Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who knew a simple little Hollywood diner, The Waffle, would somehow become the most controversial restaurant in Los Angeles right now? First there was the barrage of "meh" to "terrible" reviews from the Chowhounders, most of whom complained about overpriced entrees and slow, forgetful service (definitely my #1 pet peeve when it comes to restaurants). Then Lesley at EaterLA revealed that bad reviews might have been coming from "a Hollywood contingency......

"hey, i wanna check out this new place daily candy wrote about today. the waffle. i checked out their menu and it sounds cool and they're open til 4am on fri/sat nites." My friend Shelley IM'd me this last week. I gave their menu a look-see, Googled them and found that not only Daily Candy wrote about them but LAist, LA Times' The Guide and Eater LA. "I can't believe I found out about......

Tonight is the night to break out that special bottle of vino and head over to one of more than 20 LA-area restaurants that are obliterating the corkage fee in honor of "Open That Bottle Night." The foodie-minded folks over at EaterLA asked around and came up with a list of dining spots who are willing to forgo their usual $20-$35 fee for one night only so that diners could have a special meal to......

The anticipated LA MILL COFFEE boutique opened this morning in Silver Lake on its eponymous boulevard between Sunset and the Reservoir (they close at 6 p.m. tonight and are only serving bar drinks and clovers until then). Eater LA takes in the decor: "Custom-made French wallpaper, faux crocodile, ostrich and sharkskin chairs in dark teal, sky blue and red, black Lucite tables. A dramatic brass chandelier hangs in the main room." Definitely not a......

Okay, so yesterday the Bank Heist set aflame, but thanks to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the fire did not put the restaurant/club in the NoHo Arts District our of business, only affecting the second floor club area (a smaller bar and full service restaurant are on the first floor). They opened last fall, but never had a grand opening, which was and still is officially scheduled for February. Owner Kat Johnson tells the LA......

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......

The Los Angeles Michelin ratings are out! No three-star restaurants for LA, and many Angeleno foodies are already complaining about the non-starred status of places like Lucques, Grace, and JAR. They couldn't get Ackroyd? Meryl Streep will be playing Julia Child in the upcoming movie adaptation of the book "Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen." The sequel will be based on Carol Cooks Keller, hopefully. The kids over at......

It's called Hacienda la Esmeralda's Geisha coffee, it's award-winning, it's super rare, and for wholesalers it cost $130 a pound at auction - if you can get it. The newish Intellegencia coffee shop on Sunset (right next to the Silver Lake Conservatory) got some and will brew up cups of coffee tomorrow from those magic beans for whoever would like to experience what the most expensive coffee in the world tastes like. Eater LA......

Would you pay $85 for truffle mac n' cheese? Or would you rather enjoy the cheaper, classic versions at Larkin's or Lucky Devil's? The Glutton over at the LA Times samples the goods for you. What do we want? Conservation programs, access to healthy food, and promotion of renewable energy! When do we want it? Whenever the Senate gets around to voting on the Farm Bill. There's still time to make your voice heard.......

- David Garcia, KNBC's environmental reporter died of liver failure yesterday in Palm Desert at 63. Adios, Earthman! - KNBC - If you are an illegal alien and you got pulled over, and the LAPD discovered that you didn't have a drivers license, your car would be immediately impounded. That practice might be illegal, somehow, so the LAPD are stopping that. The Sheriff's Dept., however, is a different story - LAT - Frisco man......

An "Eater LA" reader reveals just how wrong San Francisco Chronicle critic Michael Bauer still is. Police officials revealed details of the Burbank shooting rampage that led to the deaths of three people. Good news public transit fans: local officials broke ground on a $640-million project that will include eight new Expo Line stations. Catch legendary comics writer Peter Bagge (of Hate, MAD and Weirdo Magazine fame) at the Secret Headquarters tonight (did I......

Michael Bauer, he of the infamous review of Los Angeles restaurants, just posted this response on his blog: I figured I was treading into a tsunami when I wrote about the Los Angeles restaurant scene in Food last Wednesday. I knew some would disagree, but I had no idea what I wrote would be construed as dissing our sister city to the south. Several people sent me the links to comments on LAist and......

- Facing deportation? Try gang tattoos. - Burbank is the only city in the county named for a dentist. How did other neighboring cities get their names? - Daily News comes out of the closet with a 6-day series on porn in the Valley. There's a blog too. - The New York Times visits a new cupcake shop opening up next week in Santa Monica and talks the sweets up with the Eater LA blog......

- FBI Top 10 Most Wanted caught in Canada. The former Long Beach gun club president accused of child molestation - AP - 150 people in the North Hollywood Washington Mutual were evacuated by firefighters because of fumes. 11 taken to the hospital - Daily News - NBC is spinning off "Heroes" after just one season - AP - Maypole erected in front of Brentwood girls school - LAT - Researchers discover that the......

photo excerpt of "Washing Out" by our common - You know you're old and worthless when you close up shop after 20+ years and no one notices for over a week. Buh Bye Hard Rock Beverly Center - Eater LA - How was your Christmas bonus? Howard Stern got $83 million in his envelope - Reuters - The end of LA Rent Control? - Mayor Sam - "We are the modern equivalent of the......