No foodie should visit LA without dropping by Grand Central Market, ablaze in neon signs. A downtown landmark since 1917, what was primarily a food market has become the ultimate international food court with stalls of every persuasion for every taste and every pocketbook, some of them powered by celebrity chefs and others by "Old Guard" Asian and Hispanic vendors. It still sells grocery essentials like bread, cheese, meat, dried chills, spices and produce. One of the US's largest and oldest public markets is undergoing obvious gentrification, but it won't be the first time in 100 years.

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