Born in Montréal’s Little Italy neighborhood, Los Angeles FC head coach Marc Dos Santos has long had a soft spot for Italian cooking. “What really marked me is the pasta,” he says. “I remember being with friends and how the mothers and grandmothers fixated
on how much the pasta was cooked.” A move to Portugal reaffirmed his love of restaurants, which continues today in Los Angeles, where he relocated as a child.
In Los Angeles, Dos Santos has also found a love of food trucks — some serving dishes he’s hasn’t found in other cities. “Some of the food trucks, the tacos they have, I cannot find in any other city,” Dos Santos says. “It’s impossible.”
As Major League Soccer returns from its World Cup hiatus, Eater spoke with Dos Santos about his favorite restaurants and what makes Los Angeles such a standout restaurant city. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Eater: What are your go-to Los Angeles restaurants?
Marc Dos Santos: When I was in Manhattan Beach I really loved Nando Trattoria — now they’re moving to Beverly Hills — and Love and Salt. I like Damián, a Mexican place in the Arts district. In Pasadena, I love Dos Besos. I really like Mother Wolf on Wilcox in Hollywood; it’s close to Universal Studios also and the same chef as Funke in Beverly Hills. I go to the rooftop and the restaurant. A Portuguese spot that I really like is Barra Santos in Cypress Park. That’s where you could find me in LA.
What stands out to you about Los Angeles as a food city?
Los Angeles has amazing variety — so many places. Whatever corner of the world you want, you can find it here. It’s very fascinating. I was lucky to be in Montréal for many years and Montréal is also a really good food city, but the variety in LA sets it apart. That’s what fascinates me about this city.
Where do you go after a match?
When I leave a game my favorite place is In-N-Out. It’s easy when there’s not a lot of people because it’s late at night. I leave the stadium really late so I don’t have a place where I go and sit down somewhere. It’s always pretty quick. I’m very simple after a game.
What is your In-N-Out order?
Double-Double protein style.
Outside of LA, what are some of your other favorite food cities in the US that you go to within the MLS circuit?
By far Montréal. Maybe because I lived there for so many years, I know a lot of great places. Big shout out to Ferreira Café in Montréal. They don’t pay me for this, but trust me, it is amazing. Vancouver, B.C., has amazing spots too. Because I grew up in Little Italy, I love cities that have this Italian corner that I can go visit like in Philadelphia, Chicago. When we’re there, I love to go to those Italian neighborhoods where you can always find good spots.
If someone is in from out of town and you’re taking out dinner, making recommendations, where would you send them around LA?
I always say, do you want something really simple? How much do you want to spend? What do you want to do? What kind of environment? And I think that’s what LA offers — so much variation in everything. And you could go from elite top five-star restaurants to something very simple and so good.
What about once fancy and one simple?
For more fancy I love Mother Wolf. It’s a great place, great environment, great food. Oh, simple, man. It depends so much. Once a month I go to this simple pizzeria called Settebello in Pasadena and the pizza is like Naples. You’re in Naples. So it really depends what you like. I didn’t know about the culture of food trucks until I arrived in LA and some are unforgettable. You think it’s so simple and then you get in and it’s so, so good.
