Kevin Cheng

I have so many fond memories of this place. I came to Pho So 1 at least once a week while studying at UCLA. The food is cheap, it came out fast, and right next door is Ranch 99 where you can pick up most anything you'd want to cook for the week. Pho So 1 is also probably one of the best Pho places even remotely close to West LA, and I'm very...

Photo by theonetruedevo via Flickr Ready to eat and drink for a good cause? I know it sounds too good to be true, but it's legit, and I'm totally going! Extravaganza for the Senses is a fundraising event held annually to benefit the Saban Free Clinic, (formerly the Los Angeles Free Clinic) and features food from 40 Los Angeles restaurants and wine from more than 100 wineries. The presenting sponsor is the Wine House...

My search for hard core seafood at casual prices continues, we have a pretty solid place lined up for today. Captain Kidd's in Redondo Beach is half seafood market, half restaurant. It's a little confusing, but there are three lines. One line is for drinks -- they have a good selection of beers on tap. The line in the back is where you can order combo plates or most anything else you'd like --...

Some of you might be familiar with Lee's sandwiches. It's a chain of Vietnamese Sandwich shops around San Gabriel and Westminster. If you're not familiar with Lee's Sandwiches, you might be wondering: "What's so special about Vietnamese sandwiches, and how is it worthy of a 50meal?" Well, first of all, a 10-inch sandwich is dirt cheap at somewhere between $2 to $3. Secondly, these sandwiches are GOOD. Hey, cheap and good? Definitely worth a meal....

You know, I didn't have very high expectations going in to see Kung Fu Panda. I expected a lot of slapstick, pop-culture jokes, and a lot of smart-ass remarks from Jack Black's panda character. I had no expectations for any real, exciting, actual Kung Fu action. This time, I'm so glad I was wrong....

When my old boss Mike wrote to me a couple of weeks ago to tell me about Alligator Tacos in the valley, I was immediately sold. Big vicious remorseless killer reptilian taco? I'm so there! Hot's Cantina is in Northridge, inconspicuously occupying a single storefront in a mall. It seemed like this place is all about the ridiculously large nachos and tacos. (Nachos, by the way, were the size of costco pizzas.) Boy, there...

Il Chanti is a hidden gem, I tell ya, because although I had heard that there's a nice Japanese Italian place in Lomita, I could not have guessed that it was THIS good. This is definitely one of the best meals I've had so far this year. There's tons of pictures today, so let's get right to it....

Cracked Crab is my seafood fantasy come true. Many years ago my dad knew the owner of one of those really ghetto seafood places on the Redondo Pier. I'm talking newspaper-spread-out-over-the-wooden-table, sit-at-the-bench-with-a-bib and eat-while-fighting-off-the-seagulls kind of ghetto. And since dad knew the owner, the seafood came like a tsunami and I was spoiled beyond belief. Unfortunately that place closed down years ago and I've been at a loss for a hard core, bang-on-the-crab-with-a-mallet restaurant. But...

Morro Bay is a beach town about 200 miles northwest of Los Angeles. On a recent trip I had the pleasure of dining in the area, and the result is this quick back to back weekend series. Come back tomorrow for even more seafood as we head down the coast to Pismo Beach. Today, though, we're sticking to the beautiful town of Morro Bay. Known as a fishing port and a tourist town, Morro bay...

Dong Il Jang is highly ranked on Yelp and is one of the oldest Korean restaurants in Los Angeles. It also happens to be one of the higher-end Korean places in K-town. It is a little pricier than the usual cheap Korean places I go to, but you see it reflected both in the atmosphere and the presentation of the food. I'm looking to get away from strictly Korean Barbecue and go for more variety...