Daniel Hernandez is Food editor at the Los Angeles Times since 2022, leading to multiple awards for Food staff including a James Beard Award and a nomination. He previously covered culture for Entertainment and was honored with the Nell Minow Award for Cultural Criticism from the National Press Club for that work. In two other stints, he’s been a reporter in Metro and in the Mexico City bureau. He’s also contributed to Opinion. Hernandez has worked as a staff writer at LA Weekly; Mexico bureau chief and correspondent for Vice News; and reporter for Styles at the New York Times. In 2017, he led a relaunch of the local site L.A. Taco, eventually leading to the James Beard Emerging Voice Award in 2020. He has appeared as a contributor or host on a variety of major platforms, including NPR (“All Things Considered”), Netflix (“The Taco Chronicles”; “The Day I Met El Chapo”), HBO (“Vice News Tonight on HBO”), and Vice (“The Munchies Guide to Oaxaca”). A native of the San Diego-Tijuana border region, Hernandez studied English at UC Berkeley, where he served as editor of the Daily Californian. He is the author of a nonfiction book “Down & Delirious in Mexico City.”
Latest From This Author
Los Angeles is the world’s most taco-diverse city with an explosion in regional Mexican tacos plus Korean, Black, vegan and more. How did we get here? Start with the taco truck.
July 23, 2024
We talked to your favorite Angelenos about all things tacos, including their go-to taquerias, standard orders and core taco memories.
July 23, 2024
Stuffed with crispy potato, roasted cauliflower al pastor and birria-spiced mushrooms, here’s where to find L.A.’s best vegan and vegetarian tacos.
July 23, 2024
Use this guide to find the best tacos in L.A., spanning regional styles from Tijuana, Sinaloa, Mexico City and beyond, stuffed with carne asada, carnitas, birria, fish, potato and every filling you can imagine.
July 23, 2024
When ordering at taquerias in Los Angeles, keep this taco glossary handy.
July 23, 2024
I added serrano chile for extra spice to a Mexican-Spanish-style beef stew for a perfect dish for springtime chills.
April 5, 2024
From karaoke clubs to wine bars to long-running restaurants with kitchens that stay open late, Koreatown will keep you entertained.
March 28, 2024
A server wheels a cart toward the diner at the Hotel Caesar restaurant in downtown Tijuana to begin the ritual of a tableside Caesar salad, invented here, according to lore.
Jan. 30, 2024
In 2023, work and leisure took our food writers to New York City, Mexico, Italy, France, Tokyo, Thailand and beyond. Here are the best dishes we ate out-of-state and abroad.
Dec. 28, 2023
Spanning modern Taiwanese, Santa Maria-style barbecue, vegan plates and more across Southern California, these are the restaurants and dishes that stand out the most when we reflect on 2023.
Dec. 26, 2023