Southern Europe

Meatless Mondays: Sotto Chefs Zach Pollack and Steve Samson A Chickpea Panelle Recipe

The sensibility of Zach Pollack and Steve Samson's Pico-Robertson restaurant Sotto is clearly laid out on their menu. Take the appetizer of chickpea panelle, a traditional Sicilian street food, that's been available at the southern Italian restaurant since it was opened in 2011. "They're basically ... More >>

Vintage Bouquet Food and Wine Extravaganza: What You Missed (Maybe) at Greystone Mansion

Bringing attorneys and chefs together (and not because of a lawsuit), the Vintage Bouquet Food and Wine Extravaganza had its 25th run at Greystone Mansion on Sunday, April 28. The sun beat down on, among other things, hors d'oeuvres from L.A.-area restaurants including Lexington Social House, Lazy ... More >>

Five Wines to Seek Out in L.A. Wine Bars That You Probably Won't Find Anywhere Else

Here in Los Angeles our embarrassment of riches wine-wise might sometimes lead to a forest-for-the-trees blindness, with too much to weed through on the shelves or the wine lists to actually find something you like. Fortunately area wine bars work hard to assemble lists that are highly focused and d ... More >>

Opening Next Monday: WildCraft Sourdough Pizza

WildCraft Sourdough Pizza will become the newest member in the growing coterie of restaurants offering Neapolitan-style pies in town when it opens for lunch next Monday, January 25. Coming from the men behind the Hermosa Beach brasserie Abigaile, the restaurant will launch in the historic triangular ... More >>

Spago Has L.A. Feeling Puckish

Now, more than ever, Wolfgang Puck's signature restaurant is a must-try

Food News Roundup: Reviving the FDA, Vin Chaud Khmer Cuisine

Serious Eats: 5 great TV restaurants. David Lebovitz: Making vin chaud, or hot mulled wine. Gastronomy: Checking out Khmer cuisine in Long Beach. Huff Post Food: Scott Mowbray, editor of Cooking Light, writes an op-ed on "The Rise of the New Food Culture." Los Angeles Times: Why Jonathan Gold th ... More >>

The Chef's Library: Steve Samson Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well by Pellegrino Artusi

The Chef's Library is a series in which we ask chefs around town to tell us about their favorite cookbooks. Today, we talk to Steve Samson, chef (along with Zach Pollack) of Sotto. It's so surprise that Steve Samson's favorite cookbooks cover the history of the cooking of his greatest muse, Italy. ... More >>

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel's Wedding Video Making Fun of L.A. Homeless, and Other Justin Huchel-Produced Videos

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel were married in a lavish ceremony at the Borgo Egnazia resort in Puglia, Italy, this weekend. In addition to a candlelit dinner, a Questlove DJ set and a week's worth of festivities, guests at the TimBielake wedding were treated to an original video making fun of ... More >>

Drink This Now: Alaverdi Monastery Cellar Rkatsiteli, a Deliciously Bizarre Orange Wine

Oh, orange wine, how I adore thee. For lovers of odd wines, orange wines are somewhat of a cult item, prized for their weirdness and obscurity. Unlike rosé, which gets its color from a few days of contact with grape skins, orange wine is left to ferment -- skins, stems and all -- for months at a ti ... More >>

6 Great Food Museums: Food as Art, Or Not

Last week, the Carpigiani Gelato Museum opened in Anzola dell'Emilia, Italy, just outside Bologna; the first in the world, it says, to "delve into the history, culture, and technology of artisan gelato." Inside, you'll learn about the history of the frozen treat, from an 11th century recipe for pom ... More >>

Paul Schimmel's Last Show as MOCA's Chief Curator Features Artists Who Destroy Their Canvases

Salemi Stories: Readers Respond to Our Kim's Video Cover Story

Sunday's Euro Cup Final: What to Eat?

Set to unfold this Sunday, July 1, the 2012 Euro Cup Final is a familiar tale of the tape. On one side, you have Italy's defense, which stays at home and plays it safe, slurping down zabaglione and soaking up an opposition's assaults -- sort of like how the bread in a ribollita soaks up broth. On ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 4/916 - 4/20

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "This meal need not stray too far from your preferences. Not when there are such wide-ranging options like vegan ice cream, pizza, and com ga hai nam available." 10 Best Vegan-Friendly Restaurants in L.A.: Happy Earth Day. "C ... More >>

We Have a Pope Review

Five Artsy Things to Do This Week, Including the World's Sexiest Performance Artist

From a pseudo-sitcom and beachside choreography to feminist nostalgia and midcentury design, this week's list feels particularly well-rounded. (Also check out our preview of Pacific Standard Time's Performance and Public Art Festival, which begins this week). 5. Italy in Westwood Galleria del Depo ... More >>

Back to the Future's $500,000 DeLorean and Darth Vader Costume Sell at Hollywood Auction. Ruby Slippers Still Available

A fully functioning hoverboard...y'know...for the kids​Local memorabilia-selling powerhouse, Profiles in History did another one of their epic auctions this weekend at the Paley Media Center in Beverly Hills -- and the nerds cleaned house. Again. Compared to Debbie Reynolds' series of show-st ... More >>

The Best Cookbooks of 2011 (And Sure, They Double As Great Last Minute Gifts)

jgarbeeStill Life With (Good) 2011 Cookbooks​Because if you still haven't gotten a gift for someone of genuine or obligatory importance on your list (your closest friend; your boss/mother in law), check those Amazon availability lists right now. Or better yet, stop by your local bookstore. W ... More >>

Italy Cooks: Judy Zeidler's New Cookbook A Recipe for Bruschetta with Beans and Spinach

B. HansenJudy Zeidler and books​Westsider Judy Zeidler has written what seems like a zillion cookbooks, but she's found a new angle for her latest, Italy Cooks (Mostarda Press, $32.95). It's a personal travelogue as well as a collection of recipes. For decades, Zeidler and her husband Marvin ... More >>

Campanile: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Angeli Caffe:99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Strawberries Lessen Effect of Alcohol on Stomach

Camilla Hoel​Next time you pour a glass of bubbly, or crack open a can of PBR, or a bust into a bottle of Two Buck Chuck, consider reaching for a strawberry. Though heavy drinking may lead to stomach damage, a new European study shows that strawberries can help protect and lessen the harm infl ... More >>

A Recipe for Father's Day: Grilled Côte de Boeuf Wine Pairings

Farid ZadiRib Steak or Côte de Boeuf​ Suggesting a hunk of grilled meat for Father's Day seems predictable. But the weather is perfect just about this time of year and bonding with dad outdoors over an open fire seems like an almost universal pastime. Besides, grilled steak tastes better tha ... More >>

30 Scoops in 30 Days: Grom Gelateria (Day 5)

The line between ice cream and gelato can sometimes be thin. At Grom Gelateria, a much loved Italian, New York and (since January) Los Angeles chain, there's no question. This is gelato, at its finest: soft, velvet smooth and reeking of casual indulgence.

Nine Degrees of Food & Wine: 9 Academic Food Programs

UW Digital Collections​Does your "I'm-running-away-from-home" daydream involve the countryside and small batch goat cheese or building a giant copper still in an industrial warehouse space? Maybe it's time to take the first step towards making that dream a reality, and maybe the way to go is t ... More >>

Q & A With Lidia Bastianich: On Vegas, Her Next Book Chances Of An L.A.-based Eataly

flickr user pritheworldBastianich At An Eataly Cooking Class Demo​Lidia Bastianich has a successful, long-running food television career on PBS, too many cookbooks to count, a mini Italian restaurant empire, namesake retail pasta sauces, and even a new QVC ceramic cookware line (sure, why not? ... More >>

I'M BOUQUET, YOU'RE BOUQUET

Eat This Now: Maccheroni Tartuffo at Oliverio

C. BishopOliverio's Maccheroni Tartuffo​ We know, we know: truffled macaroni and cheese is so passé. It was the braised short rib of L.A. restaurants before the braised short rib actually came along. Throw a stone in any direction and you'll find a poorly-executed truffled macaroni and chees ... More >>

ODB's "Nigga Please" with All the N-words Replaced by "Slave," in Honor of the Butchering of Mark Twain's "Huck Finn" by Some Idiotic Publisher

​Some idiotic, thoroughly moronic publisher gave in to idiotic, thoroughly moronic busybody censors and republished Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer replacing the historically appropriate (and clearly condemned by the author, if you, say, bother to read the damn books...) usage of ... More >>

Top 10 Kinds of Bacon in My Refrigerator This Morning

Flickr/Chuck T.guanciale​ 10. Guanciale. Made by some guy in Colorado, or so says Rosario, the cured-meat impresario at Roma Deli in Pasadena. A nice, gamy pig cheek, anyway, suspiciously like the ones I used to get from Salumi Biellese on 8th Avenue in Manhattan.

Obika Mozzarella Bar Opens in Beverly Center

Obika​ Obika Mozzarella Bar, which turns cheese-eating into a religion with its "globes of cheese" floating "like Jeff Koons basketballs," has opened a new church. Like its first location, opened a few months ago in the Century City mall, this one opened last Friday in the Beverly Center.

Combating Functional Foods: Whole Grain Salads

D. GonzalezSpaghetti squash and farro salad at Lemonade​ What do Rice-A-Roni, Tostitos, and Cocoa Puffs have in common? Aside from the fact that we never thought we'd ever mention them on this blog, the answer is that they now have packages touting them as a whole grain food. Which leads to ... More >>

Obikà Mozzarella Bar Opening in Century City & Second L.A. Location Coming Soon

Obikà Mozzarella Bar, originally a European and Asian brand with 13 stores in Rome, Milan, Tokyo, London and most recently New York, is opening its first California location in Century City's Westfield Shopping Center on September 15. Obikà, on the second floor of the mall between the food court a ... More >>

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​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 ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 6/7-6/11

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "She gets her cow, you can eat as low on the food chain as you'd like, and you all drink hoppy oceans of microbrew - everybody wins!"

ALL THIS AND GORE!

The 70% Solution: Tasting Notes on Domori Sur Del Lago Clasificado Chocolate

Ben CalderwoodA half-kilo foodservice Domori "plaque"​ Consider The 70% Solution your chocolate valet, a guide to seeking and sampling premium dark chocolate at foodservice outlets and nosh boutiques across Los Angeles. 70-percenters adhere to two rules: No flavors or inclusions, as they are k ... More >>

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​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 ... More >>

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​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 ... More >>

HERE WE COME ARMENIAN

Bagrationi, The First Georgian Sparkling Wines Hit LA A Snappy Holiday Ginger Cocktail Recipe

Here's a fun game. The next time you're in the company of a wine buff, toss out a few challenging in vino veritas one-liners. Something like "How's your Tsitska?" usually does the trick (the response should involve white wine grape varietals native to the Republic of Georgia, not an update on sister ... More >>

It's High Time!

Monsters and Prodigies: The History of the Castrati

Monsters and Prodigies: The History of the Castrati

Terroni: That's Italian!

Recalling the Old Country, quirks and all

The Big Idea

Osteria Mozza

Bottle Opener

750ml uncorks in South Pasadena

Brings All the Boys to the Yard

Milk

Ask Mr. Gold: Spaghetti Carbonara

Ask Mr. Gold