South Asia

Strip Mall Rat: On the Corner of Santa Monica and Highland

It seems only fitting that L.A. Weekly's newest recurring feature, Strip Mall Rat, would begin with one of the most infamous intersections in the city: Santa Monica Blvd. and Highland Ave. The corner strip mall and surrounding sidewalk has long been known as a haven for all sorts of unsavory charact ... More >>

Stoker Review: In the Hotly Anticipated Sundance Film, Girlhood Blooms Into Violence

Best New Food Studies Books: Coffee Life in Japan And Curried Cultures

Looking to up your dinner table conversation? Coffee Life in Japan and Curried Cultures, both published by the University of California Press under their California Studies in Food and Culture branch (and edited by Darra Goldstein), supply plenty of digestif fodder. Curried Cultures is co-edited b ... More >>

Budweiser Magnum Soon to be the Costliest Beer in India

Last week Anheuser-Busch InBev announced that the new Budweiser Magnum will become the highest priced super-premium beer in India, Economic Times reports. The strong, American-style lager will debut in a 650 ml bottle (22 oz. bomber) for 150 rupees. Is that a wildly high price? While 150 Rs comes in ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 4/30 - 5/4

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "Goan restaurants are almost nonexistent in the U.S., perhaps due to the fact that the region enjoys such a resort-town popularity in India that few of its chefs would ever imagine emigrating their bustling hotel kitchen posts. ... More >>

Lawrence of India: Lizardfish The Cuisine of Goa

With the exception the Kerala-style dishes at Mayura, most of the Indian restaurants clustered along Culver City's Venice Boulevard focus on the same vegetarian-centric vaguely Southern Indian style of cooking. This is far from a bad thing -- can one ever have too many choices for jackfruit curry, p ... More >>

Saffron Spot Serves Up Kulfi on a Stick

Saffron Spot's Indian ice creams include a newcomer, kulfi on a stick. This ice cream shop in Little India has always had kulfi, but not frozen in the traditional cone shape. Owner Smita Vasant has procured food-grade plastic cones from India. The ice cream and stick are frozen in these, producing ... More >>

Pakistan Celebrates First Oscar Winner, Saving Face, and Confronts the Acid Attacks That Have Terrorized its Women

"Where are the stars?"Riffat Masood, the consul general of the Pakistani Consulate in Los Angeles, has hushed the crowd gathered in the living room of her palatial home in Beverly Hills. Now she just needs to find the guests of honor. "Where is the director? Where is the famous doctor?"As the tw ... More >>

Jay Leno's Sikh-Temple-as-Mitt-Romney's-Summer-House Joke Enrages Some in Indian Religious Community

Oh no he didn't. Jay Leno is in hot water this week after a quip about Mitt Romney's summer house was accompanied by a photo of the Sikhs' sacred Golden Temple in India, a grand palace indeed. Romney's real summer home, or at least one of them, is right here in Southern California, and isn't half ... More >>

4 Double Black IPAs That Debuted in 2011: Or, Crossing Over to the (Very) Dark Side

In the last twelve months, the craft beer world has welcomed new flavors from a slew of emerging styles including the rye saison (Avery's Eighteen), the wheat IPA (El Segundo Brewing's Picket Fence) and the seasonal imperial pumpkin ale (Flying Dog's The Fear). But no new style was more exciting for ... More >>

Sex Toys And Lingerie Confiscated From Woman Who Flew to India From Los Angeles

sarabronfman.comPower tools.​You better be damn proud to be an American. Those soldiers over there in Iraq and Afghanistan fight for your freedoms: like your ability to bring sex toys onto airplanes. S'okay. Whips and chains, even. And once you, er, get off (the plane), you're good to go. But ... More >>

The Culturists Win

Henry Rollins: The Column! Diggin' Dax

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 >>

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 >>

Food News Roundup: The Costco Hot Dog, White Tablecloth Prison Food The Sacred Cow Hamburger

-- 6 Things to Do with a Can of Tuna. [Bon Appétit] -- Coffee Pros Leave Intelligentsia to Launch Handsome Coffee Roasters. [The Feast LA] -- A consideration of the Costco hot dog. [Chowhound Los Angeles] -- White tablecloth prison food: The Clink restaurant, where English prisoners learn to ... More >>

Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

SoCal Girl Jesse Marie Bender, 13, Destined For Pakistan For Arranged Marriage, Authorities Say

APJesse Marie Bender​A 13-year-old girl appeared destined for Pakistan from Southern California for an arranged marriage, authorities alleged this week. Instead, she apparently ran away and hid out in an Apple Valley hotel room in the Inland Empire. San Bernardino County Sheriff's officials ... More >>

Kidding Around the Kitchen

Q & A with Kaumudi Marathé, Part 2: Jaggery, Leaf Plates Why There is No Such Thing as Curry

Stacy Lauren-KonChef Kaumudi Marathé serves diners at an Un-Curry Table event.​In part 1 of our interview with her, chef Kaumudi Marathé of The Un-Curry Table pop-up talked about the her journey from Maharashtra to Texas to Los Angeles, the crucial elements of Marathi cuisine and the virtues ... More >>

Q & A with Kaumudi Marathé: Regional Spices, Hot Oil Seasoning Marathi Cuisine

Melkon KhosrovianChef Kaumudi Marathé prepares dinner for an Un-Curry Table event.​Born in Pune, India, Kaumudi Marathé grew up all over the world. (Her parents loved to travel and took jobs in far-flung locales.) After her early years living on and off in Maharashtra, a central Indian state ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Cops, Pints, Paula Deen Jell-O

-- Too Many Sommeliers, Not Enough Training. [ZesterDaily] -- Colorado prison inmates raise fish for food. [The Denver Post] -- Greek restaurant Xandros has a crisis of faith, identity, ownership, something. Cops, etc. [Eater LA] -- Could the days of the British "pint" be numbered? [Reuters] -- ... More >>

YOU'RE IN LUCKNOW

Q & A With Madhur Jaffrey, Part 2: Martha Stewart, The Definition of Vindaloo Collating for Ismail Merchant

Random HouseMadhur Jaffrey​ In the first part of our conversation with Madhur Jaffrey, the Delhi-born legendary actress, award-winning cookbook author and Indian cuisine authority spoke to us about her latest movie, a foodie comedy in which she plays a peppily invasive mom called Today's Spec ... More >>

Haiku News: Kanye's Meh Mini-Movie, Jónsi Cancels In-Store Tour, Local Natives' New Vid, Katie Perry Gets Branded

Haiku News: Kanye's Meh Mini-Movie, Jónsi Cancels In-Store Tour, Local Natives' New Vid, Katie Perry Gets Hitched

Lucknow Through the Lens of Bollywood

COMEDY EMERGENCY!

Climate of Film

Tribeca Film's two-week L.A. stand continues with a romcom and eco consciousness

Blowback: Shaheed and The Arsonists

Car bombs, arson and the history of empire

Man Claims To Have Gone 70 Years Without Food or Water

Photo: AFP70 years ago, this man may have stopped bothering to eat​ An 82 year old man in Gurjarat, India is claiming that 70 years ago, at the age of 12, he stopped eating food or drinking water. Prahlad Jani is what is often referred to as a "breatharian," and is currently being held in iso ... More >>

Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles: the 2 Percent Solution

Yearly event culls the cream of Bollywood and beyond

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL WORLD, DAMMIT

Pacific Asia Museum Discussion

LACMA's Sixth Annual Muse Costume Ball

Indian Art Exhibit

L.A. SWAN SONG

'MATLI CREW

Who's Your Gunga?

Sacred Sounds

Mayura's Flavors of Kerala

A thousand years of spices

Tirupathi Bhimas Gets Regional

Living dals

Hello, Thali

It’s all-you-can-eat vegetarian at Rajdhani

Maximum Dosa

From Hollywood to Bollywood

Dhaba Dhaba Do

Green Eggs and Pan

Viva Dosa!

Cinnamon, Cloves and Cardamom

The biryanis of Hyderabad

Frankie Goes to Hollywood

And other treats from India (dosas may vary)

Pioneer Boulevard

India in Artesia

Profiles in Curry

I am curious - yellow.