Food

When my old boss Mike wrote to me a couple of weeks ago to tell me about Alligator Tacos in the valley, I was immediately sold. Big vicious remorseless killer reptilian taco? I'm so there! Hot's Cantina is in Northridge, inconspicuously occupying a single storefront in a mall. It seemed like this place is all about the ridiculously large nachos and tacos. (Nachos, by the way, were the size of costco pizzas.) Boy, there was a lot of tacos. 8 kinds of chicken, 7 kinds of pork, 9 kinds of beef, 9 kinds of seafood, and even 3 kinds of vegetarian. Oh, and there's a small section labeled "Exotic." I'm here for that. Alligator, duck, shark, kobe beef and lobster, and crayfish. more ›

Like many of us hungry Valleyites, our first review of Krust left me disappointed. In a part of town that sorely lacks delicious mealtime options, it could have been the perfect fit. As an unofficial red-velvet-cupcake-tester, I knew I'd probably have to make the trip, but ... more ›

While ordering tacos this past weekend, Pat at Eating L.A. noticed that Cardone's Deli on Sunset had been replaced by a new place called The Vegan Spot. "There are seriously a lot of vegan places in Silver Lake and Echo Park already. (Cru, Flore Cafe, Elf, at least four Thai places, etc.) So we're just wondering, are there really that many vegans on the near-Eastside?" more ›

"If we sell it, we made it!" proclaims Doughboy's, a bakery and restaurant in Hollywood and near Fairfax Village. Above, LAist Featured Photos contributor hinducow tempts us with this beautiful looking breakfast treat. the "Hot Creamy Polenta" ($6.50) comes with mission figs, dates, toasted pine nuts and honey. more ›

Nancy Luna of the OC Register's fantastic food blog, Fast Food Maven (it's more than just fast food), took a field trip out of Orange County to the East Coast last year and while there, visited Five Guys Burgers to taste test the talked-about nosh that many compare to In-N-Out. However, her findings led her to say that they are actually more comparable to The Counter. more ›

Yesterday it was (the best) taquitos (in the city) from an Olvera Street stand; today it is flautas from an upscale Downtown restaurant, as photographed by LAist Featured Photos contributor hinducow. Normal flautas these are not -- try this on for California size: they are Chicken flautas filled with avacado from Noe at the Omni Hotel on Olive Street. more ›

In Pasadena, Orean claims to be the first vegetarian fast-food drive-thru (fast it is not). And beginning Saturday, a new restaurant in West Hollywood will be taking claim to being Los Angeles’ first fast food burger house using only certified organic ingredients. O!burger will offer grass fed beef, free range turkey, hot dogs, salads, French fries and shakes. And yes, they have veggie burgers made from their own recipe based on spinach and corn. more ›

Russian Hot Chocolate | Photo by Snack Behrens/LAist more ›

LAist Featured Photos contributor kpeII submits this Eye Nosh photo with a bold statement -- these taquitos from Cielito Lindo on Olvera Street are the best in town. Well, their website certainly boasts it and Yelpers seem to agree. more ›

Today is a holiday traditionally paired with grilling and BBQ (Barn Burner anyone?), but we all know that the week ahead will face us with the usual where-to-eat challenge. Despite it being a chain (they have five locations in the Los Angeles area), LAist Featured Photos contributor pink_fish13 loves her Houston's. Loves it. more ›

Breakfast! Whether you're gobbling it down in the wee hours to fend off the inevitable hangover, gathered around the late-morning table with good friends or family, or sitting solo with a good book and going the leisurely route, weekend breakfast can be a beautiful thing. (And you know LAist loves breakfast...we spent a whole month talking about it!) This is the French Toast Special from Rae's Diner at Pico & Yorkshire in Santa Monica, and it's a fave of LAist Featured Photos pool contributer pink_fish13, who wisely dubs this plate as being "good, not good for you." The mark of a fine breakfast, indeed! more ›

We all have our guilty pleasures when it comes to food--you know, the things we know we shouldn't eat, from the restaurants (using that term loosely in this case) we know we shouldn't frequent. For LAist Featured Photos pool contributer ~db~ it's all about the Popeye's. To confess: "I tell myself it's okay, since I refuse to eat at McDonalds or Taco Bell. I'm sure my doctor would cringe knowing how I like their mashed potatoes." Incidentally, those verboten potatoes are what lurk beneath the biscuit in their little lidded tub. more ›

"In economic yuckytimes, it's good to be reminded of how awesome just cookin' mac n' cheese n' peas at home can be. It's not always about eating out," wrote 护士黑鹰 in the caption of her above photo on Flickr. Intrigued, the recipe had to be asked for and she was happy to share how she doctors up boxed macaroni and cheese: more ›

With Memorial Day just around the corner, backyard and balcony chefs are cleaning their grills; at least you hope they are if you’re invited to a BBQ, to kick off the summer. I love to grill it up, but sometimes I’m a lazy, lazy man. Sometimes I just want some good BBQ with lots o’ meats and a place where my kid can be…well…a kid. Since Toy R Us isn’t serving tri-tip, as far as I know, I ventured east to the land of traditional BBQ stopping just short of the Texas border in, you guessed it, Pasadena. Everybody who’s anybody knows Pasadena is known worldwide for the Rose Bowl, the Rose Parade, and sausage. Well, maybe I’m stretching it a bit, but I found a great place to kick back with boots on and enjoy some good ol’ meat and sauce. more ›

If you consider having three storefronts in Los Angeles a chain, then PitFire Pizza Company is just that. However, for a chain, their food is excellent. And a few LAist Featured Photos contributors prove that with their photography at each of their locations: NoHo Arts District, Downtown and Westwood. more ›

There's two bits of good news and one part bad. First, the good: The Counter, of Santa Monica make-your-own-burger fame, is opening a location in Studio City at Laurel Canyon and Ventura Blvd. It was supposed to open this past Winter, but due to stringent health code standards and rumored pressure from future competitors making it harder for them to start business, the opening of the Valley location has been pushed back to this Autumn. more ›

Last Sunday Drink:Eat:Play hosted a Cupcake Challenge at the Montmartre Lounge. The event was sponsored by Fiji Water, K&L Wine Merchants and CozmoDeck. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation. Our own Lindsay William-Ross and Caroline-on-Crack were on the official judging panel, along with Sophie Gayot (who we all just watched frighten the finalists on Hell's Kitchen this week), Tara de Lis from Citysearch, Sam Rubin from KTLA, and five others. Guests were also given ballots to vote in three categories. Now without further ado, the winners (full list below gallery). Drumroll please... more ›

Three months open for business and Citrus at Social is still abuzz with curiosities and new reviews of the Jeffrey Chodorow/Michel Richard restaurant -- Citrus at Social. Today, Eater LA examines two reviews that recently came out from Los Angeles Magazine and Angeleno (classic quote: "those Chodorow restaurants [Asia de Cuba and Blue Door] are little more than T.G.I. Friday’s for rich people. Applebee’s in a cocktail dress..."). Also today, LAist Featured Photos contirbutor on Flickr, hinducow, submitted the above photo of food art for LAist's Eye Nosh series. more ›

When you think Lawry's the Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, we'd bet good money that you don't think "cocktails!" But with the debut of the restaurant's 1930s cocktail menu, created to celebrate Lawry's 70th anniversary, that may change. more ›

Everybody should know by now that one of the secrets of lasting through a shopping trip to Ikea is making a pit stop at their cafeteria, which features whimsical Scandinavian delicacies like Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam. The Burbank location even has a well-stocked food market where you can pick up your own frozen meatballs, cream sauces, lumpfish roe, canned herring, rye breads, cheeses, and countless other little oddball treats like roe cheese spread. more ›

El Portal is a popular Mexican restaurant specializing in Yucatán-influenced food. Oh damn, that guacamole looks good right now. They are located on Green Street within Pasadena's Playhouse District. LAist Featured Photos contributor pink_fish13 ate their last month and tempted us with these photos. more ›

With all the talk of illegal bacon dogs and legal veggie dogs on the streets of Los Angeles, why not combine the two (plus some) for a little at-home fun cooking? So here it goes: vegan bacon wrapped "pigs" in a blanket. Whoa. more ›

We already know that Gordon Ramsay is on his way to LA -- and despite his made-for-reality-TV personality, the guy can also really cook. Ramsay's opening his first restaurant on the West Coast in the next few weeks -- dinner service is scheduled to begin May 27th, while full service begins the following day (the reservation line is open, if you want to try your luck). The restaurant, a part of the London West Hollywood hotel, will feature a "Western European with subtle Asian influence" menu -- and expect lots of emphasis on local ingredients like California lobster, Sonoma lamb, and West Coast halibut. more ›

Near the Burbank Airport, choices are slim. Luckily, one of those few options seem to be a tasty and popular one. LAist Featured Photos Contributer ~db~ headed to Costa Azul this weekend and snapped this shot of his Tostada de Ceviche (citrus-marinated seafood salad on a tostada). He called it "the perfect Sunday breakfast." more ›

LAist Featured Photos pool contributer 护士黑鹰 calls this shot "The Drill." As in, you know it. more ›

The pursuit of perfection in a Red Velvet baked good is noble and often unending. Our LAist Featured Photos contributer pink_fish13 gave us this series of shots of one such encounter at the Pit Fire Pizza on Westwood, with the following observations:

pretty good, i think they probably have these brought in doubtful they make them on site. the cupcake itself was a little on the dry side but the icing was just like my mom's cream cheese icing, delish!

Il Chanti is a hidden gem, I tell ya, because although I had heard that there's a nice Japanese Italian place in Lomita, I could not have guessed that it was THIS good. This is definitely one of the best meals I've had so far this year. There's tons of pictures today, so let's get right to it. more ›

Pink's Hot Dogs will never cease to be popular. This food porn is one reason why. Pictured above, left to right: the ozzy, guadalajara dog and onion rings. more ›

It's 6:30pm and you wanna hit the last bit of happy hour before it's over, but you still have a ton of emails you need to send out. What's a drink-happy working stiff to do? Or what if you wanted to use your iPhone to look up the next bar on your barhopping itinerary? Or liveblog while tying one on? more ›

Every since they opened last year, Fraîche in Culver City is popular. Some people think it's even one of those "it" spots, winning over the unlikely types who have hardcore Eastside pride or are apt to opt out on spending their paycheck for mid to high priced food experiences. Yet, everyone seems to be going to check it out at least once. more ›

Wandering through an unfamiliar neighborhood, it's important to find a comfortable place to down a beer and get your bearings. The Pike Bar and Fish Grill on 4th in Long Beach is one of those dives that immediately makes you feel at home. With great food, lots of beers on tap and Black Flag on the jukebox, walking into this bar is like finding "your people". It has the feel of a neighborhood joint that has been around forever, so it is surprising that it has only been in business for three years. more ›

Oh, you've got to love rumors, especially those that both anger and please people, depending on who you're speaking with. This rumor comes via a report during the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council* meeting last Monday night. During a Land Use Committee report, someone asked what the status was on the old Ventura Club building at Colbath and Ventura (just East of Hazeltine). Originally it was slated as a Walgreens, but after that got scrapped, the building sat abandoned. But now there a lot of construction going on inside as well as substantial parking lot additions. One member said he heard it was supposed to be "that English grocery store chain." Right then, the room was abuzz with "Tesco" and "Fresh & Easy," and how the Van Nuys location is not working out. No one could confirm any of this and calls to corporate late yesterday afternoon were not immediately returned, but upon a site visit, whatever's being built at the location is looking to be rather large in size (photos below) more ›

We're not sure if this tamale is marketed as one that promotes self-actualization, or if that is just the state of being 护士黑鹰 from our LAist Featured Photos pool found themselves in after their meal. This bite came from the South Pasadena Farmer's Market, and is a: "Blue Corn, Roasted Banana Pepper and Provolone tamale with rice and beans." more ›

We will always rely on old standbys like Chowhound, but there are plenty of new happenings on the cyber-epicurian scene lately. more ›

It's been nearly 30-days since the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a law that will severely affect taco trucks in unincorporated parts of the county. Trucks can park for 60-minutes, but after that, they face high fines and even jail time if they do not move to another location. more ›

To help educate the public on the drastic decline of the honeybee population due to colony collapse disorder, Häagen-Dazs is giving away free samples of their Vanilla Bee Honey Flavor today from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. more ›

Maybe it's the absence of any background in this photo that makes this vegan burrito from Flore Vegan on Sunset in Silver Lake look so dang sexy. Or, if you're so inclined, maybe it's the absolute lack of any animal product or by-product that is sexy. Maybe it's just lunch time and you forgot your brown bag at home and would rather eat your own arm than eat at Carl's Jr. more ›

It's a rare commodity for street vendors in Los Angeles, especially among the ubiquitous bacon dogs carts. In a city where vegetarian and vegan joints are beginning to become neighborhood staples, eating veggie on the streets is still no easy task. But thanks to one woman in Echo Park, it's getting a little easier. more ›

It seems that Los Angeles either loves or hates Father's Office. Among the reasons why to dislike Sang Yoon's operation: you cannot choose or replace food items. What you get is what you get. No ketchup! If you don't like that, then the recommendation is to not go there. Yoon will not lose sleep. more ›

May 1st was Taco Truck Night here in LA, and we've been talking tacos for quite some time now. This shot--named "Make Tacos, Not War"--from 护士黑鹰 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr captures the simple pleasure that is getting a taco from a street vendor, in this case in the shadow of Occidental College in Eagle Rock. Our photog explains: "Hot tacos, $1 each, in a driveway on Avenue 50 near York. Fixins included." more ›

LAist has had some well documented cases of searching for that elusive “hidden bakery-café” in Burbank, or that extra parking spot at the Porto’s on Hollywood Way and Magnolia. And my suggestion? It doesn’t provide a solution for either of those problems, but an excellent alternative in Cake Monkey. more ›

LAist Featured Photos pool contributor kristi.nicole shares with us a shot from a recent six course tasting menu meal at K-Zo in Culver City. more ›

The first annual Cupcake Challenge on May 18th will put the lip-smacking in a foodie smackdown. In this event sponsored by CozmoDeck, Fiji Water, and K and L Wine Merchants, 13 of the best local cupcake bakeries--cupcakeries, if you will--are putting on their oven mitts and throwing down the best they have to offer in the hopes of determining whose cupcake is the tops in town. more ›

LAist Featured Photos contributor pink_fish13 visited Joan's On Third (between La Cienega Blvd. and Fairfax Ave) earlier this week and took some beautiful and healthy food porn photos. more ›

A grand jury report released today (.pdf) said that Orange County patrons of food institutions are hardly notified of the conditions inside the restaurant. Unlike Los Angeles County where A-B-C grades are posted in the front window, Orange County restaurants only have to display placards saying they are either "in substantial compliance" with food-safety standards, or awaiting a re-inspection, according to the OC Register. The report says that the public is "almost universally unaware" of the placards. more ›

Over at B's Wonton Noodle House in Chinatown, LAist Featured Photos contributor ~db~ has a dilemma. "There are still literally dozens of soups I haven't tried at B's, yet the BBQ pork wonton is so incredibly good, I don't know if I'll ever get to the others... I think all this cost about 5 bucks. I could barely finish it, but of course I did." more ›

Reader Apollo Sputnik was down in Vernon and happened upon this treasure. Thankfully, he shared with us so we could share with you: more ›

LAist absolutely loves the Redwood Bar & Grill, a pirate-themed hangout close to Disney Hall and the Civic Center downtown -- not only is it a lovely place to wander into on a cold and lonely winter night, but it serves our Editor's Choice for Best Mac N' Cheese in the city. I know, right! So you'll be thrilled to hear that the Redwood is now open for brunch! more ›

LAist Featured Photos contributor 护士黑鹰 shares with us her "super divine" Crepe Suzette from the Crepe Vine in Old Town Pasadena. What's in it? "Fresh crepes, layered with hot, sugar-coated oranges, doused in Grand Mariner and sprinked with powdered sugar." Wow. Yum. Evil. It's time for breakfast again. more ›

"I cannot even begin to describe the ecstasy involved in the consumption of this greasy food product," Marshall Astor said of his Chili Dog from the Original Tommy's on Rampart. It is "like God's own Chili Dog." more ›

About once a month, I make the 25-minute trek to Redondo Beach to get a taste of Chick-fil-a (This was the subject of a post I wrote almost exactly a year ago). With the price of gas up around the $4 a gallon mark, this isn't exactly the smartest move, but I believe their chicken sandwich, a piece of chicken on a butter toasted bun with three pickle chips is delicious enough to merit the trip. more ›

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">pink_fish13 also couldn't resist, but opted for this tasty looking twist on a steak salad instead of one of the Office's legendary burgers. Thoughts on the dish: "It was spicy and delicious!" more ›

The Mexican/Spanish restaurant-lounge Senor Fred has cemented its reputation as a Ventura Blvd. hot spot for drinks, but it's also a nice lunch destination for those of you trawling the Sherman Oaks area. The place fulfills at least two requirements of a good Mexican restaurant: spicy salsa that tastes homemade (their version has a nice smoky flavor to it), and strong, simple margaritas. The food is far superior to Mexicali's questionable menu, but about on par with Casa Vega's more traditional interpretations. The ceviche is spicy and tender, if a bit heavy with avocado. For an entree, the cochinita pibil (achoite-marinated, slow-cooked pork) is a winner, while the chile rellanos are a little over-stuffed with cheese. more ›

Cracked Crab is my seafood fantasy come true. more ›

We can't all be vegans, right? Some of us still appreciate meat. That's why this shot of some tempting ribs by neonspecs from our LAist Featured Photos Pool makes the perfect bite for our Eye Nosh series. Our foodie photographer explains where this plate came from:

oh man. so good. but the best part was the little salad on the side. At Chinois on Main as part of the DineLA Restaurant Week(s), we ordered the Barbecued Baby Pork Ribs with Sweet and Sour Teriyaki Sauce as one of our appetizers. Super delicious, but could have been more tender.

Morro Bay is a beach town about 200 miles northwest of Los Angeles. On a recent trip I had the pleasure of dining in the area, and the result is this quick back to back weekend series. Come back tomorrow for even more seafood as we head down the coast to Pismo Beach. Today, though, we're sticking to the beautiful town of Morro Bay. Known as a fishing port and a tourist town, Morro bay has a good selection of seafood restaurants and I've got my sight locked on this one. Giovanni's is one of those half-seafood-market, half restaurant places. It came highly recommended for their fish and chips, and while I'm game for fish and chips, what I'm really here for is their oysters and crabs. more ›

"you date a girl and find out later/she smells just like a percolator"* more ›

No, this isn't Care Bear Puke, but that would be pretty cool (in a strange way). This is the peppermint ice cream cookie sandwich ($4.25) at Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store, attached to the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. more ›