to reclaim the streets has since grown into a global movement, with Los Angeles now hosting one of its largest rides.

    LACM Vice President JoJo Valdez, told The LA Local that the event is ”a living example of what safer, more human-centered streets could look like” in the City of Angels. 

    Thousands of bike riders fill a street.
    Critical Mass Los Angeles riders roll through Koreatown, January 2026.
    (
    Courtesy of LACM
    )

    The ride takes place on the last Friday of every month on the corner of Western and Wilshire across from The Wiltern. Routes change monthly, turning each ride into a moving tour of the city. Some rides head west toward Marina del Rey, others east toward Mariachi Plaza, passing through neighborhoods that rarely feel connected outside of car travel.

    As the ride moves through different neighborhoods, it often brings energy — and customers — to local businesses along the route as riders stop for food, drinks and supplies throughout the evening.

    Valdez said, “Cyclists, skaters and riders moving together make the demand for alternative transportation impossible to ignore.”

    A cyclist pops a wheely biking down a street with other cyclists behind him.
    A cyclist takes off on a monthly Critical Mass ride in Koreatown on Nov 8th, 2025.
    (
    Steve Saldivar
    /
    The LA Local
    )

    L.A. is the last place you’d expect a mass cycling movement to take hold. That’s probably why it did. In a city defined by gridlock, LACM offers something rare — movement through neighborhoods at a human pace.

    I’ve experienced it firsthand. 

    For me, LACM became an alternative to the typical night out. Instead of bars or clubs, it became a way to decompress, stay active and explore the city differently.

    Over time, I built connections that turned into a consistent group of six friends I now ride with each month. I’ve even brought my girlfriend along, and it’s become one of our favorite end-of-month traditions.

    Thousands of bike riders stand around a street at night. An American flag is set up in the foreground by a car.
    Critical Mass Los Angeles riders roll through Los Angeles.
    (
    Courtesy of LACM
    )

    How a ride typically goes

    The LA chapter of Critical Mass is led by LACM President Lisa Lundie and Valdez, who both began as volunteers before stepping into leadership roles for the Los Angeles chapter. According to the organization, their focus includes accessibility, community and mental wellness accessibility, community and mental wellness — and those values show up throughout the ride itself.

    Valdez said that what people see — the crowds and energy — is only part of the story. There is real coordination and planning to keep the ride safe and organized as it moves through the city.

    “We look out for each other. We ride together. If you’re alone, you won’t stay that way for long,” he said.

    Thousands of bike riders fill a street at night.
    Critical Mass Los Angeles riders roll through Hollywood Boulevard, December of 2024.
    (
    Courtesy of LACM
    )

    Ride marshals help guide traffic, support newer riders and keep the group together, while a lead vehicle sets the pace and support riders follow behind to ensure no one is left behind. The result is a ride that may feel overwhelming at first, given the number of people, but quickly settles into a relaxed rhythm.

    With everyone following the lead car and built-in stops to regroup, it becomes approachable for first-timers and more communal than a typical solo ride through Los Angeles.

    As the ride unfolds, speakers carried by riders create a shifting soundtrack — hip-hop, EDM, reggae and Latin music blending with each neighborhood the group passes through, turning the streets into a moving reflection of L.A.’s culture.

    A man and a small child ride a bike on a street following a group of other cyclists.
    Critical Mass Los Angeles riders roll through Koreatown.
    (
    Louie Martinez
    /
    The LA Local
    )

    Some rides carry deeper meaning, including moments of silence for cyclists lost to traffic accidents and ongoing calls for safer streets.

    This month’s ride, taking place on April 24 at 7:00 p.m., will celebrate West Coast hip-hop legend DJ Battlecat, who will perform from the lead vehicle, transforming the ride into a rolling party on wheels.

    The distance might sound intimidating, but the pace is manageable, with plenty of breaks and lots of potential new friends.  Whether you come with a group or show up solo, Critical Mass offers a new way to experience Los Angeles one ride at a time.

    A group of cyclists with neon lights on their bikes ride down a street at night.
    Cyclists gather for the monthly Critical Mass rides in Koreatown on Nov 8th, 2025.
    (
    Steve Saldivar
    /
    The LA Local
    )