Southern California

The Undercover Vegetarian: Rustic Canyon

Chef Jeremy Fox once presided over the most celebrated vegetarian menu in the country at Ubuntu in Napa. So now that he's taken the helm at Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, it is no surprise that it's quite easy to eat incredibly well without meat at his current endeavor. On the current menu, more t ... More >>

SoCal Sorority Girls Dress As 'Cholas'

A Southern California sorority was under fire this week after members posted photos on social media showing some sisters dressed up as cholas and throwing fake gang signs. One thing you don't want to do on the streets of SoCal is throw up fake gang signs. Lucky for the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, di ... More >>

Unwanted L.A. Dogs Shipped To Seattle

First, we blasted our Hollywood and record industry entertainment across the nation. Then our Mexicans went to exotic places like North Carolina to work the tobacco fields. Now L.A. is shipping its pets to far-off American destinations. Why? Because' we're idiots:

Drinking Too Much Makes You Stupid, But SoCal Researcher Has A Cure

We all know that drinking a lot makes you stupid. What we don't really know is if there's an antidote to this mental decline. Now a Southern California professor and her research partner from the University of Colorado at Boulder claim there just might be:

5 Awesome Free Things To Do in L.A. This Week

See also: *Our Calendar Section, Listing More Great Things to Do in L.A. *5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week 5. See What Develops If it's April, it's the Month of Photography Los Angeles. MOPLA has fast become a highlight of the annual art calendar, combining the concentration of a fair with th ... More >>

Did SoCal Man Admit To Murder On Reddit?

Did a sometime Southern California man confess to murder on the website Reddit? A user on the site who identified himself as Naratto used one of Reddit's memes, the so-called confession bear, to say: My sister had an abusive meth addict boyfriend. I killed him with his own drugs while he was uncons ... More >>

Sexy Import Models Get New Reality Show (PHOTOS)

So, you've enjoyed the so-called Asian American Jersey Shore, K-Town, but say to yourself, Too much beef, not enough cheek? Well, the producers of K-Town have just what you ordered: Roll Models, a show about so-called import models. What are import models, you ask?

Marijuana Found Floating In Ocean Off SoCal -- 3.3 Tons Worth (VIDEO)

Where does all this weed that Mexican smugglers are boating to Southern California end up? After all, the legitimacy of medical marijuana in the Golden State means that consumers end up with the some of the highest-grade hydroponic bud around. And that stuff is often grown indoors locally, no?. It' ... More >>

R&R Soul Food: 99 Essential Restaurants 2013

Gjelina: 99 Essential Restaurants 2013

Now Open: Cafecito Organico in Burbank

It's not too often that a locally-owned, independent coffee roaster manages to take over a space formerly inhabited by a giant corporate franchise, but such was the case when L.A.-based Cafecito Organico opened up its sixth Southern California location Thursday in what used to be a Starbucks in Burb ... More >>

Tickets On Sale: Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest

The 2nd Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival will take place Sat., June 1, 2013 in Paso Robles, rain or shine (expect shine) for adults over 21. Tickets go on sale for $75 Feb. 1 at 12:01 a.m. (that's tonight for those who begrudge the 12-hour clock.) Anticipated as one of the best craft be ... More >>

Local Natives' Big Vaulted Ceilings

On their new album, the rising indie-folk act show who they are and what they've become

Marijuana-Alcohol Mix Can Make Teens Dumb, SoCal Study Says

The holidays are a time of alcoholic imbibing, yes. And some of you might even smoke some stuff that looks like mistletoe. But if you're a teenager doing all of the above, look out. A new study by Southern California researchers says youths who mix toking and drinking could face "worsened neurocog ... More >>

Snow Summit, Bear Mountain Open Today

One week after our last heat wave, snow season officially starts in L.A. Following a dusting of snow in local mountains, Snow Summit and sister resort Bear Mountain open for the season this morning with the help of snowmaking guns that have been working overtime Saturday and Sunday. Mountain High ... More >>

The 13 Best Things to Do For Halloween in L.A.

See also: *Our Best of L.A. issue and our Best of L.A. app *Our Calendar Section, Listing More Great Things to Do in L.A. *10 Oddball L.A. Museums Worth Seeing By Tanja M. Laden One of the best things about living in Southern California is the idea that Halloween is a month-long celebration that a ... More >>

Romney Says No To Bieber's Fave Car, The SoCal-Bred Fisker

The third presidential debate, this one focused on foreign policy, took a detour to Southern California when the candidates argued about the auto industry. While Mitt Romney defended his 2008 stance to "let Detroit go bankrupt," he criticized the Obama administration's federal loans for Southern Ca ... More >>

Beachwood BBQ Medals Twice at the 2012 GABF

DENVER -- On Saturday morning, Oct. 13, thousands of brewers, media and festival volunteers watched as Long Beach-based Beachwood BBQ and Brewing accepted two medals at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. Winning gold and bronze for L.A. County, they were in good company with California brewers, ... More >>

Butt Chugging Is Latest Campus Scourge

Yesterday we told you how Southern California has some of the best universities in the world. In fact, Caltech ranked number one and UCLA made number 13 in the latest World University Rankings by Times Higher Education in the UK. But that doesn't mean even the smart kids won't find a way to get t ... More >>

Major Heat Wave For L.A. This Weekend: 107 Degrees For Valleys Next Week

Prepare for a major heat wave, Los Angeles. Yeah, we know: Your calendar now says that it's fall. But the weather patterns of an Indian summer, mixed with our traditional, fall offshore winds, will create at least three days of blistering heat in Southern California starting on Sunday, with tempera ... More >>

Did Mitt Romney Go Brownface in Attempt to Woo Latino Voters?

If you thought Mitt Romney's week couldn't get any worse, it just did. The blog Democratic Underground seems to have called it first: The Republican candidate appears to have gotten darker in only a day's time. Fine, you say, he has property on the beach right here in Southern California. It happen ... More >>

Read This Now: The Paris Review on Los Feliz' House of Pies

House of Pies, located on the corner of Franklin and Vermont in Los Feliz, is one of those places that catches your eye for a second on the drive past -- the indeterminately retro style of architecture, the old-school diner facade and, of course, the promise of fresh pie. For many locals, House o ... More >>

VIDEO: Brutal Road Rage Beating on I-5

Updated at 3:20pm: CHP is looking for more information on the victim. Originally posted at 12:07pm Let's say you're driving down I-5, jamming out to Drake's "Take Care," and you see four men on the side of the road at what appears to be the start of an altercation--what do you do? If you were this ... More >>

Disgusting Animal Abuse Caught on Video: Ontario Livestock Workers Charged

Video from an undercover investigation of alleged animal abuse at a Southern California livestock operation was released today. A spokesman for the group Mercy For Animals described the footage to the Weekly as depicting "animals being kicked, beaten and stomped on" as well as "ill or injured anima ... More >>

Biggest Wave Ever Surfed: Garrett McNamara Takes Crown From SoCal's Mike Parsons

Up until this week the biggest wave ever surfed was right here in Southern California, believe it or not. While SoCal beaches don't exactly comprise a big-wave Mecca, sometimes the spot known as Cortes Bank, 105 miles from San Diego, produces monsters. San Clemente's Mike Parsons set the biggest-wa ... More >>

American Idol Meets Arts Journalism, in KCET's Artbound

Ever been inside a disco ball-esque "steam egg" with a bunch of sweaty, half-naked strangers? Talked to Filipino inmates who wrote, directed and starred in their own musical, filmed within prison walls (and that went viral with more 50 million YouTube views)? Writers for KCET's new arts journalism ... More >>

Marijuana Vending Machine Debuts in Southern California

Marijuana advocates have been whining a lot lately about federal crackdowns on California pot businesses. A Southern California company called Dispense Labs might have just come up with a solution: A cannabis vending machine:

626 Night Market Organizers Respond To Community Feedback

For many, the 626 Night Market was a logistical nightmare. Tens of thousands of people poured into Oakland Avenue between Colorado Boulevard and Union Street on Friday evening. Lines for vendors were impossible to maneuver through and many compared the turn-out to that of Coachella and the Pebble Be ... More >>

Omegle Website Used by Men, Including SoCal Teacher, to Troll For Teens, Prosecutors Say

What if we told you there was a website where you could chat about sex with random teenagers? You'd answer that you're totally creep'd out. Then you'd take a shower hoping to soap off any residual sleaze. Correct answer. Unfortunately, one website has turned up in two sex crime cases involving chi ... More >>

10 Best Reasons to Visit Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley (Besides Coachella)

The Coachella Valley was once known as a fantastic spot for a getaway from L.A., especially during its high season in winter, when it features almost-certain sunshine and better temperatures. In recent years, Coachella has become synonymous with just one thing: Coachella. But this year, the music f ... More >>

Our Tacos, Ourselves: How Southern California Reinvented the Taco

How Southern California discovered, gave birth to, reinvented and loved the taco for more than a century

Southern California's First 'Parklet' Asks the Question: What Is a Park, Really?

When is a parking space not a parking space? When it's a park, of course. Last week, Southern California's first "parklet" opened quietly in Long Beach, recasting that space between the painted lines as -- yes -- a tiny rectangle of curb-adjacent public space. It's not as suicidal as it sounds. In ... More >>

Occupy L.A. Arrestees Said to Include Possibly Drunk, Belligerent Reporter For City News Service

See an update here: The reporter is identified (it's a him -- our bad), and video seems to contradict what the police say. A reporter for City News Service, a Southern California news wire that sells content exclusively to other organizations, including this one, was arrested during the Occupy L.A. ... More >>

James Van Doren of Vans Shoes Fame Dies, Leaves Legacy of Iconic SoCal Board Sports Brand

Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack​If you needed to place an iconic artifact of Southern California boarding culture in a time capsule, a pair of Vans shoes would certainly do. Alongside the skateboard, a modification of roller skates, the modern surfboard, invented by L.A.'s Bob Simmons ... More >>

Dippin' Dots Bankrupt: Files Chapter 11

newwavegurly/Flickr​Dippin' Dots, those frozen ice cream pellets that pop up at the county fair every summer, might not be around much longer. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company filed for Chapter 11 today in U.S. Bankruptcy court in Paducah, Kentucky. The company has struggled to pa ... More >>

Burger Alert: More Five Guys Headed to L.A.

Armadillo​ The East Coast burger chain Five Guys continues to zero in on Southern California territory, with plans for several more locations in the works. One of those is set to open near USC's campus near Figueroa Street and Adams Boulevard, and another on Wilshire Boulevard. According to th ... More >>

Gumby-Costumed Man Tries to Rob 7-Eleven in SoCal, Cops Say

Gumby.​Updated at the bottom with San Diego police telling us they don't believe it was a hoax. Two suspects turned themselves in. First posted at 6:03 a.m. on Sept. 7. Gumby tried to rob a Southern California 7-Eleven. You read that right. A man dressed in a full-on, head-to-toe Gumby cost ... More >>

Earthquake Measuring 4.3 Awakens L.A. From Late Summer Siesta

Camp and Hotel Siesta​You see, East Coast, this is how the pros do earthquakes. A 4.3 hit Southern California (4 miles southeast of Newhall, to be precise), and we barely even noticed. In fact, much of the LA Weekly daily news staff was at lunch and didn't notice at all. You want to know why ... More >>

Millionaires Don't Pay Taxes? 1,470 of America's Richest Didn't, According to IRS

MatMA free ride for some millionaires?​Southern California has more millionaires than just about anywhere else in the nation, with L.A. coming in at No. 1, Orange County at No. 4, and San Diego ranking No. 6 in cities with the most seven-figure-plus households in 2008. So maybe we should feel ... More >>

New California Whale Tail License Plate to be Unveiled Today

Don't sue us.​Updated at the bottom with a statement from the Wyland Foundation, which suggests the new plate is a "poor imitation" of the artist's original. First posted at 8:09 a.m. Tuesday. In typical Hollywood fashion, California's iconic whale tail license plate has been retired for a ho ... More >>

Eat Real Festival: A "Flying Knives" Competition, Bee Keeping, Pretzel Making A Whole Lot of Local Food

​We're all familiar with what it means to "get real." (Such as, in the Whole Foods parking lot.) But what does it mean to eat real? Well, according to the agenda of the Eat Real Festival, hitting Culver City on July 16th and 17th, it's about getting up close and personal with what's on your pl ... More >>

Indie Film Investors Scammed in Plot Fit for a B Movie

Feds: Movie made with dishonest cash​Imagine the excitement - you're at home at night, feeding the kids, when suddenly the phone rings and someone asks you to be a part of Hollywood and invest in an independent film. Sure, it costs a lot to buy-in - more than $30,000 in many cases - but the guy o ... More >>

Summers Will be Deadly Hot as Global Warming Looms in The Next 60 Years, Stanford Researchers Say

The only upside to global warming.​We're in the midst of June gloom in Southern California, but you can be assured that Mother Nature will bring the heat. Maybe for decades to come. Stanford researchers say that unless we cut back on greenhouse gasses we will definitely see hotter and hotter ... More >>

Doctor David Hung Do, Alleged to Have Touched Women's Privates During Routine Checkups, Stripped of Medical License

A booking photo of David Hung Do.​A Southern California doctor is out of a job for now after the state Medical Board recently revoked his license. What did he do, allegedly? Well, let's just say five of his patients claim he was playing doctor -- and they didn't want to play. Some alleged he ... More >>

Osama Bin Laden's Downfall Has Deep Southern California Connections: SEALS Train Here

U.S. NavySEALS in their natural environment.​The demise of Osama Bin Laden had strong Southern California connections, including his take down by Navy SEALS, who receive their basic training in Southern California. Bin Laden was reportedly shot in the head as his forces resisted a charge by a ... More >>

Food Truck Graphic Design: Kogi Meets Googie

Glen Tagami​ In this week's LA Weekly print edition, Gary Baum takes a serious look at the graphic design of food trucks, examining not only how the designs are used to market the food, but how they've been influenced by various aspects of the Southern California aesthetic.

Best of L.A.: Food and Drink

Pretenders: Mock Duck

And other vegetarian "meat" dishes

Ask Mr. Gold: Manhattan Clam Chowder

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