It's that time of year again. The 99 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles 2017 is finally here. It's the culmination of months of eating, debating, scouring the city and eating some more.

This year, the list has undergone some major changes. I explain them in full on the 99 Essentials site, but the short version is: We no longer have babies on the list. A restaurant must have been open for a full year before it's eligible to be essential. But we wanted to find a way to continue to celebrate the brand-new spots in Los Angeles that already feel vital, so we've created a new list, the Freshmen 15, which you can check out here.

As with every year, we're throwing a huge party to celebrate the issue. We hope you'll join us this Sunday, March 26, at 2 p.m. at the California Market Center for The Essentials, where more than 50 of the 99 restaurants on the list will be serving tastes of the city's very best food.

In the meantime, dig in!

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