It's summer, so getting your celebration on before the weekend isn't unheard of (oh, and, yeah, it's LA--we like to celebrate!) which is why if you enjoy tequila, you should be ready to honor the south of the border beverage import tomorrow. Who knew tequila had its own National Day? But it does, and we'd like to encourage you to partake in the festivities (while drinking responsibly, yo!). If you are in the environs of......

Around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning as staff at Pure Luck were closing the Bicycle District/HelMel vegan restaurant down, a truck rammed through a window. Local vegan blogger, quarrygirl, visited for a meal later on Saturday only to find the restaurant closed. "Why does this shit have to strike at the best vegan restaurant in town. boooooo," she blogged. According to one server, as luck would have it, no one was hurt and the restaurant......

Photo by House of Sims via Flickr On the edge of Los Angeles at the Calabasas city line is the Sagebrush Cantina. It's the last place you can smoke in public before getting a ticket within a few steps, it's a place where margaritas are flowing and where bikers are hollerin'. Even if it is officially in Los Angeles (by 20 feet), come on, it's really Old Town Calabasas. At today's LA City Council......

Friday night's grand opening party for the highly anticipated Rush Street in Culver City was an evening of fun food and drinks; inside the incredible space on Washington Boulevard were gathered friends of the restaurant, folks from the neighborhood, local dignitaries, and a handful of LAisters, all eager to get a taste of the new bar and eatery. LAist Featured Photos contributor Michael Ngim (aka hinducow) was on hand along with our Caroline on Crack......

When it opened back in January, Silver Lake's boutique coffeehouse LA Mill had LAist wondering if the food was really worth the cash (let alone the hype). Now that the buzz has thankfully died down, it was time for another trip to the coffee brewing mecca to sit down and have a proper breakfast.......

In a scathing review published today in the LA Times, restaurant critic Leslie Brenner takes on a seafood institution known mostly for it's foil animal-shaped doggie bags and it's Pacific Ocean views, and tries to figure out why Gladstone's in Malibu has earned the title of Southern California's top-grossing restaurant. At what is ostensibly a commercialized mini-chain offering very standard seafood fare (and, in the opinion of Brenner's server on one visit, even some sub-standard......

My search for hard core seafood at casual prices continues, we have a pretty solid place lined up for today. Captain Kidd's in Redondo Beach is half seafood market, half restaurant. It's a little confusing, but there are three lines. One line is for drinks -- they have a good selection of beers on tap. The line in the back is where you can order combo plates or most anything else you'd like --......

Despite the older generation's lingering fear that even stepping outside of your car in Echo Park will somehow get you assaulted or shot or worse (suburban Boomers, I'm looking in your direction!), this increasingly gentrified neighborhood has become a new mecca for intelligent, classy dining. Joining Lot 1 and Masa is Restaurant 15, a hip spot with a cool interior, but also a menu that still seems to be a work in progress. 15's......

Is it lunchtime yet? We'll give you a moment to check a clock. You back? Okay, now let's talk turkey. Like, this turkey sandwich lunch snapped by LAist Featured Photos contributor kristi.nicole. Like for many of you, lunch is often born of convenience--whatever time you get and whatever place is handy. And although our photog doesn't say much about her turkey sandwich, she does have some thoughts on where it came from:I don't frequent......

Saladang (and its sister, Saladang Song) have been serving up Thai food to their loyal fans in Pasadena for some time now. This set of mouth-watering photos comes from LAist Featured Photos contributor 护士黑鹰, who takes us through a whole Thai meal at Salandang through the lens. But what looks the best on a hot day like today is that darn Singha beer... and believe us when we say that LAist loves us some Thai......

Some of us are feeling a little sunned out these days. But no one is ever tired of sunsets. The day is beginning to cool and suddenly everything turns gold, then the sun is gone and the thick summer twilight rules, with its astonishing array of colors. It's tough to find a place in LA to enjoy sunsets, with a laid back attitude and good food. Beechwood is one of those places. If you go......

It stands to reason that sometimes a good Happy Hour is hard to find in this town. But give us one that combines drink bargains with sushi and you've got our attention. If you're either coming or going on (Big) Santa Monica between the beach and WeHo or those general environs after a hard day's work, Century City's KULA Sushi Bistro's Happy Hour would make a worthy stopping point. Between 5-7 Monday-Friday evenings, the restaurant......

The new 7,300-square-foot Hollywood & Highland location of uWink (its first location is in Woodland Hills) opens to the general public tonight at 5pm. But last night we were able to take a sneak peek of the high-tech interactive restaurant at the media party where we had free reign over the food menu and extensive cocktail list and could order directly through a touchscreen at our tables instead of going through a waiter. Dangerous for......

Just before 5 o'clock this morning, two gunmen, "described as white men wearing masks" held up the stalwart 24-hour eatery Norm's at 470 La Cienega Blvd. According to cbs2.com, the robbers "got away with an undisclosed amount of cash from the register" and "reportedly chased employees through the panicked restaurant where the workers were able to lock themselves in a back room." Furthermore, following the heist, "the suspects fled in a waiting white, four-door Ford......

Alain Giraud is a charismatic guy. He is the picture of a merry chef, walking through his restaurant in his whites, with a warm smile, raking his fingers through a pristine silver hairdo that only a Frenchman can pull off. And even when he whispered (politely) to me, “Madame, please don’t take pictures of the restaurant”, I could not help but smile and say, alright then. He is just that, how do you say… geniale.......

Simon's Cafe is a wonderful little gem of a place, located in an awkward intersection just under the 405 freeway at Ventura Boulevard, but this Mediterranean/Moroccan treat is well worth the trip. Stop in tonight to say hi to Simon himself, who is often in the kitchen and serving the guests with speed and politesse. If you enjoy your meal, he's also giving a cooking lesson next Sunday morning on house specialties like feuillettes aux......

Ohhhhh... Sunday breakfast! It can be late but great, big and (probably) bad for you. But, ohhhh! Yeah. Mmmmm. This plate of big-time breakfast goodness comes from LAist Featured Photos contributor kristi.nicole, who gives us the lowdown (and a server shout-out!):We've been going to Basix Cafe in West Hollywood regularly for over 3 years. Their apple pancakes with caramel syrup [pictured] are addicting. They also make a killer Chilaquiles. Above all this, they have......

"For the best farm-fresh sandwiches in downtown Los Angeles, it is Mendocino Farms. Amazing sandwiches," wrote hinducow in the caption of his Vegan Shawarma ($9.25) photo. The sandwich is not listed on their menu, but is a new summer grilled sandwich that has a white and lentil bean puree, red oninos, tomatoes, cucumbers, romaine lettuce and a soy schawarma. Other vegetarian and vegan option on the menu include: Caprese (Gioia fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil pesto......

Krust is less...crusty for some | Photo by Elise Thompson/LAist Like many of us hungry Valleyites, our first review of Krust left me disappointed. In a part of town that sorely lacks delicious mealtime options, it could have been the perfect fit. As an unofficial red-velvet-cupcake-tester, I knew I'd probably have to make the trip, but ... Well, East Coaster that I am, I decided to go to Krust just to be abused! In......

A converted biodiesel car | Photo by Jessica DeWinter Oil's gone up in price, and therefore gas. Food has followed including the price of second hand grease from restaurants used for cars after its turned into biodiesel. Eataries used to have to pay to have their grease taken away, but due to the popularity of its use for greener transit, the price has more than quadrupled since 2000. Just like a new trendy crime......

While ordering tacos this past weekend, Pat at Eating L.A. noticed that Cardone's Deli on Sunset had been replaced by a new place called The Vegan Spot. "There are seriously a lot of vegan places in Silver Lake and Echo Park already. (Cru, Flore Cafe, Elf, at least four Thai places, etc.) So we're just wondering, are there really that many vegans on the near-Eastside?" One Food Network chef say Tapas could be the next......

Photo of a Five Guys Burger by mrmatt via Flickr Nancy Luna of the OC Register's fantastic food blog, Fast Food Maven (it's more than just fast food), took a field trip out of Orange County to the East Coast last year and while there, visited Five Guys Burgers to taste test the talked-about nosh that many compare to In-N-Out. However, her findings led her to say that they are actually more comparable to......

Yesterday it was (the best) taquitos (in the city) from an Olvera Street stand; today it is flautas from an upscale Downtown restaurant, as photographed by LAist Featured Photos contributor hinducow. Normal flautas these are not -- try this on for California size: they are Chicken flautas filled with avacado from Noe at the Omni Hotel on Olive Street. So what's the difference between a taquito and a flauta? Mainly, it depends on being......

In Pasadena, Orean claims to be the first vegetarian fast-food drive-thru (fast it is not). And beginning Saturday, a new restaurant in West Hollywood will be taking claim to being Los Angeles’ first fast food burger house using only certified organic ingredients. O!burger will offer grass fed beef, free range turkey, hot dogs, salads, French fries and shakes. And yes, they have veggie burgers made from their own recipe based on spinach and corn. And......

Russian Hot Chocolate | Photo by Snack Behrens/LAist Since January, Sherman Oaks' restaurant row has been home to the first Jazzve Coffee in the country. The slick and classy coffeeshop, which is an Armenian chain (one website says it's the Starbucks of the country), specializes, not in jazz music, but a very strong coffee ($3.99) that's cooked in a Jazzve pot on sand (photo of the Jazzve below). But what caught this late-night snacker's......

LAist Featured Photos contributor kpeII submits this Eye Nosh photo with a bold statement -- these taquitos from Cielito Lindo on Olvera Street are the best in town. Well, their website certainly boasts it and Yelpers seem to agree. A couple years ago, LAist asked readers where to eat and a handful of commenters brought up Lindo. Even Pulitzer Prize winning LA Weekly foodie Jonathan Gold had something to say, even though it was......

Today is a holiday traditionally paired with grilling and BBQ (Barn Burner anyone?), but we all know that the week ahead will face us with the usual where-to-eat challenge. Despite it being a chain (they have five locations in the Los Angeles area), LAist Featured Photos contributor pink_fish13 loves her Houston's. Loves it. Submit your Eye Nosh food 'porn' photos and mini-reviews to LAist via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr.......

Breakfast! Whether you're gobbling it down in the wee hours to fend off the inevitable hangover, gathered around the late-morning table with good friends or family, or sitting solo with a good book and going the leisurely route, weekend breakfast can be a beautiful thing. (And you know LAist loves breakfast...we spent a whole month talking about it!) This is the French Toast Special from Rae's Diner at Pico & Yorkshire in Santa Monica,......

Photo of a mariscos-specialty taco truck in Venice (not the one cited...yet!) by stevelyon via Flickr It's a rather dubious honor: The first taco truck to be cited for violating the County's new mobile food vendors' parking laws. The lucky recipient is an East LA-based truck called La Flor de Sahuayo. They were hit with the citation on Wednesday for "staying in the same parking spot longer than permitted," reports SFGate.com. But here's the......

If you consider having three storefronts in Los Angeles a chain, then PitFire Pizza Company is just that. However, for a chain, their food is excellent. And a few LAist Featured Photos contributors prove that with their photography at each of their locations: NoHo Arts District, Downtown and Westwood. Submit your Eye Nosh food 'porn' photos and mini-reviews to LAist via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr.......