Posts by Richard Foss

Most fast food meals are a matter of convenience – I’m on this corner and so is a burger joint, so I have lunch. In-N-Out has the distinction of having fans who travel several miles for a fast food burger because they like the freshness of the ingredients. The company is proud of the fact…

When a business goes from having one location to a hundred and sixty-two over thirty-five years, what they are doing is not a fad. Their rich, sweet cheesecake is obviously one of their secrets – it’s in the restaurant’s name, and they serve over forty kinds including chocolate raspberry truffle, pina colada, and Dutch apple…

We remember when there was just one Crème de la Crepe, and some people scoffed that the South Bay needed a restaurant that mainly sold French stuffed pancakes. Obviously we approved, since they have not only thrived but now have six locations from Long Beach to Pasadena. Three of those locations are in the South…

Until they visit the American Farmhouse Tavern, many people don’t know that Central California has its own distinctive regional cuisine. It’s not some piece of canny restaurant marketing; there really is a tradition here, centered on Santa Maria-style barbecue and a delicious bean soup which you mix with salsa right at the table. That regional…

For the second year in a row, Martha’s wins – they are always in the top two, a perennial favorite of locals. Because this is a locals’ joint – the location outside of downtown helps keep it that way, and plenty of people arrive every morning by bicycle, rain or shine, midweek or weekend. They…

Call it the beachy brunch – burritos and fajitas, pancakes and omelets with a Mexican theme, all served in the very bar where you may have been carousing the night before. You might look around on some weekend morning and wonder if some of the more colorful characters even left, then realize other people are…