The rejuvenation of the historic core of Downtown Los Angeles over the last 10 years has been an absolutely amazing development for our fine city. Scores of new shops, restaurants, bars and loft developers are taking intrepid steps to restore once vibrant streets that have become dilapidated in the second half of the 1900′s.  The latest to join the party is Umamicatessen of the very successful Umami franchise, founded right here in Los Angeles. Comprised of Umami Burger, PIGG pork park, The Cure deli, Spring For Coffee and & A Donut, the Umamicatessen will be an amalgamation of 5 great eateries in one establishment. Additionally, the space will also house The Back Bar, a bar by the creators of Harvard  Stone serving craft beers and classic cocktails. Located on Broadway in the historic Orpheum building, head on Downtown so we can start Bringing Back Broadway. [EaterLA]

I can eat a sandwich every single day for lunch for the rest of my life, they might be my favorite food group. You might as well refer to me as the Earl of Sandwich. One of my most loved past times has been finding the best sandwich shops of whatever city I’m in, whether they be some fancy new gourmet place or some hole in the wall mom & pop deli. I’ve done pretty well finding the great sandwich shops of Los Angeles, but the LA Weekly has put together what looks to be the comprehensive list of the best sandwiches in the city. My only addition to this would be the Larchmont Wine and Cheese, which is where you can find me nearly every Saturday having their amazingly fresh array of sandwiches. Click above to see to the complete LA Weekly article, and check the list with links to each place below:

10. Al Pastor Torta at King Torta

9. Banh Mi at The Spice Table

8. The Godmother at Bay Cities

7. French Dip at Phillipes

6. BLT at Kokomo

5. Pork Meatball Sub at Fundamental LA

4. Short Rib Melt at Joan’s On Third

3. #19 at Langer’s Delicatessen

2. Porcetto at Sotto

1. Toron at Baco Mercat

Los Angeles coffee makers Handsome Coffee Roasters have been selling their grounds and doing guest barista events at local shops for sometime now. After much anticipation, they are opening a brick and mortar location in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles for Angelenos to imbibe in their world class coffee making skills. [CoolHunting]

In the past two decades, there has been a beer renaissance in the USA. All over the country, craft breweries have started from the ground up to provide their various regions better and fresher beer than the likes of national breweries like Coors, Miller and Budweiser. On the west coast, we grow from our own soil arguably the best beer making ingredients in the world (hops and barley), allowing for a plethora of world class craft breweries to thrive and continue to pop up. In California, North County San Diego and the Bay Area have always been the large craft brewery hubs in the state, with Los Angeles suprisingly being a dead spot for beer makers. But not any longer because in the last 5 years there has been sudden flurry of craft breweries popping up in the greater Los Angeles area such as The Bruery, Craftsmen, Ladyface and Eagle Rock Brewery, with the latest addition to the club being Golden Road Brewing located right in Los Angeles proper just north of Downtown. Now, when you have a craving some fresh local beer you can stop in to get growler filled, buy some of their new 16 oz cans at local bottle shops or stay around at their gastropub on site. People always ask me “what is the best beer?”, and my usual answer is “whatever is local and fresh.” Support your local brewery, and head down to Golden Road today.

If you have ever wandered around the farmers market and noticed Nancy Silverton’s personal ground beef blend for sale at the butcher by the donut stand, it would be no surprise that this renowned Los Angeles chef has a fondness for burgers. Founder of La Brea Bakery and Mozza, Nancy’s newest endeavour is burger joint Short Order in the original Farmers Market, adding another contender in LA’s burgeoning gourmet burger scene. In addition to the grass fed ground beef burger, the menu also boasts pork and lamb burgers, and a variety of melts. Click above to check out the menu, but I advise against doing that on an empty stomach.

Nestled into the space once housed by Saints and Sinners, Oldfield’s Liquor Room is bringing back the libations and style of the early 1900′s to Culver City. With handsome white tiled walls and rustic wood furnishings, this establishment evokes that timeless historical look that has become so popular of late. Additionally, the cocktails being concocted behind the bar are some of the finest LA made by some of the best mixologists in the city, using unorthodox ingredients and innovative methods. Get down there soon to see how Culver City adds it’s unique flavor to the diverse fabric of neighborhoods that make up Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of Caroline On Crack.

To the general population, the realm of authentic Japanese ramen is one that is generally unknown and improperly associated with the “top ramen” you buy at the market. Well, they couldn’t be farther from the truth. Ramen is a very meticulous and esteemed culinary art from Japan with a venerable history a passionate ramen chefs crafting the most delicious broth, noodles and accoutrements the food world has ever seen. Now gaining a loyal epicurean following here in California, many of the great ramen shops in Little Tokyo, Sawtelle and Gardena have lines out the door waiting to imbibe in these chef’s delicious creations. Considered one of the best in Los Angeles, chef Sean Nakamura previously of Ramen California, has opened his newest ramen shop Ikemen Ramen in Hollywood, a portion of Los Angeles that up until now has been absent of a legitimate ramen shop. A very intimate space with humble raw decor, Ikemen Ramen offers both traditional servings of ramen and Nakamura’s newest creation the ramen dip, seperating the three essential parts of the ramen, the broth, noodles and pork into very satisfying dish.