The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles

"It’s been a few years since the first wave of Sichuan restaurants opened across the San Gabriel Valley, with places like Chengdu Taste and Sichuan Impression finding wide followings from chile-seeking diners. Though Chengdu Impression opened around the same time in 2017, it’s often confused with the two other restaurants and occupies a strange space with a ground-floor dining area and more group-oriented tables with ornate embellishments upstairs. Ambience aside, expect one of LA’s top Sichuan menus starting with solid versions of twice-cooked pork and dan dan noodles. Mapo tofu comes with finely ground beef instead of the more popular pork, bubbling in a wide stone bowl straight from the stove and topped with ample chile oil. It’s easily one of the best versions of Sichuan’s most iconic dish in town. Those adventurous enough to delve into the hot or dry pots will be rewarded with layered cauldrons of shaved snakehead fish boiled in water and chile-flecked oil with still-crunchy pieces of floating lotus roots and potato slivers. The lesson to take away is that the bigger the group, the more can be ordered and shared for a fiery feast. — Matthew Kang, lead editor" - Eater Staff