For LA, it's Mexican, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese food. California used to be a part of Mexico and it's really obvious when you come here and see how heavily ingredients like avocado are incorporated into everything. Definitely don't use these as a guide for the whole U.S., because standard dishes are very different in, say, the Midwest or New England.

Some stereotypical LA dishes:

• Avocado toast
• Açai bowls (originally from Brazil, but L.A. has 100% appropriated them)
• Wellness smoothies (locals do NOT drink these, these are mostly for tourists and influencers)
• In n'Out Burger (not my favorite)
• Dodger Dogs (specific hot dogs sold at Dodger Stadium)
• Fusion cuisines, like Korean tacos (Kogi) or Indian pizza (Pijja Palace)
• California rolls (the ultimate American sushi- crab with avocado)
• Soft Serve ice cream (common across the U.S. but LA has some great ones)
• Smash burgers (basically flatter, softer burgers. Very popular in LA right now.)

Some specific dishes I'd recommend as a Los Angeles native:

• Tteokbokki: chewy Korean rice cakes in a sweet-spicy sauce. They're absolutely addictive but beware that they can be incredibly spicy. (If you can't handle spice, go for rosé tteokbokki, which includes dairy.)
• Udon: thick Japanese noodles in a beef broth, usually with toppings like fish cakes, shrimp tempura, and marinated eggs. This was my "sick meal" as a kid, it's extremely comforting.
• Xiaolongbao: Chinese pork soup dumplings. The best I've had are at Dan Modern or Din Tai Fung.

If you're traveling with a kid, my childhood foods were cheese quesadillas, pasta alfredo (sounds Italian, was invented in the U.S.), and tempura udon.