When the hour strikes 8 on Saturday morning, Hector Ramirez unveils his birria tatemada, oven-crisped goat birria from Jalisco, Mexico. Birria is among the biggest culinary buzzwords across the U.S. today – and here in Boyle Heights you’ll find some of the best. Hector marinates freshly-cut meat on Thursday and begins slow-cooking the goat on Friday, only serving for a couple of hours Saturday morning before it’s all gone. Succulent, tender and juicy with consomé, this birra will blow you away.

Wadatsumi’s menu is unusually large, but this South Bay Japanese spot specializes in rice bowls topped with sashimi cuts or high-end beef. The curry is a sleeper hit, and their onigiri make excellent snacks. The bento lunch is the best way to get a feel for the menu, a rotating selection of items that are somehow always excellent, whether you get grilled mackerel or simmered beef, pickled cucumber or marinated eggplant, or anything else. It all pairs perfectly with a crisp Kirin.

This Yucatan-inspired seafood spot (from talented chef Gilberto Cetina Jr., who is also behind the neighboring Chichen Itza), may be a counter in a food court, but every visit feels like a special occasion. The ceviches are perfect, the octopus is gorgeous, the charred habanero Kut is unparalleled and the coctel is some of the best. But the scallop aguachile is electric, buzzing with chile and lime and cilantro, a ring of pale scallop moons orbiting a swirl of thinly sliced avocado. Incredible.

A small strip-mall joint with only a handful of tables, Northern Thai Food Club in Thai Town is often lauded as having the best khao soi in Los Angeles, and we tend to agree. It has an especially creamy coconut milk broth with deep flavors. The yellow curry noodle soup is topped with a large, braised chicken leg with meat so tender you can easily tackle it with your chopsticks. This family-run spot also offers very affordable prices.

When Simpang Asia first opened in 2002, it was a small grocery store in Palms selling Indonesian products. Now a restaurant, its menu showcases influences on Indonesian cuisine. Chinese-Indonesian staples such as kwetiaw goreng (stir fried flat rice noodles), Arabic-influenced street food like martabak, and an oxtail soup brought by colonial Europeans. Of course, there are delicious traditional Indonesian plates like nasi kuning, a turmeric rice dish served with chicken sate, and more.

Caldo Verde is the latest spot from chef Suzanne Goin, one of the pioneering female chefs in Los Angeles. She blends Portuguese flavors with California ingredients. The eponymous green soup has the usual components: sausage (in this case linguica), potatoes, kale and saffron, but it also contains rock crab and mussels harvested in Santa Barbara. The broth is made using the crab shells and innards, creating one of the most delightful seafood soups in town, in a large portion meant for sharing.

Yangban Society has been making waves and changing the perception of modern Korean American food in L.A. Like a deli, it has rotating salads and cold appetizers, as well as a more permanent menu. Among the mainstays, the best may well be the biscuit and kare gravy. Flaky, buttery layered buttermilk biscuit is smothered in a Korean curry gravy cooked with ground beef and pork, carrots and onions. It’s an excellent execution of a Southern staple combined with Korean flavors.

The name of this beige-walled, gray-roofed supermarket in North Hollywood fails to hint at what’s inside: a nirvana of edible nostalgia for those who grew up in the Soviet Union and Communist Eastern Bloc. Colloquially, it’s known as the “Russian Costco.” From skewered shashlik (kebabs), bottled Tkemali (Georgian plum sauce) and Armenian mantı (dumplings), there are aisles upon aisles of snacks and mainstays coming from Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus region.

Detroit-style pizza has taken over – it’s hard to deny the power of crispy cheese crust – and Quarter Sheets in southeast Glendale lands in that tradition. The Red Top is a characteristic Detroit-style pie: marinara on top of the cheese. The crust is surprisingly airy, puffed up like focaccia so it eats lighter than it has any right to, the tomato sauce has just the right sweet-tart balance, and the crown of cheese on the edges is spot-on. But their special, rotating pizzas are also not to miss.

This aesthetic, Oaxacan-style coffee shop at BLVD Market in Montebello is also a space for community and the arts, featuring work from Oaxacan artist Mariana Rodriguez Fernandez. The coffee is excellent, with perfectly pulled shots from quality beans. Chocolate is another Oaxacan speciality, sourced directly from Oaxaca City. There are 3 drinking chocolates, including a 100% cacao shot, punchy but not overwhelmingly bitter, with notes of sweet cherry.