At 2:29 a.m. Monday morning, a roughly four-feet tall black bear strode a dozen feet from where I was sleeping the moment before. My trusty pup — an 18-pound, just turned 2-years-old Jack Russell/Italian Greyhound mix — stirred from under the warmth of his favorite plush blanket, alerted me with a low growl and sat at attention, staring down the intruder. Probably drawn by the … Continue reading Dogs, Convicts and Bears — Oh My
It was a red-letter day for Santa Monica as Rick Bayless’ Red O rolled out the red carpet for food writers and bloggers at a private soirée Friday evening in anticipation of its grand opening. Tequila cocktails accompanied menu selections of the street-style Mexican cuisine on which Beard Award-winner Bayless built his brand. The original location on Melrose Avenue, famed for its tunnel of tequila … Continue reading Red O-pening on Ocean
They’ve seen the best of times; they’ve seen the worst of times. This is a tale of two restaurants that are enjoying their heyday after weathering the worst economic climate since the Great Depression. Despite the Dickensian motif, this is an Italian story. In actuality, it’s about as Italian as Romeo and Juliet, another Anglican yarn, in that the subjects of this opus are a … Continue reading A Tale of Two Restaurants
No matter the L.A. neighborhood you reside, there’s a destination restaurant upon which food-minded Angelenos descend. Depending on your part of town, there might even be several. It’s a distinguishing feature of this city, whereas many, if not most of the other metropolises in the country establish a dining scene in a centrally located downtown. With this in mind, I, your humble correspondent will periodically … Continue reading An Incomplete Dining Guide to L.A. Neighborhoods
As you’re probably aware, Thursday was National Hot Dog Day. Whether your calendar was marked with a red “x” or you received a notification from your smartphone, no doubt you celebrated what is, impossibly, still not an officially observed holiday. If for some reason, though one struggles to imagine what that reason might be, you neglected your patriotic duty to eat a weiner, fear not, … Continue reading Dog Day Afternoon
It’s officially summer and the heat wave is right on cue. So you can either crank the A/C in your lonely hovel and cry-tweet during all new episodes of “Orange is the New Black” or you can get out there and throw off a little Twitter-worthy heat of your own at one of these brand-new hot spots around town. Barrel Down Our hotness journey begins … Continue reading 4 Sizzling Summer Spots
Like a paparazzi’s flashbulb, the gray desert sky lit up, followed several anticipated seconds later by a crackling roar a little too loud for a 5 a.m. wine-and-scotch hangover. For about the dozenth time in the last 24 hours, the heavens broke and rain fell to earth with great velocity. The air hovered around 70 degrees as I sipped my Keurig-made coffee and savored the … Continue reading L.A. Getaway: Scottsdale
Last year, I asked for a frying pan for my birthday. A frying pan. Let me back up. Growing up, I remember my my mother relied heavily on their cast-iron skillets for her staple dishes: Chicken-fried steak, Beef Stroganoff, Beanie Weenies, Liver and Onions, Hamburger and Macaroni and a handful of others. Her Kentucky-born mother used one to cook fried chicken, the likes of which … Continue reading One Man’s Kitchen Essentials
Without hyperbole, I can tell you that my favorite movie experience is the ArcLight, and has been since I first plopped my butt down in one of the theater chain’s cozy seats. And now, this high-quality cinematic milieu is enriching downtown Culver City, home of Sony Pictures and a town rich in film history. Step one foot into an ArcLight theater and you will immediately … Continue reading ArcLight Comes to Culver City
Did you know that pistachios have been cultivated as a food source in about 7,000 BCE? Did you know that 99% percent of the nation’s pistachios are grown right here in California? Or that since 2008, the U.S. has been the world’s largest supplier of pistachios? OK, well, did you know that the pistachio is a high-fiber, low-carb food with less fat than any other … Continue reading Nuts About Pistachios
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