Author Archives: Sarah Nevada


September 30, 2011

Umamimart Writers’ Dinner: Robata Jinya (LA)

by Sarah Nevada

On a particularly temperate Los Angeles evening, three Umamimart writers (one a founding member), and an Umamimart photographer, joined three Umamimart supporters and friends for a lovely dinner at Robata Jinya in West Hollywood, CA. Of the diners, two were strict vegetarians, one a somewhat new carnivore and the rest more of the “don’t knock […]

August 5, 2011

Old School Eats: Street Tacos at La Reyna (LA)

by Sarah Nevada

Photos by Thomas L. Young One dollar street tacos at a busy intersection in downtown Los Angeles is about as old school as you can get. On the corner of Mateo and 7th street, in front of the Mexican restaurant La Reyna (Est. 1974), is a taco stand run by one guy on the grill […]

July 22, 2011

Old School Eats: Umami Burger (LA)

by Sarah Nevada

While it’s no Musso & Frank or Mateo’s, Umami Burger is quickly becoming a fixture in the LA culinary world. Seriously. Six locations have popped up since the original La Brea location opened in 2009 and the popularity doesn’t appear to be losing steam. Though it embraces the similar rapid expansion model that made the […]

July 5, 2011

Old School Eats: Nickel Diner (LA)

by Sarah Nevada

Downtown Los Angeles is a special place–a part of town that still feels authentically gritty and big city-like. Even amongst the gentrification going strong in a few, piecemeal pockets, downtown LA is still pretty much what it was in Beverly Hills Cop 2. Sure, the crime rate and smog levels have dropped since the 80’s, […]

June 28, 2011

Kitchen Revival: A Film-Inspired Cooking Show

by Sarah Nevada

A few months ago Umamimart readers and fans helped us accomplish our fundraising goal and we set forth to make a pilot for our movie-inspired cooking show. Kitchen Revival, hosted by chef Haley Simonds, is a 30-minute cooking show where every aspect of the show is inspired by a different movie each week. This means […]

May 31, 2011

Old School Eats: Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers (LA)

by Sarah Nevada

This post goes out to all you haters out there on the internet (specifically, those living in the suburbs of Chowhound and Yelp), please stand corrected. Of the many, many times I’ve dined at Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burger, I’ve never been served anything that slightly resembled a “greasy guacamole burger” and never consumed […]

April 29, 2011

Old School Eats: Bob’s Big Boy (LA)

by Sarah Nevada

Around the corner from the dimly-lit, time machine-esque Smoke House is Bob’s Big Boy. This is where tourists and locals go to eat high-calorie meals under bright fluorescent lights, without caring who’s watching them–and no one is. The polite waitstaff is there to do the job they are paid to do: routinely and repeatedly check […]

April 8, 2011

Old School Eats: Smoke House (LA)

by Sarah Nevada

The Smoke House is the sort of place where old-timey execs sip their nightcaps as they wait for their retirement (“I gave the best years of my life to this place”) and where awkward co-workers carry on as if they are passing through town for work, treating their affairs as fleeting, one night romances. The […]

March 4, 2011

Old School Eats: Henry’s Tacos (LA)

by Sarah Nevada

Located in Studio City or Toluca Lake (depending on who you’re talking to) since 1961, Henry’s Tacos has served ground beef tacos served in a hard corn shell. They’ve marginally expanded their menu since then, now offering soft tacos, burritos and the quasi-famous taco burger, but the ground beef remains as basically the only option […]

February 15, 2011

Old School Eats: Du-par’s (LA)

by Sarah Nevada

Diners provide a gastronomic touchstone for family weekend breakfasts, drunken all-nighters, road trip pit stops and business meetings. Du-par’s is no exception. This family owned diner chain has had a presence in Southern California for the past 73 years, and has always held a good reputation for its house-made baked goods, and accommodating 24-hour service. […]