The LA Times Festival of Books offered something for everyone this weekend. The many panels, author interviews and signing booths were exciting for bookish nerds like us. If you weren't into the bookish side of the book festival, however, there was plenty to whet your appetite. Literally. The food court was full of smoked meats and organic treats and live music could be enjoyed from many open plazas on the UCLA campus. There was even......

Songkran is the celebration of the Thai New Year. It falls on or around the hottest day of the year in Thailand, and, perhaps as a show of sisterhood, this Sunday's Songkran Festival held in LA's Thai Town neighborhood, took place on what certainly felt like the hottest day of the year...thus far. LAist was looking forward to the 5th annual gathering on Hollywood Boulevard between Vermont and Western, and while some of us strolled......

On a side street in Silver Lake, two sisters open up their apartment every weekend to strangers who want to learn how to cook healthy and delicious vegan meals. Spork Foods began in December and has become a hit so far, with their small intimate cooking classes selling out quickly. Upcoming class topics include brunch, pizza, Jewish, desserts and more. A few weeks ago, they held their South East Asian class; here's what happened:......

One of my all-time favorite things to order from my neighborhood Thai delivery joint is what they call Salad rolls. They're cold appetizer wraps stuffed with fresh produce and the hallmark flavorful bite of Thai and Vietnamese cooking, thanks to the palate-pleasing mix of pungent Thai basil, mint, lime, and spice. Some say salad rolls, some say spring rolls, some even say cold rolls; in any case the food items in question are cylinders of......

Artist and forager Nancy Klehm will be holding the last of her highly unique cooking classes at Echo Park gallery/performance space Machine Project this Monday, March 10th, from 6-9pm. There are still a few spots left (tickets cost $85 for members, $95 for non-members), so head on over to the website to sign up for a lesson on making your own fermented fruits and vinegars. Fruit wine sounds like a fantastic way to take......

Following up on my last post, here are five favorites I return to time and time again. All are reliable sources for good eating! Home Cooking and More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin The novelist Laurie Colwin wrote playful, funny novels (Goodbye without Leaving is my favorite) about complicated characters, and also wrote straightforwardly about everyday cooking, the kind that sustains body and soul. Home Cooking, the first collection of her pieces from Gourmet and......

Welcome to a two-part review of the year’s best cookbooks. In part one, I’ll list five new books that inspired me in the kitchen in 2007…part 2 will include five rediscoveries that you might want to add to your shelf. Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen by Clotilde Dusoulier A cookbook by a blogger! (with another book in press!) Inspired by a two-year stay in San Francisco, Dusoulier developed the blog......

Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, Food Network’s “Too Hot Tamales” are Chef/Owners of Border Grill Santa Monica, Border Grill Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and Ciudad in Downtown Los Angeles. Last week we brought you a report from their fantastic Holidy Cooking Class (including two amazing recipes) and now it is our pleasure to share with you their tips for making your holiday gathering a deliciously smashing success. 1. Impress your......

Last weekend we were lucky enough to snag at seat at the demo-style Holiday Cooking Class hosted by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, aka The Two Hot Tamales, at their Border Grill restaurant in Santa Monica. The room was packed with enchanted attendees focused on the endearing antics of the celeb chefs and the amazing food they were making, which we were served in tandem with the recipe demos. The menu was set to......

One of the highlights of holidays past for me has always been getting to taste some of the the delicious chocolate goodies that seem to appear everywhere this time of year. So the idea of checking out and tasting some of our city's finest chocolate makes absolute sense, which is where next weekend's Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon comes handily into play. The event, which is presented by TasteTV, will include speakers and demos, as......

Recent studies from both Dutch and Norwegian researchers are confirming that consumption of omega 3 fatty acids, which are most often found in fish and nuts, may make you smarter (or at least help you utilize what you've got): People who reported eating on average at least a third of an ounce of fish per day -- 10 grams -- outscored those who skimped on fish, regardless of factors including age, education, and heart......

A few weeks ago, while perusing the offerings behind the glass at the Surfas café, I noticed a bowl of green grains labeled “Freekah salad”. “What’s that taste like?” I asked. “It’s easier if you just try it,” said the friendly lad behind the counter, handing me a spoonful. I ate it. I frowned. Then I smiled. “Did you add that smoke in a bottle stuff to it? It’s so smoky!” “Nope,” he said.......

Bills just came in. Rent's due. I made a major and very necessary computer purchase that needs to be paid off right away. My credit cards are tired. I'm poor. There won't be any lavish lunches or fancy foreign cheese purchases from Whole Foods happening for me anytime soon. If I'm not careful, the next few weeks might be Top Ramen City -- what's a budget-minded foodie to do? Luckily, I have two dozen......

Monday Bjorn Lomborg presents Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming 7pm @ Central Library Terry Pratchett presents Making Money 7pm @ Borders, Torrance Randall Robinson presents An Unbroken Agony 7pm @ EsoWon Books Tuesday Carol Muske-Dukes presents Channeling Mark Twain 7pm @ Vroman's Cathy Malkasian presents Percy Gloom 7pm @ Book Soup Gilbert Hernandez presents Chance in Hell 7pm @ Book Soup Leslie Garis signs House of Happy Endings 7pm @......

Artist: Black Francis Album: Bluefinger Label: Cooking Vinyl Release Date: September 11, 2007 Earlier this year Frank Black went into the studio to record one new song for a best of retrospective. Possessed by the spirit of Dutch junkie/artist/pianist Herman Brood, he emerged with an entire album, and a name change. For those of you who have been keeping your fingers crossed waiting for a new Pixies album, this is the record you’ve been......

OUT TODAY: Tegan and Sara - The Con (Sire) Juliette and the Licks - Four on the Floor (Hassle) UNKLE - War Stories (Surrender All) Mexican Institute Of Sound - Pinata (Nacional Records) Robbers on High Street - Grand Animals (New Line) Manu Chao - Rainin In Paradize [EP] (Nacional Records) Prince - Planet Earth (NPG) VHS or Beta - Bring On The Comets [Single] (Astralwerks) Hanson - The Walk (Cooking Vinyl) Manic Street......

It's summer, it's hot and I've been craving some cold dishes with the pizazz of freshness. Then it hit me - Cold Peanut Sesame Noodles. Yum! Great! But wait... Another thought smacked me on the head: store bought Asian peanut sauces are the worst tasting sauces out there. I've never been able to find one to satisfy my pallet. That leaves only one option: do it myself. I headed to Epicurious.com and found their......

INFORM. THINK. INSPIRE. FEEL. CHALLENGE. INNOVATE. DECLARE. TRUTH. This is the new wave of thinking in fashion. If we can be green in the way we think about carbon emissions, our cars, our homes, recycling and being more aware of how we act, then the next step is to think critically about how we dress. Welcome Social Atelier, a new fashion line that is having their launch party tonight and will be sold in......

So I'm at the Cheesecake Factory in the Sherman Oaks Galleria one night - you know how that goes - and my dinner companion and I decide to order some appetizers, even though the Cheesecake Factory practices the most horrible crimes of unhealthily-large-portion-sizes ever committed upon humanity. I want something light to start, so I tell the waiter: "I'll have the bruschetta, please." "One order of the bru-SHET-a?" "Um, yes. And I want the......

You know what I hate? Birthday cake. I've hated it for years. In fact, I really don't remember a time that I DID enjoy birthday cake, or any kind of layered cake with that icky sugar icing and stupid tasteless sugar sprinkles. Problem is, I don't really like pie either. Or pastries, or muffins, or chocolate-anything (maybe a bite of dark chocolate every now and then). When I get ice cream, I usually get......

Sexy Pasta. Can I make a confession? I've kinda got a soft spot for Rachael Ray's recipes. Not the woman herself - while I don't detest her enough to join a hate club or anything, I don't find her particularly witty or interesting or original. Now, Tony Bourdain - THAT'S my idea of a chef-slash-television-personality! And the fact that he'd probably cut me for calling him a television personality makes me love him even......

We've been a little bit crazy about tacos lately here at LAist, even venturing to the far reaches of Culver City and San Pedro to find the city's best. But what with gas prices skyrocketing and food prices doing much the same thing, sometimes even a quick trip down to Pedro can really be a bigger budget-hassle than it's worth. Lucky for you, the intrepid foodies of your favorite city blog have been conducting......

Did you know that the mango is the most popular fruit in the world? I didn't either--I hadn't given it any thought, really--until I got in touch with the newly assembled National Mango Board, who are all about getting you to get to know the mighty mango. I met my first mango many years ago in my grandmother's kitchen. (Unfortunately, if you're looking for an exotic story about my spicy abuelita or a tale......

If you aren't going to Coachella this weekend and somehow think that attending the LA Times Festival of Books requires less planning...well, you may be right. But only by the smallest of margins. The festival keeps growing and this year may be the largest with 400 authors, 300 exhibit booths, 6 outdoor stages and 97 hour-long panels featuring some of the quirkiest minds in the country. What does this mean for you? In the words......

Tonight- Wednesday - February 28th, 2007 Sonics @ Clippers (PRIME, 7:30 p.m.) Jericho/Criminal Minds/CSI: NY (CBS, 8-11:00 p.m.) The town tries to fix their renewable energy resource/New Orleans serial killer/Illusionist murderer Friday Night Lights (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) It's all about family, the football family. America's Next Top Model (the CW, 8:00 p.m.) Season premiere George Lopez/The Knights of Prosperity/According To Jim/In Case of Emergency (ABC, 8-10:00 p.m.) A kind of endless sitcom hell. Larry......

A Word or 48: House was pretty good last night and the timing was great what with the blizzard hitting New England today. With the semifinalists declared on Idol and Paula Abdul declaring that she's never been drunk in her life, I get the feeling that show is really coming along now. Today - Wednesday - February 14th, 2007 Breakfast at Tiffany's (TCM, 4:05 p.m.) Holly Golightly, not the band Beauty and the Geek......

A Word or 12: Dirt - I forgot to mention Dirt yesterday, someone just kill me please. Tonight - Wednesday - January 31st, 2007 The Spiral Staircase (TCM, 5:00 p.m.) This nifty thriller from the '40s features a strangler that follows a mute maid through a dark New England mansion during a storm. Lakers @ Celtics (KCAL, 5:30 p.m.) Monster (IFC, 6:00 p.m.) Charlize Theron transorms herself in an Oscar winning performance. Worth watching just......

Ahh, the power of suggestion. We're pretty sure it was that NPR story about ramen--both the starving student 10-for-a-dollar variety and the heartier restaurant kind--that came in the wake of the death of the man who invented said instant ramen, Momfuku Ando, that got our tastebuds set on a steaming bowl of broth and noodles served Japanese-style. Combine that with weekly viewings of the insanity that is the Dotch Cooking Show and we were facing......

Anne Smith is the owner of the New School of Cooking in Culver City (which just happens to be a favorite of this LAist), which offers classes for everyone, from beginning to advanced. An aficianado of all things culinary, Smith is also interested in promoting sustainable agriculture, supporting local farmers and reducing our carbon imprint. She recently launched a blog that companions the School's website, and she has also offered us her top ten thoughts......

Have a food-fanatic on your shopping list? May we suggest some local sources for fabulous gifts, both big and small. LAist will help you Eat It, Use It, Learn It, and Read It with our food-focused installment of the Holiday Gift Guide. Some of these items will last for just a few precious bites, and some will let your lucky recipient get their own hands dirty. Since the clock is ticking, you'd best high-tail......