THE BEST EATS ON THEIR BEATS

Kojak has his lollipop. Agent Cooper has his cherry pie. Chief Wiggum has his pink doughnut.

They make piquant character details, but these iconic foodstuffs hardly mirror the cravings of Los Angeles law enforcement officers. Amid the culinary smorgasbord of L.A., the equally diverse police officer palate runs the gamut from savory to sweet, spanning nearly every cuisine and culture. Who knows better than a cop the ins and outs of a neighborhood? The best taco stand, the $5 lunch deal that’s actually worth eating, the culinary gem hiding in a humble strip mall? Just don’t mention doughnuts.

“Contrary to popular belief, we don’t live on doughnuts,” says Sgt. Chris Cognac, a 16-year South Bay police veteran. “Partially it’s because they’re really bad for you, but there’s the stigma of it as well.”

In addition to his full-time job as a police officer, Cognac, who calls himself “the foodiest of food cops,” hosts a half-hour Food Network show aptly titled “The Hungry Detective.” Using deductive skills and gut instinct (no pun intended), he spends 48 hours in a new city tracking down five off-the-beaten-path restaurants. Often, he’ll use his “cop network” for intel. “Go anywhere in America, ask the cops where to eat and they’ll tell you the best places,” Cognac says, “the ones where the cooks aren’t drug addicts and [the restaurants] aren’t crooked.”

For the show’s Las Vegas episode, Cognac dove into a fried Twinkie at Mermaid’s, a hot dog stand he discovered eight years ago when he and his partner had to pick up a child molestation suspect from a Vegas county jail and return him to Los Angeles. “It’s a total dive, but the hot dogs are Nathan’s dogs and they’re a buck! And we never would’ve gone there if the [Vegas] cops hadn’t told me about it.”

Cognac himself has discovered more than a few hidden gems on the job. One night about 15 years ago, he answered a disturbance call at a Middle Eastern restaurant: two men arguing whether the meat was halal (prepared in accordance with Islamic law). “So they call the white guy,” Cognac recalls wryly. He couldn’t resolve their dispute, but he began a love affair with Al-Watan, a legendary Pakistani restaurant where long, fragrant skewers of meat and freshly baked rounds of nan are pulled from the tandoori oven and brought directly to the table.

Al-Watan is easy to miss. Sitting on a nondescript block of Inglewood Boulevard, the restaurant hides behind a beige facade and inconspicuous sign that give no hint of its mirrored, well-scrubbed interior. As any foodie can tell you, you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Gabriel Rendon and Raymonn Rocha, detectives with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s East L.A. station, favor Teresita’s, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Mexican restaurant that’s beloved by locals for its authentic Zacatecas-style food. Rocha likes the enchiladas (a house specialty) or the ensalada de nopales, a salad of marinated cactus slivers and sun-dried tomatoes that’s drizzled with crema and served with nachos. Rendon prefers the soups, either the cocido or the albondigas, “except in an occasional moment of weakness when I order the chicken mole,” he says.

Like most of us, Rendon is watching his weight. In fact, the stereotype of the lardy police officer is being whittled away along with the department’s collective waistline. These days, most new recruits are gym rats who eat lean and work hard to stay in shape. “That’s the difference between old and new school. Deputies now are more conscious of eating healthy food. Many of them only eat energy bars and water during their shifts,” says Cesar Romero, a deputy with the sheriff’s STAR Unit, a drug-, gang- and violence-prevention unit targeted to elementary and middle-school students.

Contrast that with the tales of gluttony told by Tony Manfree, a 27-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department who retired in August: “My old partners and I used to have prime rib eating contests,” says Manfree. “I think the record was eight slabs. And the guys in the department, we’d all go to Chroni’s to see who could eat the most hot dogs. The record on hot dogs was maybe a dozen.”

These days, he frequents T Quilea’s, a Mexican restaurant and bar near what will eventually be the final stop on the Gold Line Eastside extension. From the outside it looks like a seedy bar, but inside, owner and chef Rudy Lopez -- who looks quite a bit younger than his 72 years -- dishes out tacos, paella, enchiladas, pork stewed with green chiles and Puerto Nuevo-style lobster tacos grilled with butter and a hint of garlic. Lopez estimates that 60% of his business depends on law enforcement and county personnel, who often hold office celebrations there. In fact, T Quilea’s will host Rocha’s upcoming retirement party.

After the generational divide, how and where cops eat tend to split along lines of rank and office duty. Detectives have plenty of leeway as to when and where they eat. Patrol officers, on the other hand, generally can’t leave their beat, and they rarely have enough time for a sit-down meal. “Mostly we park our cars and eat on the hood,” says John Hatfield, a 33-year-old deputy with the West Hollywood sheriff’s station. “Two bites into your meal you might get a call from a deputy requesting assistance. You don’t even think about how fast you can pack up or what you’ve got left to eat. You just go.”

“We sometimes have to race out on calls, so we become taco stand connoisseurs,” Cognac says. “If you want to know the best taco stands, ask a cop who works the night shift.” Cognac’s a fan of the carne asada at Acosta Taco, a divey stand on an even divier stretch of Imperial Highway. Unlike other taco stands nearby, Acosta often draws a late-night crowd.

Later, in Rosy’s Bakery & Cuban Cafe chatting about the finer points of mojo de ajo, Cognac gets a radio call for a 415. He drops his medianoche racing out the door to answer a call about a group of Lennox 13 gang members using a two-by-four with a nail stuck through it to beat a man senseless. Later, he’s looking through the window of a pupuseria when a “baby not breathing” call comes in. When that happens, “everybody drops what they’re doing. We’re all dads,” Cognac explains. True to his word, four cruisers and a firetruck respond, but by then the baby is breathing -- and crying -- with gusto. Cradling her child and surrounded by shaken family members, the mother cries with gratitude and relief.

When he has the luxury of choosing where to eat and if it’s before 9 p.m. (the closing time for most restaurants in his area), Cognac has his pick of cuisines. He points out restaurants of almost every imaginable ethnicity: Tongan, Hawaiian, African, Vietnamese, Salvadoran, Mexican, Cuban, Pakistani, Turkish, Italian, Chinese, Peruvian. “You could name any place on Earth and I could get you there in five minutes,” Cognac says. “About the only thing you can’t get down here are kosher delis.”

More than anything else, food is a cultural ambassador that gives Cognac another way into the myriad communities he serves, enabling him to visit them as a customer, not as a cop.

“Most people stay within their comfort zone,” he says, “like if they can’t read the sign on the door, they won’t go in. As police officers, we’re required to go out of our comfort zones and into other peoples’ societies. A lot of times we’ll go in because of the job -- then we realize there’s a lot of great stuff here.”

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elina.shatkin@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

HOW TO EAT LIKE A COP IN THE SOUTH BAY

Acosta Taco

4539 W. Imperial Highway, Inglewood,

(310) 672-8414.

An inauspicious taco stand that dishes out some of the city’s best carne asada.

Al-Watan

13619 Inglewood Ave., Hawthorne,

(310) 644-6395.

A legendary Pakistani restaurant known for its fresh-baked nan and tandoori-roasted meats.

B & R’s Old Fashion Burgers

3512 W. Rosecrans Ave., Hawthorne,

(310) 679-4774.

High-quality, hand-formed patties are a staple at B&R;’s, proud home of the massive Monster Burger.

El Pollo Inka

15400 Hawthorne Blvd., Lawndale, (310) 676-6665.

Spectacular Peruvian food: rotisserie chicken, lomo saltado, ceviche and more.

Licha’s

4267 W. El Segundo Blvd., Hawthorne, (310) 644-0401.

Handmade pambazos, huaraches and more at this Mexican restaurant known for its al pastor.

Little Asia

12725 Hawthorne Blvd., Hawthorne,

(310) 679-3831.

A Chinese restaurant where every dish is made fresh and the prices are amazingly low.

Pho Hoa Restaurant

15034 Prairie Ave., Hawthorne, (310) 644-4106.

Some say it’s the best pho in the South Bay.

The Rib Nest

1766 W. El Segundo Blvd., Gardena, (310) 329-6378.

Locals love the mighty beef ribs and spicy barbecue sauce.

Rosy’s Bakery & Cuban Cafe

12215 S. Hawthorne Blvd., Hawthorne,

(310) 675-2253.

Fresh-baked Cuban bread and authentic pressed sandwiches.

Shafaa Halaal

12211 Hawthorne Blvd., Hawthorne, (310) 675-3400.

A Turkish Middle Eastern gem serving creamy hummus, crunchy falafel and savory skewers.

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HOW TO EAT LIKE A COP IN AND AROUND EAST L.A.

Chapala Bakery

2472 W. Whittier Blvd., Montebello, (323) 720-1225.

Manfree swears they serve “the best coffee ever” along with delicious sweet bread.

Chroni’s Famous Sandwich Shop 5825 Whittier Blvd., L.A., (323) 728-7806.

A vintage hot dog stand with chili dogs that are “better than Tommy’s, Pink’s and the Hat,” declares Manfree.

Ciro’s Mexican

705 N. Evergreen Ave., L.A., (323) 267-8637.

Known for its avocado salsa and perfectly cooked burritos.

King Taco

4504 E. 3rd St., L.A.,

(323) 264-4067.

This local chain has plenty of outposts, but this one is open 24 hours.

Little Elephant

2468 W. Whittier Blvd., Montebello, (323) 832-9777.

Also called Changoy, this Thai restaurant is known for its pad Thai and heaping portions.

Manuel’s El Tepeyac

812 N. Evergreen Ave., L.A., (323) 268-1960.

Famous for its Hollenbeck burrito but infamous for its massive Manuel’s special burrito, 12 inches of rice, beans and pork topped with sauce.

Nick Paradise Cafe

3200 W. Beverly Blvd., Montebello, (323) 722-2566.

Owner Nick Begakis dishes out a fusion of Greek and Mexican food and claims to serve the best gyros in Montebello.

Sandra’s & Lolita’s Tamales

5390 Whittier Blvd., L.A., (323) 722-2961.

The lines that stretch out the door testify that this is one of L.A.’s best tamale joints.

Steven’s Steak & Seafood House

5332 E. Stevens Place, Commerce,

(323) 723-9856.

This surf and turf restaurant is popular with commanders and chiefs who can afford the prime rib, porterhouse, chateaubriand, lamb chops and other delicacies.

T Quilea’s Bar & Grill

5226 Pomona Blvd., L.A., (323) 722-7992.

Serves grilled lobster tacos, flatiron steaks and home-style versions of Mexican favorites.

Tamales Lilianas

4619 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., L.A., (323) 780-7265.

Rendon describes Lilianas’ fluffy, moist tamales as “a carbon copy of the tamales my grandma made.”

Teresita’s Restaurant

3826 E. 1st St., L.A., (323) 266-6045.

Exceptionally well-prepared Mexican food. Specialties include chicken albondigas soup, pork ribs in chile negro, chilaquiles and cocido.