Elise Thompson

There are certain signs that you can recognize as harbingers of great Italian food. Men greeting each other with hugs upon entering Ciao Cristina was a very good sign, as was the lyrical sound of Italian being spoken by nearby diners. The menu is standard, everyday Italian fare -- panini, pizza, and pasta. But upon closer inspection, the pizza is NY/Neopolitan style, the lasagne is pastisso, and the panini are stuffed with fillings like bresaola,...

Every Friday night from 5 to 10pm Bob's Big Boy in Burbank is the location of The Burbank Road King's cruise night. In addition to car hop service on weekends, it is part of the MacDonald Family's plan to restore Bob's to its glory days. It is a popular event amongst locals and gearheads alike, and very once in awhile you just might spot Jay Leno wandering amongst the classics. According to my classic car...

You know those movies, where there is a serial killer out there, and only one man who can catch him? But that one guy is an ex-cop who got on the bottle after a serial killer murdered his wife. And he's living in some cheap apartment putting whiskey on his cornflakes now. So the one guy on the force who believes in him has to go hunt him down and clean him up and...

Third and Traction in downtown LA has long been the unofficial town square for punkers, loftdwellers, artists, and the slightly unbalanced denizens of LA's outer reaches. With the closing of Al's Bar, and the more recent closing of Bloom's General Store, the corner has had little more than a sushi place, a Mexican hole-in-the-wall and a proliferation of guerilla art keeping it alive. Wurstkuche, which opened last November in the former location of the Wolfskill...

Maybe there is such a thing as a free lunch after all, if you don't count their promotional value. In order to combat the threat of KFC's new grilled chicken. 400 El Pollo Locos will be offering free chicken today from 9am until 8pm. Only two restaurants across the country will not be participating, including the Universal Studios location. According to their press release, "Customers who ask to Taste the Fire will be given...

Photo by Elise Thompson for LAist (L-R Jonathan Gold, Mark Peel, Octavio Becerra, Susan Feniger and Vinny Dotola) Yesterday Jonathan Gold moderated the Carnivore! panel at the LA Weekly Festival held at The Ricardo Montalban Theater. The panel consisted of Mark Peel, Octavio Becerra, Susan Feniger and Vinny Dotolo. The panel members were not only representative of some of the finest chefs in LA, but they were well-informed, witty, and thoughtful. It seemed like...

Photo by kazamatsuri via Flickr The LA Weekend hosted by The LA Weekly and sponsored by Nike has a wide variety of free events happening at The Ricardo Montalban Theater tonight and tomorrow, including music, film, dance, readings, book signings, and even a visit from the Kogi Korean taco truck. But one event has us giddy with anticipation. At noon tomorrow, Jonathan Gold will be moderating a panel called Carnivore! Other heavy hitters on...

On Sunday night Manhattan Beach's boutique hotel, Shade, hosted their Fifth Annual Charity Wine Event in conjunction with local restaurants Mucho and Rockin Fish to benefit Manhattan Beach Middle School. Over 50 vineyards participated, with a nice cross-section of larger vineyards and small, independent wineries. Viogniers and organic wines such as Paul Dolan were popular at the tasting. Catering was provided in cooperation with Zinc Lounge of Shade, Mucho and Rockin' Fish. The cold seafood...

After being denied a compassionate release last July, Susan Atkins may have one more shot at freedom. Atkins comes up for her 18th bid for parole May 28. According to her legal team: Under California law the Parole Board must find Susan suitable for parole unless they determine her release would constitute a danger to society. Though Susan...is now paralyzed over 85% of her body, can not sit up in bed, and can not...

Photo by Elise Thompson for LAist With this latest heat wave, everyone is looking for ways to cool off. Studio City's Gelato Bar on Tujunga is one of our favorite summer spots. The flavors not only change according to the season, but by the day, so sometimes you have to take what you can get. Luckily there is always something exciting on the menu. New flavors in rotation right now are acai berry, pear,...