As someone who’s always out and about, I’m always asked to name my favorite restaurants, the hottest new place to get a drink or some secret spot to impress a visiting guest. Hence, the “Ask Mar” series where I share these Q&A’s with the rest of you. It's been a while since I've posted one of these, but I thought today's query was a pretty good one. A colleague contacted me looking for local getaway ideas that don't require a plane ticket. Here’s what I had to say …

As someone who's always out and about, I’m constantly asked to name my favorite restaurants, the hottest of-the-moment spot or what places an out-of-town friend should not miss. I was recently asked about where to eat in Whittier, a city that's somewhat familiar to me since many of my family members live there. Below are a few of my expanded answers.

As an official food & fun expert (don't you love that?), I'm always asked to name my favorite restaurant, the hottest of-the-moment spot or what places an out-of-town friend should not miss. So I figured why not post some of these emails, tweets and Facebook messages with my answers. Hence, the new Marpop series, "Ask Mar."