173: Kris Tominaga, Manuela (Los Angeles, CA)

I'm a sucker for juxtapositions and Manuela, located in the downtown LA Arts District has it in spades. There's graffiti, gardens with chickens and finger limes, a big expansive dining space that basically feels open air inside a warehouse, and a Los Angeles native making delicious fried chicken and biscuits with butter, all within a gallery complex as a creative expression of an art aesthetic. Whew. Sign me up. Chef Kris Tominaga, Manuela's executive chef, was the inspiration for my LA visit because I wanted to explore "the Southern culinary realm" much further than just geography. Kris's creative imagination has been captured by the idea of Southern cuisine, first notably with another Southern Fork alum Brian Dunsmoor, and I was interested in finding out how the cuisine shifts when on Manuela's plates. And so yes, I went to LA in part to have a fried chicken and biscuits discussion, fried chicken that is now more available than just Sundays since Manuela has pivoted to takeout in the midst of the pandemic.