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. more ›

Last night's free Zocalo program at the Central Library featured L.A. Weekly food writer Jonathan Gold in conversation with Variety's Monica Corcoran. Her first question: Did winning the Pulitzer Prize (for criticism, this year) blow your cover as an anonymous food critic? And if so, this evening won't help, will it? more ›

We were delighted to find out that one of our favorite folks who talks about food was named this weekend as the recipient of the LA Press Club Award for Best Individual Blog. Congrats to Pat Saperstein and Eating LA! According to Saperstein, the judges summed up her site as follows: Writer does a great job of merging personality and topic, producing an engaging voice. Well-informed without coming across as elitist. Great showcasing of... more ›

One of our favorite local food blogs is Eating LA, which is helmed by Pat Saperstein, a senior editor at Variety. LAist asked her to put together her own Best of 2006, which she has so kindly shared with us; we can't help but notice that she likes pork and--if we may interpret--dislikes the deluge of Pinkberry frozen yogurt shops. Is it coincidence, we wonder, that she, too links the year to the pig, like... more ›

Because drinking and driving is beyond passé: This week, local bartenders strutted their best Tom Cruise-in-Cocktail skills, but without any "proof" in their puddings. It was the annual Mocktail contest held at Universal CityWalk, where ten expert mixologists threw their best non-alcoholic mixes into...well, the mix at the annual "Battle of the Bartenders". The event was designed to promote awareness of the dangers of DUIs. Your turn to be the designated driver? Try one... more ›

Our foodbloogers were called away this week so we're late to the table of the ruckus that's been caused by an article in the March issue of Food & Wine. Columnist Pete Wells looks into food blogs and finds, more often than not, "tiny empires of boredom." And what happens? The emperors get pissed! more ›

The piece offers both a look at food-specific content and blogs in general, with a limited respect and tolerance for non-pros. Winer notes, "When a good writer chronicles his life, it is art. When an amateur feels the need to chronicle his life by listing what he made or ate for dinner each night, often the best that can be said is that it's touching." The blogs that she most admires, including Julie Powell’s brilliant Julie-Julia Project, bad things, Chocolate & Zucchini via France, and the NYC-based Food Section, are not rooted in our town but provide some terrific story telling and/or universally useful information. more ›