Perilla LA

Three years ago, Rustic Canyon alum Jihee Kim built a devoted online fanbase for her seasonally driven banchan pick-ups during lockdown. Now, Perilla LA has opened a permanent storefront on the border of Echo Park and Chinatown, where in-the-know diners have already begun flocking for Kim's delicious, vegetable-forward Korean side dishes and made-to-order lunch plates. Delicate gyeran mari (rolled eggs), ong choy yuba muchim (water spinach and tofu skin salad) and tomato kimchi offer subtle, heady pleasures for your next summer picnic, but you can also enjoy your lunch on the few patio tables outside or in the Alpine Street retail complex's outdoor dining area, which borders a vegetable and herb garden and calls to mind a friend's backyard more than anything else.