Jessica Ritz

Matzo ball soup is a comfort food with a relatively simple taxonomy. Camps are mostly divided along the lines of sinkers vs. floaters, clean broth vs. noodles/crackers/carrots/etc. Opinions range and styles vary, and a perusal of the literature by authorities such as Claudia Roden and Gil Marks suggests that what......

After eleven years in business as Psychobabble, the café on Vermont Avenue just south of Franklin in Los Feliz has been reborn with a streamlined name, attitude and look. Last week Bru Artisan Coffee + Tea opened in the same space. "I want the emphasis to be on the coffee......

Close your eyes and breathe. Deeply. Smell those bulk whole grains commingling with the aromas of spirulina, alternative pastas, sprouts of all types, and freshly juiced wheatgrass? Now take a look around. See the earnest hand-painted signs promoting health tips? Notice the knotty pine and exposed wood surfaces that were......

We'd love to linger over a classic breakfast combo and endless cups of coffee at John Lautner's 1949 Googie Coffee Shop, since it was the actual place whose name defined a genre. And then enjoy the cannelloni au gratin at Sardi's on Hollywood Boulevard designed by Rudolph Schindler instead of......

The place that ushered in the new generation of Culver City restaurant culture is closing. This coming Sunday, January 16th will be the last day of business at Beacon. Executive chef and Chinois on Main alum Kazuto Matsusaka along with his wife, general manager Vicki Fan Matsusaka, introduced their distinct......

For those who want to experience our country's natural treasures but aren't the camping type, here is the event for you. The 26th annual Yosemite Chefs' Holidays series of chef demonstrations, presentations, dinners, receptions and such at the Ahwahnee gets under way on January 9th, with the eighth and final......

So, it's time to plan New Year's Eve if you haven't already. Avoid the amateur's night problem by putting your 2011 celebration in the hands of restaurant pros who will handle the fine food and drink part. And save you clean-up troubles. Merriment, cheer, reflecting on the past year (which......

Generous sidewalks and a wide thoroughfare don't exactly make Glendale Boulevard the Champs Elysees of Atwater Village, but a new bakery located on the street helps import a bit of France. And it's also here where Proof Bakery owner Na Young Ma hopes to "be part of a community and......

Twenty-two years is a lot of time to think about branching out. In fact, one might assume that because a business owner has maintained a successful operation for so long in a singular location, she has no interest in expanding. And yet after being on Melrose east of La Cienega......

We've all been getting into the groove of fall foods and pumpkins and such. And in case you haven't stepped foot in a drug or grocery store since September, it's also that time of year when high fructose corn syrup gets shipped and delivered in even more massive amounts. Whichever......