Where Chef Sean Brock Eats in Los Angeles

If we’re talking about frequent flyer miles, I eat at Great White two or three times a week. It’s around the corner from darling, and it’s just a really lovely little stroll. I get the same thing every time—the Great White Brekkie. I think it’s the most brilliant breakfast plate ever assembled. I even make it at home sometimes when I miss it. If I need to feel like I’m in California and need to get tuned into that energy, I go to Great White. It just feels so California there. I love it.

I had my mind blown at the Beverly Hills Cheese Store. It’s a perfect example of high-quality ingredients being handled properly, respected properly, and presented simply. There’s great cooking at every level—Michelin three-star level, any level—and they’re doing that with sandwiches.

My second restaurant on the frequent-flyer roster is Sushi Tama. What I like about Sushi Tama is that it’s mostly fish from Japan, and most of the staff are Japanese—it just feels like I’m in Japan when I go there. The owner really loves hi-fi audio, and they have some incredible McIntosh amps and Altec Lansing speakers, which I collect. They almost always play my favorite era of jazz, so for me, that’s a lot of my favorite things in one place. I can walk there from darling, so I love going, sitting on the patio, and getting the omakase. It’s the perfect meal for me—and it’s in my neighborhood, which makes it even better.

I’m sure everyone in L.A. knows this place, but it’s an extraordinary version of a bean and cheese burrito. It’s such a California thing to me, and I just love the flavor. That’s been one of my favorite places to go, even before I had a restaurant in L.A.

One of the reasons I was so drawn to L.A. is because of its unlimited options for fine dining, and I am a diehard fine-dining person. I grew up in it, enjoy it, respect it, and love to celebrate it. There are so many amazing fine-dining restaurants in Los Angeles, and it’s incredible to be in a city that supports that level of creativity. I’ve always been an enormous fan of Vespertine. I love when someone takes an idea that may seem crazy to most people and turns it into reality, and has the opportunity to share it with others.

Going to Vespertine, you’re entering a different planet, and that’s the idea. That’s what’s fun about dining; it’s an escape for a few hours. Vespertine is that. You pull up to that insane-looking building, and all of your senses are stimulated from the moment you see it. Those kinds of dining experiences are really wonderful.

I’ve been a huge fan of Somni for a long time. I’m a huge cheerleader for Aitor and how he approaches food. It takes a lot of courage to be that creative and to focus on creativity that much at that level, to do things that difficult every day. You look at his Instagram, and he’s there at 6 a.m. I look at that and applaud it so much.

I love the energy of the space. It’s a great example of how it’s not just about making delicious food or having a great wine list or cocktail program. It’s about the energy of the space and how you feel when you’re in it. Sitting in that room is just so fun and has such high energy. There are a lot of tiny little choices that go into making a place feel that way, and I was really impressed with that.

I’m a diehard Jeremy Fox fan. We met when he was back at Manresa, and I’ve followed his career—we’ve become great friends over the years. There aren’t many people who can handle produce the way he does, and the fact that he’s in L.A., where the produce is extraordinary, makes it even more fun to see what he and the team at Rustic Canyon are up to. I love that kind of seasonal, minimalistic cooking. I can’t get enough.