Methodology
NomNom LA ranks restaurants by a 0–1 buzz score that blends editorial coverage and recent social chatter. Weights, sources, and gaps are published every week.
The formula
Buzz score = 65% editorial + 35% X buzz. Ranks are relative within that week’s set only — not a claim of absolute citywide truth.
65%
Editorial
35%
X buzz
Data windows
- Editorial: Prefer the last ~30 days; very recent (≤7 days) critic reviews and major list placements weighted highest
- X buzz: Last ~7 days: volume plus positive sentiment for restaurant-relevant posts; filter off-topic and spam
Scoring notes
- Editorial score: critic review (1.0), #1 / major annual list (0.95), Hit List / Heatmap new add (0.8), dedicated opening feature (0.7), roundup mention only (0.4)
- X score: restaurant-relevant post volume and sentiment from the past week, with noisy name collisions filtered out
- Final buzz score = 0.65 × editorial + 0.35 × X buzz (normalized within the week)
- Ranks are relative within this week’s set only — not a claim of absolute citywide truth
- Movement compares against the previous weekly edition; a positive move means the restaurant rose; null means it was not ranked last week
Key sources this week
- LA Times Food (incl. 101 Best Restaurants 2026, Oct 23)
- Eater LA
- The Infatuation LA
- Haute Living, Observer, LA Mag (secondary)
- X public posts (built-in search / counts)
Honest count for this week: 37 verifiable buzzed places. We do not pad to 100.
Known gaps
- X restaurant-specific volume this week is thin. Many names collide with common words (Darling, Marée, Gable, 'spacca tutto', 'little luck', Tiger’s Den, San Damián), so X scores are conservative and most ranks below 10 rest mainly on editorial.
- The Eater LA Heatmap hasn’t been updated since Oct 1, and the Infatuation Hit List’s last add was Briciola (10/23), so the main new editorial input this week was the LA Times 101 Best 2026 list (Oct 23).
- The LA Times 101 is a best-of list rather than a buzz list. Only placements that overlap with current buzz or recent reviews were credited (Lielle, Alta Adams, Henrietta, Darling, Broken Spanish, Taínos, Perse, Pizzeria Sei, Mish).
- Birdie G’s opens today (Oct 26), so its score reflects anticipation, not reviews. The Original Pantry Cafe (reopening Nov 19) and Cole’s are excluded because they aren’t open.
- The X count for Alta Adams showed a one-day spike (50 on Oct 21) that search couldn’t retrieve, so it was excluded from scoring.
- Time Out LA’s new-restaurant list is still dated Sept 3; Resy wasn’t scraped. No Yelp/Google star averages were used.
No payola. Payment never changes a buzz score, rank, or inclusion. See Disclosure.