This is a story about really good Mexican food but it’s also about lawyers, parking and music. Intrigued? So was I. Why else would I be in the Valley on a sweltering September evening? If you’ve spent any amount of time on Ventura Boulevard, you’re familiar with the former Spazio location. Ring a bell? The joint with the rotunda on the second and top floor … Continue reading Añejo: The Valley Just Got Hotter
Summer-friendly cocktails are imbibed over friendly introductions and casual conversations when an iron triangle is rung, calling guests to sup. The bearded man behind the percussion and the Long Beach eatery’s monthly supper series is James Republic‘s executive chef, David MacLennan, a rising star in the farm-to-table movement. The Dinner Bell Supper Series has been attracting not only locals, but has drawn Angelenos south for a … Continue reading Dinner Bell Series Strikes the Right Note
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
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