My Summer of Nothing New in LA

A personal summer challenge with a few ground rules...

Hi!

After a few weeks of traveling, we’re back in LA content land - with a fun challenge!

I dropped a tiny hint on IG last week, but I’ve been focusing more on city guides over the past month or so while I figured out what’s next for my Los Angeles/SoCal coverage and how I want to write about LA. To be completely honest, I’ve felt super jaded lately within my niche and felt like everyone is covering the same topics or eating at the same restaurants. Which leads us to…

My Summer of Nothing New. In an attempt to de-influence myself and *potentially* the TTS audience too, I am making a personal vow to try nothing new this summer. Instead of racing to visit a restaurant, a bar or a coffee shop as soon as I see the announcement - I’m instead going to spend my time (and money) at places I love + places I’ve always wanted to try, but have never gotten around to.

I’ve been reading a lot of think pieces about LA food & hospitality culture and it’s really inspired me to show up differently in this space and make some changes to the content I produce. It’s easy to be sucked into trends and what’s hot, but is that really the right way to go about food & entertainment in the city? I loved Emily Wilson’s piece To Live and Dine in LA, where she recommends avoiding new openings and investing your efforts elsewhere, such as places you love in your neighborhood or places you’ve always had on your list. She also shouts out farmers’ markets as a place to gather inspiration + find high quality food.

In a different vein, I was also impacted by LA Times Food’s piece The shocking state of the restaurant industry: ‘We can’t afford to be open. We can’t afford to be closed.’ Let that statement sink in?? In addition to the above read, I also want to resurface all of the closings LA saw just last year - 65+ establishments shuttered in 2023. It is SO hard to for a restaurant to keep the lights on (or even off!) these days. These articles reaffirm my respect for anyone working in the food industry, and also remind me to be mindful of where I’m showing support when I dine out. Now more than ever, every dollar counts. This summer, I only want to be supporting my favorite restaurants, all of the friends I’ve made in the food & hospitality industry, and smaller “mom and pop” establishments.

So - some rules & guidelines. “Summer” is a very loose term in LA, but I am qualifying it as June 1 - August 31. I may extend the challenge or evolve it, but 3 months feels like a good start! A few rules -

The Rules for Summer of Nothing New

1. NO NEW RESTAURANTS, BARS OR COFFEE SHOPS!

2. “Places I’ve always wanted to try” need to be establishments that have been open for at least 1 year, ideally longer

3. Prioritize quality of food + experiencing something new over aesthetics/Instagram worthiness (and take minimal content when I’m dining there)

4. Pop ups / limited time collaborations are OK

5. Birthdays/celebrations at new restaurants planned by other people are OK

I’m excited for this challenge and encourage you to follow along, or make your own version this summer! As a part of Summer of Nothing New, I’m hoping to support some LA institutions and smaller cultural establishments in pockets of the city I haven’t spent as much time in. I’ll be reporting along the way, and would love to hear your takes on the food industry in LA as I uncover more findings! I value this community so much and look forward to continuing the conversation with you all. Reply directly to this email or drop a comment on Substack.

In tandem with this challenge, I’m also rethinking TikTok and content extensions of the Substack. Stay tuned for more!