L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food

Marc Notes:
A gritty, charming, and flavorful love letter to Los Angeles, this title is the story of Choi's love of food and his evolution as a chef. Choi returns to his childhood afternoons at his parents' Korean restaurant, his nights in L.A.'s illegal gambling halls, and his pizza-fueled studying at the Culinary Institute of America before making his way into some of the best restaurants in America.

Jacket Description/Back:

Los Angeles: A patchwork megalopolis defined by its unlikely cultural collisions; the city that raised and shaped Roy Choi, the boundary-breaking chef who decided to leave behind fine dining to feed the city he loved--and, with the creation of the Korean taco, reinvented street food along the way.

Abounding with both the food and the stories that gave rise to Choi's inspired cooking, L.A. Son takes us through the neighborhoods and streets most tourists never see, from the hidden casinos where gamblers slurp fragrant bowls of pho to Downtown's Jewelry District, where a ten-year-old Choi wolfed down Jewish deli classics between diamond deliveries; from the kitchen of his parents' Korean restaurant and his mother's pungent kimchi to the boulevards of East L.A. and the best taquerias in the country, to, at last, the curbside view from one of his emblematic Kogi taco trucks, where people from all walks of life line up for a revolutionary meal.

Filled with over 85 inspired recipes that meld the overlapping traditions and flavors of L.A.--including Korean fried chicken, tempura potato pancakes, homemade chorizo, and Kimchi and Pork Belly Stuffed Pupusas--L.A. Son embodies the sense of invention, resourcefulness, and hybrid attitude of the city from which it takes its name, as it tells the transporting, unlikely story of how a Korean American kid went from lowriding in the streets of L.A. to becoming an acclaimed chef.

"While [Jacques] Pepin's autobiography was the epitome of the traditional chef's life, it may be that Choi's will be the same for the new generation ... "L.A. Son," co-written with Tien Nguyen and Natasha Phan, pops with Choi's hip-hop verbal rhythms." - Los Angeles Times

'With driving metaphors coming fast and furious throughout this memoir cum cookbook, there is no doubting and no pulling away from Choi's gritty embrace of L.A.'s mean streets." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Street-wise, honest in its admission of trials and punctuated with vernacular swagger, Choi's debut pays tribute to family and his enduring fascination with the melting pot of Los Angeles. - Kirkus Reviews

"A a memoir-cookbook that moves like a novel." - New York Times, cover of 'Dining' Section, in article about Roy's new restaurant

"In its pages, and even more so in person, one finds in Choi a personality who is at once high-end and low-end, flawed and at the top of his game, relentless and chill, coarse and refined-and absolutely, unapologetically authentic." - Ad Week

"Choi is the rare chef whose life story--which includes working with chef Eric Ripert and a weeklong cocaine binge--is as compelling as his food." - Food & Wine

"At the moment, Roy Choi is one of the most prominent lenses the nation has into L.A." - Los Angeles Times

His beautiful book .... is two parts story (Choi's coming up), one part recipe (his OMG crazy good creations, like ketchup fried rice). You may never cook from this book (though the recipes are eminently doable), but it won't matter. It's a fun flip even if all you do is drool." - Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers

A memoir and cookbook from the creator of the gourmet Korean-Mexican taco truck Kogi, the star of Netflix's "The Chef Show," and the culinary advisor to Jon Favreau's film "Chef."

"Roy Choi sits at the crossroads of just about every important issue involving food in the twenty-first century. As he goes, many will follow."--Anthony Bourdain

From the maverick chef the New Yorker called "The David Chang of L.A." comes a cookbook that's as inventive, creative, and border-crossing as the city to which it pays homage: Los Angeles.

Los Angeles: A patchwork megalopolis defined by its unlikely cultural collisions; the city that raised and shaped Roy Choi, the boundary-breaking chef who decided to leave behind fine dining to feed the city he loved--and, with the creation of the Korean taco, reinvented gourmet street food along the way.

Abounding with both the food and the stories that gave rise to Choi's inspired cooking, L.A. Son takes us through the neighborhoods and streets most tourists never see, from the hidden casinos where gamblers slurp fragrant bowls of pho to Downtown's Jewelry District, where a ten-year-old Choi wolfed down Jewish deli classics between diamond deliveries; from the kitchen of his parents' Korean restaurant and his mother's pungent kimchi to the boulevards of East L.A. and the best taquerias in the country, to, at last, the curbside view from one of his emblematic Kogi taco trucks, where people from all walks of life line up for a revolutionary meal.

Filled with over 85 inspired fusion recipes that meld the overlapping traditions and flavors of L.A.--including Korean fried chicken, tempura potato pancakes, homemade chorizo, and Kimchi and Pork Belly Stuffed Pupusas--L.A. Son embodies the sense of invention, resourcefulness, and hybrid attitude of the city from which it takes its name, as it tells the transporting, unlikely story of how a Korean American kid went from lowriding in the streets of L.A. to becoming an acclaimed chef.

This isn't just a cookbook; it's a portrait of a city told through flavor.

• A Groundbreaking Culinary Memoir: The deeply personal story of how Roy Choi found his voice, started a movement, and changed the food world forever from the window of a taco truck.
• Iconic Street Food Recipes: Bring the flavor of the streets to your kitchen with step-by-step instructions for Kogi tacos, Korean fried chicken, and kimchi-topped everything.
• Korean-Mexican Fusion: Discover a new world of flavor with over 85 recipes that blend the spicy, pungent, and savory tastes of Choi's upbringing, from Kimchi and Pork Belly Pupusas to homemade chorizo.
• A Food Tour of Los Angeles: Explore the real L.A., from hidden-gem casinos serving pho to the best taquerias in East L.A., through the eyes of a local legend.

Review Citations:

• Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2013 (EAN 9780062202635, Hardcover)
• Publishers Weekly 11/04/2013 (EAN 9780062202635, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
• Shelf Awareness 11/19/2013 (EAN 9780062202635, Hardcover)
• Library Journal 12/01/2013 pg. 119 (EAN 9780062202635, Hardcover)