Europe

Dorothee Burkhart, Mother of Accused Arsonist Harry Burkhart, Ordered to be Sent Back to Germany

Around New Year's Harry Burkhart went on an arson spree that terrorized Los Angeles, prosecutors say. And one of his reported motives was that his dear mother, a woman who ran an erotic massage business out of the same apartment building where the pair lived, was going to be extradited back to Germa ... More >>

The World's 50 Best Restaurants List: Noma, Again (And Again)

Everyone loves a list, particularly a ranked list. We do. David Letterman does. Water companies do. Thus S. Pellegrino has just announced their list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. For the third consecutive year, Noma in Copenhagen comes in at the number one spot. (Congratulations to Rene Redzep ... More >>

World's Most Expensive Chocolate Easter Egg Sold for $10,000

Thank you, Easter Bunny! London-based chocolatier William Curley has cracked a Guinness World Record by crafting the most expensive non-jeweled chocolate egg ever sold at auction, according to London & Partners. The 110-lb. confection sold for over $10,000 (you could buy about 10,000 Cadbury crème ... More >>

McDonald's Debuts the McRibster... In Austria

Is there a McRib-sized void in your arteries? In need of some cheese and bacon as well? Then book an international flight to Austria and indulge in McDonalds' newly introduced McRibster. According to Burger Business, McDonalds' sandwich creation contains "juicy pork, bacon, pepper-Jack cheese, and ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 1/23-1/27

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "I'm not sure that what you're looking for exists." Bouillabaisse: Meant for the Poor, Now for the Rich. "And so, he borrowed the three-inch rock from an 'American collector' and tossed it in a barrel full of Cabernet Sauvign ... More >>

James Joyce Would've Loved This, Too (at Least the Drinking Part)

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "I'm not sure that what you're looking for exists." Bouillabaisse: Meant for the Poor, Now for the Rich. "And so, he borrowed the three-inch rock from an 'American collector' and tossed it in a barrel full of Cabernet Sauvign ... More >>

Top 5 Weekend Food Events: Boxing Match, Eat My Blog, Food of the Jews of France, Breakfast with Santa, Artisanal LA

It's a bake sale!​Boxing Match Boxed wine: scourge of snooty oenophiles, emblem of populist wine drinkers, re-embraced by thrifty contrarians. The stuff has, supposedly, improved by leaps and bounds since Trader Joe's cleverly repackaged the it in bottles and sold it as Two Buck Chuck. Decide ... More >>

From Leftovers to Love: A Dating Website Helps You Get a Date by Looking in Your Fridge

Rachael Narins​Being a single person who likes to cook can be tricky. Making a full meal might, at times, feel less fulfilling without that special someone to share the experience and help eat all the food. Let alone pitch in on doing the dishes. If you live in Sweden, a collective of farmer ... More >>

The Italian American Museum's 3rd Annual Taste of Italy

A. Trachta​ For carb-lovers in Los Angeles, a great day is nearing. On October 1st, the Italian American Museum will host its 3rd Annual Taste of Italy at the 1869 Pico House and its cobblestone plaza. More than 50 restaurants will invade a tiny portion of L.A. for a day, but should pack big, ... More >>

Are London Riots Any Different Than L.A. Riots? UCLA Professor Says Blacks Are 'Similarly Oppressed' In UK

Getty ImagesThe London riots​Based on the (absurdly informed) opinion of UCLA sociology professor Darnell Hunt, Telegraph correspondent Tim Stanley was right to worry that Brits -- and commentators around the world -- may be blaming this week's London riots on the moral character of the rioter ... More >>

Planes, Trains, Citroëns French Fries: Air France to Fuel Planes with Cooking Oil

Flickr/ldrose​ If you needed another reason to book an Air France flight to Paris, you can now do so in the name of environmentalism. Well, at least if you ignore the carbon footprint part. According to Mother Nature Network, Air France-KLM has announced that this fall it will start fueling pl ... More >>

Angry Birds: The Cookbook

Flickr/tomazstolfaone very angry bird​ If weather girls can become television food megastars, then why can't massively addictive Finnish game apps become cookbooks? That was a rhetorical question; of course they can. And what better game to make the transition to cookbook than Angry Birds, a g ... More >>

Q & With Coffee Geek Mark Lamberton Blue Crow Media's Best Coffee In L.A. App

David BernsteinMark Lamberton at work​ Over the past year, London-based Lamberton brothers Derek, 33, and Mark, 23, have rolled out Best Coffee iPhone apps -- the kind of comprehensive, searchable interactive map of cafes that java enthusiasts dream of -- for London, San Francisco and New Yor ... More >>

Amsterdam Marijuana Cafes Could Close to Tourists: An Opportunity For L.A. Pot Shops?

This could be us.​This could be a great opportunity for Los Angeles, the marijuana capital of America. Turns out Amsterdam might not want your weed-smoking tourist business anymore. Associated Press reports that "the Dutch Cabinet says it will push ahead with plans to force anyone wishing to ... More >>

There's No Porno Like Old French Porno

This could be us.​This could be a great opportunity for Los Angeles, the marijuana capital of America. Turns out Amsterdam might not want your weed-smoking tourist business anymore. Associated Press reports that "the Dutch Cabinet says it will push ahead with plans to force anyone wishing to ... More >>

Revisiting the Regency: England, 1811-1820

This could be us.​This could be a great opportunity for Los Angeles, the marijuana capital of America. Turns out Amsterdam might not want your weed-smoking tourist business anymore. Associated Press reports that "the Dutch Cabinet says it will push ahead with plans to force anyone wishing to ... More >>

Eat This Now: Traditional Currywurst and Jambalaya Fries at Berlin Currywurst

A. TrachtaThe Currywurst at Currywurst.​ L.A. may be known for its street food, but currywurst, Berlin's most popular grab n' go snack, was largely off our radar. That is until two weeks ago when three German transports opened the aptly-named Berlin Currywurst restaurant in Silver Lake's Sunse ... More >>

Of Gods and Men

A. TrachtaThe Currywurst at Currywurst.​ L.A. may be known for its street food, but currywurst, Berlin's most popular grab n' go snack, was largely off our radar. That is until two weeks ago when three German transports opened the aptly-named Berlin Currywurst restaurant in Silver Lake's Sunse ... More >>

Book Review: Italy Dish by Dish, Airfare Not Required

​How often do we pre-order books these days? Hardly ever, as the book market is so flooded with new and "gently used" copies today we aren't exactly worried that Italy Dish By Dish: A Comprehensive Guide To Eating in Italy is going to sell out as quickly as LudoBites reservations when it is re ... More >>

Are Leg-less Chickens the Future?

Tiggywinkle/FlickrSome day, these may be like dinosaurs​ Due to their prominence in café sandwiches and the pages of health, food, and lifestyle magazines, we've long figured Americans ate more chicken breasts than legs, thighs, and those ragged, slithery bit parts one has to vigorously disen ... More >>

Opium, 8 Pounds Worth, Found on LAX Passenger Arriving From Amsterdam, Authorities Allege

What happened to good ole' fashioned American heroin, anyway?​Hmm. Coming from Amsterdam, eh? Maybe we better take a closer look at those suitcases. That was the case at LAX, and authorities said they busted a 28-year-old U.S. citizen returning from the Dutch city. They allege he had nearly 9 ... More >>

LAX on High Alert Following Monday's Terrorist Bomb Blast at Moscow Airport

LAX was on high alert.​LAX police were on "high alert" Tuesday following Monday's terrorist blast at a Moscow airport that killed 35. It doesn't sound like there's a specific threat involved; rather, this seems to be a precaution. Authorities at the airport were at "stepped up high levels of ... More >>

First Bite: The Frankfurt School, or Pasadena's New Dog Haus

Jonagold apple, portions removed​Poetry is walled up in graduate school. Painting is in permanent decline. But the creative hot dog garnish seems to be in its golden age at the moment, and whether your taste runs toward organic Parsi pickles, fluorescent Chicago relish or cheese-stuffed, bacon ... More >>

G20 to Address Rising Food Prices

Flickr/John Rohana grocery aisle in Korea​ How long has it been since you thought groceries were cheap? Everyone has noticed the increase in food prices, and now the G20, a group composed of the heads of state of 20 of the world's largest economies, is poised to do something about it. Accord ... More >>

Scientists Crack Genetic Code for World's Best Cacao

GastronomyCacao Sampaka, Madrid​An international team of scientists has sequenced the genome for criollo, a cacao variety that reportedly produces some of the best chocolate in the world. The results, published in the latest issue of Nature Genetics, could eventually lead to new and improved v ... More >>

Q & A With Joan Nathan, Part 2: Kosher Wines, "Newish Jewish" How Tom Colicchio (Literally) Saved Her Life

Joan Nathan​In the first part of our conversation with Joan Nathan, we drove around the hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, (via speakerphone) of this award-winning cookbook writer and authority on all things Jewish cuisine, as she explained who loves matzo in France (apparently everybody), ... More >>

Q & A With Joan Nathan: Her New Book, Jewdar The Secret French Matzo Society

​Tonight's sundown is the sixth night of Chanukah. To celebrate this occasion, we check in with Joan Nathan, award-winning author of ten cookbooks about Jewish cuisine, the latest being Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France (Knopf). It's part cookbook, part inve ... More >>

Ask Mr. Gold: Ou Est Le Cassoulet À L.A.?

Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, with dim sum menu​Dear Mr. Gold: My wife had a great cassoulet in Paris several years ago. Is there a place in Southern California that has a real French cassoulet? I know this is the time of year they make it. --Jim Nakano, Glendora Dear Mr. Nakano: The Donut Man! It g ... More >>

Hungry Bears Rob Human Graves in Northern Russia

Flickr user ucumariA bear​ We don't usually write about what bears eat here on the blog, but we happened across a story this morning with a bit of a Halloween-appropriate twist. According to CBS News, bears in northern Russia are so hungry -- thanks to a blisteringly hot summer -- that they're ... More >>

Stage Raw: Lobby Hero

NEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Leap of Faith and God's FavoriteBREUER ON THE VOLGA ​View from the Volga River -- Russia's answer to the Mighty Mississippi -- the longest waterway in Europe, stretching from the Valdai Hills, between Moscow and St. Petersburg, to the Caspian Sea. The city of S ... More >>

Tour De Fat Beer And Cycling Party: Who's Giving Up Their Petroleum Wheels?

Belgium BreweryA Recent Belgium Brewery Anti Petrol Party​Want to pretend that you're living in a quaint beer-friendly college town with less than 150,000 people rather than a sprawling mixology-obsessed metropolis of more than 3.5 million? Fort Collins-based New Belgium Brewery (Fat Tire) is ... More >>

Obika: When Not in Rome ...

Bringing the mozzarella bar to L.A.

First Bite: Okiba's Mozzarella Bar, or When Not In Rome

Christie BishopJonagold apple, portions removed​In Rome, Obika is a mozzarella bar on Piazza di Firenze, an oddly modern place not far from the Pantheon that reluctantly serves as a tourist canteen during the day and then as a frosty, rather exclusive wine bar late at night. There has always b ... More >>

Movie Review: Skirt Day

Christie BishopJonagold apple, portions removed​In Rome, Obika is a mozzarella bar on Piazza di Firenze, an oddly modern place not far from the Pantheon that reluctantly serves as a tourist canteen during the day and then as a frosty, rather exclusive wine bar late at night. There has always b ... More >>

Mushroom Fatalities Hit Northern Italy

A. ScattergoodMaitake mushrooms at Clearwater Farms​ If you want to find mushrooms in this town, your best bet is probably to keep your foraging to Clearwater Farms' farmers market stall rather than look for them yourself. And if you're foraging for wild mushrooms in Italy, you might want to s ... More >>

Taste of a Magazine: Condé Nast-themed Restaurants

Novikov GroupMoscow's Vogue Café​ Condé Nast is continuing to do odd food-related things with its magazines, following the Gourmet-as-iPad-app plan by making its rags available to license for themed restaurants in Asia, South America and the Middle East. It's a business practice the company ... More >>

Les 50 Francais qui Comptent aux Etats-Unis en 2010: #1? Ludo

Free Tickets Ain't Got A Thing On Mayor Villaraigosa's $120,000 European Vacation

​Eric Spillman at KTLA News pried the details out the mayor's office regarding Antonio Villaraigosa's European vacation working trip last December that cost you, the taxpayer, $120 Gs.

Plate Spinning: Listings From the Past Week

Some food for thought from local, national and international news sources from this past week: -- Should I Move to France? (28 Questions to Ask Yourself) [David Lebovitz] -- Wendy's pulls disco CD from kid's meals because of "racy" Donna Summer lyrics. So now they can just go home and listen to ... More >>

WHO'S YOUR GOLEM?

Some food for thought from local, national and international news sources from this past week: -- Should I Move to France? (28 Questions to Ask Yourself) [David Lebovitz] -- Wendy's pulls disco CD from kid's meals because of "racy" Donna Summer lyrics. So now they can just go home and listen to ... More >>

GO TEAM!

Some food for thought from local, national and international news sources from this past week: -- Should I Move to France? (28 Questions to Ask Yourself) [David Lebovitz] -- Wendy's pulls disco CD from kid's meals because of "racy" Donna Summer lyrics. So now they can just go home and listen to ... More >>

New No Age Songs Unveiled in Portugal

No Age (plus cake)​The Ashtape website (via Pitchfork) has uploaded Soundcloud versions of a short set of new No Age songs premiered in, of all places, Portugal: As we've told you before, No Age's recent stay in Portugal didn't go that well. First, they were beaten up in Lisbon and the day af ... More >>

DJ Q&A: A Few Questions For Booka Shade's Arno Kammermeier

Berlin duo Booka Shade has broken out of the Berlin underground and into The New York Times with its accessibly melodic techno and mesmerizing stage presence. The pair that started out with groovy choons found mostly via online outlets such as Beatport has become a big-league electronic act known to ... More >>

The Edible Schoolyard, Paris Edition: Champs-Elysees Transformed Into Farmers Market

Daily Mail​ If you were lucky enough to be in Paris yesterday and today, we hope you meandered over to the Champs-Elysees to check out one of the most beautiful ad hoc farmers markets you're ever likely to see. To celebrate a 2-day French public holiday, the street before the Arc de Triomphe w ... More >>

Captain America To Be Filmed In ... England

Marvel​Even as the city of Los Angeles has been trying to keep film production here and Marvel Comics vowed to make its movies in the Southland, news this week reveals that Captain America: The First Avenger will be filmed in London. Bloody hell. That's according to the Los Angeles Times, whi ... More >>

Harold Germany, L.A. Homicide No. 106: South Los Angeles Man Killed in Gang-Related Attack

Los Angeles Police Department detectives are searching for the gunman who shot 21-year-old Harold Germany as he was walking down a street in South Los Angeles May 11. View Larger Map Germany was walking to a corner store at 1:50 pm in the 200 block of West 89th Street when he was approached by the ... More >>

Your Latest Dietary Law Kitchen Gadget: An Instant Pork Tester

Flickr/agtwo​ At last, a portable kitchen gadget for anyone trying to keep halal, kosher, vegan, vegetarian, or any combination of the above. Scientists in Kazakhstan have come up with an instant pork tester. The plastic-stick test, which changes color rather like a pregnancy test, detects fo ... More >>

Airplane Happy Meals: Cocaine Hidden in In-Flight Food

Airplane food has always needed a little something to make it edible, even when it was free. Your average person might pack a sandwich and maybe drink a few more of those tiny bottles of gin to make it all palatable. Now Dutch police have detained 20 people for smuggling cocaine in those in-flight m ... More >>

The 13th Step: Researchers Find That Chocolate Can Save Your Liver

Valrhona chocolate​ Your favorite 12 Step program just got a new step: chocolate. Reuters reports that Spanish researchers have found that eating chocolate after meals decreased abdominal blood pressure, which can reach dangerous levels in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. In other words, ... More >>