I take my role as self appointed aid in enforcing the rules very seriously.

I call security if someone pushes when the door clearly states "PULL".

And now for the reasons why...............

OK, I'll start. Hollenbeck Park. You're right, no eateries but it makes the food you bring from the local places more enjoyable & memorable. Such as La Parilla, King Taco, El Tepayac, Al & Bea's.

ipsedixit: "You ate at the original McDonald's that was opened in 1933 in San Bernardino CA? And which has been closed since 1940?"

Then that qualification must apply to ipsedixit also.
Unless ipsedixit ate at the original McDonald's, then ipsedixit is not qualified to tell us that McDonald's food today does resemble, is not different than the original.

But you don't have to have eaten at the very 1st McDonald's to know McD's is not the same and in many ways not as good as they once were.
Off the top of my head & based on my experience:
McDonald's fries don't taste as good since they changed to frozen fries and healthier cooking oil.
McDonald's lowered the fat in their shakes. Changed from milk to some sort of milk like product.
McDonald's now puts 1/2 slice of cheese on fish filet. Used to be full slice.
Didn't the filet used to be bigger?
Big Macs didn't used to be quite the squishy mushy amalgam they are now.

McDonald's of my youth never forgot the cheese on my cheeseburger. They did the last time I ate 1. And yes. it was in a yellow cheeseburger wrapper. And yes, that is an unforgivable cardinal sin- It's McDonald's for crying out loud.

Col Sanders on KFC gravy post his ownership: "‘My God, that gravy is horrible. They buy tap water for 15 to 20 cents a thousand gallons and they mix it with flour and starch and end up with pure wallpaper paste …’ Once they’ve got the wallpaper paste, they add some ‘ ...sludge... There’s no nutrition in it and they ought not be allowed to sell it ...’”*

*http://www.newsy.com/videos/kfc-finds...

Can you imagine how successful Ramsey's TV programs would be if the character he plays was always calm, always patient, constantly reassuring, encouraging, nurturing and devoid of expletives?
Next question: Do TV shows' ratings ever go to zero?

America's Test Kitchen's Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Brown 10 TB unsalted butter, melt in an additional 4 TB butter after removing from heat.
2 other keys to getting multiple raves for "Best chocolate chip cookies EVER!" :
Toast chopped nuts (I use pecans and walnuts).
Use high quality chocolate chips- Guittard, .Callebaut, Ghiridelli

I'd link or print the complete recipe but I'm afraid the very nice Mr. Christopher Kimball would sue me for every penny I'm worth and more.

According to the Trader Joe's I was referring to - 610 S Arroyo Pkwy Pasadena, they were the very 1st. They brag about it on signage posted in the store. Their offices and original warehouse were 1st located in South Pasadena,before
moving to Monrovia Ca a few years ago.

I live in Pasadena, but not on Arroyo Prkwy.

Thanks to all who played along. Consider my "Thanks." a special prize, just slightly below the highly coveted most valued of prizes: "Congratulations."

I believe there is. Congratulations ! . But I'll take that back if someone gets closer.

I live a 10 minute walk from the 1st Trader Joe's, a Whole Foods flagship store is literally around the corner (Yes, literally), Gelson's "the Super Market" (my primary grocery because it really is super in all my expectations for a grocery) is a 10 minute walk, a Von's (Safeway to the rest of the country) is a 15 minute walk.

There are also over 100 eateries within about a 15 minute walk or less (some of them actually worth eating at).

There's a huge valuable prize* to the 1st person who guesses where I live (close proximity).

* A hearty heartfelt "Congratulations !" from me.

Does ipsedixit tip ? If so or if not, why?

I'm a big fan of the cast iron club. It's a great tool for getting the kids to eat their vegetables.

As a recent new owner of my 1st cast iron pan I'm grateful to all the posters on the CI pan topics who have offered tips on its use and maintenance.
I was especially impressed by its ability to put an even excellent crust on steaks and cook them to perfection, with my help of course. By dialing down the temperature as the desired sear is close to being achieved I've been able to cook steaks evenly through to the rare side of medium rare just on the stove top without putting them in the oven, including 1 1/2" thick steaks. It does involve flipping the steaks 2 or 3 times after I've gotten the right the sear on both sides.

Scuttlebutt is that the strike is being instigated by some guy who goes by the moniker "Trader Joe". He was doing very well before the last strike, but during that strike he garnered vaster riches and an even greater cult following.

Obviously, in OP's title "food" = way too much of Food Network/Cooking Channel's programming

Their competition programs combine the ubiquitous cornerstones of most of cable TV today, no matter what the genre - personalities and conflict produced relatively cheaply.

THE PROBLEM w/ Food Network/Cooking Channel is that the competition shows + the constant repetition of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and the multitude of similar knock off shows have replaced "the shows with instructive or reflective content." *

For Chowhounds who enjoy cooking shows - Thank God for PBS.

* I invented a drinking game - do a shot every time I tuned to Food Network and D,D & D or Iron Chef was on, but my liver vetoed playing.

Golden State. Great Burgers + Great Beers !

Small urban cafe N. of Beverly Blvd in Fairfax District.
A Must for Burger & Beer Hounds in LA.

-----
The Golden State
426 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036

lower cost = higher profits. I'm guessin they sell a lot more HDoaS than in a bun.
They can get away w/ it because people are less likely to notice the difference in taste of the dog when its wrapped in deep fried batter.
It's a pretty sure bet they're not doing turkey dogs cause they're healthier.

Cioppino Friday nights. Definitely a martini, or 3 if you're not driving or operating heavy machinery afterwards.

A couple of recommendations here from 2009 for Church and State. My wife had their bouillabaisse a few months ago. It had a decent broth and a sizable amount of fresh shellfish but it had very little, if any fish. Good, but not really bouillabaisse even w/ the requisite saffron aoli & toast. The server explained that the chef uses only the freshest ingredients. Which made perfect sense, what w/ LA being so far from the ocean. Despite that, C&S is a terrific resto.

Didn't see Musso & Frank mentioned, so I will Very good cioppino on Fridays. Old school Hollywood w/ consistently well done classics.

If ipse's not 'avn a bit of fun w/ us, then ipse's been had.
1st giveaway. "make a libretto out of the pie" followed by step 3. which duplicates step 2 if the intended meaning of libretto is little book (it surely can't mean "make a text of an opera out of the pie"). No doubt the use of Italian (libretto) intentionally aided the charade.
2nd giveaway - one of ipse's legs is now longer than the other from being pulled so vigorously.
3rd giveaway - NOBODY*, in Italy or anywhere else, eats pizza by folding a whole pizza several times till it's a triangular glob of dough..

*No doubt there's a few people who play the role of exceptions that prove the rule.

Evidently, the OP and those that agree believe the correct response to an employee of a restaurant asking "How was everything?" is:
"It's none of my business." meant literally and "It's none of your business." meant figuratively.

Marinade onion rings for deep frying.
Include the same herbs and seasonings you would use to marinade chicken in buttermilk for frying such as poultry seasoning, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, parsley, cayenne pepper, paprika, whatever strikes your fancy. I've marinated them for up to 2 days. I toss drained rings in flour, leave 'em for a while, then a mix of fresh bread crumbs and panko. Spread them out on a rack and refrigerate for at least a half hour or freeze.

WOW ! NO KIDDING?! FOR REAL?! THAT'S AMAZING! I had NO idea they were still running that parade. You'd think after over 100 years people would've had their fill of the whole flowers on floats thing. I really need to keep up more. Maybe I should start w/ "How the heck exactly does Paual Deen grand marshalling the RoseParade affect my or anyone's life in any way shape or form ?"

Actually the most interesting thing about this (and my use of "interesting" is as hyperbole) was Jonathan Gold's reaction : " "Paula Deen? That's absolutely horrifying, Julia Child grew up on Pasadena Avenue, just a few blocks from the start of the parade, and practically everything Ms. Deen has done both exploits and despoils the culinary movement Child did so much to prod into being. As a food person and as a Pasadenan, I should be proud that the committee is honoring somebody in my profession, but the news makes me cringe."
The interesting part to me is finding out Gold is a fellow Pasadenan, Pasadenian? Pasadenman?

Now excuse my while I go off to make a batch of Paula's famous chicken fried butter. Mmmm butter. Mmmm fried. Mmmm fried chicken.

OP: "I'm 49 and have NEVER tasted a Chef Boyardee product "
Take a few minutes to recall and think about the best Italian meals you've ever had ..., home cooked by your Italian mother and other relatives..... hopefully you have fond memories of fine meals in Italy.....the freshest best ingredients, the pastas handmade with care and love, the wonderful flavors.
Well, Chef Boyadee IS EXACTLY like those.

The food at Justin (Deborah's Room) is very good though the lunch menu is limited. Nice setting w/ view of flower garden and "VIP" section of winery. It is a drive to get there but a recommended one worth taking- a very pleasant variety of changing scenery. Despite what prev poster wrote the wines are pretty good, maybe over priced but still worth a tasting to judge for yourself.

http://www.justinwine.com/visit_debor...

Use a suction cup like the kind used to attach/hang stuff to vertical surfaces (i.e. walls). 1 that's small enough to fit in bottom of pyrex dish but large enough that it has the needed pulling power.

Happy Birthday! Both are small restos but Canele is smaller and more cramped. Food is very good at Canele. A step above Beaujolais more creative and more market driven. Though B has good consistently solid French bistro fare- basic standards.

Being an authority does not mean infallible.
I rely on CI/ATK/et al, They have a good track record and are one of multiple cooking resources I consider An Authority. But no ones perfect.
The worst example of bad advice from CI was a short cut French fry recipe that called for coating the raw fries w/ olive oil then microwaving before frying. Intuitively I thought that was a BAD IDEA, and sure enough, as I expected, the fries came out limp and greasy soggy.
Then again that could be just another of the many examples of where I messed up... but I don't think sooo.

So I guess we won't be seeing anything new from Giada and we know who to blame.
Here's a recipe from Giada but she's not one of the ingredients:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gi...

Morton's, The Steakhouse in Burbank. Private rooms available.
Burger's good for those on a budget.

3400 West Olive Avenue
Burbank, CA 91505

Re: Green Street Tavern, evidently the chef has changed since ipse wrote this in Jan 09. The food is very good. The room is still very nice.
Also very good interior & food at Vertical Wine Bistro. I also recommend the food at Red White+Bluezz + live music. Dish on Union gets an honorable mention on the list of Chow worthy restaurants in Old Town.

-----
Vertical Wine Bistro
70 N. Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103

Green Street Tavern
69 W. Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91105

ipse; " 10-15 budget per person, she'd be hard pressed to come within budget even at a place like In-N-Out."
???? That needs an explanation. When combined w/ ipse's recent comment: "I don't believe 5 for iced tea is all that out of the ordinary." I'm beginning to think (tongue in cheek) ipse doesn't pay for ipse's* food and that's why ipse's able to eat at EVERY SINGLE resto in the LA area.

*sorry, but I don't know if ipse is a man or woman's name.

Will, Leave some for me. I see rhubarb pie in my future.