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.......

Happy Meals, a new semi-regular series where I, an LA native, revisit places I ate as a kid, indulge in food and nostalgia, and see what’s changed and what hasn’t. When I was a kid, we lived near Lake Hollywood, so Honeybaked was about three minutes from our house. My earliest memories of the place was picking up sams there and heading to the beach. I developed my beach taste on the east coast.......

It's National Cold Cuts Day. That term has always brought to mind those not very fresh, tasteless sandwich fillers served at large functions that you eat because you don't want to eat only macaroni salad. With the beef recall, dashing to your local butcher for some cold cuts sounds less appetizing than ever. However, the term "cold cuts" can include cheese and that's where you can freely celebrate. When I lived in NY, I......

Like I said, I’ve been really bad about this. But I’m back with a vengeance fuckers. In a week where the football world mourned the passing of Washington Redskin safety Sean Taylor, no tribute was more fitting was when the Redskins defense lined up with only ten men on the field for their first play from scrimmage. Probably inspired when the USC Trojans special teams did the same thing in their first game against......

Ah, Santa Barbara. Wine, adobe buildings, wine, nice scenery, wine... So a few months ago I shot a beautiful, simple wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse (Most of us bloggers have a life outside of LAist, dear reader. I happen to be a photographer.) Afterwards, we walked through the huge grassy courtyard, across the street, and right into this gorgeous little restaurant called Elements. We had some unbelievably good sandwiches and wraps at the......

If you're anything like us and still incorporate large quantities of instant ramen noodles into your diet (is that shameful for a food writer to admit?), this morning's news might cause more than a little worry. We woke to our local news broadcasters discussing yet another American health worry: salt. Apparently Americans consume 50% too much salt in their diet, much of it locked up in processed and canned foods, and the FDA is......

Although most of us here at LAist are gourmet vegan chefs, a few of us (hi!) get our meals via drive-thru's not just daily, but several times a day. So the day after Thanksgiving we found ourselves in the drive-thru of the Jack in the Box on Santa Monica Blvd. in Westwood right near the 405 and we saw this interesting sign. Because we're selfish, lazy, bastards, at first we thought "oh cool, Jack......

Astro Family Restaurant is a venerable Los Angeles institution located a hop, skip, and a jump from the beautiful shores of Silver Lake. Astro has graced the glamorous corner Glendale Blvd. and Fletcher Dr. since 1974. Silver Lake has been through many changes over the last thirty years. It went from a neighborhood known for being dingy and overrun with gangs to a neighborhood that is trendy and is overrun with hipsters. Through all......

For 55 years there has been once place to go at 2am for good Pastrami. Johnnie's Pastrami is a Culver City landmark. Just around the corner from Titos Tacos you find this 1950's neon clad restaurant. I have lived down the street from it for five years and never seen it empty. It's the hub of the late shift workers, Cops, Teens, Sony employees, and Pastrami aficionados. You can sit inside at the counter and......

Nothing causes more craziness in Culver City these days than a new place to have lunch. You’d think the Beatles had come to town. Those guys at Sony make lines that wrap around the block. In a few months, the lines calm down and then the rest of us can come in. I’ve been to Melt Down a couple of times now. It’s a small place with an open kitchen and mostly outdoor seating,......

Every Friday, LAist is taking you on a trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. As someone who rarely eats red meat (but is not a vegetarian), my options for protein are pretty limited. Consequently, I eat a lot of chicken as well as a fair amount of fish. Chicken obviously is not the most exciting meat to eat,......

Orlando, Florida's Walt Disney World is quite a different ride than our local Anaheim day-tripping Disneyland. For one, the Florida theme park is all about kids and family, family and kids and some more kids, kids, kids (so there is Pleasure Island, but the name is just sort of weird to start with). So other than never growing up, what else is there to remember about a few days at the massive theme park? Food.......

Did you read the now-notorious article in the LA Times about food writing, anonymity, and the role of bloggers? LA Foodblogging has an excellent response here, and Variety's food blog shares two simple rules for online reviews. What’s on the menu for the Jewish holidays? The LAT suggests braised veal, leek fritters, and cilantro-tomato soup, while the NY Times is answering questions about Rosh Hashana meals via its food message boards. When the LA......

We're still kind of obsessed with the cooking videos over at imcooked, especially the oddly soothing clips of Thai street vendors cooking their wares: in the video above, check out a fried mussel dish prepared in less than four minutes. The LA Times heads north this week to seek out culinary finds in Ventura and Santa Barbara, respectively: first at new vegan restaurant, Mary's Secret Garden, and then at the Santa Barbara outpost of......

Vegan and vegetarian restaurants are starting to become one of the regulars among sushi and Thai joints across Los Angeles neighborhoods. And on Thursday, Silver Lake got theirs with Flore Vegan Cuisine (additionally, Intelligentsia Coffee opened yesterday one block north). Veggies are rejoicing to once again eat owner and Chef Miranda's cuisine after selling Tierra Cafe last year in Downtown (which is still open under new management). She has now brought forth a vegan restaurant......

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness - we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts......

In all of my many many years of obsessing over food, there are only three food-stuffs that I would seriously consider as a Last Night on Earth meal option: Mashed potatoes and gravy. Sushi (o-toro, preferably). And falafel. Pretty uninspired stuff, I know, but for some reason, falafel falls into the category of Things I Could Eat Every Day and Never Grow Tired Of. I actually carried around a big bottle of Sriracha hot......

- 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......

MTV to Bloggers: We sort of like you but not enough to give a shit about your coverage. LAist to MTV: We sort of like you but not enough to give a shit about your programming. When LAist was invited by MTV to live-blog the 2007 Movie Awards from an on-site "blogging tent," we asked ourselves one crucial question: is this going to be a cool opportunity to offer readers a unique perspective on the......

LAist: hey take a picture of the Live Blogging Tent! Elina the LAist Live Blogger: OK, in this photo you'll see a blonde spiky haired dude, that is mk from popbytes. the girl in the blue t-shirt on his left is lisa from socialite life so there are no tables for you kids? and you're all watching it on tv from a tent? yes, there are both tables and chairs as well as couches.......

Every Friday, LAist is taking you on a trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. The daily grind of life can be a drag. And every so often, you need a place to blow off steam and forget about your worries for a little while. Tired soul, meet your rejuvenator – thy name is Hollingshead’s Delicatessen. Now you’re thinking,......

There is no reason to fight traffic to get away this Memorial Day weekend. There is plenty of traffic right here in L.A. Between all of the barbeques and festivals, it’s going to be hard to decide where to go first. Here is a taste of some of the festivals happening around town: Fiesta Hermosa May 26, 27, 28 (The festival formerly known as Fiesta de las Artes). This Hermosa Beach festival is primarily an......

Have you ever gone out with someone who was so attractive that you were never really sure if you were good enough for them? And sometimes they treated you like shit because they knew they could get away with it? But you kept going back, no matter what, because they were really, really good in bed? I think that is what is happening between me and Aroma Coffee and Tea. Aroma is my bad......

My name is Elise and I take pictures of food. There, admitting the problem is the first step towards recovery. I know my hobby borders on the peculiar, if not the insane. I was recently snapping a few shots of a take-out carton behind a bar. The drunken regulars pointed and laughed, “Har, har! That girl just took a picture of a SANDWICH!” I am certain that’s what will be engraved on my gravestone.......

Seven Grand had its official “hard opening” Thursday night. (It “softly” opened last month.) The bar is the latest from 213, which also owns Broadway Bar and Golden Gopher and plans to reopen Downtown establishment Cole’s, aka “originator of the French Dip,” in winter 2007. Seven Grand is in the former home of Brocks Jewelry Emporium, although now it’s stocked with stuffed stag and elk heads, a few hot tattooed- and mohawked waiters, and......

What happened, Bar Marmont? We used to be so good together… You were a classic, attached to a piece of Hollywood history, whimsically decorated (butterflies!), not too trendy, but very hip. I understood your dalliances with movie stars and other celebrities. Just as long as they would stay away from me, and I could still get in, it was all cool. You have to admit, we had some fantastic times – intimate candle-lit dinners composed......

Some people might think a chicken sandwich is just a chicken sandwich, those people obviously haven't eaten at a Chick-Fil-A. The reason they haven't eaten a Chick-Fil-A sandwich is simple, there just aren't enough here in LA. Having lived next door to Chick-Fil-A during my brief stint in Orlando, I had the honor of enjoying the deliciousness of a piece of fried chicken on a bun with three pickles whenever I wanted. Ever since,......

This weekend is the launch for the new Sunday Tea event at The Standard in Hollywood (4-7 p.m). From the Cactus Lounge, lobby, or poolside, the hotel is offering a special menu of sandwiches, desserts, brewed teas and it wouldn’t be The Standard without cocktails. Called “mar'tea'ni's,” these drinks are booze infused with tea and herbal blends by La Mill, a nice change if you want some antioxidants with your buzz. There are five......

While there's certainly more than a few funky little coffeeshops in the Southland where you can get your java on, how many of them can offer cool services like free headshot-worthy portraits from an up-and-coming photographer? At Viento Y Agua in Long Beach, that's exactly what you'll be getting this weekend. Local photographer and lecturer Mitchell Maher will be taking free photos of the Viento’s patrons all day on Sunday, May 6th. His style......

Huston’s Pit BBQ is a bit of an anomaly. It’s an aging, yellow-painted shack smack in the middle of Hollywood, on a stretch of Cahuenga that is also home to such hip, happening spots as Citizen Smith and the Hotel Cafe. You could easily walk right past it and not even register that it’s there. I know I used to, until one day one of our supervisors at work had them cater lunch –......