La Grand Crew: The Aftertaste

Wow, what a hangover, our blog has a migraine.

The aforementioned La Grand Crew bike & beer tour swooped through L.A. yesterday in an ambitious arc of drunken geekiness. The event was an epic success -- certainly more excellent than even we anticipated -- and …

Rout Route

Here it is: the design of our demise. Don't be intimidated. This ride is going to be an awesome way to waste the day, and then get wasted.

Due to a few blog blitzkriegs that have been pushing our RSVP numbers nearer to 30 riders, we decided to post a few …

"Half the Batali"

After recently cooking up the recipe riffing on Mario Batali for the very generous Daily Candy (an email newsletter resource that apparently every working freelance editor/stay-at-home-mom in Los Angeles reads daily) we received this little joke gift from …

Whiskey Popsicles

What with the upcoming La Grand Crew beer and bicycle outing, and now this recipe, it's shaping up to be unofficial 'Beverage Week' here at Hot Knives. Considering it's the dregs of summer we're fine with that.

A few days ago we set upon making a 4-course …

La Grand Crew '007

For no good reason at all Hot Knives is hosting our first (annual?) bicycle tour of L.A.'s best beer stores on Saturday, August 11. We know we've been eluding to this thing for months, since we first started reviewing our favorite brew purveyors for this site. …

Osteria Not-za

When attempting a dairy-free caprese salad, we're just as repulsed by the idea of coagulating soymilk into savory balls as SoCal's recent super-chef-transplant Mario Batali would be. Instead, we whipped up some white polenta, let it congeal, and ritzed it up …

No Blood, No Babies

Our salad days are in full swing, and to celebrate we revived an eternal standard of the garde manger: the Nis

Sweet 15

Occasionally life passages require dramatic, indulgent celebrations. Since we -- the two baby men behind Hot Knives -- both turned a quarter-of-a-century-old this year, we're starting to forlornly dig the passage of time enough that we can get Dionysian once in …

Sweet 14

Avery Brewing Company is probably the best argument in favor of southwestern beer superiority. In terms of flavor, packaging, and lunacy, their beers rank highly in our little pantheon of liquid love. For anyone outside of the exteded four corners area, …

"Polentaise" Two Ways

Being brunch geeks, hollandaise sauce has caused us a great deal of pain. The evil goo of egg yolks and clarified butter escapes any true vegan interpretation. Still, we've settled on a replacement we're quite happy with: creamy polenta jacked with vegetable …

Sonoma Slayers

The Sonoma Farmhouse series is a new line of beers brewed by the bad dudes of the central coast. Lagunitas' beers usually rank on the heavier side boasting brutal bitterness, and large alcohol percentages. The first two farm hands are milder affairs, with …

LA Times Food Blog Leaves Bad Taste

Here in L.A., the fish wrap of record -- for restaurant reviews as much as for local news -- remains the Los Angeles Times. Every Wednesday we skip the front page over coffee and turn straight to the weekly Food section. Though wincingly pedigreed at times, …

Lagunitas Live

On a recent trip north for a wedding, Lake and Alex burned some time and bought some bombers at the Petaluma digs of Lagunitas brewing company. Lagunitas' beers have been long time faves of your favorite beer snobs, and it was a real treat to …

How to Smoke a Pizza

If you think we're turning on the fucking oven in July, you're nuts. However, a man cannot throw a pizza party on macaroni salad alone, so we did this. And it worked! Thanx to Lesley, Michael and Greg "Summer Babe" Buss for making this happen. Tips on how to …

Vegan, Wheat-free Mac-Sal

The classic, wet, hot, American pool party would seem to be all about exclusivity. That sucks, a lot. So we brought a classy American side dish that tastes totally inclusive: even if you hate eggs and can't eat wheat without vomming (we keep meaning to throw …

Vegan Bullshit Alert

Dear Readerz,

Out of civic duty -- and not mean spirits -- we feel compelled to respectfully call out one of the leading vegan fast food joints in the L.A. area for a sad case of misrepresentation. Orean Health Express, often hailed as the Eastside mecca of …

Steak and Eggz

People like steak and eggs. As we understand it. First there's the gnarly char of a gristly piece of mediocre, trounced-on red meat. Then you top it with the ooze of some barely-above-temperature chicky eggs. Sounds to us, like kind of a nightmare. But hey, …

Green Flash Imperial IPA

There is, according to Jules Verne (among other Frenchies), a fleeting visual phenomenon that accompanies a warm summer sunset -- he called it "le rayon vert," the green ray, or perhaps more literally "the green flash." By his description, the green ray was a …

the Summer Camp Cafeteria

With all the fun clich

Lake's Booch

by Lake Sharp

You may have heard of the wonder tonic kombucha. It is all the rage here in LA, people scouring the city to find a place to throw down $4 for 16oz of this healthy bacteria/yeast-poo water. Yep, the liquid is the biproduct of bacteria and …