On the edge of Los Angeles at the Calabasas city line is the Sagebrush Cantina. It's the last place you can smoke in public before getting a ticket within a few steps, it's a place where margaritas are flowing and where bikers are hollerin'. Even if it is officially in Los Angeles (by 20 feet), come on, it's really Old Town Calabasas. more ›

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 ›