We’re joined today by Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar, the co-founders of Good Girl Snacks, a company you might be familiar with if you’ve come across their viral Hot Girl Pickles on your social media feed. Yasaman and Leah join us to share their story of ditching their day jobs as recent grads to start a pickle company with a Gen Z twist.

We’re also joined on the pod today by Father Sal to discuss a couple of newsy bits that caught our eye this week. There’s the taco guide to end all taco guides from the LA Times, another big win for LA’s street vendors, and an al pastor tutorial from Bill Esparza. On that note, we also discuss the fall out from last week’s Bill Esparza vs. Villa’s Tacos battle royale, and answer a few comments that y’all left for us on social media.

Helpful links:

LA FOODSTACK, our free Substack where you can find all the links to the stories we discussed today on the pod https://open.substack.com/pub/thelacountdown/p/its-rainin-taco-guides?r=31nins&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Good Girl Snacks https://goodgirlsnacks.com/

Good Girl Snacks on IG https://www.instagram.com/goodgirlsnacks

Good Girl Snacks on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@goodgirlsnacks

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Get 10% off all macadamia products at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

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Get 10% off your first purchase of wagyu beef at First Light Farms using code "LAFOOD10" https://www.firstlight.farm/us/

This week, legendary LA food writer Bill Esparza made waves when he dropped a scathing review of Villa’s Tacos on his Instagram stories. The review had been building for weeks, if not more than a year, and its Kendrick-style intensity left all of Los Angeles talking. Father Sal is with us today to dive deep into the situation, including what led to it, what the review got right and wrong, and how Victor Villa and others in the LA food community responded. We attempt to answer the essential questions - was Bill’s criticism fair? Did he go too far, was he too mean? And what does it mean that Bill’s opinions on these tacos, seems to be so far removed from that of other key voices in the food world including Bill Addison, LA Taco and even Michelin Bib Gourmand. One housekeeping note, Bill’s review took place on Instagram stories and is no longer available. Fear not, we’ve got your back. We took screenshots and the entire review can be found at our substack, LA FOODSTACK, linked in the show notes.

On a lighter note, we’re also joined on the podcast today by Duncan Parsons and Joe Wedd, the duo behind Creamy Boys, a New Zealand-style real fruit ice cream concept down in Hermosa Beach. I had a blast talking to these two rambunctious fellas about how they turned their lifelong friendship and passion for their hometown delicacy into a business concept that is kind of taking Los Angeles by storm. If you haven’t had New Zealand style ice cream yet, I’m not sure you can really say your summer has even begun. So give this a listen, and then go get your Hokey Pokey on.

Helpful links:

LA FOODSTACK, where you can find Bill Esparza's Villa's Tacos review in its entirety https://thelacountdown.substack.com/

Creamy Boys https://www.creamyboys.com/

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Get 10% off at House of Macadamias with code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

--

Get 10% off on your first purchase of wagyu beef products at First Light Farms with code "LAFOOD10" https://www.firstlight.farm/us/

Father Sal is with us today to talk about the LA Times’ 2024 Restaurant of the Year Baroo. We break down what the award means, why it’s significant, and why we are so excited for our upcoming meal at this very special restaurant. We also talk about the LA Times’ Gold Award winner, the rise of non-alcoholic beer, and the sudden closure of Rampart Village restaurant due to homelessness question mark?

Arguably even more exciting is that fact that we’re joined in Part 2 by none other than Eater’s Mona Holmes. A James Beard Award nominee, Mona is one of the most intrepid food reporters in the city and possibly the country. We have a wide-ranging conversation on the state of LA food, the state of LA food media, and much, much more.

Helpful links:

All articles mentioned on the pod are linked in LA FOODSTACK, our free weekly newsletter https://open.substack.com/pub/thelacountdown/p/baroo-is-the-la-times-2024-restaurant?r=31nins&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Mona Holmes in Instagram https://www.instagram.com/monaeats/?hl=en

Mona Holmes in Eater https://la.eater.com/authors/mona-holmes

Mona Holmes in KCRW https://www.kcrw.com/people/mona-holmes