Elina Shatkin

Why top your pie with something as banal as a crust when you could top it with a springy layer of caramelized marshmallow? That's one of the elements that makes the Peanut Butter S'more Pie from I Heart Pies so fantastic. Not that you need to gild the lily when......

As its name implies, Schnitzly is devoted to the schnitzel, which is too bad since their version, made with chicken, is heavy, dry and served in hefty wraps or sub sandwiches, even with the dozen or so sauces you can slather on top of them. That level of mediocrity is......

In July, when Magnolia Bakery opened its first (but surely not its last) Los Angeles outpost, I was weary of the hype, fueled by local cupcake fanatics as much as by any PR firm. The breathless chronicling of Magnolia's search for a location, the problems inherent in dealing with L.A.'s......

I've never been a big fan of jarred tomato sauces. Even my love for The Ramones couldn't compel me to buy this jar of Marky Ramone's Brooklyn's Own Pasta Sauce, which I spotted in a Denver record store. (24, 24 hours to go/I wanna be tomatoed.) However, I'm no fancy-pants......

Now that chef Rick Bayless has succeeded in finally introducing Los Angeles to authentic Mexican cuisine, he's introducing us to authentic music. The controversial Chicago chef behind (well sorta kinda behind) recently opened upscale Mexican restaurant Red O, curated a set for KCRW's Guest DJ Project. What goes best with......

Be careful leaving bottles of Agwa around. The new, mint-green liqueur made from coca leaves that are grown in Bolivia then processed and bottled in Amsterdam, looks and tastes remarkably similar to mouthwash. Perhaps you're a dental hygienist who wants to bring a taste of the office to happy hour;......

Long before Culver City became a happening culinary Mecca, dotted with chic brasseries and wine bars, it belonged to humble eateries like Tokyo 7-7. Tucked in an alley off Washington Blvd., this Japanese-American diner sits in the shadows, literally and metaphorically, of half-a-dozen hip, upscale restaurants. Tokyo 7-7 Coffee Shop......

If you're a Westerner, all Bollywood movies, with their gleeful disregard for logic, verisimilitude and emotional continuity, will blow your mind. Robot (Endhiran or Enthiran in Tamil), however, will sandblast through your neural cortex. The most expensive Bollywood movie ever made, Robot is about a scientist (Rajinikanth), his long-suffering girlfriend......

More big news from the Lopez family. As this Friday's opening of the second Pal Cabron location wasn't keeping them busy enough, they will reopen the long-closed Guelaguetza location in Palms as Mitla, a more upscale Oaxacan restaurant with chef Josh Gil at the stoves. (If you were lucky enough......

Akasha in Culver City is known as a bastion of organic, market-driven, California cuisine. Hearty but healthful fare. So I was surprised and excited to discover Akasha makes such great chicken wings, the pinnacle of greasy, all-American snack food. People will rave about Akasha's gluten-free onion rings with their rice-flour......