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

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.

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.