I read the funniest quote in the Los Angeles Times just now in reference to how one influencer combats the negative reputation of food influencing:

“I always say ‘food blogger’ because it makes me feel better than ‘food influencer,’” Rodriguez says, seated at a table at Craft by Smoke and Fire, a restaurant client in Arcadia. “There are too many influencers trying to take advantage, so I don’t want to be intertwined with them,” Castro adds.

$10,000 for one Instagram post? How food influencers can make or break restaurants

Credible food blogger energy is definitely fueling this post…

I dined at Pijja Palace the first week it opened and have been smitten with the thoroughly delicious and awesomely chaotic Indian sports bar ever since. Owner Avish Naran and chef Miles Shorey are cooking up something decidedly different, and I can’t wait to see how the food and energy evolves over time.

On both visits to the palace of pijja, dinner started with a very strong, very cardamom-forward Old Fashioned ($16) made with Amrut Indian whiskey, jaggery, and cardamom bitters. My dining companion downed one too.

I am forever a member of Team Onion Ring (sorry, french fries), so the dosa onion rings ($9) coated in an urad lentil batter, deep-fried to a golden crisp, and served with a mango chutney were a must-order.