Westwood Village

Waffle Chix in Westwood Village Closes: Replaced by ShopHouse Food Truck Coming Soon

Since May 20th, Bruins have had to search elsewhere for deep-fried chicken and waffles. Family-owned Southern diner Waffle Chix, which opened in 2011 in Westwood Village, adjacent to Five Guys and Le Pain Quotidien, posted signage telling fans, "We are expanding our footprint around Los Angeles. Get ... More >>

On Earth Day, UCLA Bans Smoking Forever

If you go to UCLA, you can sign up for military service and die for your country. You can vote (if you're at least 18). You drink (if you're 21). And you can take THC semi-legally, if you have a doctor's blessing (and keep it to yourself). But you can't smoke on campus. Starting today the Westwood ... More >>

800 Degrees Opening in Santa Monica this Fall

A new 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria will set up its wood-burning oven in Santa Monica this fall, just a little over a year after the first one opened its doors in Westwood Village. Slated for a 5,000-square-feet space at 120 Wilshire Boulevard, the latest outpost will feature a take-out area and a ... More >>

Saveur Names 4 L.A. Doughnut Shops Among Favorites in the U.S.

It's all about doughnuts (or donuts) in the March issue of Saveur, out now on newsstands. The cover promises a list of the world's best inside. But according to features article contributor Michael Krondol, who's working on an upcoming book on the pastries, "though donuts take on countless shapes, t ... More >>

UCLA-Adjacent Sex Attack; Suspect 'Selling Magazines'

After UCLA saw three reported sexual attacks during the 2011-12 school year and one last month, school police said this week they were on the hunt for yet another suspect whom they say used the guise of selling magazines to get close to his victim at her Westwood Village residence off-campus. A UCL ... More >>

Mon Amour Cafe Opens in Westwood

Tucked between BJ's Restaurant and Habibi Cafe, Mon Amour Cafe celebrates its grand opening today in Westwood Village, with the slogan "A bit of Paris in L.A." First-time restaurant owner Mickey Fathi, who worked at Habibi Cafe for more than 10 years, saw an opportunity to take over the space next d ... More >>

U Mini: Umami Burger's Fast-Casual Concept Now Open in Westwood

Today, Umami Burger steps into the world of fast casual burger-dom -- the other words fast food -- with the opening of U Mini on Westwood Ave in Westwood Village. The new location, which opened to the public at noon today, is serving smaller burgers (sliders?) at a cheaper price point than regular U ... More >>

TLT Food Brings O.C.'s Lime Truck to Westwood

What do you get when an O.C. food truck heads northward with a permanent brick-and-mortar spot in mind? That would be the newly opened TLT Food in Westwood Village, whose acronym stands for "The Lime Truck," the Great Food Truck Race-winning mobile eatery which has been one of Orange County's most p ... More >>

October Roundup of Restaurant Openings & Closings Westwood Twitter Battle

For some, October in L.A. means candy corn stomach aches, new cocktail lists, air conditioning-induced colds and a fight to keep your business alive. We haven't done the math, but Westwood Village has seen a higher restaurant turnover rate than your average neighborhood. "Westwood is thriving," acco ... More >>

Neighborhood Food Crawl: The Westwood Sandwich Walk

View Westwood Sandwich Walk in a larger map Who says L.A. isn't a walking town? I mean, sure, we might not be known for our crowded sidewalks, but it's worth mentioning we ended up on the higher rungs of Walk Score's 2011 list of walkable cities in America. (We're number 13! Take that Jacksonville! ... More >>

Target's New 'City' Stores in Downtown and Westwood Preserve the Outsides But Whitewash the Insides: Our Review

See also: *Fugly Buildings: Our Series on the Most Hideous Buildings in L.A. *5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week *Our Best of L.A. issue and our Best of L.A. app Target's new "City" store opened this week in the the sunken shopping center at the corner of 7th and Figueroa downtown. The multi-l ... More >>

A September Roundup of Restaurant Openings and Closings

Celebrating the "change" in season (it's L.A., come on), restaurants around town are revamping their menus, adding new happy hours (City Sip, The Parish, Dominick's, etc), prix fixe specials and pumpkin everywhere they can. Known for creating menus from scratch, Test Kitchen returns to Sotto with a ... More >>

Pressed Juicery Opening in Westwood More Locations to Come

Juicing is nothing new. The Beverly Hills Juice Club has been turning out wheatgrass shots since 1975. Today it shows no signs of slowing. There's 4-6 pounds of juice in every bottle, says Pressed Juicery co-owner Hayden Slater who, along with partners Carly Brien and Hedi Gores, are working on a fi ... More >>

USC Football Billboard in UCLA Territory Torn Down by Regency Outdoor Advertising

Looks like Regency Outdoor Advertising, one of the biggest billboard companies in this land of 10,000 billboards, is choosing sides in the epic beef between USC and UCLA. At first, it appeared that Regency (which is reportedly co-owned by Brian Kennedy, a prominent USC donor) had sided with the Tro ... More >>

Is Westwood Really 'Dying'? Twitter Account Mourns Neighborhood's Decline

Ever since the beginning May, a morbid Twitter account called @westwoodisdying has been forming an unofficial file of all "the closed and closing storefronts in Westwood Village," and just documenting the neighborhood's cultural decline in general. (For example: the buffing-over of a Shepard Fairey ... More >>

Eat Sweets Pastry Opens in Westwood Village

Megan Driscoll had been running a custom desserts catering company since 2006 until she found the perfect little storefront for her bakery Eat Sweets Pastry on Gayley Avenue in Westwood Village, just a stone's throw from In-N-Out. The bakery quietly opened on June 2, replacing La Galetta. Students a ... More >>

L.A. Riots: Zev Yaroslavsky's Car 'Was Totally Destroyed'

South L.A. was gutted by the L.A. riots, which were sparked 20 years ago Sunday. Hollywood was hit. Parts of Koreatown burned. But news coverage of fires and looting further west was rare. As we look back at the uprisings with our Riot Stories vignettes, we checked in with L.A. County Supervisor Ze ... More >>

Waiter-Free Dining? Umami Expands to the Grove and Westwood With "U-Mini"

Adam Fleischman is a busy man with seven Umami locations throughout California, the launch of Umamicatessen downtown and recent announcements of the chain's expansion to Westwood (this summer) and the Grove. With the restaurateur's roots already established in Westwood Village, 800 Degrees opened ... More >>

Skylight Gardens Opening in Westwood

Replacing Gardens on Glendon, Talk of the Town, Will Wright's Ice Cream Parlor and the Hamlet Gardens in Westwood Village, Skylight Gardens soft-opened Feb. 20 and will open to the public on March 1, serving Italian fare from chefs Sebastian Gonzalez (El Bulli) and Raffaele Favuzzi (Pane e Vino, Ang ... More >>

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dog Food Fight: Echo Park Street Vendor vs. The Stand

There is so much fuss over new baconized products (bazookas, salt, alphabets) that we sometimes forget that street vendors were outfitting hot dogs with bacon long before anyone knew how to tweet or Instagram. The vendors wheel out their carts like clockwork, punching in just as you're punching out ... More >>

Banksy at Occupy London: See the Street Artist's Monopoly Sculpture Before It Got Vandalized

Colin Young-Wolff​Angelenos aren't strangers to the works of British street artist Banksy. His participation in MOCA's street art show was a (predictably secret) given, and the man plastered L.A. during the run-up to the Oscars, inspiring residents of Westwood Village to petition for his works ... More >>

10 Places to Celebrate World Cocktail Day

Guzzle & NoshSo many cocktails to drink, so little time.​World Cocktail Day, the culmination of World Cocktail Week, is tomorrow, May 13th, but in true tippler fashion, we're starting the celebration today. Didn't even know you had an excuse to drink, did you? Why May 13th? Our pal at Thirsty ... More >>

Banksy Facebook Protest Erupts to Protect Westwood Graffiti Art (New Photos)

Ted SoquiBanksy's telltale work in Westwood.​Photos by Ted Soqui L.A. art lovers are banding together on Facebook in an attempt to prevent the removal of another Banksy piece in the city. This after ...

Diana Sproveri Designer Bake Shop Replaces Cookie Munch: Welcome, Cupcake On A Stick?

Celia SoudryLollibakes​ Cupcake shops will probably outlive us all. Enter Lollibakes: little balls on sticks filled with gooey centers of cookie dough, red velvet, lemon and strawberry, then dipped in chocolate to create a hard outer shell. These mini cupcake-like treats can be found at Diana ... More >>

Food Paparazzi Capture Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Sipping Bubbly & Promoting DineLA

Celia SoudryMob of photogs​ Tuesday morning, September 21st, Napa Valley Grille in Westwood Village promoted upcoming DineLA, a two-week event featuring over 300 restaurants, beginning October 3. The launch party and cook-off starred local politicians and chefs, including Mayor Antonio Villara ... More >>

City Bean Coffee Update: Renovated Roastery Wholesale Now Open to the Public

A. Scattergoodoutside City Bean's Jefferson Blvd. location​ City Bean Coffee, the Los Angeles coffee company that Sol Salzer began in 1992 as a small retail shop in Westwood Village, last Monday quietly opened the doors of its newly renovated micro-roastery on Jefferson Boulevard. The location ... More >>

Spice, So-Called Legal Marijuana, Sold Near UCLA Campus

​It looks like "spice," the legal, marijuana-like substance that has sparked controversy across the nation, is making inroads in Los Angeles. The UCLA Daily Bruin reports that the product, sold under names such as K2 and Black Mamba, is available in Westwood Village and that, so far, the local ... More >>

Wash Your Hot Dog Down With an Ice Cream Sandwich: Cookie Munch Opens in Tarzana

With childhood dreams of opening her own retro ice cream parlor, Farah Gast is off to a running start with Cookie Munch, a dessert/hot dog shop she opened February 6th in Tarzana. Cookie Munch doles out classic Dreyer's ice cream flavors and various toppings, an array of freshly baked cookies, Hebre ... More >>

Gardens on Glendon Restauant Closes: End of an Era for the Westwood Village Staple

After 21 years of business, Gardens on Glendon, a Westwood Village staple closed its doors this month. Flip the page for more photos of the abandoned restaurant. Celia Soudry​

Glendon Kitchen & Cocktails in Westwood Village Opens Mid-February: G-Spot Delivery Service Coming Soon

Westwood Village was once the Third Street Promenade of the Westside, bustling with independent restaurants and shops. Now you can find a Starbucks, Coffee Bean or California Pizza Kitchen on every corner. But there's a new kid on the block, and his name ain't Donnie Wahlberg. Glendon Kitchen & Cock ... More >>

Best of L.A.: Happy Hour

Grauman's Chinese Theater for Sale?

Base image: Carol Highsmith/Wikipedia ​​It may not be a state monument or an historical city-owned property, but Grauman's Chinese Theater is an integral part of Hollywood -- both of its history and its daily commerce as part of the Mann Theater chain. That's why a Hollywood Reporter story is in ... More >>

I, Muppet at the Los Angeles Film Festival

One writer's lifelong pursuit of the rainbow connection

Busted: Exclusive Photo of Kogi Taco Truck Being Ticketed in Westwood Village

Squid Ink roving photographer Aaron Stein-Chester took this shot of a Kogi BBQ taco truck being ticketed in Westwood Village on May 20. This reporter has tried without success to reach the Kogi guys for comment for more than a week. There was no mention of the citation on Kogi's Twitter feed, just t ... More >>

L.A. Parking Meters: The New Corporate ATMs?

City News Service reports that, in its endless quest to resolve L.A.'s budget crisis, the City Council has approved half a million dollars to study the benefits of selling off six city-owned  garages and 41,000 parking meters. That's right -- in the near future, depending on where you park, you ... More >>

Cereal Thrillers

JuJu Cereal Bar

Foodie Floor Show

Where to find tableside guacamole

No Laffing Matter

Los Angeles Film Festival finally comes of age

Must See Art

“relay” by T. Kelly Mason and Diana Thater and “Decamp” by Alan Michael

Soul of the Spin Machine

Moving Pictures

LAFF flips the script

Any Given Sundae

My Parents’ Bachelor Pad

Living high on the Golden Mile

Letters

The 17th Level

Opening weekend at 'The Grove'

Press Comes to Shove

An uncivil war erupts among journalists

Hearts and Minds -and Hard Cash

Can the owners afford the janitors’ demands? (Hell, yes.) Can the janitors spur organizing in low-wage L.A? (Well, maybe.)

Feel Lucky, Punk?

First Bites

A Taste of Some of the City's Newest Restaurants

Westwood Can’t Dance

Ghost of conflict past drives duel over nightclub