Downtown LA
This North African Pastry Will Determine If You Are Ready to Be a Husband
According to an Algerian tradition, if a would-be groom can successfully eat an entire brik pastry without spilling a drop of the yolk inside, then he is officially ready to marry. I decided to try my luck.
The Secret Quality That Makes Mexican Food So Damn Good
Sazón is the talent of mastering acidity, seasoning, tradition, and technique in a Mexican kitchen. It is not a skill that one learns by simply going to cooking school or working at a nice restaurant. You will know right away if the cook possesses it...
Is LA’s Smorgasburg Even Better Than the Brooklyn Original?
Whether you are an urban planner, Snapchatting food person, or a bitter food industry veteran, there is no denying that what is going on in an empty lot each Sunday in downtown LA is something to behold.
Hospitals Are Dumping Mentally Ill Patients in Los Angeles’ Skid Row
Instead of creating a post-treatment plan, hospitals discard the chronically ill and homeless back to the street, according to a recent lawsuit.
This Is What Tea That Costs $1,145 a Pound Tastes Like
The flavor of this En Shi Jade Dew tea is so intense at first that it throws you off guard. It also smells like a glass of warm, full-fat milk.
Why Truffles, Caviar, and Foie Gras Should Be Accessible to Everyone
The kitchen is an evolving thing. My transition out of fine dining happened naturally. I used to spend all of my money eating out at the best restaurants and then spend even more money on wine. However, that got old really fast.
I Ate Tacos and Talked About S&M with Fat Mike of NOFX
Despite his notorious “live fast, die young” lifestyle, Fat Mike still knows how to stop to take a moment and appreciate the joys of good food.
How a Beloved Puppet Theater Became a Battleground in the LA Gentrification Wars
Bob Baker's Marionette Theater has been an icon in Los Angeles since the 1960s. But now, developers plan to turn the performance space into the lobby of a new apartment building, and the theater's fans are fighting to save it.
Germany’s Black Forest Taught Me to Cook a Better Steak
I grew up hunting. My father was a hunter, and I learned how to appreciate whole animals as a source of food at a very early age.
Why I Left My Job as a Teacher to Be a Line Cook
I’m in this food business for life and I would have never figured that out if I hadn’t taken this risk. Opportunities come and go but the ones that really count will never come back.
How Being Named the 'Best New Restaurant in America' Hurt My Business
After the press, people wouldn’t come in with the same open-minded attitude, or just to enjoy a meal out with their friends. It seemed like they came in just to write a shitty review about us on Yelp.
How This Lap Dog-Sized Tamale Became the Food of the Dead
In Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated by offering a giant casserole-like tamale that is bigger in size than a small a chihuahua and tastes more like an epazote-scented chicken pot pie than an actual tamale.