Since Los Angeles is stereotypically health-obsessed, I always grab a meal or quick coffee while I’m in town in a place that caters to food along those lines, like URTH CAFE (where it seems impossible not to bump into an US Weekly-worthy young starlet) or CAFE GRATITUDE, which is vegan and has terrific smoothies and desserts. For the opposite — yummy comfort food — I love Joan’s on Third, particularly for a relaxed, extended breakfast, also often accompanied by a celebrity sighting.

And perhaps the most “in” Los Angeles dining experience these days is a meal from a food truck, something I usually pass up…except when it comes to KOGI BBQ. Kogi’s unique concept — Mexican/Korean fusion — has imitators across the country, and once you taste chef Roy Choi’s kimchi quesadillas, you can understand why. My indulgence of choice: a visit to the Venice Beach stop of Kogi’s truck on a sunny Saturday afternoon, two calamari tacos, and a stroll down Abbot Kinney Boulevard’s eclectic boutiques, followed by a five minute drive to the beach. As LA meals go, that’s unquestionably its most reasonable version of culinary perfection.