The LA Weekly's Jonathan Gold names his "Top Ten Dishes of 2007" and curious palates all over the Southland take note. His picks include the porcetta at Brentwood's Vicenti (a rotisserie-cooked piece of pork where the "loin and belly are wrapped into a spiral, seasoned with fennel, and spit-roasted to a crackling, licorice-y succulence"), Donut Man's Strawberry Donut, and My Taco's Barbacoa (lamb), which we fell in love with too, when we checked out Garvanza.......

It seems every where you look in local food blogging or restaurant reviewing, the buzz word of the moment is Terroni, a Canadian import that just opened up an outpost in West Hollywood serving up affordable Southern Italian fare. Natalie Houghton of the Daily News (via LA.com) sums it up on both sides of the scale: "At its best: Prices are reasonable, sharing is not a problem here, and sampling a variety of Italian......

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......

The annual Zagat Survey of restaurants has just been released. The Southern California portion of the 2005 edition, which includes evaluations of 1,744 restaurants by 6,621 participants in Los Angeles and surrounding areas (Orange County, Palm Springs and Santa Barbara) contains a few changes this year that are certain to be intensely debated across tables all over town. For starters, the 2005 Zagat reveals some interesting trends. Angelenos eat out more frequently than the......