Bacaro LA
Image credit: www.facebook.com/BacaroLAwine
One of the most popular and highly-rated restaurants near USC campus, Bacaro LA is a Venetian-inspired small plates restaurant featuring Mediterranean-influenced dishes by Chef Lior Hillel.
Founded in 2008 by the Kronfli Brothers (both USC grads), it has grown on to now have locations near downtown, Koreatown, Silverlake, Los Feliz, and The Staples Center/ Convention Center.
Quite simply, it is a family-owned group of restaurants in the Los Angeles area
that is rapidly growing.
Talking about the menu, Bacaro offers a rotating curation of small-production wines and eclectic beers from around the world, with the restaurant being particularly known for its one-of-a-kind 90-minute open bar special.
It opens for dinner daily at 5 pm and offers one of the best happy hours in town from 5 pm to 7 pm Monday through Thursday.
As for weekends, you can enjoy a small plates brunch with fresh-squeezed mimosas and $20 bottomless drinks from 10 am to 2.30 pm.
The dining room at Bacaro is comfortable and intimate, with it being enhanced by a wine bottle ceiling and chalkboard menus.
The Bacaro team provides warm hospitality, especially through their ability to accommodate walk-ins and large parties, even on busy nights.
Reservations are welcome but not particularly necessary.
Simply put, the popularity and acclaim that Bacaro LA has garnered in its surrounding area are completely justified, to say the least!
Pizza Studio
Image credit: www.facebook.com/PizzaStudioUSC
Pizza is one of the most loved & highly consumed foods in the U.S., with it being devoured by American people at any given time of the day and at any given occasion.
This scenario has led to pizza becoming an exceedingly common food choice for Americans, resulting in people taking their love for pizza for granted.
This is where Pizza Studio enters the scene.
The Pizza Studio team is quite simply determined to set a new standard for pizza and re-infuse it with excitement again, so they make it a point to search relentlessly for the best ingredients, treating each and every ingredient with equal importance.
Founded in 2012 by partners Ron Biskin and Samit Varma, Pizza Studio invites guests to create their own pizza masterpiece and the restaurant has evolved into one of the best restaurants on Figueroa near USC.
Offering a varied range of artisanal crusts, specialty sauces, premium meats, fresh veggies, and the highest quality ingredients at affordable prices, this new-age Pizza store lets every imagination run wild with each creation of custom-built pizzas.
The crusts are baked in rosemary, whole grains, flaxseed, firecracker spice, gluten-free, and traditional styles.
The sauce at Pizza Studio signifies the fact that the Pizza Studio culinary team knows their tomatoes inside and out. The sauce is adorned with Saputo mozzarella that is grated fresh every morning and finished with a variety of crisp vegetable and savory meat toppings like nitrate-free pepperoni.
The Chef-driven creations at Pizza Studio will basically shatter all your notions about pizza.
Pizza Studio is all about setting a new standard for fast, premium pizza, and bringing love back into the equation, and in addition to their current locations around the country, Pizza Studio is in the process of opening many new locations in the coming year as they continue their national expansion.
QWENCH Juice Bar
Qwench, known for its fresh ingredients and crisp clean product representation recently opened a swanky new store near USC, housing both Qwench and its partner-in-crime Drnk coffee+tea together.
Qwench’s commitment to health has undoubtedly struck a chord with the young crowd of USC, with the youngsters consistently thronging the store to satiate their taste buds by feeding on the immensely appetizing juices, blends, açaí bowls and more.
Qwench’s health-conscious nature is evident in its preparation of juices and blends, with only raw fruits and vegetables being juiced and all juices being made-to-order and juiced right in front of the customers.
When it comes to the menu, QWENCH has one of the most comprehensive menus of any juice bar with it comprising a diverse range of raw squeezed juices, smoothie blends, handmade Brazilian Superfruit açaí bowls, and a delectable food program consisting of a selection of burritos and bowls which have been designed keeping in mind the varying tastes of consumers and their vegan or non-vegan preferences.
The fascinating aspect of QWENCH smoothie blends (Vintage blends, Açaí blends, Protein blends, Green blends, Epic blends) is that they are powered up with superfoods like chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, goji berries, maca, brazil nuts, and many more.
If you are looking for a great healthy meal replacement option, then the QWENCH açaí bowls are ideal for you as they are the biggest bowls of any juice bar, and also are the best-tasting ones.
The QWENCH food program offers some of the best food near USC with it being abundant in grains, superfoods, and protein, making for an immensely nutritious and satiating breakfast or lunch meal.
Whether it be the store design, music, ingredients used, or customer service, every Qwench element is of a top-notch nature and that has resulted in it attracting the majority of people (young & old) looking to indulge in premium healthful food options and drinks.
Another unique feature of QWENCH is that there is absolutely no use of any artificial sweeteners, formulated supplements, powders (except whey and plant-based proteins), frozen yogurts, or concentrates, as opposed to many of the juice bars.
And to finish things off, all of the QWENCH foods & beverages are as enticing to the eyes as they are savory to the mouth, making it one of the best places to eat near USC.
Such a high number of unprecedented & remarkable aspects makes QWENCH completely exclusive and matchless in the rapidly evolving juice & smoothie bar segment.
Dirt Dog
Image credit: www.facebook.com/DirtDogLa
If you’re looking to revel in the best of Los Angeles street food near USC campus, especially the Official Hot Dog of Los Angeles, then the Dirt Dog is the perfect place for you.
To put it simply, Dirt Dog has taken the Los Angeles Street Dog and brought it to a whole new level!
Opened in August of 2014 with a passion for Los Angeles culture, Dirt Dog sells luscious street created recipes made from secret high-quality ingredients and the food cooked right in front of customers, making for an experience customers and their palate doesn’t easily forget.
The menu features street food favorites like Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs and L.A. Street Corn (Elotes) along with horchata ice cream and local craft beers.
The menu also comprises a selection of House Dogs, Green Dogs, Dirty Corn, and an Elote Dog, Elote Fries and red corn that is on their secret menu.
A Nathan’s frank is prepared USC game-day style (wrapped in bacon) and then served up with a variety of spreads and toppings, ranging from onions and peppers cooked in teriyaki sauce to guacamole spread and red pepper flakes.
It is especially recommended to not skip the delicious fries: the thick, 3/8” cut numbers are cooked in beef tallow and tossed in a chile-limon seasoning.
Dirt Dog is also actively involved in community welfare with it assisting individuals and groups in the communities it resides in. 10% of its profits go back directly to the community!
Chichen Itza
Image credit: www.facebook.com/ChichenItzaRestaurant
One of the few truly authentic Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles, Chichen Itza is a family-owned and operated restaurant serving appetizing Southeast Mexican cuisine inside the Mercado la Paloma in South Los Angeles.
Established in 2001, the restaurant specializes in Yucatecan food, maintaining the authentic flavors while adding a modern twist.
If you are not aware, the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico has one of the country’s richest culinary heritages, including a mixture of Mayan, Spanish and Lebanese recipes.
At Chichen Itza, all these cultures are brought to life through traditional dishes such as Cochinita Pibil, Tamales, and Panuchos.
The restaurant is particularly famous for its expertly prepared cochinita pibil and tikin xic.
The overall menu is unique and delicious, comprising a wide variety of appetizers, soups, sandwiches, entrees, tacos and desserts to satisfy any palate.
Chef and Owner Gilberto Cetina who has been hailed as one of the top Latino Chefs in the country and has been featured in several national publications adds his own touch to traditional recipes to provide customers an experience that can’t be found elsewhere.
When it comes to the ingredients used, the Chichen Itza team goes out of their way to use the best ingredients available.
Some ingredients are brought in from Mexico while others like the “Pan Frances” bread, “Longaniza” chorizo and Achiote paste are made from scratch every day in the kitchen.
The food is even cooked the traditional way on a wood-burning grill.
Chichen Itza provides the option of catering for corporate meetings, weddings, USC activities, and other events.
Located just east of campus inside the multicultural marketplace that is Mercado La Paloma, Chichen Itza is one of the only walkable off-campus dining options that’s actually great.
Over the past decade, Chichen Itza has become one of the best restaurants near USC, with it developing a dedicated customer base and frequently appearing in L.A. Weekly’s list of the top 99 restaurants in Los Angeles.
