Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr It's official: Police have identified the Green Skeleton Bandit who was fatally shot earlier this week when he was caught in the act of robbing the AutoZone in NoHo by a US Marshal. He was 24-year-old Lawrence Dean Smith Jr. of Palmdale who used a knife and wore a skeleton-themed sweatsuit in his robberies. Fight for the right to ficus! Local activists in......

Today's holiday is a Federal one, so that means government offices, from city to county to state and beyond, are closed. Same goes for banks and public schools. No mail being delivered either. However, trash and public transportation in Los Angeles will be running as usual says the Daily News in their Presidents Day schedule. If you're one of the blessed and have the day off, there are many fun things to do. Here are......

You still have time to take part in the Lunar New Year festivities in Chinatown today! CELEBRATE THE YEAR OF THE RAT The annual Lunar New Year Festival continues today in Chinatown. Catch pan- Asian entertainers including Chinese acrobats, as well as Thai dancers and Taiko drummers. Food, games, children’s activities, and more will also be on tap during the free festival. Until 5 p.m. // Chinatown // Free FUNDRAISER BASH! OPEN BAR! The......

Photo by Tom Andrews via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The LA Times has the latest and more details on the deadly stand-off in the Valley that left one SWAT team member, Randal Simmons, and four others dead. Okay, this is just terribly, terribly, terribly wrong: why is the city cracking down so hard on street vendors who sell bacon wrapped hot dogs? Police continue to search for three kidnappers who abducted......

The locally based GOOD Magazine, founded by Ben Goldhirsh, always treats its hometown with respect. Here's some of what they had to say about Los Angeles in their most recent rag, the food issue. LA Weekly's pulitzer prize food critic, Jonathan Gold, is given props in "The Next Sushi" (pg. 70). Which food type will go from unknown to trendy? Gold predicts that Korean Bibimbap could be it: "[It] may someday be as popular among......

What are your favorite breakfast spots in Los Angeles? Who's got the best cup of coffee? The yummiest pancakes? The thickest slabs of bacon? Who's overrated and who's overlooked? We're determined to find out -- so wake up with us, won't you? Enjoy L.A.'s Best Breakfasts!!!...

DINE dineLA Restaurant Week starts today. The event "unites restaurants from the traditional to the trendy to promote the extraordinary diversity and culinary expertise found throughout LA’s restaurant scene. Restaurants in two dining categories will serve a selection of three-course menus at special prices." Nab a reservation for tonight, and eat up this amazing event! (Previously on LAist: Restaurant Week Coming to LA this Month; dineLA Restaurant Week's Big Kickoff) January 27th-February 8th, lunch &......

Fairfax Avenue is the Bomb!!! Declining enrollment and rising costs means less expansion and construction to help relieve overcrowding in LAUSD schools. The LA Times reports that "since the fall, the school system has canceled plans for 19 new schools and additions to existing campuses in South Gate, Bell, Van Nuys, San Fernando, Sun Valley and central Los Angeles, among other areas, citing new enrollment projections." Kids, you don't mind sharing that book, do......

1. Go to the beach, all bundled up, and see how beautiful the water is when it's gray and white. 2. Check the weather and say things like, "WTF? I live in Southern California for a reason, dammit." 3. Go ice skating downtown in Pershing Square and see good bands. 4. Slather cream over my cracked hands and bitch about paper cuts. 5. Freak out when my Studio City street floods in the rain due......

People with too much time on their hands: Amy Ephron and other striking writers have whipped up a food blog. Our current food blog obsession: Luxeat, a Parisian model who eats at the finest restaurants in France and takes luscious pictures. Of the food. Over at the LA Times, food editor Leslie Brenner is really sticking it to the new Michelin Guide. Among her criticisms? "The book that purports to be the bible of......

A good friend recently introduced LAist to this clever user-driven food review site. What makes these reviews unique from LA Citysearch are the pictures that accompany all of the food. People casually browsing can "lick" up entries to show their approval, everyone gets to comment on each review -- and best of all, it's LA-Centric. Each review goes dish-by-dish, often with the exact price attached to the picture of the food items. This little......

Thai food can be an issue for vegans. Everything has hidden fish sauce or oyster sauce in it. Luckily, here in LA there is always Bulan Thai, California Vegan, Vegan Glory, and Vegan House. Some Thai Town restaurants will prepare the food vegan upon request. But depending upon where you live, you still might not have a convenient corner takeout. So why not make it at home? I've made authentic Thai curries from scratch,......

I love, love, LOVE hole in the wall ethnic food. I love the feeling of stumbling across a great little restaurant with passionate people working there to feed the locals. I also love finding a restaurant that has its own soul and unique take on a culture's food. Melanee Thai near Century City is the perfect example of the hole in the wall with its own voice. I had the great fortune of meeting......

A lonesome L.A. cowgirl got stuck in the most horrendous traffic this side of Thanksgiving at LAX, and missed a Halloween party last night. Costumed, eyeliner freckles and all, the cowgirl sat in a parking lot that stretched from before the Sunset Strip all the way to Thai Town—traffic that had even the 5-0 leaning out of their windows, sirens blaring, and begging drivers for a little help. That cowgirl was me. Yes, I......

ZIPskinny, a tool to see how your neighborhood ranks with those around it....

We've (finally) had enough of Thai Food: this month, we are checking out all sorts of late-night dining options, from the Valley to Hollywood to Culver City to Venice: Mao's Kitchen, Nak Won House, El Gran Burrito, Little Toni's, Gaby's Mediterranean, Nova Express Cafe, Greco's New York Pizzeria, Cinco de Mayo. Psst! Hey, hey, Mr. Gold? Ix-nay on the owards-hay. Nobody's supposed to know about it. You hearing me? Capisce? Otherwise, feel free to......

If you heard the hysterical sounds of laughter coming from the Los Feliz, Little Armenia, Thai Town and East Hollywood section of Los Angeles Saturday night, it was me. First of all the UCLA Bruins lost to Notre Dame? The fact that Ben Olson got injured in the first quarter and they brought out walk-on quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to replace him shows something fundamentally wrong with this Bruin program. When Patrick Cowan went down......

The last thing I wanted to eat for lunch yesterday was Thai food for this series. The ‘rents are in town for the weekend, and guess where they wanted to eat family style Friday night? Yup. Thai BBQ in Valencia. Now while I like Thai food as much as the next person, having it two days in a row is a bit much, right? But I found the perfect solution to my quandary: (1)......

For those who have been salivating over LAist's "Thai One On" series of Thai Town restaurant reviews, but can't partake due to allergies, this entry is for you. It’s a surreal feeling when you first realize you’re experiencing anaphylaxis. At the time, I thought I was coming down with a cold because my throat started to feel tight and scratchy. Only once I spotted hives on my arm and realized my airway seemed to be......

If you don't get yourself to a festival this weekend, we're really going to question your priorities in life. Andy Sternberg lists the highlights, while Caroline on Crack narrows in on the awesome food festivals also happening this weekend. We have spent the entire month eating our way through Thai Town. We're winding down our series with Thai Town Express, Sanamluang Cafe, Thailand Plaza, and Thaitown Noodle. New Zagats are out! New Zagats are......

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not the most adventuresome eater of Thai food. Don't get me wrong, there are dishes that I love but the sad truth is that I return to those dishes over and over again. Partly this is because with all the varied ethnic foods in Los Angeles, I usually only eat Thai once or twice a month so I really don't feel like I'm always getting......

Whether you love or hate LAist’s coverage of Thai Town, with 18 restaurant reviews in 21 days, you have to at least admit one thing – there are a hell of a lot of Thai restaurants on that small stretch of Hollywood, just east of the 101. Torung holds a special place in my heart, as I spent many a late night there; sneaking in a six-pack of Mickey’s Big Mouth, and scarfing down......

Many call Sanamluang Cafe the most authentic Thai in Thai Town. Others know it as the preferred late-night post-drinking noodle stop (the restaurant is open until 4 a.m.). Sanamluang calls itself "The Best Noodles in Town." At 3 a.m., just about any noodle might seem like, no metaphor intended, the best noodle in town. So I decided to try Sanamluang in the cold light of day.......

When I received my Thai One On assignment I was pretty pumped. Online Yelp reviews had unanimously agreed that Thailand Plaza has some of the best food and service around. Maybe that's why my experience at Thailand Plaza was such a disappointing one--my expectations going in were way too high. Not so say that everything about my Thailand Plaza dining experience was bad; parking was free with validation. Bonus! However aside from free parking,......

The main draw of this Thai restaurant is the humongous hot dog perched next to the oddly-paired moniker Thai Town Express. The hot dog is a relic of its past as Red’s Hot Dog, and the waitress said that the lease stipulations forbid its removal. Late on a recent Sunday evening, my dinner companion and I were the only diners, but plenty of curious tourists stopped by the fast-food Thai restaurant to snap pictures......

Cheap wine doesn't have to mean a case of Charles Shaw: NY Times readers are discussing their favorite bottles under $10 over at their Food section message boards -- what are yours? The LAist staff thanks you for continuing on with us on our Thai Town journey: check out Thai Patio, Yai #1 and #2, Red Corner Asia, Kruang Tedd, Thai Original BBQ, and (phew!) Hollywood Thai. If we never see another plate of......

We've been serious about our Thai project here at LAist: in fact, we've posted 14 entries in 20 days on the many, many restaurants located in the few blocks that comprise Thai Town in Hollywood. We've learned many things: for instance, pork is always an excellent option at a Thai restaurant, especially when infused into a broth or preserved in a rich, fatty sausage or cooked down until it crumbles into a soup. Second,......

Tucked away in Thai Town, Thai Original BBQ is in the former home of a Taco Hell, back when they were little buildings instead of the other side of a KFC. The BBQ moved in and swanked up the joint with marble tables and a large tropical fish tank. It’s clean and small and nearly empty at about 3pm on a Saturday afternoon (cross town traffic was a killer!) Our waitress had colored contacts,......

Had your fill of Thai Elvis? Live entertainment lives at Kruang Tedd, of a somewhat different sort. This is a modest but elegantly designed little spot, located in a strip mall next to an establishment known as Jumbo’s Clown Room. I’ve never been inside Jumbo's, though I believe their traditional British pub food is popular with the ladies, as I’m often told, “All the girls have pasties there.” Dancing is advertised as well, but......

I have a list of things I want to do in Los Angeles pages long. It changes by the season, by the year and most certainly by recommendations given to me by friends. One thing remains constant, exploring Los Angeles and all of its nooks and crannies makes me appreciate this town so much more than I ever could have imagined. For all of the hoopla and stigmas attached with being in LA, it's thrilling......