Carrie Meathrell

Turns out that cheap buzz you've been getting from Trader Joe's staple swill might actually be a legitimate wine tasting experience: Charles Shaw Chardonnay has won the top prize at this year's California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition. This is great news for those of us who buy the stuff by the case - and although we may fondly recall many nights (and days) (and, um, softball games) spent chugging wine from a box,...

I am a polite, mild-mannered person. Laid-back would be a good L.A. way of saying it - I say duuude a lot, about as much as I say "please" and "thank you". I hold doors open for people. I am kind to the elderly, even those who try to strike up conversations with me in elevators, despite my extraordinary claustrophobia. The peccadilloes and perversities of human nature that draw other, less mellow people to...

We've heard it all before: eat more fruits and veggies. Incorporate more leafy greens into your diet. Veggies should make up 50% of your dinner plate. Keep apples and oranges around as snacks instead of potato chips and cookies. Blah blah green blah healthy blah vitamins blah. So you make up your shopping list, head to your local grocery store, and stock up. You figure you'll save a lot of money by cooking up...

- Jonathan Gold pays tribute to the late, great Al Langer in this week's LA Weekly. - Losanjealous interviews Palms Thai's Thai Elvis: um, does he put fish sauce on his peanut-butter and banana sandwiches? -EaterLA is totally representing our Tom Colicchio obsession; here they're peepin' on the continued progress of Craft over in Century City. - Go see Rescue Dawn: and sneak in a bottle of Baron Herzog wine in honor of the...

Can you eat 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes? Well, Joey Chestnut of Vallejo, CA can - he was this year's champion of the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest , beating out six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi for the Mustard Belt. Our good friends over at Gothamist liveblogged the whole affair, which took place yesterday at Coney Island (natch); even Mayor Bloomberg himself showed up to check out the dog-tastic proceedings. Kobayashi has been...

There is no better testament to Michael Cimarusti's attention to the smallest culinary details than the ignoble bread basket at Providence. Immediately upon being seated at this seafood sanctuary (the walls even look like they've been encrusted with delicate, papery barnacles), you are served with a piping-hot, freshly baked sourdough roll. A platter appears, holding a few thick rounds of sweet cream butter and a tiny dish of fleur de sel: you break into...

- Jonathan Gold's indispensible guide to L.A. restaurants has hit newsstands. This summer's edition has a great Google mashup to go with the guide. How many restaurants have you been to? Only question is...only six great places in the Valley??? Come on, fat man. Give us a break. - Oh yeah. The LA Times had their big restaurant issue last weekend too - which was also West's last stand. Hm. - The LAT also...

LAist loves Honor Student. They are a trio of L.A. funnymen-filmmakers: David's the one with the great hair who makes incredibly realistic masturbation faces. He stars in this installment of "Chasing Donovan", their on-going series of short comedic episodes (they've also done videos for The Mae Shi). Matt and Oz work behind the scenes, and their hair is also not too bad. They are also possibly the only Oklahoman-Dominican directing duo working in the...

It was one of those lovely Sunday mornings down in the Valley: sunny and clear, not yet hot enough to send San Fernando-ists scurrying indoors towards the comfort of central air conditioning. We were looking for a casual and parent-friendly place along Ventura Boulevard to enjoy some lunch and a cold beer with our nearest and dearest. Mexicali Cocina Cantina seemed to fit the bill: reasonably priced, easy parking, and a wide array of...

The Los Angeles Times interviewed director Werner Herzog this weekend about his upcoming film, Rescue Dawn, and asked the German-born iconoclast why he has chosen to make Los Angeles his home: "We lived for a while in San Francisco, but it was too chic and leisurely," Herzog explains. "New York is only a place to go if you're into finances. But we wanted a place of cultural substance. And if you look behind the...