What's going on lately in the L.A food scene? Chew on this: There's a basketball-inspired cocktail smackdown happening this season in DTLA, a new Chick-fil-A is opening today in L.A., one restaurant is offering a foie gras farewell menu, a brewery has a bigger, better, badass pub, and more. more ›

What happens when a popular restaurant needs a new head chef? For some, the answer is to put in a call to Carrie McCully, a chef recruiter. Considering America's fascination with the restaurant biz, it's no surprise that what McCully does has become the focal point of a new Food Network show, "Chef Hunter." more ›

Chef Mary Sue Milliken is an institution in the Los Angeles culinary world. As a partner with Chef Susan Feniger for over 25 years, she has opened two Border Grill restaurants in LA (and one in Las Vegas) in addition to owning the wildly successful Border Grill food truck. As a chef, cookbook author and TV personality on “Too Hot Tamales”, she has introduced thousands of people to high-end modern Mexican and Latin American food. more ›

The knives are coming out for a third installment of the all-pro TV cooking competition show Top Chef Masters on Bravo, and today the network has revealed the list of 12 "cheftestants" and solidified who will be doing the adjudicating. Representing Los Angeles are two beloved and well-known local culinary stars, Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill, and John Rivera Sedlar of Rivera and the just-opened Playa. more ›

It's the last days of Ciudad, the Downtown Latin American restaurant owned by the popular chefs known as the "Too Hot Tamales," Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken. But the gals aren't closing up shop; instead they're turning their urban eatery into a second local full-service Border Grill. more ›

The way we eat when we travel has changed, due in part to changes in the airline industry, as well as the celebrated status food has reached in society. Food as a reflection of culture is an anthropological essential, but at Los Angeles International Airport, the food currently being served doesn't showcase the cultural life of this diverse city. more ›

We are fortunate in California to be the home of the avocado, and the velvety, creamy and good-for-you fruit happens to be really versatile. Although sometimes there's nothing quite like cutting a ripe avocado in half, dusting it with salt and pepper, and digging in with a spoon, there are plenty of ways to get cooking with avocados. more ›

This summer Chef Traci Des Jardins traveled to Mongolia with a group of female chefs to hunt and cook a wild boar. Together with friends Loretta Keller, Mary Sue Milliken, Anita Lo, and April Bloomfield, they camped out in yurts and spent their days tracking wild beasts. In the culinary world these women know that hard work, talent, and creativity are necessary for a successful career as a chef. Hunting and cooking in Mongolia adds another layer of depth to their culinary experiences in the world. more ›

On Tuesday May 12th, the Environmental Media Association, along with Yes to Carrots launched their new partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District to sponsor educational gardening in several of their schools. At an event held in the new garden at Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood, many of the EMA's celeb board members were on hand to lend a hand and to share their interest in organic gardening and its role in both education and the Los Angeles community. more ›

dineLA Restaurant Week kicked off in style yesterday at Neal Fraser's Grace on Beverly Boulevard. Neal Fraser is the only Angeleno ever to have won Iron Chef, against none other than Cat Cora. more ›

The The LA Times is reporting that beginning February 9th, restaurants in Santa Monica will be facing a ban on nonrecyclable foam and plastic, as city officials are "hoping to put an end to the blight of discarded take-out boxes and beverage cups on their beach." The City of Santa Monica outlines the reasons for their decision on their website:

Expanded polystyrene and non-recyclable plastic together make up the largest amount of waste that ends up on Santa Monica’s beaches. At the annual Coastal Cleanup Day, 10,000 volunteers came out to clean the beaches and in three hours picked up over 75,000 lbs. of trash, most of which was identified as Styrofoam® and plastic.

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. more ›

TALK: Pulizer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold moderates a Zócalo discussion that focuses on “The Mexican Restaurant in Los Angeles.” Joining in on the roundtable are Gilberto Cetina of the Yucatecan restaurant Chichen Itza, Martin del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu of La Casita Mexicana, and Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of Border Grill. 7 pm // Central Library – Mark Taper Auditorium // 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles // Free. (Reservations are recommended.)... more ›

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... more ›

We at LAist love Zocalo's Public Square Lecture events (especially when they're either about porn or food porn) and we know lots of you love Mexican food. So we're excited about their event coming up on Tuesday December 11th called The Mexican Restaurant in Los Angeles, which will be moderated by Jonathan Gold, L.A. Weekly Restaurant Critic and idol-worthy food writer. The scoop and the lineup, from their website:Zócalo has gathered together some of the... more ›

Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger are two of America's most beloved chefs. The duo have been business partners for over 20 years, beginning with the opening of City Cafe on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles in 1981. Currently they are hands-on owner-operators of the popular and critically acclaimed Border Grill restaurants in Santa Monica and Las Vegas, serving upscale, modern Mexican food in a hip, urban cantina setting. The pair also own and... more ›

It's a short work week for most, but that doesn't mean that we can't already start planning for next weekend's fun. This Friday and Saturday Bon Appetit Magazine is coming to Los Angeles for a very special 50th anniversary celebration heralded as "The Ultimate Wine and Dine Weekend." The event brings together "some of the country's most celebrated chefs and entertaining personalities paired with the dynamic culinary talents of Los Angeles and Southern California." There will be workshops focused on food and wine, tastings, seminars, a Grand Tasting featuring 50 top chefs, and the chance to walk along Rodeo Drive and taste and mingle with top names in cooking and retail. Participants include Honorary Co-Chair and local legend Wolfgang Puck, the stylish Colin Cowie, Bon Appetit's Test Kitchen guru Cat Cora, and the ubiquitous Border Girls Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, and the magazine Editor Barbara Fairchild. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Chefs for Humanity. more ›

Why is this relevant, you may wonder? Well, it seems that two of our favorite local chefs, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, of Border Grill and Ciudad fame, are in the running to become America's Next Top White House Chefs (if it were, in fact, a reality show). more ›