Chino's Westland/Hallmark Meat Company came into the spotlight recently when secret video footage revealed staff was mistreating the animals. On the heels of this week's news that the slaughterhouse's manager could face several years in prison if charged with animal cruelty comes the news that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has recalled 143 million pounds of their frozen beef, making it "the largest beef recall in the United States," according to the Daily News. more ›

LA readings and book signings around town for January 28th - Februar 3rd including Judith Freeman, Ron Jeremy, Tamara Jenkins, Mary McNamara, Sam Jones and Tom Dolby. more ›

The Grand Central Market has sold meats, veggies and more since 1917. It reaches from Broadway to Hill between 3rd and 4th in downtown LA. In addition to the groceries on hand, it has a dozen stalls serving prepared food (mmmm, pupusas) and one liquor store in the corner. The neighborhood has come up with all the new downtown lofts, but you can still find people buying their Mad Dog at the booze counter, which makes us feel oddly welcome. more ›

Sometimes grabbing an ice cream cone on a mellow LA evening can be a quick, inexpensive, and wholly satisfying thing. Having recently found ourselves exiting the Red Line at Pershing Square, on our merry way to an evening of Grand Performances, we were presented with the idea of snagging a cone at the just about to close for the evening Grand Central Market. The Market happens to be one of our favorite destinations for food and people watching downtown; this time we were in an out in seconds flat, for less than a dollar apiece. The Tropical Zone Ice Cream & Juice Bar--one of the two ice cream vendors there--is at the front of the market, on the Hill Street Side. They have a decent selection of standard flavors; we're not sure who their supplier is, and, unlike Bennett's, Fosselman's, and Mashti Malone's, we're pretty sure they don't make their own. One scoop of Rocky Road was loaded onto a regular cone, followed by one scoop of Strawberry Cheesecake on another cone for our ice cream indulgent companion. Happily we licked our 90 cent cones and almost literally walked off into the sunset. Dusk started to inch its way over the city, as we slurped down our ice cream. Craving: satisfied. Sure, Tropical Zone can't boast more than their bargain prices, but for this time, that was plenty to do it. We'll rank them #4. This week our Ice Cream summer was quick and dirty style. We'll be out tasting again next week... more ›

Because you can, at Grand Central's newest eating venue, find a teriyaki beef bento box on the menu, with contents described in English, Japanese, and Spanish. Yes, Spanish. more ›

We started off the tour by hopping on the Metro Red Line. LAist loves the Red Line; we embrace its shortcomings, we sometimes laugh at its futility, but we use it when we can. We definitely use it when we go downtown. So we joined the folks carrying their LA Marathon banners and took the train down to Pershing Square. First stop on the tour was the Grand Central Market. We'd never heard of this place until recently, and we were curious to see how it might stack up to the famous Pike Place Market that we'd recently roamed. Even though it was early Sunday morning, the sawdust-covered floors were packed with folks eager for a taste of some of the savory food being served up at the stalls. We weren't ready to eat, though the aroma of Chinese, Mexican, Middle Eastern, and Italian dishes were enticing, and the aisles of bulk spices, gleaming produce, and sugary treats looked beautiful, we settled on a modest cafe cubano near the front entrance. more ›