Humans have five basic tastes: sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and umami. And apparently our taste sensitivity starts to suck after age sixty. This is terrible, I know... especially if you somewhat enjoy what you eat and drink. I personally still have a couple decades to go before the sweet sixties, so I'll definitely be maximizing all of my tastes until then and thereafter.

My twenties have been generously blessed with high levels of gastronomic satisfaction. Not to say that I haven't experienced some food misadventures. Overall though, I can say my sensitivity to taste has sharpened over many delicious bites despite the positive or negative palate experience. I attribute my ever improving appreciation of taste to the fact that I generally travel out of comfort, near and far, to eat and drink (at times) well.

I grew up in and around Los Angeles. And I've always made it a point to keep my palate in check and well stimulated. In my years of living in this sun-loving metropolitan sprawl of forever Google Map gridlock, I've developed a habit for some favorites that refresh and excite those cute little papillae we call taste buds. So let's get this flavor party started. Check these five spots out next time you think it's okay to drive on 405 or 10 freeway. But don't forget the portable H2O, SoundCloud, audiobooks at 1.5x speed, and Spotify Premium for sanity while roasting in traffic. Oh, and the lines might also suck so bringing friends or headphones is another way to suffer less, together.

1. Sweetness

Strawberry Pie @ The Pie Hole

2. Sourness

Crispy Rice Salad Bowl with The Works @ Sqirl

3. Saltiness

Chicharron Tacos @ Guisado's

4. Bitterness

Green Tea Latte (Hot or Iced) with Almond Milk @ Urth Caffé

5. UMAMI (the best for last, heh)

Tsukemen with Original Negi @ Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle Annex

What are some of your favorite tastes in Los Angeles?