Here at LAist, we know you're hungry for more food -- food coverage, that is. And heck, so are we! That's why we've requested a tall order of Krista Simmons, who was just announced as a judge on season 4 of Top Chef Masters. more ›

Some kitchen switch-upping to report from Venice's Beechwood. Leaving her post is SF-to-L.A. transplant and former Top Cheftestant Jamie Lauren, who took over the head cheffing duties there just last October. In her stead, local culinary empresario and "stoner cuisine" guru Roy Choi, the man behind the seminal Kogi BBQ truck, Chego!, and A-Frame. more ›

E3 Judges Week is an opportunity to check out some of the games and hardware that will be shown by the biggest companies at E3. Why? So that you actually have time to check everything out (take note Comic Con). Nexon participated in their first ever Judges Week and started off with a bang...and breakfast. more ›

This weekend several celebrity chefs and award-winning cookbook authors will demonstrate recipes as well as sign copies from their latest cookbooks at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. This year’s lineup includes Thomas Keller, TV personalities Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet), Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes), Bob Blumer (The Surreal Gourmet) and Fabio Viviani (Top Chef All-Stars), and Academy Award-winning producer Laurie David. more ›

Following the recent departure of Chef David LeFevre, Downtown's perennial dining favorite the Water Grill has named Amanda Baumgarten the restaurant's new Executive Chef. Baumgarten, already in the kitchen as the seafood restaurant's sous chef, gained attention as one of the Chef-testants on the 7th season of the Bravo series Top Chef. She emerged victorious in her bid for the job at the Water Grill from a batch of national contenders. Her previous gigs include being the Executive Sous Chef at Ford's Filling Station. more ›

In honor of Chef Jamie Lauren appearing in Top Chef: All-Stars, which premieres on BRAVO tonight, Beechwood is hosting an All Night Happy Hour starting deliciously early for a "night" event. When can you get your celebratory chef-drink & nosh on? Starting at 4 p.m. Bravo! more ›

After Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio left The Dining Room at the Langham Hotel, rumors swirled in torrents about what his next project might be. After months of speculation, Voltaggio has revealed he is preparing to open Ink. (yes, I-n-k-period) in the former Hamasaku spot on Melrose in West Hollywood, reports The Daily Dish. more ›

Nothing lasts forever, and for talented chefs, their tenure as head of the kitchen in restaurants not their own can only run so long. From the inbox today comes word that Chef David LeFevre, Executive Chef at Downtown's Water Grill for the past six years, is heading out to open up his own restaurant venture. more ›

Chefs from your favorite restaurants and television shows, food writers and bloggers, cookbook authors, food trucks, live music, and tons to eat and drink await attendees of the LA Times' upcoming Celebration of Food & Wine, which is taking place Sunday September 5th at Paramount Studios. more ›

The 7th season of Bravo's Top Chef will give viewers two opportunities to root for the home team thanks to the casting of two Los Angeles-based chefs who will be going knife-to-knife with their fellow hopefuls for the accolade. more ›

There are some great lunches to be had in this town, and we want to celebrate the midday meal. So, let's do lunch, shall we? more ›

Susan Feniger of Susan Feniger's Street will be competing for title of Top Chef Master during season two. We took this opportunity to check in with LA's most cheerful chef (and to try to finagle some Kaya Toast). Who did you have the most fun working with? Honestly, all the people I had the chance to work with were down to earth, open and great to hang with…getting to know new people and see old friends…that was a great part of this experience. more ›

Bravo's "Top Chef Masters" has scored some serious talent this season with more representation from Los Angeles. 22 world-renowned chefs, six of whom are returning from last season, are set to compete to benefit their favorite charities. The lineup includes hometown heroes Susan Feniger of Street, Govind Armstrong of 8 oz Burger Bar, Ludo Lefebvre of LudoBites and Mark Peel of Campanile. more ›

With the end of the year comes the inevitable wrap-ups, reflections, and predictions, and in the world of food this is no exception. Here in Los Angeles our Patron Saint of Dining Out, Pulitzer Prize-winning LA Weekly columnist Jonathan Gold, offers his take on the eating year that was in the LA Times' Opinion section today, noting how many high-profile restaurants our city has seen launch despite the tanked economy (Rivera, Drago Centro, Bouchon, and so forth) and the resurgence of the "tony cocktail bar." more ›

If you couldn't get enough of the food truck trend, here's another one to add to your list; however, it will be gone before you know it. Ketel One is launching a canteen--really, it's a food cart towed by an Escalade--that will serve free late-night food by Top Chef's season two winner Ilan Hall (the guy who recently opened The Gorbals in downtown). more ›

The "Top Chef" season finale is on tonight and we urge fans to check out the online viewing party which will have cast members Michael V, Robin, and Ash chatting live with you as the show is broadcast at 10pm on Bravo. Follow along on Bravo's Twitter feed as well as their mobile site where they will also have prize offerings etc. for all you Chefheads. more ›

Season 6 of Bravo's Top Chef is about to come to a close, and this time around Los Angeles can root, root, root for the home team with Chef Michael Voltaggio of the Langham Hotel's Dining Room as one of the four finalists battling it out in the kitchen for the title and honors. more ›

The November issue of Pasadena Magazine has a cover star who, until recently, was more of a behind the scenes kind of guy, despite the often cocky swagger and 'tude. It's Chef Michael Voltaggio, who took over Chef de Cuisine duties this summer for The Dining Room, the swanky old-school restaurant at the Langham that's been turned upside down by Voltaggio's cheeky and innovative style of cuisine. LAist was lucky enough to be invited to sample Voltaggio's fare just days before the current season of Top Chef debuted on Bravo; on the show you'll see Voltaggio battling it out for honors with none other than his big brother Bryan. more ›

Former Top Chef contender Fabio Viviani has left his Moorpark restaurant and moved quickly into a new spot, Firenze Osteria. The eatery has taken over the North Hollywood space formerly occupied by Barsac Brasserie, and underwent a quick turnaround to transform the restaurant. Now in a "soft-open" phase, Firenze Osteria is set to officially open this Saturday, with a public (with RSVP) cocktail reception, and the phone line is up and accepting reservations starting at 7:45 p.m. more ›

Chef Stefan Richter, known for his commitment to his meticulous yet simply prepared food, has a big personality. On Top Chef he was the smack-talking half of team Europe with Fabio Viviani. Later this month Viviani will open Firenze Osteria in North Hollywood. In August, Richter opened Stefan's L.A. Farm at the Lantana Center in Santa Monica. The restaurant is drawing large lunch crowds for the salads and burgers (more than one diner has declared it "better than Father's Office") and for dinner and drinks in a relaxed atmosphere. more ›

In spite of the occasionally cringe-worthy dishes on Top Chef and the bumbling and blubbering of Hell's Kitchen, you know you're insanely jealous of those judges. Well, now you have the opportunity to eat like the judges--yes, even the actual recipes they picked apart like bits of carrion on the small screen. more ›

Speaking of death: Today news producer Don Hewitt died. Hewitt was the creator of CBS' "60 Minutes", a program that changed the way news was reported and set the high bar for all other news programs to follow. Perhaps only PBS' "Frontline" has come close to the standard. And hey, it's still a popular show getting the 2nd most viewership this week. For more on Hewitt, check out a series of interviews with him on the Archive of American Television's YouTube channel. RIP Don. more ›

The "supersized" sixth season premiere of Top Chef airs tonight at 9 on Bravo. 17 new contestants will be battling it out at The M Resort Spa & Casino in Vegas this season, including local culinary rising star Michael Voltaggio. Padma Lakshmi returns to preside over the judges' table alongside head judge Tom Colicchio, and judges Gail Simmons and Toby Young. Guests this season will include Wolfgang Puck, Todd English, Natalie Portman, Penn & Teller, Hubert Keller and Nigella Lawson. more ›

There might be models of ships ensconced in the walls of the Langham's Dining Room restaurant that reflect a bygone era, but there's a young tattooed man on the cutting edge of cuisine in the kitchen. His name is Michael Voltaggio, and he arrived at the beautiful historic hotel in Pasadena just this July, following a year working as Executive Chef of The Bazaar by Jose Andres in Beverly Hills. Tonight, he'll be in your living room (or bedroom, perhaps)--no, he's not making house calls, he happens to be (along with his older brother, Bryan) a contestant on Bravo's 6th season of Top Chef. more ›

The Dining Room is the fine dining restaurant located within the The Langham, Huntington Hotel & Spa. Not only are they a great "special occasion" dinner destination, but they can boast something pretty unique: A one-star rating from the coveted Michelin Guide (it's the only hotel-run restaurant in Los Angeles with one). Now the restaurant is prepping for their new Chef de Cuisine's menu, which will debut on July 31st. more ›

It looks like Andy Richter will be returning to the side of Conan O'Brien when he fires up his version of "The Tonight Show" starting on June 1st. Richter will be the announcer for the show and will appear in comedy sketches but it's not clear if he will be a fixture on the guest couch a la Ed McMahon. Now that the Academy Awards are over with and Conan has shut down production, late night TV is a wasteland this week other than Jimmy Kimmel. more ›

Last week we went to a sneak preview of Demetri Martin's new show on Comedy Central, "Important Things With Demetri Martin", which premiere's tonight at 10:30pm. The show has been in the works since last Spring so we are happy to see it make it on air. more ›

Truth is stranger than fiction - or life imitates fiction? Something like that: Anna Torv and Mark Valley, the stars of FOX's "Fringe", have married in real life. Fringe also did pretty good in yesterday's Nielsen numbers, with a 10+% increase in viewership over last week, but that increase is getting attributed to the popularity of its lead in, "American Idol". more ›

Sir Paul McCartney will pay a visit to Comedy Central's "The Colber(t) Repor(t)" tonight - we're wondering if Colber(t) will succeed in performing a song with yet another famous musician. [Also Colber(t)-related is his latest "remix challenge", so all you audio-tweakers should check out the details here.] more ›

We're shattered over the death of Emmy-award winner Patrick McGoohan who died yesterday in LA at the age of 80. McGoohan made his first mark on TV in the series "Danger Man" (released in the US as "Secret Agent") and won his two Emmy awards for his work on Peter Falk's "Colombo" which he acted in, produced, directed, and wrote several episodes. more ›