Tien Nguyen

Garlic knots at Pizzanista!; Credit: T. Nguyen

Garlic Knots Food Fight: Pizzanista! vs. Joe's Pizza

Most fast foods have their natural sidekicks: burgers have their fries. Fried chicken has its mashed potatoes. But pizza? Pizza usually flies solo, content with committing crimes against calories all by its lonesome. Every once in a while, though, it is nice to see pizza partnered up, and we personally......
Classic Chicago Pizza at Hollywood PIes; Credit: T. Nguyen

Hollywood Pies's Classic Chicago Pizza

Chicago-style pizzeria Hollywood Pies may be Keyser Söze's doppelganger: the greatest trick it has ever pulled, at least so far, is convincing the world that it exists. It has no physical storefront, so the only ways to get a piece of the Hollywood Pie is to order it for delivery......
Pourover coffee at Cafe Dulce.; Credit: R.E.~/Flickr

5 Best New L.A. Coffee Shops: Wake Up

Until recently, coffee barely registered a note in the many love songs to the foods and drinks that have made Los Angeles proud. Sure, great shops like Groundwork Coffee and Jones Coffee Roasters certainly existed here and there, but it was only in the mid-2000s that the city really saw......
Handsome Coffee Roasters's coffee; Credit: R.E.~/Flickr

Handsome Coffee Roasters Opening in December

For the coffee lovers in the city, Handsome Coffee Roasters presents an early holiday gift: a December opening date. The coffee company founded by 2010 World Barista Champion Michael Phillips, Tyler Wells, and Chris Owens -- all of whom left top positions at Intelligentsia to pursue their own version of......
Credit: AeroShot

AeroShot Coffee Inhaler: Snort the Caffeine

Los Angeles has seen a number of specialty cafes open in the last few years, with great beans and different brewing styles. What if you don't have the time, interest or patience to deal with the process of ordering from a snobby barista then actually drinking your coffee? Carry a......
Spice Table's "Cold Cut" Banh Mi Sandwich; Credit: T. Nguyen

Upscale Banh Mi Food Fight: The Spice Table vs. ink.sack

We take the inexpensive bánh mì for granted. This wonderful Vietnamese sandwich isn't supposed to cost more than a few bucks. Almost any bánh mì in the San Gabriel Valley -- with any number of meats, pâtés and pickled vegetables stuffed in a freshly baked baguette -- will set you......
The Lucky Charms Cereal Sifter separates the charms from the oats.; Credit: Tom Lombardi at Thingiverse

Lucky Charms Sifter Makes Your Cereal Magically Delicious

We all do it: Take a box of Lucky Charms, pour the cereal into the bowl, hunt for the charms like you're scrounging for laundry quarters and leave behind the bland toasted oats. Like the perpetually frazzled woman of the infomercial, we exclaims, "There's got to be a better way!"......
What evil lurks in this year's bag of Halloween candy?; Credit: T. Nguyen

Top 5 Halloween Candy Urban Legends

Trick-or-treating is a time-honored, once-a-year tradition when, for just one night, children ask for, and receive, candy from strangers. Reliance on the kindness of strangers only goes so far. Every Halloween, parents QC their their children's bounty like the strictest of Oompa Loompas, throwing out fresh-baked goodies, suspiciously wrapped candy......