A walk down Highland Park’s Figueroa Street on a sunny Sunday afternoon reveals the Northeast Los Angeles neighborhood’s glorious mix: Mid-century modern furnishings spill out the front doors of antique shops; elote vendors sit at curbs across from record stores, hair salons, and pour-over coffee shops; groups of friends linger over brunch cocktails.

Pho at Good Girl Dinette Photo: Jennifer Bastian

“As an immigrant myself, I was drawn to Highland Park’s long and proud immigrant history, especially where arts and politics collide: the Arts and Crafts Movement in the early 1900s; the Chicano arts collectives that thrived in the ’70s; the politically charged punk bands of the ’90s,” says Vietnamese-American chef Diep Tran, who opened Good Girl Dinette, serving her version comfort food—think steaming bowls of pho and curry chicken pot pie—in a bright, mod dining room just off Figueroa.