Fatburger

The following is a blog documenting two Los Angeles Times editors' attempts to lose weight. It all began on Jan. 10 . Temptation. Schmemptation. Sure, I'm feeling a little cocky.  The events over the last two days have left me feeling tough. Mark Wahlberg in "Invincible" tough.   That doesn’t mean I’m going to wear a mesh tank top to work or anything.  At least not today.  But come casual Friday, watch out.   Why the feelings of invincibility?  Just like Wahlberg's character I overcame terrific odds to win an epic battle.

The gig : Andrew Wiederhorn is the chairman and chief executive of Fatburger Inc., a fast-food restaurant chain based in Beverly Hills. The first Fatburger opened on Western Avenue in Los Angeles in 1947 and gained notoriety when rappers Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. all mentioned the restaurant in songs. Since 2003, Fatburger has been owned by Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc., a Santa Monica investment company of which Wiederhorn is also chairman and CEO. Self-starter : Wiederhorn grew up in a single-parent family in Portland; his father died when he was age 9. In high school, he hired a lawyer to help him get permits to rent out jet-skis on the Willamette River.

So, Mr. Aerobic Conditioning 1993-96, Stanley Roberts, has Franchise tattooed on his arm because he wants to be the Clippers' franchise player. He's already a standout for several franchises: McDonald's, Fatburger and Kentucky Fried Chicken. ED HERRERA Fullerton

MOVIES Eat See Hear will screen Richard Linklater's 1993 classic high-school comedy, "Dazed and Confused," with a pre-show performance by the indie band the Little Ones. Food trucks will also be on hand including Canter's, Calbi, No Tomatoes, Fatburger and others. FIDM / Grand Hope Park, 919 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Doors, 5:30 p.m.; band, 7 p.m.; movie, 8 p.m. Sat. $10 to $20. http://www.eatseehear.com.

MOVIES Eat See Hear will screen Richard Linklater's 1993 classic high-school comedy, "Dazed and Confused," with a pre-show performance by the indie band the Little Ones. Food trucks will also be on hand including Canter's, Calbi, No Tomatoes, Fatburger and others. FIDM / Grand Hope Park, 919 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Doors, 5:30 p.m.; band, 7 p.m.; movie, 8 p.m. Sat. $10 to $20. http://www.eatseehear.com.

The cast and crew on ABC's "Desperate Housewives" got the perfect parting gift from Eva Longoria: burgers and fries in which to drown their sorrows. Longoria, who has played high-strung fashionista Gabrielle Solis for eight seasons, treated her coworkers to a Fatburger lunch truck on the show's final day of shooting Thursday. "Thank you Fatburger for making the last day on the set of Desperate Housewives special!" she tweeted , rocking a purple cocktail dress and comfy boots.

NOTE:   This is a blog about two guys attempting to lose weight over a six-week period.  They kicked off their weight loss "strategies" on Monday . Read the entire journey, so far, here . If fast food restaurants were women, I'd have several girlfriends. My favorite would be Jack in the Box. Those deep fried tacos have no peer, and its curly fries -- sorry -- seasoned fries have made it very easy to break up with my rarely seen girlfriend, Arby's.

Seitan Wellington, it's what's for dinner this holiday season. At least it is if you're vegan, interested in becoming vegan, trying to balance your meat-heavy diet or just hanging around in the Spork Foods kitchen. Founded four years ago by sisters Heather and Jenny Goldberg, Spork Foods is a vegan food company that teaches cooking classes and revamps pantries with vegan and organic diet options. And just in time for the food-saturated holiday season, the sisters, in conjunction with an independent film collective called Open Road Films, have launched an online series of cooking classes in order to teach their vegan techniques to as many people ?

Usually, Marlborough School for girls reaches to the outside for its graduation speakers. But it has one of its own graduates at commencement exercises June 5. Donna Frame Tuttle, Class of 1965, and the undersecretary of commerce for travel and tourism, will address the white-gowned group of 86. It's Marlborough's 97th graduation. The speaker's husband, Robert H.

The gig : Andrew Wiederhorn is the chairman and chief executive of Fatburger Inc., a fast-food restaurant chain based in Beverly Hills. The first Fatburger opened on Western Avenue in Los Angeles in 1947 and gained notoriety when rappers Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. all mentioned the restaurant in songs. Since 2003, Fatburger has been owned by Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc., a Santa Monica investment company of which Wiederhorn is also chairman and CEO. Self-starter : Wiederhorn grew up in a single-parent family in Portland; his father died when he was age 9. In high school, he hired a lawyer to help him get permits to rent out jet-skis on the Willamette River.

The cast and crew on ABC's "Desperate Housewives" got the perfect parting gift from Eva Longoria: burgers and fries in which to drown their sorrows. Longoria, who has played high-strung fashionista Gabrielle Solis for eight seasons, treated her coworkers to a Fatburger lunch truck on the show's final day of shooting Thursday. "Thank you Fatburger for making the last day on the set of Desperate Housewives special!" she tweeted , rocking a purple cocktail dress and comfy boots.

The following is a blog documenting two Los Angeles Times editors' attempts to lose weight. It all began on Jan. 10 . I’ve heard from person after person:  it’s not the workout, it’s what you eat. That wasn’t so true back when I was working on Capitol Hill in the '90s.  I could run around Lincoln Park (not the band) for an hour, hork down a lot of garbage (disguised as food) and still lose weight. As long as I ran.  As long as I had plenty of cardio, I could eat whatever I wanted.  And I could treat  beer like it was food, as my former boss used to say. That changed over time.  A decade later, when I ballooned up to my world record weight of 249, there was no way I could dump the lard even with monstrous "Biggest Loser"-type workouts.  Even though I was a cow, I could still do a 10k.  But, unlike the earlier experience, the weight stayed on.  Sadly, I had to watch my diet.

The following is a blog documenting two Los Angeles Times editors' attempts to lose weight. It all began on Jan. 10 . Temptation. Schmemptation. Sure, I'm feeling a little cocky.  The events over the last two days have left me feeling tough. Mark Wahlberg in "Invincible" tough.   That doesn’t mean I’m going to wear a mesh tank top to work or anything.  At least not today.  But come casual Friday, watch out.   Why the feelings of invincibility?  Just like Wahlberg's character I overcame terrific odds to win an epic battle.

NOTE:   This is a blog about two guys attempting to lose weight over a six-week period.  They kicked off their weight loss "strategies" on Monday . Read the entire journey, so far, here . If fast food restaurants were women, I'd have several girlfriends. My favorite would be Jack in the Box. Those deep fried tacos have no peer, and its curly fries -- sorry -- seasoned fries have made it very easy to break up with my rarely seen girlfriend, Arby's.

Seitan Wellington, it's what's for dinner this holiday season. At least it is if you're vegan, interested in becoming vegan, trying to balance your meat-heavy diet or just hanging around in the Spork Foods kitchen. Founded four years ago by sisters Heather and Jenny Goldberg, Spork Foods is a vegan food company that teaches cooking classes and revamps pantries with vegan and organic diet options. And just in time for the food-saturated holiday season, the sisters, in conjunction with an independent film collective called Open Road Films, have launched an online series of cooking classes in order to teach their vegan techniques to as many people ?

Lovie Yancey, founder of the Fatburger restaurant chain, which began with a popular post-World War II hamburger stand in South Los Angeles, has died. She was 96. Yancey, who had pneumonia, died Jan. 26 at Olympia Medical Center in Los Angeles, said her daughter, Gwen Adair. Yancey had already operated a restaurant in Tucson and was living in Los Angeles in the late 1940s when she began thinking about launching a new food business.

Lovie Yancey, founder of the Fatburger restaurant chain, which began with a popular post-World War II hamburger stand in South Los Angeles, has died. She was 96. Yancey, who had pneumonia, died Jan. 26 at Olympia Medical Center in Los Angeles, said her daughter, Gwen Adair. Yancey had already operated a restaurant in Tucson and was living in Los Angeles in the late 1940s when she began thinking about launching a new food business.

The following is a blog documenting two Los Angeles Times editors' attempts to lose weight. It all began on Jan. 10 . I’ve heard from person after person:  it’s not the workout, it’s what you eat. That wasn’t so true back when I was working on Capitol Hill in the '90s.  I could run around Lincoln Park (not the band) for an hour, hork down a lot of garbage (disguised as food) and still lose weight. As long as I ran.  As long as I had plenty of cardio, I could eat whatever I wanted.  And I could treat  beer like it was food, as my former boss used to say. That changed over time.  A decade later, when I ballooned up to my world record weight of 249, there was no way I could dump the lard even with monstrous "Biggest Loser"-type workouts.  Even though I was a cow, I could still do a 10k.  But, unlike the earlier experience, the weight stayed on.  Sadly, I had to watch my diet.

Former basketball great Earvin "Magic" Johnson and his partners have sold most of their stake in Fatburger to a group led by the chain's chief executive, Keith Warlick. Johnson's Burger Business LLC, which includes celebrity investors such as actor David Spade and singer Janet Jackson, held a 70% stake in the Santa Monica-based burger chain. Johnson and his partners, who bought the 51-unit chain in August 2001, wouldn't disclose the terms of the deal or give specific reasons for the sale.

Despite the economic slowdown, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, thinks its a good time to be aggressive in business. Johnson, basketball star turned businessman, is leading a team of investors that acquired the 47-store Fatburger chain. Plans are to add 20 stores next year and move into 10 more states with 100 stores over the next five years. And those plans are moving forward despite talk of the slackening economy.