GIGA GRANADA HILLS

Ceviche. After food truck night, the corner of Balboa and Chatsworth is on its way to becoming Granada Hills’ new favorite dining destination, with two recently opened spots — breakfast and lunch joint Main Kitchen Café, and ceviche specialists Lola’s Baja Tacos. Both are delightful in their own ways, and both should serve as notice that the perpetually disappointing Pampas, right next door, better step up its game. Pampered Granada Hillsians typically whine if there’s more than 20 feet between their parking place and their destination’s door, yet ironically, it's the ample parking that may be Lola’s Baja Taco’s undoing. Set back from Chatsworth Street behind a small parking lot, the place is easy to miss, especially since buildings on either side come right up to the sidewalk, and since the same location has been home to at least a half dozen unnoticed failures over the course of its history. Yet Lola’s, one desperately hopes, will finally be different, because they do ...

  Balloons and streamers heralded the opening of a new Togo's restaurant in Granada Hills in the OSH shopping center last month -- right across the street from the Jersey Mike's opened in 2010. But does new interloper Togo's pose a threat to Jersey Mike's sandwich supremacy? Giga Granada Hills pitted sandwiches from both stores against each other in a salami-to-salami face off to see which sub Granada Hillsians should let into their hearts and mouths. Sadly, it was no edge-of-the-seat contest, as one combatant's the victory was swift and decisive. Seems that the new sub in town just couldn't hold off the Jersey boy. Our panel of six tasters -- which included a new mom eager to shake off the shackles of her pregnancy-proscribed cold cut drought -- quickly came to unanimous consensus that Jersey Mike's Number 13, the "Original Italian" bested Togo's Number 16, simply called "The Italian." Taster comments on Togos:  ...

Wait -- an Eagle Rock hipster came over here  to do something? Enjoy this interview with Joe of Joe's Cafe.  And if you come to Joe's, remember, the password is "meatball."  Joe's Cafe is located at 17815 Chatsworth Street, Granada Hills.

In this first installment of the Great Granada Hills Pizza-Off , the hunt for Granada Hills' best delivered pizza will pit two chains against each other: the larger Ameci , with 34 locations, versus the far smaller Vincenzo's , which has just two locations, in Granada Hills and Simi Valley. Vincenzo's Order: Large pepperoni Ordered at: 5:29pm Arrived at: 5:53pm How long will it take? "35-40 minutes." How long did it actually take? 24 minutes Price: $21.04 When they say large, they really mean large: that word gets you 28" pizza. Bigger isn't always better, but in this case it was: Vincenzo's pizza had a very fresh taste, with a pleasurably chewy, bubbled crust. Ameci Order: Large cheese Ordered at: 5:32pm Arrived at: 5:56pm How long will it take? "40 minutes." How long did it actually take? 24 minutes Price:  $14.05 Ameci's large pizza is a 14-inch eight-slicer. Consensus: it did the job...

Tonight at 5pm, enjoy some of L.A.'s best-reviewed food trucks at a special event at the VFW. What's so special about it, you ask? So what, you say, we've got food trucks every Friday? First, you can enjoy your food not just standing on the sidewalk, but on the lovely, waterfall-equipped back patio of the VFW Hall. Second, the VFW has a full bar. Third, the lineup is heavy hitting: Komodo, The Grilled Cheese Truck, Grill 'Em All, White Rabbit, Gourmet Genie, and O.G. Tempura. How often do you get to enjoy delicious food while SITTING in CHAIRS? Seize this opportunity while you can.

In a great loss to the Granada Hills community in general -- and to this blog in particular -- L.A. Pizza has closed its doors for good. Chris, the restaurant's owner had difficulty making ends meet after losing his liquor license several months ago. In addition to being the most consistent long-term advertising sponsor of Giga Granada Hills , L.A. Pizza sponsored a number of local children's sports teams and was a favorite destination for the teams' end-of-season celebrations. In addition, the restaurant was host to Granada Hills' only comedy night. I originally approached L.A. Pizza for advertising because they were my favorite pizza place in G.H., and I felt I'd be proud to have their logo on my page. I mean, they had linguica sausage! Who else has that? No one, that's who. The place was a bit worn inside, but when you're getting delivery, who cares? I'll miss the garlic and white sauce pizza, the L.A. Supreme, the veggie suprem...

Pizza Cookery, tell us the truth. Is Pizza Cookery really a "Hot spot for celebrity sightings" like it says in your Clipper Magazine ad? Are there really that many A-listers coming into your joint? If so, how many and which ones? If you've actually seen Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise, or Madonna going into the Pizza Cookery to eat doughy, not-all-that-garlicky garlic rolls, readers, please let me know. Apparently, A-listers are in there all of the time.

A group of black-shirted staffers of Numero Uno Pizzeria stand in a cluster in front of their store, surveying the Friday night scene on Chatsworth Street. Over the course of the last several months, they've watched the number of food trucks — or as they call them, "roach coaches" — burgeon on the stretch between Yarmouth and Zelzah, growing from one or two, parked only in front of Menchie's, to tonight's herd of fifteen trucks, spread up and down the street. And they're not happy. "Obviously it's a nuisance. You see nothing but wrappers, and cans, just trash. Why would Granada Hills want catering trucks to damage the place and destroy it? Not one of these trucks is from Granada Hills, not one. Why not pump up businesses that have been here, that support the Little Leagues, the Devonshire Police Station pasta night, instead of this little fad with catering trucks?" Numero Uno's staff says they're not alone in their frustration...

It's nearly all regulars in here. A steady trickle of customers comes in the doors all morning long, yet Ninong's is never crowded. It's spacious, friendly, and quiet, and owner Amorfina Tica -- better known as "Amy" -- greets just about everyone like a familiar friend. One taste of the coffee here lets you know you're not at the mermaid chain; there's none of the over-roasted, over-aggressive notes, and no baseball-bat-to-the-head of caffeine. The coffee just treats you nicely, which is all I want from the world on most mornings. Amid the expected coffeehouse offerings — espressos, croissants, and the like — you can find several uniquely Filipino/uniquely Ninong's offerings. There's the create-a-cupcake, with your choice of sprinkles, to delight the kiddies. Then there's the empanadas, including longanisa, a Filipino sausage. Ninong's is also a full-service bakery with a full breakfast and lunch menu, and cute little breakfast plac...

From the Numero Uno Granada Hills Facebook page: Numero Uno Granada Hills Hello Numero Uno Granada Hills Fans! We are setting up a Streetside Stand on our patio tonight (Friday 3/18), in response to the horde of food trucks that are trying to take over our street. Please come by and check it out, or preferably dine in. We will be allowing entrance and parking through the back, since parking in front will be d ... ifficult. Y...our loyalty is appreciated, without you there is no us. Thanks to Pat Walsh for the tip.

Tonight, A Sweet Design will once again host a multi-truck dinnertime event, including Papas Tapas, Munchie Machine, Grill 'em All, and the long-awaited Grilled Cheese Truck, among others. Across the street at Menchies, GH favorites Smokin' Willie's BBQ truck will be serving up both vegan and meaty fare. To avoid the conflicts with nearby business owners her last event suffered, Joeleen of Sweet Design has requested that trucks park off Chatsworth, on Yarmouth Street. Unconfirmed reports indicate that nearby business owners called LAPD on last Wednesday's gathering of trucks, but LAPD didn't show. So it seems unlikely that Granada Hills will see a repeat of last month's shutdown. Sweet Design is located at the corner of Chatsworth and Yarmouth. Event begins at 7pm.

Keith Nelson: Ice House Comedy Set Keith Ross Nelson aka The Old Guy  |  Myspace Video

The food truck invasion is moving east on Chatsworth Street. Tonight, and every Monday night, Oh Gradys Bar, 17633 Chatsworth St. (between White Oak and Shoshone) is hosting a late-night food truck gathering, starting at 10pm. Tonight's trucks will be Maria's Italian, Fresh & Meaty, Dumpling Station, MeetnPotatoes, and Slap Yo Mama. Oh Grady's chose to schedule the gathering during late-night hours to avoid conflicts with local restaurants, especially nearby Frosty Queen, which closes its doors at ten. Early birds can still get their food truck fix at Sweet Design cupcake shop, which is hosting Mandoline Grill at 5:30pm. On this cold night, patrons will be welcome to bring their food into Oh Grady's and eat indoors, but liquor laws forbid bringing in outside beverages. But if you're thirsty, of course, Oh Grady's can probably help you out.

Looking around Old Town Granada Hills last Friday night at 7:00, you'd swear this town had a vibrant nightlife. Chatsworth's sidewalks were buzzing with activity, from Zelzah to a few blocks eastward. Kids rolling down the street on heelies dodged adults standing in clusters, eating tacos and sliders, chatting, texting, arranging rendezvous with friends. Pedestrians crisscrossed the street, ducking into storefront businesses -- Menchie's, Blis Hookah Lounge, Sweet Design and others -- as well as sampling the wares from scattered food trucks parked on either side of the street. Then, by 8:15, it was all over. "One or two trucks is okay, but eight -- that's ridiculous," said an employee of Numero Uno Pizza who refused to give his name. "It's not fair." Friday night, usually a busy night for the pizzeria, the employee said, saw a drop off in business and numerous complaints from takeout and dine in customers who couldn't find the easy pa...

...because I put it in there. The part about the $900 tip is, as stated, strictly legend, but it sounds like something Frank would do, doesn't it? Best Temple Of Sinatra Kitsch - L.A. Weekly.com Related articles: The Sinatra Room at Casa De Pizza -- NSFW!

Seconds into our conversation, Vic launches into a stream of jokes. "Why do Jewish men die before their wives? Because they want to. "My wife was a centerfold, but the book was Field and Stream. "Why do the Jews and the Italians get along? We steal it, they sell it. "This one's a little off-color: A guy walks into the Walgreens, up to the girl at the counter. He's like, I'm feeling kind of embarrassed. I need prophylactics, but I don't know what size I take. She goes, 'Take it out.' She gives it two strokes. She goes, 'Aisle four, size medium.' Guy goes down the aisle, next guy's like, 'Could you do that to me too?' She says, 'Yeah, take it out.... aisle eight, large.' This little eight year old kid comes up and says, could you do that to me too?' She goes, 'Yeah yeah, take it out.' She goes, 'Register one, clean up.'" Okay, so it's not a family-friendly joke, but th...