About
I’m a Los Angeles-based blogger, freelance writer and mother of two boys, ages 3 and 6. In addition to maintaining Taster Tots L.A., I’ve been a contributor to LA Weekly‘s Squid Ink and wrote/edited the Weekly‘s “Gold Standard” dining e-newsletter for a couple of years. I have written for Tablet, the Los Angeles Times, Sunset, LAist, Babble, and various other websites and publications. (Selected clips are posted below.) There’s also the matter of that other food blog I started in late 2003; but like managing a family, it’s hard giving everyone equal attention. I have a B.A. from Wesleyan University in Art History and American Studies, and an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA, so my interest in architectural history, design, and urbanism sometimes winds its way back into my work, too.
Press about Taster Tots L.A.
- “Taster Tots L.A. Uncovers Kid-Friendly Adult Fare.“
- Fun local restaurants to take your kids: Segment with reporter Alysha Del Valle filmed at Grand Central Market.
- Taster Tots strikes a nerve! It “certainly has its place in that the breeders will find it a handy guide. It can be helpful to know who has chicken fingers or serves pasta with butter. And the rest of us will use it as an anti-Yelp.”
- “Well, this headline sums it up quite nicely: A Restaurant Blog for Breeders and Their Shrieking Hellspawn.” Um, not really. But we’re glad Eater L.A took notice.
- Ritz has accidentally hit upon a vast, yawning gap in the food blog world. While there are plenty of blogs about feeding your kids at home…as far as I know “Ritz’s is the first blog that focuses on, as she puts it, ‘places that adults want to go that will also work for kids.’”
- “A Restaurant Blog for Discerning Diners With Kids”
Other Media
- Jessica talked about French fries in Los Angeles with Evan Kleiman on “Good Food.”
- Eating out with Kids also on “Good Food”
- Taking Kids to Wine Country
- Food Adventures for the Young and Old
- 3 Simple Ways to Make Breakfast Easier, “This Week in M.O.M.” segment
Freelance Work
- Top 10: Fave French Fries in Los Angeles
- One Bitten, Twice Fried: Best French Fries, Part 2
- 10 Best French Fries in Los Angeles (2012)
- Most Kid Unfriendly Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Best Spice Shop: The Spice Station
- Top 10 Restaurants in Buildings Designed by Significant Los Angeles Architects
- Top 5 Matzo Ball Soups in Los Angeles
- 7 Summer Cooking Classes for Kids
- Melrose Elementary Kids Get Their Hands Dirty with Woolly School Gardens
- “But How’s the Food?” Q & A Series with L.A. Restaurant Designers & Architects including Ricki Kline, Ana Henton, Barbara Bestor and Alexis Readinger
- Now Open: Cafecito Orgánico on Heliotrope
- Q & A With Andre Guerrero
- Best Ticket to Train Heaven: Travel Town Museum
- Best Glass Houses: Judson Studios
- Best Well-Edited Boutique Kids’ Section
- Best Non-Chain Everything Kids’ Store in Koreatown
- Best Non-Beverly Hills Shoe Repair
- Best Hidden Treasure of a Children’s Museum
- Kane’s Family Farms brings homegrown mushrooms to market
- Graining Ground: One pastry chef’s road to healthy baked goods
- Brittle Me This: The Morning Glory flavor roster grows
- Gallery Kitchen: Where art and food intersect
- Modern Love: Brooklyn-born photographer Julius Shulman, the subject of two recent books, captured Los Angeles’ development into a center of modernism
- Susan Feniger’s Break-Fast
- Chicken Soup with Stars
- Why Isn’t L.A. Up to Haute Kosher?
- Kosher caterer and restaurateur Alain Cohen brings family tradition to his menus
- How Chefs Eat with Their Kids
- The Thank You Note from My Kid
- Holiday Gift Giving Strategies
- Throw a Baby Shower
- 9 Things About My Kids I Won’t Share Online
Photo: Marjorie Salvaterra
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Congrats, Jessica! Look forward to following.
Hi Jessica,
I’m really excited about your blog. We’re regulars at Pitfire (as part of Venice tribe). We used to eat out with our son a lot more but now that he’s full steam terrible twos it’s not as appealing as it used to be. Nevertheless we’ll still brave brunch at Gjelina now and again. How old are your boys?
Andrea
Jessica-
As a mom of three boys ranging from 5 months to 12 years, I am really excited to see this! Only one problem… we live on the East Coast! So, with your blessings, I would love to take your idea and run with it here in Upstate NY. My 12 year old is definitely a foodie in that he really likes to experiment (he made an interesting popcorn coating consisting of rosemary, garlic salt and oregano) and is willing to give his feedback on restaurants. My hope is to collaborate with him to really get a kid’s perspective on local area food joints.
Cheers to you, and happy eating!
Thank you!
@Andrea: I have an almost four-year-old and an almost 11-month old. (It helps for now that the baby’s not walking yet.) Two is a tough age, indeed, but hopefully eating out will get a little easier for you again.
@Laura: Go ahead! Love the idea of getting direct kid input, and how it could be a parent-child collaborative project that’s useful to both generations!
Well done to you Jessica – love the blog!
Why not branch out to the SGV and all those great Chinese places? They were our favorites when our kids were little.
I’d love to and eventually will! But I’m only one person with two small kids in a huge city. You get it.
Great idea! I have been amazed at how my daughter and my niece and nephew (all under 6 and we have family dinners out a lot) have been welcomed at so many restaurants in LA. Mostly we eat at casual but tasty places. However, when we want to go to sompelace nicer we make early (5:30) reservations and tell them that we are bringing kids and we’ve had the best luck. Sal at Il Grano brought out fresh carrots from his garden and made them noodles with a simple sauce; the folks at Lucques were so sweet and helpful. My only disappointment is that many restaurants don’t offer smaller portions of what is on the regular menu (or at least a simpler version of their regular dishes) or a kid’s menu that isn’t grilled cheese and chicken nuggets. There’s a middle ground (which Tavern does well, I think). I’m excited to keep reading!
I liked ChuckE.Cheese’s too as a kid. In fact I still like it. I like your blog and I am sure it will be even more meaningful if and when I ever have offspring. Or if I move from SF to LA – now 11 years after you first dropped me off up here in this foggy, colder-than-it should-be city by the bay.
Great blog site, Jessica. Glad to follow.