Salad and more: What's trending on Los Angeles' food scene?

Salad and more: What's trending on Los Angeles' food scene?Photo: Mixt/Yelp
Hoodline
Published on December 09, 2019

As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right now?

We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze which local businesses have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.

To find out who made the list, we looked at Los Angeles businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.

Read on to see which spots are getting plenty of attention this winter.

Sibling Rival

Photo: Christopher G./Yelp

Open since October 2019, this traditional American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp.

Citywide, traditional American spots saw a median 1.2% increase in new reviews over the past month. Sibling Rival only recently appeared on Yelp, but while many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, it has seen strong initial popularity.

Located at 1060 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, Sibling Rival features steak and potatoes, chicken wings and ham, egg and cheese sandwich. View the menu here.

Sibling Rival is open from 7 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 7 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Mixt

Photo: Mixt/Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Silver Lake's Mixt, a member of the notable chain, the New American spot, which offers salads and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "Salad" on Yelp saw a median 1.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, Mixt bagged a dramatic 230% increase in new reviews within that time frame, with a slight downward trend from a five-star rating a month ago to its current 4.5 stars.

Open at 3100 W. Sunset Blvd. since October 2019, Mixt offers a selection of salads, such as the Beetnik, with roasted golden beets, avocado, toasted walnuts and dried cranberries; the Orchard, with grilled chicken, applewood smoked bacon, apples and sharp cheddar; and the Bachelor, with grilled flat iron steak, blue cheese, egg, avocado and cherry tomatoes. See what else is on the menu.

Mixt is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. daily.

Revelator Bar Avalon

Photo: Stephen S./Yelp

Echo Park's Revelator Bar Avalon is also making waves. Open since August 2019 at 2112 W. Sunset Blvd., Suite K, the wine bar and New American spot is relatively new to Yelp, but has seen a surge of new reviews, while all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp saw an increase of 1.1% for new reviews in the past month. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Revelator Bar Avalon's review count increased by more than 500%.

"Bar Avalon seeks to create a restorative ambience where the darker, soulful qualities inside allow visitors to ease into the night. Partner that with the smoky-inspired menu, and you’ve got yourself a haven for slowing down and eating good food with a slew of wines to match," according to its Yelp page.

There's more than one hot spot trending in Los Angeles' New American category: HiHo Cheeseburger has seen a 41.2% increase in reviews.

Revelator Bar Avalon serves fried smelt, blue prawns with n'duja salami, and pork chop with pickled green tomato relish. Over the past month, it's maintained an outstanding five-star rating among Yelpers.

Revelator Bar Avalon is open from 9 a.m.–10 p.m. on Tuesday-Saturday and 9 a.m.–3 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)

KazuNori: The Original Hand Roll Bar

Photo: Kevin P./Yelp

Beverly Grove's KazuNori: The Original Hand Roll Bar is the city's buzziest sushi bar by the numbers.

The sushi bar and Japanese spot, which has been open at 6245 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 101 since September 2019, increased its new review count by 38.2% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1% for the Yelp category "Sushi Bars."

"We believe that the experience of eating hand rolls is truly something special and worthy of its own restaurant, so we created KazuNori — The Original Hand Roll Bar℠," according to its Yelp page. "We serve only the freshest fish, along with specially harvested seaweed, housemade sauces and our signature warm rice."

It's not the only trending outlier in the sushi bar category: Xevichez Sushi Bar has seen a 24.2% increase in reviews.

KazuNori: The Original Hand Roll Bar menu features set menus of three to six hand rolls, as well as hand rolls à la carte. The selection includes bay scallop, crab, lobster and salmon. Here's the full menu.

KazuNori: The Original Hand Roll Bar is open from 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday and noon–10 p.m. on Sunday.


This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.