For the past few years, food lovers throughout LA eagerly awaited for LA Weekly’s publication of Jonathan Gold’s list of 99 essential restaurants. It became an obsession in the LA food scene. Restaurants wanted to make the list. Serious eaters wanted to eat their way through the list.

During the 2009 edition of J Gold’s essential 99 list, one extremely optimistic suitor of mine had highlighted all the restaurants he wanted to go to with me. Sadly, this suitor lived in his car – by choice not necessity – and that was just one of the red flags. There was NO way that I was going to check out 42 restaurants with the homeless-actor-living-in-a-car-taking-showers-at-the-gym.

Since Jonathan Gold left the LA Weekly earlier this year – for the greener pastures of the LA Times –  it’s clear that the LA food community needs another list. Besha Rodell is the new food critic at LA Weekly and she needs a little more time to get acquainted with the LA dining scene. I’m hoping she creates her own list of essential restaurants.

Until then, here’ s my amateur attempt at assembling an essential list of places to eat in LA. Most on these are from Jonathan Gold’s 99 essential list (from 2011). At my most recent count, I had managed to make my way through the third of the list.

And there it is… My list of essential places. As Julia Child would say…bon appétit!