If You're Visiting Socal, These Places Are A Must Visit

The Great American Bucket List: 50 Restaurants to Try Before You Die 

In-N-Out

Even if you "don't eat fast food," In-N-Out needs to be your exception, as every person who's ever lived on the West Coast will tell you. Maybe this is because the food really is that good, or maybe it's because hundreds of times a day, road trippers gladly oblige the zagging yellow arrow and steer their way towards food porn at its most explicit, or maybe it's simply because its reputation precedes it in a way that no other fast-food joint's does.

Succulent patties bookmarked with melty cheese are shoved into golden buns, stacked side by side on trays with fries toppling out of their Cali-casual palm-printed dishes. Everything is completely globbed with Thousand Island and diced grilled onions (this is called Animal Style, and as far as you're concerned, it is not optional). It's a near-thousand-calorie meal that you'll refuse to quit on down to the very last gratuitous bite.

Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles

Surely you’ve seen every iteration of bougie chicken and waffles by now, and probably all of them on Instagram. Roscoe’s is an oasis far, far away from all that -- the waffles are huge, the chicken is also huge, and the whole plate is a golden hue that would fluster a food photographer. Founded by a Harlem native who decided to bring the soul food of his youth to the West Coast, it’s got several locations in the greater LA area that all bring a one-two punch of quantity and quality. The signature dish, the Country Boy, has been effectively renamed the Obama Special (after the POTUS ate it a few years back), and you should get it: three crackling, crispy wings and a gigantic waffle with an ice cream scoop of butter on top.

Complete list (Thrillist.com)