This past Sunday afternoon the Japanese Restaurant Association hosted the 10th annual Japanese Food Festival at the Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens in Little Tokyo. The event was a big draw for Japanese food and drink enthusiasts, and offered unlimited sushi, more ›

Tis the season of grand eating as we have food festivals going off everywhere in L.A. But one of the biggest ones is the American Wine & Food Festival which is celebrating its 25th year and will take place at the Universal Studios back lot this Saturday. more ›

This Saturday we had the opportunity to check out the sights and eats at the 8th Annual Japanese Food Festival, which was held at the lovely New Otani Hotel in downtown and hosted by the Japanese Restaurant Association (JRA) of Southern California. There were lots of tasty bites to eat, and plenty to drink, as well as crowd pleasing entertainment, like the Sushi Making Contest. We did our best to capture a taste of... more ›

The Japanese Food Festival, a one day event being held at The New Otani Hotel, will be occurring this Saturday, October 27 from 11AM to 3PM. Tickets are 50 bucks but that includes all-you-can-eat-sushi as well as all-you-can-drink sake and beer (yay!). more ›

Chances are your plans for this weekend will include eating of some sort, so why not make eating your plans? Check out any or all of these three food-focused events taking place this weekend: September 15, 16, & 17: Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival Enjoy $17 Maine lobster meals and a variety of entertainment (free with admission) down at Ports O'Call Village in San Pedro. Admission is $8, Kids 12 & under free.... more ›

Okay, we know that it's kind of 2002 of us to get jazzed by Boba tea drinks, but we haven't really talked Boba here before, except the last time we had one--at the Chinese Food Festival this summer, and we constantly see puzzled faces when we tell someone we're craving Boba. That's because so many people don't know what Boba is. And we're talking about Boba today because we're hungover and have a vicious craving for one, which means cheating on our no-sugar regimen (Shut up. We know all that alcohol we sucked down last night is really just sugar, but Match makes a great dirty martini and now we're just trying to recover.) and actually getting dressed, facing sunlight (ouch!) and getting one. more ›

NOVEMBER 17 more ›

It's certainly no secret that LAist loves Japanese food. After all, we're on a constant search for new adventures in sushi. This weekend we're excited to report that the Japanese Restaurant Association of Southern California is sponsoring a one-day only Japanese Food Festival, to be held in one of our favorite downtown spots, the New Otani Hotel. The event will include demonstrations, for food preps like ultra long rolled sushi and filleting a large tuna, a Uni recipe contest as well as a sushi contest. Take a survey and you'll be entered to win two round trip tickets to Japan. Heck, just for attending you get a gift bag, and the chance to sample some of the city's best Japanese Food. Tickets have to be purchased in advance, and attendance is capped at 1,000. To purchase your $30 ticket, contact the JRA: 324 E. First St #350, Los Angeles, CA90012 (213) 687-4055 or visit the Festival's website. more ›

Next weekend brings two major foodie events to Los Angeles! more ›

Over the weekend we made a trip to Chinatown to check out the second annual Chinese Food Festival that we mentioned last week. The central plaza of Chinatown was packed with booths and festival attendees, and the smart ladies wielded parasols to shade themselves from the plentiful, strong sun. It was some ungodly temperature, surely, and this, admittedly, took a bit of the wind out of our festival-going sails. more ›

This weekend, the Chinatown Business Improvement District is putting on a two-day Chinese Food Festival, aimed at getting folks out and about and eating in LA's historic Chinatown. Food and fun are on the menu, with attendees having the opportunity to sample tasty dishes from local restaurants, see Taiwan’s spectacular Hsiao Hsi Yuan Puppet Theatre, catch continuous showings of two of our favorite Chinese films, Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet, meet faculty and interns from the Yo San University School of Traditional Chinese Medicine who will offer free acupuncture demonstrations, tongue reading, and pulse analysis, and see some teapot-juggling, tai chi, martial arts, plate-spinning, bowl-kicking, and contortionists. There are tons of games and activities, including a kids' "Chinese Fear Factor." And...tons of food to eat. You can even taste some of Fosselman's Chinese-inspired flavors (and, hey--they're our #2 pick in the Ice Cream Summer series!) more ›