Posts by Richard Foss

Silvio’s isn’t quite like any other place in LA. It’s part sports bar, part Brazilian restaurant, and part beachy grill where you can get a plain grilled Mahi sandwich or a Mississippi pulled pork sandwich. Purists may be outraged, but this place isn’t for them – it’s for everybody who likes simply seasoned and expertly…

It’s one of the oldest businesses in the South Bay. Generations of customers have been served by generations of one family. Becker’s has changed some since it opened in 1940 and no longer makes the German items like pfeffernussE and springerle that were once staples. They’ve kept up with the times and turn out cakes…

  The rest of the world thinks  Americans eat bad bread and they have a point. When one of your culture’s culinary achievements is pre-sliced white bread loaded with preservatives, you should reassess your culture’s life choices. A good place to start is Manhattan Bread & Bagel, where they make baguettes of such wholesomeness and…

The ambiance at Houston’s is clubby without being fussy, reminiscent of an old school steakhouse that somehow was dropped in a parking lot in the middle of an office area. The place doesn’t just live and die on business traffic. Locals flock there in the evening for the artichoke and spinach dip, steaks, seafood, ribs,…

You can get bagels at just about any supermarket, but they don’t have the texture and flavor of ones fresh from the oven. For that you go to a specialist. Locals have once again crowned Manhattan Bread and Bagel as the best of the lot, with good reason. They have all the modern versions packed…

Unless you have a family member in the business or experience arranging events, finding a caterer for a milestone event like a wedding is always stressful. You are entrusting a big part of the guest experience to someone whose food you often haven’t tried. Lisa’s Bon Appetit makes it just a bit easier. You can…

If asked to make a list of bakeries in the South Bay you probably wouldn’t include The Kettle. This is a bit unfair to the people there, who make hundreds of muffins every week. Figuring out how many they bake verges on impossible. When an employee was asked there was a moment of silence similar…

Most people don’t realize the cult status of In & Out burgers until they have a houseguest who schedules a trip there every day of their visit. It’s as much a symbol of California as the bear on our state flag. (Maybe more so, since that bear is extinct and In & Out is still…

The Good Stuff restaurants have changed with the times. As a reminder, this started out as one relatively standard coffee shop with a few Mexican items, and it was only open for breakfast and lunch. The four branches of Good Stuff now serve dinner and have embraced modern trends. You can get hummus, a salmon…

You should stop in at Ercoles sometime and order a burger with truffled aioli, roasted chillies, daikon sprouts, and a parmesan crisp. Please let us know when you do, because we want to watch. Those ingredients and many more are available at gourmet burger places within blocks of Ercoles, but are not expected on the…

It should be no surprise that Barney’s Beanery won the chili competition. They’ve been specialists in chili since the first Beanery opened in the 1920s. The location on the second floor of the Redondo Pier serves five different kinds of varying hotness, including a zippy vegetarian version. You can get your favorite bowl of red…

Our readers have embraced a very multicultural and sophisticated version of Chinese cuisine. W’s China Bistro started out serving both standard Southern dishes and the distinctive Chinese-Peruvian fusion known as Chifa. It has built on that base with items that reflect Korean and Vietnamese influences. Since Vietnamese and Korean cuisine are heavily influenced by Chinese…

We’ll admit that the price is part of the attraction at El Sombrero, but the customers who have kept these two restaurants humming for over 40 years have more than value on their minds. What matters is the quality of the food and the experience and they shine in both departments. The service at your…

The place that won as favorite chain coffeehouse has changed the language of coffee around the world. Thanks to Starbucks, people order macchiato which means “spotty” or “stained” and was obscure coffee slang in Italy before the Seattle company got hold of it. Words like venti and trenta, signifying the number of ounces in a…

It’s significant that Palmilla shares a name with a luxurious resort in Mexico.  This is a distinctly upscale version of Mexican cuisine. Instead of imagining a border cantina you should consider a spa villa with an ocean view, with a bottle of bubbly in the ice bucket on the balcony. While the flavors in the…

Not every business can smoothly transition to a new location, but Lucille’s has managed nicely. The décor has the same down-home roadhouse style, and the dining experience is just as cheerful. Most importantly, the ribs, brisket, chicken, and other goodies are coming out of the same imposing smoker with the same tangy sauces. Lucille’s has…