Imagine a Whole Bookstore About Food

BY TAMARA PALMER

Located in Far East Plaza in LA’s Chinatown, Now Serving is a bookstore and super happening events hub for cookbooks and other food literature. It has the most incredible and thoughtfully curated wall of food publications I have ever seen, and I am proud that the premiere print issue of California Eating is currently on that wall alongside titles like the luxe Japanese magazine Rice and the Matriarchy Issue of the South African women-produced fanzine Chips!

I was delighted to learn via Instagram that one of those copies was sold to the owner of a cheekily named restaurant in Madrid called Pum Pum Cafe, who immediately wrote me with compliments and pre-ordered the second issue, which will come out in late March. Fun stories of meeting people like this bring extra joy to my budding micro self-publishing project.

Now Serving instantly felt homey and familiar for me, and I wanted to buy a copy of pretty much every book in the house. And when owner and chef Ken Concepcion (who operates the shop with his wife Michelle Mungcal) explained that he took inspiration from the late and great independent record stores of his New York youth like my beloved Other Music, I understood why I was meant to find this place.

Chase it down with a bowl of spicy Guilin soup at Qin West across the plaza and get a double soul warming.

Now Serving, 727 N. Broadway, #133, Los Angeles