Big Mango Café sends a message that tasty food can be healthy and fast By Jessica Koslow Without many words, Jonathan Weiss communicates volumes through his cooking. He’s in the kitchen every day at 2:30 a.m., preparing 1,000 catered meals for the surrounding business community. He greets and often hugs his customers at Big Mango […]

Tocaya Organica upgrades the Hercules Campus dining scene with healthy and stylish Mexican food By Shanee Edwards “We’re saving the world one taco at a time,” says Tosh Berman, co-owner of the entirely organic Mexican fast-casual restaurant Tocaya Organica. A rapidly growing franchise, Tocaya Organica celebrated its Playa Vista opening on July 7 with a […]

The line was out the door on Friday, July 7, when Blue Bottle Coffee brewed up free specialty coffee for locals at The Brickyard. The occasion wasn’t just to celebrate its new Playa Vista location, but also to raise money for Safe Place for Youth. All sales of Blue Bottle Pastries that day went to […]

Chill out with these fantastic local cocktails, salads, smoothies and frozen sweets By Jessica Koslow Summer is all about fun under the sun, which makes it equally important to cool off. Restaurants in and around Playa Vista are there to help with lighter fare, thirst-quenching cocktails and, of course, frozen concoctions that will bring out […]

ROC Playa Vista’s devotion to the delicacy springs from an entrepreneur’s passion for Chinese food By Jessica Koslow “Alot of people ask, ‘Are you going to get a sign?’” says James Kim, owner of ROC, a new Chinese restaurant in Runway at Playa Vista. It’s unusual for a restaurant to forgo signage. But, according to […]

‘Top Chef’ alum Brooke Williamson keeps it fresh with Da Kikokiko By Jessica Koslow “Top Chef” alum Brooke Williamson likes to keep things moving. Whether it’s opening a new restaurant — Runway at Playa Vista newcomer Da Kikokiko is her and husband Nick Roberts’ fourth — or changing her hair color from her natural honey […]

For starters, it’s a Texas tradition that feeds the body and soul By Richard Foss Steven Banbury is the regional culinary director for the Hopdoddy Burger Bar chain, so he’s used to people asking: What the heck is a Hopdoddy? A misspelling of Hop Daddy? “We actually have to explain it to almost every guest […]

800 Degrees Pizza CEO Steve Overholt says his secret ingredient is adding a “real chef” By Jessica Koslow 800 Degrees Pizza is on fire. In the last five years, two have popped up in Las Vegas, seven in Dubai, one in Tokyo and six in Los Angeles, including their newest restaurant last month in Runway […]

Which came first doesn’t matter at The Chicken or the Egg — they’re both on the menu By Jessica Koslow A large, lively crowd has gathered at the east end of Millennium Drive to eat chicken. Mingling in the big yellow space at the bottom of a parking structure facing Campus Center Drive, the enthusiastic foodies […]