Sometimes you just have to go all out and go with your gut...which is what led LAist Featured Photos contributor ~db~ on this food-venture that he shared with us:Last Monday I crossed another one off my 1,000,000 things to do before I die list. I headed over to The Gumbo Pot at Farmers Market and ordered up this feast for lunch. All I really wanted was the Gumbo YaYa and Hush Puppies. When I......

This morning, we shined a light on the rebirth of Bob's Big Boy. But with all highs are lows before it. Earlier this year, Bob's at Wilshire and Highland was served with an eviction notice to make way for Beverly Hills BMW (note that this location is not in Beverly Hills.) When these below photos were taken earlier this month, a neighbor stepped out to explain his frustrations about the project. He said the neighborhood......

For a long time it seemed like Bob's Big Boy was going, going, and almost gone. But the end of an era has been halted, thanks to the new owner of the site of the old Johnie's Broiler in Downey, who is set to build a new Big Boy based on old designs. The LA Times reports that "the new owner plans to restore the original 1958 plans" which include a car-hop. "The builders of......

Local food blogger Food Woolf went in for the attack (in the nicest, saucy rib-devouring way possible) at the 8th annual Lucques BBQ aka the Rib Roundup which was held Sunday August 10th. By the end of the meal there wasn't much left except for some bared bones, empty plates, stained table linens, and these delicious photos that she shared with us via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr. It'll be another year until......

We seem to have a thing for breakfast these days in our Eye Nosh series. But why not? After all, it's the most important meal of the day. And when it's good it is very, very good. And this dish of breakfast goodness from Kitchen 24 in Hollywood submitted to our LAist Featured Photos pool by ellewoodite looks downright fantastic. It's the Garden Benedict, which is a toasted English Muffin topped with Black Forest......

Wokcano in Santa Monica (the fifth L.A. Wokcano restaurant) celebrated it's grand opening with a huge party of complimentary specialty cocktails and passed appetizers. And of course we were there to check out the scene. Free drinks! Woo hoo! The new restaurant, located in the space formerly occupied by Akwa, is huge with two and a half levels of dark wood and modern, Japanese-inspired decor. Downstairs is the sushi bar, upstairs is the bar and......

Papadakis Taverna at Sixth and Centre streets in downtown San Pedro is a popular high-profile Greek restaurant that has served up food for the past 35 years to locals and celebs alike. Now, the owner is looking to sell it, but not anyone can buy it, according to the Daily Breeze. The Papadakis would like someone to buy it and keep the restaurant going. The asking price is $500,000 for the restaurant itself, which includes......

Last Sunday, Little Radio's Summer Camp series Downtown continued with performances by local bands Matt Ellis (MySpace), Hypernova (MySpace), Tenlons Fort (MySpace), and Castledoor (MySpace), with The Karabal Nightlife (MySpace) as well as Ladies and Gents (MySpace) among those performing earlier in the day during Open Mic. While Hypernova, who are originally from Iran, have been living for the past year Downtown near MacArthur Park, they will be relocating to New York in two......

We think we found our new favorite Manhattan cocktail: It's the Blood Orange Bitters Manhattan at the new Culver City restaurant/bar, Rush Street. Most versions of this drinking man's cocktail come on kick-ass strong but here at one of the busiest bar in the heart of Screenland, this one is tempered with the blood orange bitters making it lighter and dangerously drinkable. Our new favorite drink is just one of the many yummy libations on......

Today, Assemblymember Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank) officially unveiled signs marking the Valley Glen neighborhood along the 170 Freeway. Most signs posted on freeways in the East Valley generalize the area and say North Hollywood, whether you're actually in Studio City or some other community. “I hope these new signs will encourage people traveling along the Hollywood Freeway to explore Valley Glen and enjoy its businesses, restaurants and ambience,” Assemblymember Krekorian said in a press release. Our......

It's summer, so getting your celebration on before the weekend isn't unheard of (oh, and, yeah, it's LA--we like to celebrate!) which is why if you enjoy tequila, you should be ready to honor the south of the border beverage import tomorrow. Who knew tequila had its own National Day? But it does, and we'd like to encourage you to partake in the festivities (while drinking responsibly, yo!). If you are in the environs of......

Around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning as staff at Pure Luck were closing the Bicycle District/HelMel vegan restaurant down, a truck rammed through a window. Local vegan blogger, quarrygirl, visited for a meal later on Saturday only to find the restaurant closed. "Why does this shit have to strike at the best vegan restaurant in town. boooooo," she blogged. According to one server, as luck would have it, no one was hurt and the restaurant......

Photo by House of Sims via Flickr On the edge of Los Angeles at the Calabasas city line is the Sagebrush Cantina. It's the last place you can smoke in public before getting a ticket within a few steps, it's a place where margaritas are flowing and where bikers are hollerin'. Even if it is officially in Los Angeles (by 20 feet), come on, it's really Old Town Calabasas. At today's LA City Council......

Friday night's grand opening party for the highly anticipated Rush Street in Culver City was an evening of fun food and drinks; inside the incredible space on Washington Boulevard were gathered friends of the restaurant, folks from the neighborhood, local dignitaries, and a handful of LAisters, all eager to get a taste of the new bar and eatery. LAist Featured Photos contributor Michael Ngim (aka hinducow) was on hand along with our Caroline on Crack......

When it opened back in January, Silver Lake's boutique coffeehouse LA Mill had LAist wondering if the food was really worth the cash (let alone the hype). Now that the buzz has thankfully died down, it was time for another trip to the coffee brewing mecca to sit down and have a proper breakfast.......

In a scathing review published today in the LA Times, restaurant critic Leslie Brenner takes on a seafood institution known mostly for it's foil animal-shaped doggie bags and it's Pacific Ocean views, and tries to figure out why Gladstone's in Malibu has earned the title of Southern California's top-grossing restaurant. At what is ostensibly a commercialized mini-chain offering very standard seafood fare (and, in the opinion of Brenner's server on one visit, even some sub-standard......

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 --......

Despite the older generation's lingering fear that even stepping outside of your car in Echo Park will somehow get you assaulted or shot or worse (suburban Boomers, I'm looking in your direction!), this increasingly gentrified neighborhood has become a new mecca for intelligent, classy dining. Joining Lot 1 and Masa is Restaurant 15, a hip spot with a cool interior, but also a menu that still seems to be a work in progress. 15's......

Is it lunchtime yet? We'll give you a moment to check a clock. You back? Okay, now let's talk turkey. Like, this turkey sandwich lunch snapped by LAist Featured Photos contributor kristi.nicole. Like for many of you, lunch is often born of convenience--whatever time you get and whatever place is handy. And although our photog doesn't say much about her turkey sandwich, she does have some thoughts on where it came from:I don't frequent......

Saladang (and its sister, Saladang Song) have been serving up Thai food to their loyal fans in Pasadena for some time now. This set of mouth-watering photos comes from LAist Featured Photos contributor 护士黑鹰, who takes us through a whole Thai meal at Salandang through the lens. But what looks the best on a hot day like today is that darn Singha beer... and believe us when we say that LAist loves us some Thai......

Some of us are feeling a little sunned out these days. But no one is ever tired of sunsets. The day is beginning to cool and suddenly everything turns gold, then the sun is gone and the thick summer twilight rules, with its astonishing array of colors. It's tough to find a place in LA to enjoy sunsets, with a laid back attitude and good food. Beechwood is one of those places. If you go......

It stands to reason that sometimes a good Happy Hour is hard to find in this town. But give us one that combines drink bargains with sushi and you've got our attention. If you're either coming or going on (Big) Santa Monica between the beach and WeHo or those general environs after a hard day's work, Century City's KULA Sushi Bistro's Happy Hour would make a worthy stopping point. Between 5-7 Monday-Friday evenings, the restaurant......

The new 7,300-square-foot Hollywood & Highland location of uWink (its first location is in Woodland Hills) opens to the general public tonight at 5pm. But last night we were able to take a sneak peek of the high-tech interactive restaurant at the media party where we had free reign over the food menu and extensive cocktail list and could order directly through a touchscreen at our tables instead of going through a waiter. Dangerous for......

Just before 5 o'clock this morning, two gunmen, "described as white men wearing masks" held up the stalwart 24-hour eatery Norm's at 470 La Cienega Blvd. According to cbs2.com, the robbers "got away with an undisclosed amount of cash from the register" and "reportedly chased employees through the panicked restaurant where the workers were able to lock themselves in a back room." Furthermore, following the heist, "the suspects fled in a waiting white, four-door Ford......

Alain Giraud is a charismatic guy. He is the picture of a merry chef, walking through his restaurant in his whites, with a warm smile, raking his fingers through a pristine silver hairdo that only a Frenchman can pull off. And even when he whispered (politely) to me, “Madame, please don’t take pictures of the restaurant”, I could not help but smile and say, alright then. He is just that, how do you say… geniale.......

Simon's Cafe is a wonderful little gem of a place, located in an awkward intersection just under the 405 freeway at Ventura Boulevard, but this Mediterranean/Moroccan treat is well worth the trip. Stop in tonight to say hi to Simon himself, who is often in the kitchen and serving the guests with speed and politesse. If you enjoy your meal, he's also giving a cooking lesson next Sunday morning on house specialties like feuillettes aux......

Ohhhhh... Sunday breakfast! It can be late but great, big and (probably) bad for you. But, ohhhh! Yeah. Mmmmm. This plate of big-time breakfast goodness comes from LAist Featured Photos contributor kristi.nicole, who gives us the lowdown (and a server shout-out!):We've been going to Basix Cafe in West Hollywood regularly for over 3 years. Their apple pancakes with caramel syrup [pictured] are addicting. They also make a killer Chilaquiles. Above all this, they have......

"For the best farm-fresh sandwiches in downtown Los Angeles, it is Mendocino Farms. Amazing sandwiches," wrote hinducow in the caption of his Vegan Shawarma ($9.25) photo. The sandwich is not listed on their menu, but is a new summer grilled sandwich that has a white and lentil bean puree, red oninos, tomatoes, cucumbers, romaine lettuce and a soy schawarma. Other vegetarian and vegan option on the menu include: Caprese (Gioia fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil pesto......

Krust is less...crusty for some | Photo by Elise Thompson/LAist Like many of us hungry Valleyites, our first review of Krust left me disappointed. In a part of town that sorely lacks delicious mealtime options, it could have been the perfect fit. As an unofficial red-velvet-cupcake-tester, I knew I'd probably have to make the trip, but ... Well, East Coaster that I am, I decided to go to Krust just to be abused! In......

A converted biodiesel car | Photo by Jessica DeWinter Oil's gone up in price, and therefore gas. Food has followed including the price of second hand grease from restaurants used for cars after its turned into biodiesel. Eataries used to have to pay to have their grease taken away, but due to the popularity of its use for greener transit, the price has more than quadrupled since 2000. Just like a new trendy crime......