Matt Armendariz

Cookbook Review: The Flavors of Belize May Not Be Perfect, But It's Hard Not to Love a Fried Breadfruit (!) Recipe

A good cookbook collection does not look like it came straight out of a food stylist's studio. Sure, it will include several near-perfect volumes, those monumental titles that still capture your attention. But some cookbooks, like Flavors of Belize, will sport a few flaws. You might keep them beca ... More >>

What's In Season at the Farmers Market: Winter Citrus Update

There has been a collective holding of the breath among California citrus growers following the hard frost we experienced a couple of weeks ago. Frost damage to leafy greens and tender vegetables is immediately apparent, but citrus frost damage is disguised and delayed. It's a nail biting waiting ... More >>

Meet Your Food Blogger: Nastassia Johnson of Let Me Eat Cake

Nastassia Johnson, blogger behind Let Me Eat Cake, has picked out several items to try at downtown's Semi Sweet Bakery on a recent afternoon: A croissant flecked with chocolate, an Almond Joy Doughnut, and a cookie called "Triple Chip" -- chocolate, butterscotch, and potato. She wanted a slice of 7- ... More >>

Meet Your Food Bloggers: Drew Hubbard and Ben Waters of L.A. Foodie

Pair two affable, self-described "food dudes" living in L.A. -- digital marketing consultant Drew Hubbard with film and video editor Ben Waters, who has improv comedy training -- and you get L.A. Foodie. The site with the colorful burger logo and light-hearted tone delivers commentary on topics rang ... More >>

Cookbooks Panel at LitFest Pasadena

Cookbooks have long faced competition from magazines and newspapers. But now, it's the Internet Age. Print publications are putting their recipes online, and websites such as Epicurious and Food help you find instructions for virtually any dish with just a few clicks. Meanwhile, blogs are offering t ... More >>

Meet Your Food Blogger: Valentino Herrera of Trippy Food

Valentino Herrera abides by two philosophies: Try everything, at least once. And share unusual experiences with others, especially when it comes to travel and eating. Both ideas are evident on his blog, Trippy Food. Don't expect hallucinogenic mushrooms. For Herrera, "trippy" means unusual items ran ... More >>

Meet Your Food Blogger: Valentina Silva of Eastside Food Bites

At the Antigua Cultural Coffee House on a recent afternoon, Valentina Silva talked with us about Eastside Food Bites, her voice carrying over the coffee grinder's noisy whirr and the stereo's booming cumbia. Silva often eats at local spots such as Antigua, close to her Mt. Washington home in northea ... More >>

Meet Your Food Blogger: Adam Roberts of The Amateur Gourmet

Adam Roberts is one of those food blogger-turned-published authors whose success makes the rest of us drool. He created his blog, "The Amateur Gourmet," in 2004 while studying law at Emory University. "I'd come home from a long day of law school, my brain would be fried, and the only thing I could ... More >>

International Food Blogger Conference 2011: This Year, Blog on the Beach

​If you're a Los Angeles food blogger, you might want to plan on spending the weekend of November 11-13 scribbling on your iPad and uploading pictures of chocolate-dipped madeleines in Santa Monica, rather than in your kitchen somewhere else. No, Roy Choi is not holding a pop-up kimchi and tac ... More >>

Kitchen Simple by James Peterson (Simple Is Still A Relative Term)

​Let's get this off our chest right away: James Peterson has long been one of our favorite cookbook authors for his incredibly focused, well researched and written (and recipe tested) books on straightforward subjects: Sauces, Cooking, Baking, Meat. His latest book, Kitchen Simple, feels somew ... More >>

And Now, A Brief Message From Matt Armendariz

Screenshot of Matt Armendariz' Twitter page​

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

Flickr/dubh​ What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections mid-week. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is free), it's where most of ... More >>

Best Food Porn: Matt Bites

Gilt Taste Lauches: Ruth Reichl's Fabulous Prose & Fancy Cheese Store

Gilt TasteSeriously pretty asparagus​ For those of you who've been staring bleakly at your old dust and demi-glace covered copies of Gourmet, or stalking Ruth Reichl via Twitter, you now have a shiny new website to visit. Gilt Taste officially launched yesterday, with Reichl as the editorial a ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 5/9-5/13

Flickr/Lauren Manning​ In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "Everybody knows what a deli is supposed to be: an enormous dining room, stinking of garlic, bolstered by corned beef and chicken in a pot, with giant halvah displays teetering by the cash register. ... More >>

2nd Annual Food Blogger Bake Sale: Eat Sweets, Feel Good

Chocolate Chip Stuffed Cookies from What's Gaby Cooking.​Ah, bake sales. There's not much else that makes you feel quite like a sugar-crazed kid again. But most of us feel a lot better about gorging on sweets these days when we have an excuse, and this weekend, the perfect opportunity will com ... More >>

Cookbook Review: Matt Armendariz's On A Stick!

​If you know local food photographer Matt Armendariz's work, you already know that he has an incredible talent for making the simplest dish of bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp skewers look like something "Oh, wow!" deserving that you might receive at José Andrés' Bazaar or other such molecular g ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Tabasco Reports, Tips Reflect Breast Size Mad Men Cocktails

-- Matt Armendariz reports from Avery Island and the center of the Tabasco universe. [Matt Bites] -- The larger the breasts, the bigger the gratuity. (This is not a surprise, is it?) [LA Observed] -- America's Weirdest Restaurants. [CNBC] -- Ricardo Zarate fights hunger in his native Peru via ... More >>

And Now, A Brief Message From Matt Armendariz

screenshot of Matt Armendariz's Twitter page​

And Now, A Brief Message From Matt Armendariz

screenshot of Matt Armendariz' Twitter page​

Web Surfing: A Roundup of Posts from L.A. Food Blogs & Beyond

-- Michael Ruhlman has something to say. [White on Rice Couple] -- The Tap Room, The Royce and the Best Bar Snack Ever. [Chow Balla] -- Consider the dumpling. Of course we will. [The Guardian] -- Restaurants' Best Press: 'Bill Clinton Ate Here.' [The New York Times] -- Top 10 Unique Food-The ... More >>

And Now, A Brief Message From MattBites' Matt Armendariz

screenshot of Matt Armendariz' Twitter page​

What Would Pau Do? LA Paella Brings Spain to L.A.

Web Surfing: A Roundup of Posts from L.A. Food Blogs and Newsletters

-- Matt Armendariz gets inside a pastry box. [MattBites] -- From Good Bite, Top 10 Most Disturbing Foods. Blech. [Good Bite] -- Pat Saperstein on Viet food truck Eat Phamish. [Eating L.A.] -- Eddie Lin cooks an Avatar fish. Well, make that a parrot goby. [Deep End Dining] -- A Vegan Superbowl S ... More >>

Menu for Hope: A Fundraiser, by Food Bloggers

Yesterday marked the inaugural day of the sixth annual Menu for Hope, a food blogger-fueled fundraiser started by Pim Techamuanvivit (Chez Pim). This year, an international collection of food bloggers is donating raffle items to raise money for the World Food Programme's Purchase for Progress, which ... More >>

5 Tips on How To Take Food Porntastic Shots

For foodies, eating isn't simply a perfunctory way to fill a need but rather an experience to be enjoyed through all the senses. A well-done dish is more than taste and smell. It has to entice with its plating, textures, portions, colors. Which is why a well-taken food photograph plays an integral ... More >>

Meet Your Food Blogger: Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites

Alex PerelmanARMENDARIZ BITES!​Food blogger Matt Armendariz, of Matt Bites, is living the dream. He specializes in food photography and is married to Adam Pearson, a stunning, red-headed food stylist. He has appeared on the Martha Stewart Show, and spent January at Club Med in the Bahamas with ... More >>

Meet Your Food Blogger: Amanda Simpson of FoodPornDaily

Hot red lobster with Prosecco butter sauce running down its claws, seductively posed on a bed of creamy rosemary, garlic and chèvre yellow corn grits. Pork tenderloin outfitted with bacon, stuffed with figs and blue cheese, splayed out on a white porcelain plate, surrounded by crimson fig slices. I ... More >>

Strip Mall Rat: Where to Get Awesome Pupusas

photo credit Matt Armendariz​For better or worse, we are a car culture; it's an inescapable fact, thanks to the geography of Southern California. One of the consequences of living in a car-laden part of America are strip malls, those nondescript and remarkably plain parking lots that house con ... More >>