Fred 62: Beyond a 24 Hour Diner

The list you always need to remember is the list of late night eateries. Better yet, 24 hour ones! If you're in Los Feliz and looking for a late night diner, look no further than Fred 62, which is open 24 hours and serves much better and much more interesting food than your typical diners.

You can even get something healthier and lighter like this Asian inspired noodle soup dubbed "Noo Deli" ($9): vermicelli noodles, "Thai town vegetables", spicy lemongrass broth, sriracha, peanuts, hoisin sauce, cilantro, green onion

Although I'm usually skeptical about ordering something like this at a diner, the manager told us this is what he eats all the time, so we tried it. Indeed, it was a very comforting, if a little spicy, bowl of noodle soup with fresh vegetables and tons of great flavors.

Not all of Fred 62's menu is available 24 hours but lucky for you, the Noo Deli is. Fred 62's version of Farm to Table is a play of TV dinners, with menu items called The Partridge Family, The Lisa Simpson, etc. The TV dinners are available from 5-10pm daily.

I got the Lisa Simpson ($13), which is naturally vegetarian: tajine tofu scramble, Moroccan tomato sauce, chickpea fritters, green olive tapenade, couscous

This is another healthy alternative and we couldn't get enough of the chickpea fritters!

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Grainivore: A Tiny Singaporean Join in Koreatown

The name Grainivore certainly doesn't sound like a Singaporean restaurant and who knows why they decided to open up in Koreatown, but there it was. Grainivore is a tiny joint (there is extra seating in a back room, which is connected by an alleyway) serving up combo Singaporean meals on paper plates.

You first choose between steamed rice, chicken rice, or coconut rice. Then, there are four protein choices: Hainan chicken, barbecue pork, shrimp paste chicken, and beef rendang. All the combos are $6.99 except beef rendang costs $2 extra.

The place closes at 8pm and when I came around 7pm they were out of the pork and Hainan chicken, so I ordered the beef rendang on coconut rice. All the combos come with a salad with peanut dressing.

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Beer Dinner at Kings Row Gastropub With Smog City Brewing Co

King Row Gastropub in Old Town Pasadena has launched a monthly beer dinner series, starting with local Smog City Brewing Co earlier this month. The five course dinner, paired with five beers, was quite a deal at $30 per person! The dinners are limited to 30 people and will take place in a communal setting. We had the owners of Smog City coming out to talk to us about the beers as well.

The theme for the Smog City dinner is Smoke and Beers, in which all the dishes have something smoked in them.

There was an amuse bouche of taro chip topped with salsa crudo of melon, mint, cantalope, and beans - all of which were smoked.

The first course was a Smoked Gouda with Porter honey, fresh beer bread, cornichons.

I really liked the beer bread but thought they too thick in proportion to the cheese. I loved the porter honey, though. This course was paired with Lil Bo Pils.

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