Merril Shindler of ZagatBuzz, the blog from the influential Zagat guide folks, has published his picks for the most-anticipated Los Angeles restaurant openings of this year. more ›

Even though it has reportedly been open since July, last week the owners of Gobi Mongolian BBQ in Silver Lake decided to "kick it up a notch" and ran with a pro-style grand opening for the Mongolian barbecue house. LAist was in attendance, although we snagged more pictures than food, due to the wildly oversubscribed event. more ›

When the first wave of the frozen yogurt phenom hit in the mid-80s, this LAister was a Torontonian; that was when and where the newest froyo franchise to hit the City of Angels today was born. YogenFruz started in Toronto in 1986, and has just opened their second LA location in Tarzana. To celebrate, all weekend long the new store will have a "Buy One-Get One Free" promotion going on, so grab a friend and head into the Valley to see what makes YogenFruz different from other frozen yogurt. more ›

So it finally looks like the rumors were true: famed chef Thomas Keller will indeed be opening a branch of his restaurant Bouchon in Beverly Hills. We mentioned this earlier in the week, but the arrival of the true American top chef in the City of Angels warrants a closer look. The Los Angeles Times and EaterLA have both confirmed that this third incarnation of Bouchon (there is already one in Vegas and one in the Bay area) will be moving in to the Gardens building on Canon Drive. No, Keller himself will probably not be in the kitchen, but he has chosen Rory Herrmann of New York's Per Se (another Keller restaurant) as head chef. Expect the location to be ready for opening by fall 2009 -- although given Keller's reputation, you should probably start planning your reservations now. It's not a stretch to say that this may be the biggest and most scrutinized restaurant opening in L.A.'s history. more ›

An ancient cuisine is hoping to attract new fans in downtown Los Angeles: Shojin, an organic Japanese restaurant whose menu is inspired by Buddhist vegetarian principles, has opened in Little Tokyo. Traditional "shojin" cuisine is a plant-based, essentially vegan diet, which Buddhists adhere to as a form of spiritual discipline. So, of course, what better theme for a trendy new Downtown restaurant? more ›

There's some great news for pizza fans coming from Pizza Fusion, an all-organic, environmentally friendly pizza franchise: they're setting out to expand throughout California this year, starting with an LEED-certified location in San Diego and moving up through Santa Monica and Thousand Oaks. Why is this cool? Well, the company is setting trends and blazing trails in the sustainability business:

Pizza Fusion, whose motto is 'Saving the Earth, One Pizza at a Time,' practices an eco-friendly approach to their entire existence, including their restaurants' buildout, service and overall operations. Through building only LEED certified restaurants, delivering their food in company owned hybrid vehicles, and offsetting 100% of their power consumption with the purchase of renewable energy certificates (among many other things), Pizza Fusion is setting the standard for sustainable restaurant practices as the most eco-friendly restaurant in America.