Where To Find Indian Treats For Diwali In SoCal (And Other Headlines)

It’s Food Friday! And today, we’re talking about… where you can find Indian sweet treats just in time for Diwali, plus whether or not you should be grabbing fruit from your neighbor’s tree.

Wait, what is Food Friday? Every Friday, we'll give you ideas on what to eat, where to go and what to cook — plus the people and stories behind the dishes.

Dishes for Diwali

Diwali, which starts on Sunday, is a time for spirituality, and to reconnect with friends and loved ones. And for writer Nandita Godbole, celebrating Diwali in L.A. feels more like her hometown Mumbai than anywhere else.

After moving to L.A. in 2010, she explored much of SoCal’s Indian restaurant scene and put together a list of where you can get tasty treats, whether for Diwali or if you’re just satisfying your sweet tooth at any time of the year. I may have to go try some of these for myself, especially the Shahi gulab jamun.

Psst, turkey/tofurkey season is almost here: This Thanksgiving, How To LA is collecting stories about great "Friendsgivings" — those gatherings when you invite friends, neighbors, colleagues and maybe even welcome a stranger to enjoy a meal. Tell us about a great Friendsgiving you joined in and we might use it for a future podcast episode or LAist article. We might ask you to share a photo, too! Submit your story your story here.

More food content:

• L.A. County will have a new Office of Food Equity after a unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The new office will act as “an air traffic control center” where “the foot soldiers involved day-to-day in trying to help with food insecurity” can all connect. Learn more about it here.
• Can I take avocados or other fruits from my neighbor’s tree? Apparently, it depends on who you ask. We revisit this common L.A. question.

Even more food content: Visit LAist.com to see all things Food Friday! Or, check out all of our food-related stories right here!

Stay fed, L.A. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

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Wait! One more thing...

Things to do this weekend

My brain is officially on vacation mode. And I’m what my friends and family call a “procrastinating planner,” meaning I’ll make lists of the ambitious things I want to do and then at the very last minute make a decision because I am also quite indecisive. So to get a head start on my list-making, here are some of my picks for how I may want to kick off my vacation. See the full list of weekend events here.

• Read The Room: Tarot Readings and Stand-Up Comedy, The Crow, Santa Monica: A professional tarot reader and a comedian team up each month to read and interpret the tarot cards of audience members in Read the Room. This month, comedian Orion Levine joins reiki master and tarot reader Jovan Illa to pick out friends, family members or couples to bring to the stage to ask their questions and get answers.
• Berman Ceramic Arts Annual Holiday Sale, North Hollywood: NoHo’s Berman Ceramic Arts — the longest-operating ceramics studio and school in Los Angeles — holds its annual sale this weekend, featuring artworks by more than 50 local ceramists. Many of the objects are priced under $50.
• A Diaspora Dance Party, Wilmington Waterfront Park at the Port of Los Angeles, Wilmington: Zócalo and its community partners throw a dance party that's emblematic of L.A.'s kaleidoscopic culture: "What does a diaspora move to, and what moves a diaspora?” In addition to dancing, check out art activities by LA Commons and a pop-up Wilmington Art Walk.

And speaking of things to do — or that I used to do: This How To LA episode is by far one of my favorites. It takes me back to high school and all the fun DIY punk/ska/emo shows I would get invited to happening on a random day of the week in someone’s backyard. This episode looks back at its history in East L.A. in the 1980s. Listen now.