Fred 62

Los Feliz, Los Angeles · Diner · $$

Fred Eric opened Fred 62 on Vermont Avenue in the late 1990s as a diner that took its cooking seriously while refusing to take itself seriously, and the formula has outlasted most of the block around it. The menu is full of jokes with real food underneath: a vegan No Animal Burger, panko-crusted mac and cheese balls with F-Bomb sauce, a poblano cheddar Biscuit Bomb loaded with sausage and hash browns, all running until 3am on weekends. It still fills after midnight with people who have nowhere else to be, which is the entire job of a neighborhood diner.