There’s cult dining everywhere. What’s cult dining? PoorTaste has a definition (see paragraphs two and three), as well as a list of the top 100 cult restaurants in the U.S.
Los Angeles has 14 of them, which is a pretty respectable percentage. I’ve eaten at (or from) five of those–Father’s Office, Pink’s Hot Dogs, Philippe the Original, Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles, and Porto’s Bakery and Cafe–which I think is also respectable.
For the record, I’ve also eaten at Ben’s Chili Bowl in D.C. (#9, and RIP, Ben); Pat’s King of Steaks in Philadelphia (#36); Pike Place Chowder in Seattle (#68); and the Salt Lick Bar-B-Que in Driftwood, TX (#80, located outside of Austin).
I guess I’m just surprised that I didn’t see Gray’s Papaya or Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant in there somewhere.