Denny's Corporation

Can Somebody Please Declare the Bacon Trend Over?

Now that bacon has been embraced by Denny's, can someone please declare that the trend is finally, mercifully, over? Perhaps Major Bloomberg can do this for us, since we seem to be between mayors at the moment. Giant soft drinks, cigarettes -- bacon is arguably just as much of a threat to our nation ... More >>

Theater to See in L.A. This Week, Including a Mesmerizing Child's-Eye View of Grief, Walking the Tightrope

Child-like views delighted our critics this week, with Mike Kenney's Walking the Tightrope at the 24th Street Theatre taking Pick of the Week, and a nod to Albie Selznick's magic show Smoke and Mirrors at the Lankershim Arts Center in North Hollywood. There's also a recommendation for an adult comed ... More >>

10 Best Eats In Arcadia: Neighborhood Grub Crawl

Some call it the "new Chinese Beverly Hills." For others, it's just the city where Din Tai Fung and the Los Angeles County Arboretum are located. But look closely and you'll see a lively food community in an otherwise very suburban neighborhood. Arcadia is the home of the recently relocated 626 Ni ... More >>

Rapper Jonathon Marcou Lives Out of His Car. No, Literally

Standing outside his champagne-colored Saturn wearing a USC sweatshirt, Jonathon Marcou looks like just another good-looking frat boy. His khakis are pressed and cuffed, he wears Vans boat shoes with no socks and his long lashes almost brush the lens of his fashionable tortoise shell glasses. But ... More >>

Mayer Hawthorne's Umami Burger: When Musicians Menus Collide

If you're someone who subscribes to the theory that food is the new rock, then you might have see last Wednesday night as a watershed moment. Umami Burger, the L.A.-based gourmet burger chain that's set to open it's thirteenth location next week, released the first of what it's calling its "artist-e ... More >>

PopCon L.A.: Steve Sievers Dresses Like a Turtle and Brings His Supa Pirate Booty Hunt Web Series to Denny's

If you go to a lot of fan conventions in Southern California, you've probably seen Steve Sievers. Usually, he's dressed as a turtle, Daniel the Turtle, to be specific. That's the character he created and voices for the web-based cartoon series, Supa Pirate Booty Hunt. Supa Pirate Booty Hunt is abo ... More >>

Carmen Trutanich Suffers Another Defeat, As Judge Tosses Criminal Charges In Supergraphics Case

For as long as he's been L.A. city attorney, Carmen Trutanich has been trying to throw Barry Rush in jail. Rush, owner of the firm World Wide Rush, was once one of the major installers of unpermitted supergraphics -- the giant vinyl signs that blanket the sides of buildings.Trutanich came into offic ... More >>

5 Koreatown Restaurants Open 24 Hours: Hangover Soup

There is a segment of the population whose late-night cravings consist not of bacon and eggs or burgers and fries, but of sizzling grilled short ribs and flaming hot soups and comforting porridge. That segment of the population is the one you'll find after last call in Koreatown. There are so many ... More >>

Carmen Trutanich, L.A. City Attorney, Tramples the Rights of Pot Smokers, Street Artists and Protesters

The Band Fartbarf Tell Us About the Name Fartbarf

Josh McLeod is the lead singer of Fartbarf, a South Bay band that performs something they call analog electronic thrash music. They've gotten hate mail saying their music's not really thrash, but who cares? They're called Fartbarf. We contacted McLeod to talk about how they came up with the name Far ... More >>

Skee-Lo Wished He Was a Little Bit Taller. Then He Promptly Retired

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] The directions haven't changed. If you want to find Skee-Lo, take the 110 to the 105 and get off on Crenshaw. It's everything else that's been altered si ... More >>

L.A.'s Idea of Japanese Food vs. What Japanese Really Eat

Our Venn Food Diagram series has studied the people of Thailand, Armenia, Vietnam and most recently California, comparing what they actually eat with what Angelenos believe they eat. In this edition, we turn our attention to Japan, looking past ramen and sushi to see what foods Angelenos have left t ... More >>

Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares Season 5: A Casting Call A Call for Nominations

If you're a restaurant owner with a struggling business, odds are having Gordon Ramsay invade your kitchen and your life is not exactly the fix-it you have in mind. But then maybe it is. File it under the heading: Food & Masochism, or perhaps just I Wanna Be On TV. Because Ramsay's reality show Kitc ... More >>

Holiday Food Drive Roundup

Bellmore Library​Did you stock up on too much food for the holidays? Any Thanksgiving non-perishable leftovers? Make the most out of it and donate to these local food drives. According to the L.A. Regional Food Bank, the most coveted food products are rice, beans, canned meat, canned vegetable ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! The Time I Drank The Sweat From My Socks

​[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] Florida is a crazy place and I have played some of the wildest shows of my life here. I ... More >>

NYC Thinks L.A. Wants to Be 'Manhattanized'

NYC wannabe?​Well! This is insulting. And so very in line with New York media's ridiculous attempts to pin down Los Angeles after spending one night in a downtown hotel with a notepad and a smog mask. TIME Magazine runs a big out-of-touch feature today on the alleged "Manhattanization" of dow ... More >>

Kitchen 24 Opening in West Hollywood Beyond

Courtesy of Kitchen 24Kitchen 24 in Hollywood.​ We caught up with Kitchen 24 impresario (and Commissary partner) Dave Dickerson to chat about expansion plans for his 24-hour modern diner, currently with one location in Hollywood. The next Kitchen 24 location, which should open in the heart of ... More >>

19 Chain Restaurants Join Initiative to Offer Healthier Kids' Meals

Flickr/fdecomite​ Nineteen restaurant chains, including Burger King and IHOP, have agreed to participate in a restaurant industry effort to promote healthier meals for children, Reuters reports. Conceived of by the National Restaurant Association, the voluntary program will focus on boosting ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Postcards From the Edge of the Stage

Timothy Norris​[The one and only Henry Rollins contributes a weekly column and far-reaching reportage to the music section of the LA Weekly. Look for your weekly Henry Rollins fix right here on West Coast Sound every week and make sure to tune in to Henry's KCRW radio show every Saturday eveni ... More >>

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull Talks About Aqualung, His Duet with an Astronaut and Why He Doesn't Attend Concerts

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.​In 1967, Ian Anderson traded a Fender Stratocaster that previously belonged to Lemmy from Motorhead for a flute, since he felt he would never be as good of a guitar player as Eric Clapton. The rest is history. We caught up with Anderson to chat about the album Aq ... More >>

There's Got To Be A Morning After: Breakfast For The Apocalypse

Guzzle & NoshMountain House breakfast skillet.​We don't, for a second, believe in huckster Harold Camping's prophecy that May 21st will be Judgment Day, but we're kind of hoping he's right. See, we're planning a long weekend getaway, and if the Rapture arrives, our editor says we can have thos ... More >>

The USDA's New Food Desert Locator: Map Your Bad Food Day

Screenshot of Food Desert Locator map of area food deserts, in pink​ If you live in Los Angeles, you may sometimes feel like you're in a food desert. It is often maddeningly hot. You may find yourself bereft of food trucks, or good ones at any rate. You may be reading this right now from the o ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Reviews Pacific Fish Center

The Bacon Bazooka A Brief Interview With Those Responsible

thisisfreakingridiciulous.com​ How did you celebrate your weekend? Probably not as creatively as the guys who celebrate Bacon Day by building a working bacon bazooka. Apparently Bacon Day is an annual event over at This Is Freaking Ridiculous. In 2010, 40 pounds of bacon went into the making of t ... More >>

Ask Mr. Gold: Big Plate Dating

Anne Fishbeinthe invisible restaurant critic​ Dear Mr. Gold: After breaking up with a guy whose idea of fine dining was Denny's (not kidding), I've met someone I like rather a lot. Based on your recommendations, our first date was at Newport Seafood. (Spicy lobster on a plate the size of a pat ... More >>

Baconalia at Denny's

With its new "Baconalia" campaign, Denny's has taken the already overblown bacon trend to a new level.  Bacon soared to popularity alongside eggs, pancakes, and lakes of syrup on greasy diner plates. For decades, that was where it largely remained apart from detours to puddles of lentil soup, c ... More >>

Top 9 Now-Defunct L.A. Fast Food Restaurant Chains The Return of #3

Del Taco Corp.​With the further expansion of Chick-fil-A in Los Angeles, the recent announcement of Papaya King coming to Hollywood and the arrival of Australia's Oporto to the Southland, we at Squid Ink thought it was an opportune time for a trip down memory lane. Here, in no particular orde ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 2/21-2/25

Flickr/Lauren Manning​ In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "Floss when you get home - those antennae can be tenacious." Ask Mr. Gold: Where to Eat Bugs in L.A. "Why a band known for mixing coke and heroin might worry about a little inter-berry mingling is ... More >>

Super Bowl XLV: The V Best Least Annoying Food Commercials

Guzzle & NoshSuper Bowl XLV as seen on television.​ Whether it was the angry Ewoks of middle earth sharing a Coke with a fire-breathing dragon or Adrien Brody crooning to bar full of weepy women (nice to see him finally bouncing back from that Oscar win), this year's bunch of Super Bowl spots ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Gordita Supreme Court, Martha Stewart's New Show Why Your State Drinks

-- Vanishing America at Clifton's. [Ruth Reichl] -- Stephen Colbert's Gordita Supreme Court. [The Colbert Report] -- Cold Sauce, or how a New York Times Congressional reporter makes insanely easy spaghetti. (Making this recipe as we speak.) [food52] -- Food blogger's home burglary makes the 11 o' ... More >>

Top 10 Restaurants in Buildings Designed by Significant Los Angeles Architects

J. RitzThe eastern portion of Morgan, Walls & Clements' Chapman Market on 6th Street.​ We'd love to linger over a classic breakfast combo and endless cups of coffee at John Lautner's 1949 Googie Coffee Shop, since it was the actual place whose name defined a genre. And then enjoy the cannello ... More >>

The 10 Best Dishes of 2010

From entree to cappuccino, short ribs to bacon-wrapped bacon

Op-Ed: Don't Ban Fast Food, Provide Better Options

Cementing its reputation as a haven of well-intentioned but noxious intolerance, San Francisco's board of supervisors recently approved an ordinance banning toys in children's meals that exceed 600 calories. The measure didn't explicitly refer to McDonald's or Happy Meals. It didn't have to. Appa ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 8/9-8/13

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "The residual coffee in the air is worth an aerosolized shot, shot and a half, easy."

Fried Food Gone Too Far: Denny's Mozzarella Stick "Melt"

Denny'sDenny's New Fried Cheese Melt​ From fried Twinkies to chicken fried bacon to beer-battered cheesecake, we're no stranger to belt-busting fried foods. And while we don't condone the consumption of greasy foods with quadruple digit calorie and a weeks' worth of fat gram counts, we just co ... More >>

Suit Alleges Rialto Police Officers Had Group Sex With Strippers

​A woman who set off a firestorm by alleging on-duty Rialto police had sex with strippers in a union hall has filed a $500,000 claim against the city that also claims that the cops had group sex with the woman. The details emerged in a report in the San Bernardino Sun Friday. The claimant, Na ... More >>

Follow-Up Report: On-Duty Lunching With the SMPD

N. GalutenLunch with the SMPD at La Grande Orange​ At the end of last year, Squid Ink went for dinner and a ride along with SMPD Officer Dustin Brashchi to see if cops really do eat doughnuts. This one, it turns out, does not, as we found ourselves eating oysters and a lobster roll at Blue Pl ... More >>

Eat Like the Police: Dinner and a Ride Along With the SMPD

Yes, we all know the stereotypes. Cops sit around at doughnut shops, drinking coffee and knocking back crullers. Do some of them? Yes, probably, but certainly not all. On Sunday night, I was fortunate enough to jump in a squad car (front seat, I promise) for a ride along with SMPD Officer Dustin Bra ... More >>

Murder was the Case: LA Homicide No. 120, Update: Son Charged with Stabbing Mother to Death in Reseda Home

The 23-year-old son of a school teacher was charged today with her murder. Bryan Garcia-Munguia is charged with one count of murder with a special allegation that he used a knife. Fox News Saida Munguia, 40, was stabbed multiple times in the chest at her apartment in the 7600 block of Reseda Boulev ... More >>

Murder was the Case: LA Homicide No. 120, Update: Son Arrested for Stabbing Mother in Reseda Home

A 24-year-old man is sitting in jail today on suspicion of stabbing his 40-year-old mother to death inside her home in Reseda. Bryan Garcia-Munguia was arrested on June 1 around 11:15 p.m. at a Denny's, near the apartment he shared with his mother, a few minutes after he walked up to his relative ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Jacuzzi Parties, Animal Collective, David Lynch and Danger Mouse's Dark Night of the Soul, Pro-Gay Marriage Rally in Fresno

While some might argue that the most exciting thing that happened this weekend was Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" sitting bare-assed on Eminem's face at the MTV Movie Awards, there was more to take in (and take off) in Los Angeles this weekend that didn't involve well-played publicity stunts. Friday ni ... More >>

After Celebrating the Inauguration of America's First Black President, Watch Snoop Dogg Build His Own "Man Cave"

Yes, we Americans have Seen the Mountaintop, we have climbed the highest peaks and are gazing across the valley at the beauty before us. What, what's that over there? Check this press release for the DIY Network's show, Man Cave, airing tonight. DIY NETWORK HOOKS SNOOP DOGG UP WITH A MAN CAVE ... More >>

LAPD Motor Pool, Under the 101

Recently I found myself wandering outside the back of Union Station and beyond the Denny's that sits under the Hollywood freeway. There'ss some prime, free downtown parking there by the way, but you'll want to lock up your car extra tight. Under the highway there are literally dozens of LAPD s ... More >>

Ship Shape Sandwich

When the patty-melt urge strikes

Fired Up Over Pelisek; Marking Down Cooper

Our readers write

Father, Grandfather

A short story

Have You Ever Been Teen?

Rodney Bingenheimer remembers

Gruel World

Chinese porridge in Rosemead

Sing Now, Die Later

The Ballad of Chalino Sanchez: Part 1

Portrait of the Critic As a Cool Guy

Dave Hickey's Air Guitar