Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya supposedly invented nachos at the Victory Club, a Piedras Negras restaurant located just across from the Texas border. What’s now a widespread classic initially featured fried tortilla chips topped with melted cheese and jalapeños. In L.A., they’re rarely so restrained, and while nachos typically appear at Mexican restaurants, that's not always the case. Here are some of our favorite Los Angeles nachos.

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The Feast of the Seven Fishes, aka La Vigilia (The Vigil), is a traditional Italian-American Christmas Eve celebration that commemorates La Vigilia di Natale, the wait for the midnight birth of the infant Jesus. The feast typically features at least seven different seafood dishes, which are served before midnight Mass. The custom of eating seafood on Christmas Eve comes from the Roman Catholic tradition of abstinence - i.e., no meat or milk products - on the eve of certain holy days. 

Although La Vigilia’s true origins are unknown, the custom is said to have begun in Southern Italy. The number seven may refer to the seven sacraments, the Seven Hills of Rome, or perhaps the idea of completion - according to Genesis, God rested on the seventh day. Baccalà (salted cod fish) is a traditional favorite of the sumptuous meal, along with a myriad of other seafood dishes.

From traditional family-style menus to modern twists, restaurants across Los Angeles are celebrating the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

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In Barry Sonnenfeld’s fundamental LA tale, Get Shorty (1995), actor Martin Weir (played by Danny DeVito) orders off the menu at the storied celebrity sighting destination, the Ivy. At the time, the Food Network was only two years old, and ordering your meal like a Hollywood big shot seemed ultra-cool. Fast forward to 2013, and Los Angeles is teeming with restaurants offering secret menus and off-the-menu items for customers in the know. Here are some hearty insider eats to impress your friends, and you don’t even have to be Martin Weir to make it happen.

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The holiday shopping season has begun in earnest, and retail centers across Los Angeles are bustling with activity. To help shoppers take a break or refuel, there are numerous restaurants conveniently located inside and nearby L.A.’s top shopping destinations. From world-famous Chinese dumplings to the flagship restaurant of a legendary chef, here are some of the best restaurants to get you through your gift buying list.

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