CAPTURING A CULINARY INTERSECTION

Would you visit a city just to eat at one restaurant? Maybe you should, especially if its culinary offerings reflect the city’s cultural essence as well as Otoño. The Los Angeles restaurant beautifully nails L.A.’s melting pot vibe, infusing Spanish cuisine with Mexican and Asian flavors and California’s focus on fresh, local, sustainable ingredients—all while embracing a small plate and street-food spirit.

It’s hard to believe that Otoño, which is widely hailed as L.A.’s hottest Spanish restaurant, is also one of the city’s newest, having just opened in late 2018. It’s also hard to believe that lesbian chef and owner Teresa Montaño wasn’t always destined for the kitchen. Instead she imagined