Food

Over 40 LA restaurants are participating in today's Dining Out For Life to benefit Project Angel Food. The restaurant's, which include O!Burger (seen in the photo here), Chaya, El Chavo, Taste and Barney's will "donate a minimum of 25% of the day’s sales to benefit Project Angel Food, which cooks and delivers 10,000 meals every week to men, women and children struggling with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses." Check out the full list of participants at diningoutforlifela.org. more ›

Third and Traction in downtown LA has long been the unofficial town square for punkers, loftdwellers, artists, and the slightly unbalanced denizens of LA's outer reaches. With the closing of Al's Bar, and the more recent closing of Bloom's General Store, the corner has had little more than a sushi place, a Mexican hole-in-the-wall and a proliferation of guerilla art keeping it alive. more ›

it's been about two years since Vi Trinh left her pursuit of a child psychology degree at UCLA to open Se' La Vi Sweets as a private catering business. Instead of doing homework, she would watch the Food Network and bake. So at the insistence of her boyfriend--and now partner Physent Walker--she dropped out of college and applied to Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena. She was accepted, but could not afford tuition, so she just went at it, full time, catering parties and events with her own style of cupcakes and other sweets. So far, business is great. more ›

Just a few minutes north of the busy Los Feliz Boulevard is a peaceful outdoor setting, perfect for a light snack or lunch. Owned by a music producer, Trails Cafe sits on Fern Dell Drive inside Griffith Park's Western end serving up homemade and organic-vegetarian friendly food to hikers and those who just want to sneak away from the urban feeling, if only for a half hour. more ›

Maybe there is such a thing as a free lunch after all, if you don't count their promotional value. In order to combat the threat of KFC's new grilled chicken. 400 El Pollo Locos will be offering free chicken today from 9am until 8pm. Only two restaurants across the country will not be participating, including the Universal Studios location. more ›

Times are tough, and if you've found yourself scrimping and pinching from the former bounty in your entertainment budget, you might have also found yourself spending more time at home (unless you're out heeding the wisdom of our own Recession Obsession, that is). But being at home doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself, right? more ›

The Grilled Cheese Invitational is the crowing jewel event in Los Angeles during National Grilled Cheese Month. A massive crowd of hot-cheese between grilled bread enthusiasts descended upon Los Angeles State Historic Park Saturday to see the top grillers in action and to sample their offerings as part of the 1st ever 7th annual gathering. Although the line was long the enthusiasm was high, as was the innovation of ingredients--sammies packed with Peeps, gourmet flavor combos, a giant deer made of sandwiches. Those who bucked the odds and arrived later in the day found themselves out of luck when it came to getting a hold of sandwich and beer tickets (although the Kraft samples were plentiful). more ›

Yesterday Jonathan Gold moderated the Carnivore! panel at the LA Weekly Festival held at The Ricardo Montalban Theater. The panel consisted of Mark Peel, Octavio Becerra, Susan Feniger and Vinny Dotolo. The panel members were not only representative of some of the finest chefs in LA, but they were well-informed, witty, and thoughtful. It seemed like everyone in the room, including the panelists, walked away with something of value. more ›

Frozen fads come and go in cycles. Two years ago Pinkberry was all the rage. Two decades ago TCBYs and Hogi Yogis ruled America’s urban and suburban landscape. Now will a simple frozen treat from our 50th state become the next big thing? more ›

The LA Weekend hosted by The LA Weekly and sponsored by Nike has a wide variety of free events happening at The Ricardo Montalban Theater tonight and tomorrow, including music, film, dance, readings, book signings, and even a visit from the Kogi Korean taco truck. more ›

By Greg Thompson, Exclusive to LAist more ›

Cool weather, beer, wine, public transportation and best of all tons of grilled cheeses! That's what's going down tomorrow afternoon at the Cornfields, better known these days as Los Angeles State Historic Park just off the Gold Line Chinatown stop. more ›

Taste has a reputation in this city. A huge, girthy reputation that must be lived up to when opening a second location in addition to their almost famous spot on Melrose. Their new Pacific Palisades location opened about two months ago and is well aware of who they are, where they've come from, who their new clientele is - and with the same chef at the helm, their second location is guaranteed to be a near-facsimile of the original. more ›

On Sunday night Manhattan Beach's boutique hotel, Shade, hosted their Fifth Annual Charity Wine Event in conjunction with local restaurants Mucho and Rockin Fish to benefit Manhattan Beach Middle School. Over 50 vineyards participated, with a nice cross-section of larger vineyards and small, independent wineries. Viogniers and organic wines such as Paul Dolan were popular at the tasting. more ›

The Official Recession has enveloped us for sixteen official months. It’s still no reason we can’t enjoy life. This is LA -- we have a ton of inexpensive options! A Recession Obsession is truly fantastic, regardless of whether times are good or you've recently been downsized. We last obsessed over some ramen on the West Side, and some real inexpensive Guatemalan fast food. Today, we obsess... more ›

Kevin Tran has no customers, just friends. And for over six years, he's had hundreds of friends who visit him everyday at his restaurant and tofu factory in Reseda called Vinh Loi Tofu. "I'm a tofu lover," he explained of the restaurant's beginnings. "One day my wife came up with an idea, 'honey, let's open a tofu factory, we can eat tofu everyday.'" And so they did. In 2002, they opened a the factory only for a year later to turn part of it into a restaurant, which is now one of Los Angeles' best vegan restaurants (the staff of Los Angeles Magazine are huge fans and Discovery Channel visited the restaurant to show people how Tofu is made, that video is below). more ›

If you love the nightlife, you may love what's known as the Cahuenga Corridor. The space that was once White Lotus, then Ritual, has re-emerged as Halo, the latest endeavor by Chris Breed (of Green Door, Pig 'N Whistle and Cabana Club), who told the LA Times last week that Halo is "an old-school club." He's referencing the space's black and white decor, the different elevations, the multiple bars (three) and the patio. more ›

The notion of the three guys in Spinal Tap embarking on an acoustic tour designed to showcase the group's musical aspects and downplay their history as an over-the top metal band has a certain, how would you say... Spinal Tap quality about it. "This is our chance to do all those things...like that rock opera about Jack The Ripper... acoustically!" But that's what they're doing - a costume and wig-free, unplugged event, a "Michael, Chris and Harry" show at which they will probably perform "Stonehenge" sans actual Stonehenge models, or dancing dwarves to trod on it. more ›

With this latest heat wave, everyone is looking for ways to cool off. Studio City's Gelato Bar on Tujunga is one of our favorite summer spots. The flavors not only change according to the season, but by the day, so sometimes you have to take what you can get. Luckily there is always something exciting on the menu. more ›

If the economy was bad, a broken stove used for baking their famous pumpkin bread didn't help one bit (as posted a couple years ago on LAist, the recipe is below). So earlier this month the nuns at the Monastery of the Angels let the neighborhood know that if they couldn't afford to be there anymore, just under the Hollywood Sign, that their four-acre property might be sliced up and developed into condos. more ›

"I'm making pork belly tacos and fresh orange sorbet served in oranges," Eli Sussman said, when asked what he was currently working on in the kitchen. The twenty-three-year-old LA resident and Detroit native has a passion for food - specifically making great food affordable and accessible. However, the radio promotions manager has no professional culinary training...which is all the better as testament to Freshman In the Kitchen, a cookbook he co-wrote with his brother Max, designed to inspire and take novice chefs on a step-by-step journey through the kitchen. The cookbook starts out with easy and simple recipes and techniques and gradually increases in terms of difficulty. Like many of us who spent at least some of our time in college living in a huge house with a bunch of friends and an often dirty kitchen, Eli used his first-hand experiences to write a book that a college student (or new chef) could relate to and understand. LAist had a chance to talk to Eli about the cookbook process, why it's important to cook, the LA food scene...and their national debut on The Today Show tomorrow. UPDATE: Today Show segment below. more ›

The Official Recession has enveloped us for sixteen official months. It’s still no reason we can’t enjoy life. This is LA -- we have a ton of inexpensive options! A Recession Obsession is somewhere that's truly fantastic, regardless of whether times are good or you've been downsized. We last obsessed over Guatemalan fast food, and inexpensive comedy shows. Today, we obsess... more ›

Silver Lake's Cafe Tropical is a tasty oasis in the rarely-Cuban desert that is Los Angeles. Their Cuban sandwich (sandwich cubano) and Cuban coffee (cafe cubano) do the trick. The sandwich -- where ham, roasted pork, cheese, pickles, mustard, and Cuban bread are dance partners -- is mixture that makes Communism seen tolerable. And the coffee... this espresso-based stimulant, layered with steamed milk, will light your fire and please your palate. Tropical's many oversized deserts are a topic for a future nosh. more ›

We were offered a hosted lunch at Venice's Seed Kitchen, the newish Japanese-American fusion vegan macrobiotic restaurant brought to you by Sanae Suzuki and her husband Eric Lechasseur (formerly of M Cafe de Chaya). So we thought, why the heck not? By the way, this review is completely from the standpoint of a non-veggie. But here's a review of Seed by an actual vegan from Quarrygirl.com to give you that perspective, too. more ›

The recent opening of the SLS Hotel on La Cienega added another super-trendy bar and restaurant to the scene in Los Angeles. Although the under-age Chris Brown hung out there until about 3 a.m. a week after the Rihanna incident, it hasn't turned into one of the celebrity charade bars (at least not yet). So, what is it like? more ›

The Official Recession has enveloped us for sixteen official months. It’s still no reason we can’t enjoy life. This is LA -- we have a ton of inexpensive options! A Recession Obsession is truly fantastic, regardless of whether times are good or you've been downsized. We last obsessed over LA's inexpensive comedy shows, and the sweet baked goods at the panderia. Today, we obsess... more ›

On Sunday, Thai Town hosted the 6th annual Songkran festival, or Thai New Year, which brought out the masses to brave the warm temps and take in the tastes and sights of a colorful and fun neighborhood gathering. Hollywood Boulevard between Western and Normandie was packed on Sunday, bringing together people from all parts of town to celebrate Thai culture and the glory of springtime. more ›

After last week's announcement of a two new commercial, hotel and residential towers by Korean Air, another Southern Korean firm has announced plans for a 43-story downtown skyscraper between Figueroa and Flower streets near the Convention Center, finds the LA Times. It is scheduled to be heard this week by the Los Angeles Planning Commission. And add to that this good news for foodies: As noted last week, the popular Silver Lake restaurant and bar, Malo, plans to open its second location sometime in 2010 below Seven Grand (appropriately at 7th and Grand) in the old Clifton’s Silver Spoon Cafeteria space. Hopefully that means dollar taco Mondays downtown, too. more ›

You had an awesome night of barhopping but one cocktail too many, you mixed your spirits and you didn't drink a drop of water before you went to bed. Next morning? Raging headache, and the last thing you want to have for brunch is some buttery pancakes drenched in sweet syrup. Blech! more ›

Jane and Michael Stern coined the phrase "Roadfood" over 30 years ago to describe ”...great regional meals along highways, in small towns, and in city neighborhoods. It is non-franchised, sleeves-up food...", or as they put it so succinctly at a recent roundtable, Roadfood is food “that is true to itself and true to its location.” With three James Beard journalism awards for their monthly Gourmet magazine atricles, a series of successful books under their belts and an almost cult-like following on the web, the Sterns have also become regulars on "The Splendid Table" on NPR. more ›

By John Oliver, Special to LAist more ›

They were planning on opening last Fall (and before that, last year Winter), but new restaurants never get off that easy. The Counter, a make-your-own-burger Santa Monica favorite (among many other locations), is working to open a Studio City location on the northwest corner of Ventura and Laurel Canyon. "No more driving to Santa Monica!" blogger Daniel Barassi excitedly said in an e-mail to LAist, sharing this photo and noting that the large street sign has also been installed. With the already packed Laurel Tavern just down the street, this will make for some good burger-and-beer competition in the southeast Valley. Check out some of our "food porn" from both places: The Counter | Laurel Tavern. more ›

This past week, Food & Wine magazine announced their selections for the Best New Chefs in America for 2009. Said Editor in Chief Dana Cowin: "We sought out great chefs in every corner of America, from Memphis, Tennessee to Portland, Oregon, and found some extraordinary cooking. Some of our winners are in seriously elegant restaurants. Others are in small, quirky, casual spots. But they’re all immensely talented, creative and driven.” more ›

Okay, so it's not Nobu -- but who has the bank account to handle $200 sushi fests nowadays? Wokcano offers good happy hour prices in convenient locations for your after-work bitch fests -- the menu will make even the sushi-shy happy. And hey, if you don't have a job, then you can get to happy hour that much earlier! From 4-7pm, sneak in a cocktail or two and some creative rolls like The Black Pearl and the Late Night Party Roll (crabmeat, avocado, scallops, and lobster). Yeah, maybe you sushi purists should show yourselves the door, but who's going to argue with lychee martinis and Asian bloody Marys? Not this girl. more ›

Highland and Melrose is becoming a small, but nice mecca for good spots to eat. With Susan Feniger's street food themed restaurant just opening up, you've got three solid places to eat. The other two include the Red Pearl Kitchen and Mozza, which brings us back to the above photo. It's a goat cheese, leeks, scallions and bacon pizza, to which LAist Lifestyle Editor Julie Wolfson says, "um...yum!" more ›

Most people don't even have to look at the menu when they sit down at Versailles, the popular local Cuban restaurant with a handful of locations around town. Ironbeer, chicken/pork combo, and you're good to go. Maybe check out the specials board for the delicious braised oxtails or leg of lamb on a weekend. more ›

Trust us on this one: April is National Grilled Cheese Month. Just like last year, and the year before that, LAist thinks this is just about the ooey-gooeyest most delicious thing since--or involving--sliced bread. more ›

We came, we saw, we tasted... and so did hundreds of cupcake fans at Sunday's sold-out Nesquik Cupcake Challenge. Part of the tough task of eating the many, many, many sweet treats up for grabs from several local cupcake bakeries was marking a ballot to indicate your top three picks in three categories. Now all the ballots have been counted, and--drumroll, please--Los Angeles, here are your winners: more ›