• From Venice to Alvarado, the city is cracking down on the kind of tamale-rich illegal marketplaces that make living here so fun in the first pace. [NYT]
• Here’s the fascinating tale of Crisco’s rise and fall, from the time in the eighties when it was championed as a healthy fat alternative, trans fats and all. [Salt/NPR]
• Having already taken on salt and soda, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s latest edible target is giant portion sizes. Naturally, not all restaurateurs are down with that. [Crain’s]
• Turns out conventional orange juice might be full of fungicide residue. Yuck. [AP via HuffPo]
• L.A. Weekly gives a detailed assessment of why The Rolling Stone restaurant sucks. [LAW]
• Fig & Olive owner Laurent Halasz is concerned for olive oil’s future. [LAist]
• According to L.A. Confidential, it’s still 1997 and the city is all about martinis these days. [LAC]
• Cautious North Koreans who move to L.A. are navigating the ins and outs of our culture, while trying to stay low-key. Today, The L.A. Times speaks with an Orange County restaurateur who fled the country. [LAT]
• CSAs are getting all fancy and including things like oysters, fresh flowers, and coffee. Sign us up! [Food Republic]
• Grocery stores are implementing nutritional scoring systems that get posted right on the shelves with the products. We may never reach for the Frosted Flakes again. [USAT]
• Starbucks isn’t alone in raising prices; an NRN survey shows other chains are likely to do the same, so get your jollies now. [NRN]
• Star bartender Jim Meehan explains his evil ways to Yolanda Evans. [Societe Perrier]