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A takeout window seems an apt location to begin thinking through some of the Los Angeles restaurants that managed not only to open in 2020, but also to enrich the city’s culture with creative achievement and personal narrative. This carryout setup operates from the quiet interior courtyard of Chinatown’s Mandarin Plaza, its mustard-colored façade embellished with a lone ribbon of red neon. Out of its sliding-glass panes appear outlandish sandwiches devised by one of the city’s defining chefs.
Wes Avila, the creator of Guerrilla Tacos, opened
Angry Egret Dinette in late October. One of his early imaginings was the Mookie Melt, a bucking bull on a bolillo roll that charged wildly and deliciously in all directions.