Email Author Ali Trachta

2012 Stories by Ali Trachta

• When a Video Artwork Showed the Presidential Debate, the Audience Tried to Change the Volume. But Is That Like Drawing on a Picassor

  published Oct 04, 2012

  See also: *5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week *Our Best of L.A. issue and our Best of L.A. app Last night's presidential debate didn't get nearly as heated as the firestorm that erupted during... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fabio Viviani on Life After Top Chef + Why "Success Is Personal"

  published Oct 03, 2012

  See also: Top Chef Tour: Richard Blais vs. Fabio Viviani at Hollywood & Highland See also: Top Chef Masters Recap: "Do You Want to Be Comforted, or Do You Want to Be Thrilledr" It's 10:00 a.m., and c... More >>

• Top Chef Masters Recap: "Do You Want to Be Comforted, or Do You Want to Be Thrilledr"

  published Sep 27, 2012

  It was a battle of the coasts in last night's Top Chef Masters finale, pitting New York's Kerry Heffernan against San Francisco's golden boy Chris Cosentino. But it wasn't just that. It was also a ba... More >>

• Anthony Bourdain Told Me to Go to Baja. So I'd Be OK There. Rightr

  published Sep 27, 2012

  See also: *Anthony Bourdain's Baja Episode of No Reservations Will Make You Want to Cross the Border Immediately. *OC Weekly's column Tijuana Si!. In our column First Person, L.A. writers tackle th... More >>

• National Reality TV Awards: Kim Kardashian Didn't Show, But the Helicopter Dude From The Bachelorette Was There

  published Sep 25, 2012

  So Kathy Griffin has this term of, well, not endearment -- whatever the opposite of endearment is -- for the Creative Arts Emmys. She calls them "The Schmemmys," basically because they're the nerdy li... More >>

• From Lena Dunham to Matthew Weiner, TV's Best Writers Gathered in a Room Last Night. Here's What They Said

  published Sep 20, 2012

  See also: *Is This the Golden Age of Televisionr A Zocalo Event Asks the Question *Boys Who Like Girls: Three Theories on Why Men Are Into This Show *Two and a Half Men vs. Mad Men at PaleyFest: Is ... More >>

• Top Chef Masters Recap: The Students Become The Masters

  published Sep 20, 2012

  Finally, a challenge that truly lived up to the "Master" name. On last night's TCM, the three remaining chefs, Kerry Heffernan, Chris Cosentino and Lorena Garcia, did not touch the food they served i... More >>

• Got a Reality Show Idea or Documentary in the Worksr Here's a Festival Where You Can Pitch It

  published Sep 17, 2012

  Anyone who's ever played certain junior high party games knows a lot can happen in seven minutes. It can be heaven, maybe, if it goes well. And if you happen to be a participant in the annual WESTDOC... More >>

• Top Chef Masters Recap: Blanc-ing Out

  published Sep 13, 2012

  Paging P. Diddy. There was a white party and no one invited you. OK, it wasn't that kind of white party. Instead, on last night's episode of Top Chef Masters, the final four contestants were charged ... More >>

• The Poor Porker: Beignets, Coffee + The Coolest Couple You Could Hope to Meet

  published Sep 10, 2012

  On the booth hangs a mirror for customers to double-check their mouths. "I've walked around with powdered sugar on my face so many times!" says Robyn Wilson, one half of the incredibly charming couple... More >>

• Top Chef Masters Recap: And In This Corner...

  published Sep 06, 2012

  Remember Mike Tyson's Punch Outr That old Nintendo game in which scrawny "Little Mac" fought his way through towering opponents, eventually taking down the heavyweight champion despite his apparent fe... More >>

• Top Chef Masters Recap: Un-Thaied

  published Aug 30, 2012

  Curtis Stone is, in the words of Derek Zoolander, "really, really, ridiculously good-looking," so not the type, we'd imagine, to get tongue-tied around the ladies. But leave it to hometown girl Dita V... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Q & A With Anthony Bourdain: The End of No Reservations, CNN + Throwing a Drink in Alan Richman's Face

  published Aug 27, 2012

  See also: Anthony Bourdain: 5 Unexpected Lessons He Taught Us Last Night. See also: Anthony Bourdain's Baja Episode of No Reservations Will Make You Want to Cross the Border Immediately. Anthony Bour... More >>

• Top Chef Masters Recap: Holly Madison Parties, But Not Harder Than James Oseland

  published Aug 23, 2012

  What's more Vegas than a couple of lesbian folk singers eating vegetarian foodr! OK, OK, not what you'd expect for this Sin City season, rightr But something had to balance out what would become a Pla... More >>

• Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 8/6 - 8/10

  published Aug 10, 2012

  In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "For Mexican, I go to My Taco a lot. It's near my house in South Pasadena. The food there is really good and fresh and well pre... More >>

• Top Chef Masters Recap: Art Smith Teppanyak-ity-yaks

  published Aug 09, 2012

  Who says a Quickfire has to involve fire at allr On last night's episode of Top Chef Masters, raw was the name of the game for the chefs, who found themselves surrounding a massive ice sculpture adorn... More >>

• Top Chef Masters Recap: Take the Cake, Please

  published Aug 02, 2012

  It was not chef Art Smith's best day, to say the least. What, you ask, could have happened to cause him such shame -- worthy of a melting forehead slapr Last night on Top Chef Masters, it was a case o... More >>

• Top Chef Masters Recap: Cooking for Billionaires, and Why Curtis Stone Is, in Fact, the Man

  published Jul 26, 2012

  Hooray! Top Chef Masters is back! You know, that souped-up version of the old Bravo staple in which we get to watch alreadyfamous chefs duke it out in the kitchen, not for money (as all their winnings... More >>

• Miss Advised: Bravo's Latest Relationship Experts Are Still Single ... But Don't Seem to Care

  published Jul 26, 2012

  Emily Morse and Amy Laurent, two of the three stars of Bravo reality show Miss Advised, are settling in for lunch at Tart, near the Grove. Julia Allison, the local girl and most famous of the trio, ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  10 Best Doughnuts in Los Angeles

  published Jul 24, 2012

  They say sex is like a doughnut: Even at its worst, is it ever really badr Well, once you consume, in rapid succession, as many doughnuts as we have in the last few weeks, you start to believe it can ... More >>

• La Cava de Marcelo, the Only Cheese Cellar in Latin America Open to the Public, Is in Nearby Baja Wine Country

  published Jul 18, 2012

  See also: Anthony Bourdain's Baja Episode of No Reservations Will Make You Want to Cross the Border Immediately. See also: 'Stick a Fork in It' column Tijuana Si!. The promise of wine country that's ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The John Kerwin Show, the Long-Running, Late-Night Talk Show You've Never Heard of

  published Jul 05, 2012

  Just a few minutes remain until The John Kerwin Show starts taping, and announcer Keith Leon is teaching us the art of the double clap. It's a trick that's been used since the dawn of television time... More >>

• Caesar Salad Festival in Tijuana This Sunday: Did You Know Its Roots Are in Bajar

  published Jun 22, 2012

  See also: Anthony Bourdain's Baja Episode of No Reservations Will Make You Want to Cross the Border Immediately. See also: 'Stick a Fork in It' column Tijuana Si!. If you're up for a spur-of-the-mome... More >>

• Top Chef Tour: Richard Blais vs. Fabio Viviani at Hollywood & Highland

  published Jun 20, 2012

  If Richard Blais has any rug burn on its face, it's from hanging out with Fabio Viviani for the last few days. "The kisses are getting longer," Blais joked. "It's the stubble that bothers me." The tw... More >>

• Because There's Nothing Sexier Than the Back Room of a Comic Book Store

  published June 14, 2012

  Can we be frank? Can you? Hey, whatever turns you on. When Sex Nerd Sandra takes the reins in your bedroom, you can be Frank, Tom, Dick or Harry.... More >>