Le Food News

It's places like this that make me want to live or at least work downtown. Literally, I could go to Catch 21 several times a week for lunch or dinner and never get tired of it.

Alie Ward and Georgia Hardstark are two charming and funny mixologists who take their show on the road, to our delight

Titanic Belfast is an exhibition opening to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic--enjoy your last supper as well

Slammin' Sliders and Slummin' Gourmet are two SoCal food trucks that knock sliders out of the park, as Guy Fieri would say

The Arroyo Chop House in Pasadena knows protein, so go as a caveman, or caveperson, and forget the veggies etc.

After the sunny days of spring and summer and long lines, the Grilled Cheese Truck seems suddenly accessible in wintertime

The Azteca Mexican Restaurant and Crooners Lounge is a shrine to Elvis Presley, but with some pretty good Tex-Mex offerings

The Bazaar by Jose Andres in Beverly Hills is a glamour destination, but the menu can be a bit bewildering

I wanted to try the food at the Backstage dive bar in Culver City, Calif., but ended up at the dreadful ersatz bistro, La Dijonaise

Bad oysters spoiled my four-day Thanksgiving weekend, and I'm still recovering without a single taste of turkey, stuffing, or cranberry

I was only thinking of going to the L.A. Auto Show, but along the way I also discovered a great wine tasting at Bottle Rock in Los Angeles

Can anything as over-saturated as the food truck scene in Southern California continue forever with no casualties? I don't think so!

The totally overrated Ludo Lefebvre can't even complete with KFC, let alone El Pollo Loco.

Peter's Gourmade in Tustin, Calif., all 100 square feet, serves yummy food and has a nice story behind its inception

Both Shrimp Pimp and Temaki Truck serve food-truck Japanese-inspired fare, and both are worth a try

SoCal Gas Co. offered up a combi oven cooking demo with smashing and ordinary food results

The second incarnation of the Inland Empire Food Truck Festival on Oct. 8 proved more creature-comfortable than the first

Truck Norris serves up the most phenomenal Shepherd's Pie anywhere, and for just $4!

Cha Cha's Tacos and Tequila in Brea, Calif., is a nice after-movie or before-movie destination, with Flamenco dancing during Sunday brunch

Chinatown Summer Nights in L.A. proved a largely successful affair, combining food trucks, art galleries, arts and craft stalls and more

I got this strange e-mail from the Vizzi coastal infusion cuisine truck yesterday that seemed to indicate the truck was joining another Food Network enterprise, perhaps The Great Food Truck Race 3. Here's what the trucksters wrote: ZaSo's FIR...

I chased the Lardon food truck for a couple of months, hoping to find perfection in its ballyhooed bacon taco. I didn't.

The ongoing Western Foodservice and Hospitality Expo in San Diego couples entrepreneurial gambles with savvy technology and food shortcuts

You'd think a huge place like Orange County could get its act together to stage a food truck festival, but alas, bad planning and execution prevailed.

'Latin Dance Fire' at the Center Stage in Fontana, Calif., was entertaining, but the food could stand some freshening up

Toru Sushi at Angel Stadium offers a healthy respite from fried and fast food while Five Guys, incredibly enough, serves the finest fast-food hot dog in Southern California

Servite High School held a food truck festival on Saturday, Aug. 13, with a good array of food offerings

Just when I thought the food truck scene was dead in Southern California, a prominent food editor calls food trucks a key to L.A. being 'the food city of the moment'

Gordon Ramsay unexpectedly eliminated Gina Melcher on 'Hell's Kitchen' when there were more deserving candidates for the axe

Since I can't afford to eat in good restaurants anymore, I naturally latched onto the food truck phenomenon as the last refuge of the penniless seeking culinary fulfillment. Pennies were lavished everywhere, but fulfillments were few, alas. The Beh...

The weekly food truck gathering at the OC Farmers' Market in Costa Mesa, Calif., featured a cooking competition on July 23

At an event sponsored by the Southern California Gas Co. Vietnam-born Haley Nguyen demonstrated Vietnamese cooking techniques, combinations and secrets

Schooner or Later has dibs on a prime waterfront location in Long Beach, Calif., and serves humongous portions of American favorites

Takoyaki are octopus balls popular in Osaka, Japan, and now coming to the U.S. on street vendor carts. I call them two things: 'OctoBalls' and 'delicious.'

'Rocco's Dinner Party' continues with its high profile guests at Rocco DiSpirito's New York pad

The blogosphere is atweet with news that 'Top Chef' has been seen filming Season Nine in San Antonio, Texas

Eight trucks, including seabirds from Orange County, will compete in the 'Great Food Truck Race 2' beginning Aug. 14.

Brothers square off on 'Rocco's Dinner Party' with an Italian theme on Wednesday, June 29

The Concourse in Anaheim is the perfect location for a food truck gathering since you can go inside and finish off your food over a cold beer, or other drink of choice.

'MasterChef' used some CGI to increase the size of its participant crowds as revealed in this marked-up photo

'Rocco's Dinner Party' is surprisingly good given how shallow and egotistical I once held Rocco DiSpirito to be (he seems improved this time around)

The inaugural Inland Empire Food Truck Festival was hugely attended and great fun, but has the NomNom Truck lost its magic?

Bobby Flay got his way and Soul Daddy won 'America's Next Great Restaurant,' and a month later two of three locations have been shuttered

This season's Top Chef Master will be crowned on Wednesday, June 15, and be awarded $100,000 for the charity of his or her choice

In its next-to-last segment, 'Top Chef Masters' fetes returning servicemen and women but still eliminates one challenger

I finally caught up with the oh-so-popular Lobsta Truck and came away much the wiser about the food truck craze

Padma Lakshmi returns as a judge as the competition on 'Top Chef Masters' heats up--and winds down

The remaining 'Top Chef Masters' undergo a taste test blind-folded, ear-folded, and nose-folded on the May 18 episode on Bravo

Grill 'Em All is still riding a wave of popularity from winning the Great Food Truck Race on Food Network, and it showed at the Fullerton High School Food Truck Fundraiser May 13

Former 'Top Chef' contestant Carla Hall is now a spokesperson for Fancy Feast cat food, leading a campaign for customer suggestions on new flavors

The remaining 'Top Chef Masters' contestants are challenged to create a feast for Grammy-winning rock group Maroon 5

In impeccable timing, just as the annual James Beard Awards were announced, the Carl's Jr./Hardee's icon--Miss Turkey's bikini--went on auction on eBay

Contestants on the May 4 episode of 'Top Chef Masters' are challenged to operate a drive-thru restaurant

Miss Turkey probably never ate turkey before she promoted the Carl's Jr./Hardee's turkey burger. So how does it taste?

The 'Top Chef Masters' must create delicious dishes of less than 1,200 calories for all three meals (4/27/2011)

The 2nd 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational in Los Angeles drew big crowds of hungry participants on Saturday, April 23, at the Center Studios parking lot

'Amazing Wedding Cakes' episode 5 finds three teams with three unique challenges

The Quickfire Challenge on April 20's 'Top Chef: Masters' features some earth-bound ingredients--it's truly a bug's life

A couple wants three cities incorporated into their wedding cake this Sunday on 'Amazing Wedding Cakes'

Two entertainment celebrities will bring their own idea of cooking challenges to 'Top Chef Masters' on Wednesday, April 13

'Amazing Wedding Cakes' pits two competitors in a baking competition each Sunday night on WE tv

'Top Chef Masters' begins a new season on Bravo with new host Curtis Stone on Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Santa Anita Race Track held its second Food Truck Festival of the year on Saturday, April 2, with 80 trucks and thousands of hungry fans

How are Misa and Jen with their Vietnamese-inspired 'banh mi' food truck doing after massive exposure on the Food Network? I finally caught up with the vehicle.

For the series finale of 'Top Chef: All Stars,' finalists Richard Blais and Mike Isabella get to create the menu of their dreams

Reality begins to sink in for Richard Blais in the next-to-last episode of 'Top Chef: All Stars' as Mike Isabella begins looking more and more like a real winner

For St. Patrick's Day, I visited two Irish/pseudo-Irish pubs, both located in nondescript strip malls

'Amazing Wedding Cakes' begins an all-new season on WE tv, debuting on Sunday evening, March 27

With just a quartet of contestants remaining, 'Top Chef: All Stars' on March 16 features its own version of the Final Four

The five remaining 'Top Chef: All Star' competitors find themselves on the Bahamas in a face-to-face challenge with the winners from their respective seasons

An Australian favorite, Oporto opened a week ago in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., serving its famous chicken burgers with hot Portugese chili sauce, along with other chicken concoctions

The Top Chef: All Stars take the ferry to Ellis Island and discover they must cook up a repast based on their family's heritage (March 2, 2011)

Jimmy Fallon orders up a birthday fete and feast while fondue separates the winners from the losers tonight on 'Top Chef: All Stars'

Aburiya Toranoko Sushi Bar and Izakaya in L.A.'s Little Tokyo serves up some of the most delicious food anywhere

On the Feb. 2 episode of 'Top Chef: All Stars,' the Quickfire Challenge is judged on presentation only by Isaac Mizrahi, and then the Elimination Round features Italian dinners prepared at Rao's and judged by Soprano Lorraine Bracco

Some 20-plus fast food trucks were the center of attraction on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011, at Santa Anita Race Track, drawing thousands and thousands, who appeared to have no interest in the horses

James Suckling leads an extraordinary private Bordeaux tasting at the Barker Hanger at Santa Monica Airport on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011

Smithwick's Brewery is celebrating 300 years of beer making in Ireland is giving away 300 home-brewing kits to celebrate!

Anthony Bourdain and Restaurant Wars both return to 'Top Chef: All Stars' for the Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011, episode

Wine and Dogs was held this past Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, in the Artist District of Downtown Los Angeles, featuring wine from nine wineries and dogs of every variety as guests

On 'Top Chef: All Stars' on Jan. 12, 2011, the contestants find themselves out to sea to fish for the protein to prepare for their competition

As 'Top Chef: All Stars' returns for 2011, judge and chef Tom Colicchio faces off with the contestants in a Quickfire challenge

Los Angeles Times 'anonymous' food critic S. Irene Virbila has been outed by an irate restaurant owner, who took and posted her picture with scathing remarks online

Top Chef: All Stars on Dec. 22 forces the chefs to prepare a holiday dish using only their hands and not utensils

For its Dec. 15, 2010, episode 'Top Chef: All Stars' has the contestans competing in four of New York's top restaurants.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries may be getting rave reviews for some unknown reason, but my visit left me completely unsatisfied--full of meat and potatoes but not taste

Singing sensation and Disney star Joe Jonas will be a guest judge on the 12/08 episode of 'Top Chef: All Stars'

Get a sneak peak at the opening episode of 'Top Chef All Stars,' which reunited 18 'losers' for a final chance at redemption!

The we.tv series 'Amazing Wedding Cakes' comes to a close with a champion crowned tonight, Nov. 14, 2010

The Wednesday, Nov. 10, episode of 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' finds the remaining four contestants battling it out over truffles for a spot in the finale

Danielle Keene is the lone female contestant left competing on 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010

'Top Chef: Just Desserts' uses a version of restaurant war called dessert war on the Oct. 27 episode

Top Chef: Just Desserts melds fashion and chocolate on the Oct. 13 episode

Contestants on Top Chef: Just Desserts must create the "ultimate ice cream sundae" for the Oct. 6 episode.

The heat is on as contestants weigh their fates in week three of Top Chef: Just Desserts.

The series Amazing Wedding Cakes turns to the southern tradition of the groom's wedding cake.

Will Alex own up to stealing the pea puree on tonight's Top Chef Reunion?

Top Chef: Just Desserts makes its debut on Sept. 16 on Bravo TV following the crowning of the new Top Chef.

Top Chef reaches its finale tonight, Sept. 16, in Singapore, as Angelo falls ill and Hung springs to the rescue!

Master Chef finals, coming up Sept. 15, looks to be a contest between the men and the women, two each for the final title and $250K in filthy lucre.

With the remaining four Top Chef contestants slugging it out in Asia, will this be a human version of the Singapore Sling on Top Chef Sept. 8, 2010?

A bakery team is challenged to create a cake based on "Edward Scissorhands" tonight on 'Amazing Wedding Cakes' on WE Tv

With Slim gone, there's not much charm left on Master Chef, so I'll have to root for beauty-cum-brains in contestant Sheetal Bhagat.

Acerbic chef-author-raconteur Anthony Bourdain is set to liven up proceedings on the Sept. 1, 2010, episode of Top Chef.

Amazing Wedding Cakes, a new competition, premieres on WE Tv this Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010.

Sheetal Bhagat is not only a surviving participant on Gordon Ramsay's Master Chef TV competition, she is also a natural beauty with talent and ambition, who may be getting reduced in air time because of her marketing efforts.

Will the remaining six Top Chef contestants consider the Japanese baseball snack squid-on-a-stick as they prepare 'innovative' treats for fans at a Washington Nationals baseball game?

Top Chef takes on a secret mission as the finalists cook at the CIA for a group of spymasters.

The Western Foodservice and Hopistality Expo runs at the Los Angeles Convention Center through Monday, Aug. 16, 2010. Next year—back to San Diego.

As 'Top Chef' Washington, D.C., draws to a close, the producers rolls out the legendary restaurant war competition.

The remaining Top Chef contestants tackle a variety of foreign cuisines for Top Chef Master Marcus Samuelsson and foreign dignitaries on the Aug. 4, 2010, episode.

Gordon Ramsay seeks to one-up the entire cooking competition industry with his debut of Master Chef, which pits home cooks against one another—and even against professionals!

If you’re a seafood person, this week’s Top Chef episode is guaranteed to make your mouth water, because what’s a season in D.C. without a little bit of blue crabs in a Quickfire Challenge? Then for the Elimination Round, it’s a...

Contestants on Top Chef this week (July 7, 2010, airing) are forced to go high and low. For the Quickfire Challenge, the competing chefs must create a dish that can be re-purposed for toddlers. Then for the Elimination Round, they're tasked with ...

True Citrus is sponsoring a recipe contest that must include use of one of their products; it closes July 7, 2010.

Chef Jonathan Waxman, Bobby Flay's mentor, makes his second cameo/judge appearance in one week on the June 30 episode of Top Chef.

Top Chef D.C. contestants are tasked with making a slender-bender of a meal on a shoestring budget for local schoolchildren.

French chef extradordinaire--and ultimate gentlemen--Eric Ripert is joining the Judges' Table when season seven of Top Chef gets under way June 16.

Now comes Next Food Network Star to round out the summer's reality cooking shows.

Le Food News predicts Susur Lee will win the 2010 competition for the title of Top Chef Master.