Carrie Meathrell

LAist absolutely loves the Redwood Bar & Grill, a pirate-themed hangout close to Disney Hall and the Civic Center downtown -- not only is it a lovely place to wander into on a cold and lonely winter night, but it serves our Editor's Choice for Best Mac N' Cheese in the city. I know, right! So you'll be thrilled to hear that the Redwood is now open for brunch! Beginning this weekend from 11am...

Photo by hyperbolation via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The LA Times is projecting that Barack Obama will win North Carolina, while the primary race in Indiana is still too close to call. Nikki Finke is reporting that AMPTP/SAG talks have stalled, "even though the leadership of the big actors union made clear it wanted to continue talking." Can it...can it be? Has the Britney media circus finally calmed down? She went...

Photo of the now destroyed Mann National courtesy of Los Angeles Times photographic archive, UCLA Library. Copyright Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library. Is Westwood making a comeback? The LA Times thinks so, in today's article on the burgeoning real estate development in UCLA's backyard. But isn't this a story we've heard a million times before? It goes something like this: Westwood used to be a great pedestrian area, then it fell...

The Mexican/Spanish restaurant-lounge Senor Fred has cemented its reputation as a Ventura Blvd. hot spot for drinks, but it's also a nice lunch destination for those of you trawling the Sherman Oaks area. The place fulfills at least two requirements of a good Mexican restaurant: spicy salsa that tastes homemade (their version has a nice smoky flavor to it), and strong, simple margaritas. The food is far superior to Mexicali's questionable menu, but about...

Photo by consiglieri80 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Have you been talking about anything else this week? Grand Theft Auto 4 is set to break all kinds of records today. Not only are they ugly, they are hazardous to your health! New safety warnings are being issued for Mario Batali's signature footwear, Crocs. More first-person reports from the Los Angeles Times Book Festival over at LA Observed. Some badass large-scale guerrilla...

You may remember a few years back when the workers of the South Central Farm, who maintained a grassy patch of garden just south of Downtown, were evicted from the land in a rather bitter eminent domain battle. Now, the collective has purchased land outside of Bakersfield, in a town named Buttonwillow (home to a speedway and not much else), in anticipation of rebuilding and replanting their farm. Thanks to a sizable donation from a...

Photo of Next Door Tapas interior by Zach Behrens for LAist Next Door Tapas is a swanky and intimate little lounge in Studio City, perfect for a weekend or late evening bite -- just don't plan on being there before 6pm. Despite the 5pm opening that's advertised on most review websites, we showed up at 5:30 only to find half-dressed tables and an unready staff. The wine menu was quick to arrive once we...

Do you love adorable chick singers from Scandinavian countries who look like a puffin? I sure do (thanks to LAist staffer Osmany Rodriguez for turning me on and tuning me in). Check out this gorgeous and dead-sexy tune called "Little Bit" from Lykke Li (real name Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson), a pop-folk-dance artist from Sweden. You can find it on her new album Youth Novels. She'll be playing the El Rey in May with...

It's almost the weekend... | Photo by Kim Shattuck via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr See, I prefer the silent treatment to the stabby treatment: "A woman was in custody today for allegedly fatally stabbing her boyfriend during an argument at their South Los Angeles home." Watch out, flight-goers: get drunk and mean on a plane ride, and your fellow passengers might just duct-tape you to your seat! It happened to one...

Photo by nailmaker via LAist Featured Photos So maybe some of you kids have it easy when it comes to eating green: you're a vegetarian or vegan, you don't eat dairy, and you shop at your local farmer's market every week. You probably bike a lot and never talk on your cell phone while you're driving. Congratulations, you're our editor! But for the rest of us mortals, the recent explosion of articles and blog...