Besha Rodell

See more of Anne Fishbein's photography from L&E Oyster Bar. In many ways, neighborhood restaurants have a harder task than destination ones. While destination restaurants are free to create the fantasy of their choosing, a neighborhood spot must provide a particular kind of refuge — one that fits in with......

Tipping is an act of faith -- you're often gone, never to return, before the server even knows what you left. If you tip well, you'll most likely not receive any thanks, just the warm glowing feeling that you've done right by a fellow human. If you tip poorly, there......

This week's Newsweek cover story is titled "The 101 Best Places to Eat In the World." The restaurants were chosen by well-known chefs. You can see the list on the Daily Beast, Newsweek's partner website. There are a couple of problems with the issue, however, one of them being the......

"Weren't you named best bar in ... what was it, Los Angeles?" a blond woman asks bartender Niki Lindgren. Lindgren flashes her luminous smile and responds, "In America." It's Friday night at the Varnish, the first Friday night since the bar received the award for Best Bar in America at......

We here at L.A. Weekly like to think that we cater to people with all kinds of genders. You know, people with the male kind and people with the female kind. Hell, I hope we even appeal to all the various shades of in-between kinds. But apparently we don't cater......

Oreo's marketing department is celebrating the cookie's 100th anniversary by putting up the "daily twist" throughout the year -- an image of the iconic cookie dolled up to represent something relating to that day. Aug. 5's daily twist is especially cool, as it celebrates the Mars Rover landing. It was......

Umami at the Grove opened today at 11 a.m., bringing the number of locations in the chain to 12, plus Umamicatessen. The new location is the chain's flagship. Says owner Adam Fleischman, "This is the start of more local food at the Grove, the mall that put Mid-City on the......

Calling Los Angeles high school geniuses! Chicago has its very own awesome food blog and magazine written by high school kids. Surely L.A. can top that......

Because we began this week with Tales of the Cocktail, and because we all know how much serious bartenders love archaic things, and because old words are fun, I thought I'd compile a list of fun booze words that have fallen out of favor but should totally be brought back......

We learned via NPR's Morning Edition this morning that Cornell University's grape breeding program is looking for names for two brand new wine varietals. And they're hoping the public will help. The two varietals are a cold-hearty white-wine grape, which has aromatic qualities similar to Gewürztraminer or Muscat, and an......