Food

I have been to Lamill for coffee. I been to Lamill for lunch. Now I have also been to Lamill for dinner. The casual, neighborhood outpost in Silverlake is can be enjoyed all day long. From morning to night, Lamill offers the same menu. Breakfast fans can order omelets, eggs benedict and other breakfast-fare all day. But Lamill also offers sandwiches, salads, pasta, snacks and sweets all day and recently added some new menu items to these sections. Don’t worry, favorites such as the tasty Avocado Toast and decadent Warm Doughnut Holes are still on the menu. But with the new section for “Snacks & Sweets," a selection of smaller plated items will satisfy for lunch, dinner or an afternoon snack. The Spinach & Artichoke Dip is not like your typical spinach dips with lots of cheese and mayonnaise. This dip is actually the opposite. Made with roasted garlic, you can taste the spinach and artichoke. There is definitely cheese as well but it is not overwhelming, creamy or greasy. Add the housemade tortilla chips and this snack can fill you up! spinach-artichoke-dip-roasted-garlic-housemade-tortilla-chips
19 December, 2016
A brick facade along Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood is what you are looking for. From the outside, it is a non-descript building. But step inside and this former dance studio has been converted into an art gallery and secret supper club. You have entered INTRO. INTRO Art Gallery & Chef's Table is a place where friends, artists and others come together to celebrate food and art and music. INTRO Art Gallery & Chef's Table is created by Grammy Award winning sound engineer Manny Marroquin, General Manager Rob “Rob C” Ciancimino and Executive Chef Paul Shoemaker. Manny Marroquin owns Larrabee Studios just next door. And just on the other side of the dance studio, he is building a restaurant with a state of the art music system connected to the studio. They took over the dance studio and converted it to an office. But while waiting to open the restaurant, Chef Paul was getting antsy. Chef Paul has worked at Alan Ducasse, French Laundry, Providence and Water Grill, as well as Savory, Firefly, and Joe Pytka’s Bastide, where he earned himself a Michelin star. He was eager to start cooking again. While awaiting the new restaurant, one day Rob C found Chef Paul outside cooking on a homemade grill and when asked what he was doing, Chef Paul responded, "You have to eat; I have to cook." So Rob C and Manny took their office space, with its linoleum floors and dance bars, and gutted and painted the space. They repurposed wood found under the linoleum tiles and built a large long wooden table. They built a kitchen for the chef. They put art on the walls and INTRO Art Gallery & Chef's Table was born.
16 December, 2016
Thrillist is one of the most irreverant guides of where to eat and drink and where to go in cities across the U.S. In addition, they are a great source for telling us about fun events around town, from festivals to concerts and beyond. But this past weekend, they hosted their own food festival called Fest of the Best in LA. During a weekend afternoon, thirteen hand-picked restaurants were showcased for a few hundred Thrillist food-enthusiasts. thrillist-fest-of-the-best-la-1 Thrillist selected restaurants that have been ranked by Thrillist for some of the city's best food. That is right, some of Los Angeles' best bites! Here is a recap of what was tasted!
12 December, 2016
Les Marchands Wine Bar & Merchant, located in the Funk Zone in downtown San Barbara, is a wonderful wine bar/retail shop that features local and international wine selections that each tell a story. It is a popular place for a glass or two of wine and a plate of cheese or small bites from afternoon to night. But now you can start earlier in the day with brunch as Les Marchands offers brunch beginning at 10am on Saturday and Sunday. A friend and I met for brunch at Les Marchands on a Sunday morning. We sat on the patio and ordered glasses of bubbles. It was Sunday brunch. bubbles But we also ordered a flight of wine, which includes three two-ounce pours of white, red or progressive (sparkling, white and red). After all, Les Marchands is a wine bar. We selected the white flight and enjoyed tastes of Chateau de Chasseloir melon de bourgogne from the Loire Valley in France, Bruna pigato from Italy and Tyler chardonnay from Santa Barbara. Varying levels of acidity and minerality, these wines were lovely to sip along with our meal.
09 December, 2016
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
When I first began studying wine, I remember reading that the French called the trio of wine, bread and cheese the “holy trinity.” I cannot disagree. However, throw in a spa treatment and life is perfect!
What wine, bread and cheese have in common, other than being delicious, are that they are all products of fermentation. But then how does the spa fit in? Well, it fits because it also includes fermentation. If this sounds good to you, then head down the scenic Bohemian Highway to Freestone, Sonoma’s first historic district. Freestone’s population is only 32 but it is home to the “fermentation corner” with includes a winery, bakery, cheese store and spa. joseph-phelps-freestone-4
07 December, 2016
Santa Barbara has had a long history with Spain. The Spanish first came to Santa Barbara in the 18th century. Santa Barbara then became a part of Mexico following the Mexican War of Independence and then part of the United States in 1848 following the Mexican-American War. Santa Barbara was destroyed by earthquakes in 1812 and again in 1925 and when the city was rebuilt, it was modeled after the Spanish Colonial style. Santa Barbara's newest restaurant is a love letter to the history of Santa Barbara. Loquita, which means "wild young girl", is the newest project from ACME Hospitality who own Les Marchands Wine Bar, The Lark, Lucky Penny, Santa Barbara Wine Collective, Helena Avenue Bakery and Notary Public Wines, all located in the Funk Zone. Loquita is conveniently located at the entrance to the Funk Zone, across the street from the train station in the downtown Waterfront District. loquita-1 As you walk into Loquita, under the hand-forged iron awnings, you will begin to see the melding of Old Spanish Santa Barbara with the style of today. An long walnut bar lines one side of the restaurant and another stand-up counter flanked by white columns separates the bar from the dining room. Along the back of the restaurant is an open kitchen that is framed by a white brick-framed picture window. From the walnut dining tables and mid-century modern wooden chairs to the antique mirrors, hand-carved wood frames and the vintage brass light fixtures warmed with white globe glass shades, the restaurant invites you in. 
05 December, 2016
Looking for a cocktail bar where you can watch a sports game? Or a sports bar that serves good cocktails? And what about good food? Well, Brack Shop Tavern in Downtown Los Angeles is all of that! brack-shop-tavern-1 Brack Shop Tavern is located on 7th between Grand and Olive, a street that has slowly been filling up with restaurants and bars including Little Sister, Bar Mattachine, Mas Malo and Bottega Louie. Brack Shop Tavern is run by Last Word Hospitality, which includes partners Angus McShane, Adam Weisblatt and Holly Zack, who also own Same Same Thai in Silverlake. At Same Same Thai, LWH took a neighborhood favorite Thai restaurant and updated the decor and added an interesting and diverse wine list to pair with the food. LWH has done it again. They took the old dive bar called Barrel Down, stripped it and created Brack Shop Tavern, a loud, friendly sports bar with craft cocktails, on-tap beer, house-made sodas and hearty, elevated bar food. brack-shop-tavern-3 Brack Shop Tavern has a small but creative wine list featuring domestic producers and interesting varieties. It is refreshing to go to a bar and to find wines like rose, chenin blanc, riesling, chardonnay, pinot noir, sangiovese and cabernet saviginon. And for the sparkling wine, they offer a cremant de Loire, definitely not what I would expect but was very happy to see!
02 December, 2016
Studio City is twenty miles from the ocean but a visit to the nautically-inspired Laurel Point may make you feel like you are sailing on the sea. Laurel Point sits on the second floor of Laurel Promenade on the corner of Laurel Canyon and Ventura Blvd. It was the location previously home to the longstanding Daily Grill. Still owned by the same proprietors, Laurel Point is a seafood restaurant in the heart of the valley. As you come up the escalator to the second floor, it is like entering the deck of a ship. Of course, the view from the deck is of cars, not of the water or boats. laurel-point-3 And inside, the bar looks like the inside of a ship, with curved ceilings and arches and the dining room shaped like the hull of a boat. laurel-point-1 Laurel Point is committed to sourcing the freshest fish and seasonal oysters. Using sustainable and organic ingredients, all items are made in-house.
30 November, 2016
Recently I was heading to Seattle for work  It was a short trip. I had three nights and had planned to see friends in my free time. Then, in mid-flight, my friend who I was supposed to catch up with had to reschedule our dinner. I had been counting on her to pick the place as she is a local. But now I found myself on a Sunday afternoon, flying into a city with no plan and no ideas. So, I jumped online and read through Eater Seattle's Top 38. A few places caught my eye, one of which was Manolin. I checked into my hotel downtown and the concierge said it was twenty minutes away and wanted to suggest closer restaurants. But, I stuck to my plan and called Uber. Ten minutes later, I was in Fremont, a popular Seattle Neighborhood. manolin-1 Manolin is named after the young apprentice to Santiago's wise fisherman in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. The restaurant, which was named one of Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurants when it opened in 2015, features the maritime pleasures of the Pacific Northwest.
21 November, 2016
I invited a friend to join me at La Boheme for dinner recently. She asked, "you mean the restaurant in West Hollywood? It's still open?" That is what I had thought when I was invited to check it out as well. And the answer is yes! For twenty-five years, La Boheme has sat on Santa Monica Blvd in the heart of West Hollywood. la-boheme-1 From the street, there is something eye-catching about the building of concrete and stone with glittering lights and interesting ornaments. la-boheme-4 But when you walk inside, it is utterly mesmerizing. The 4,800 square-foot space is eye-catching with high ceilings, magnificent French chandeliers, a fireplace and red everywhere - the curtains, walls, ceiling, tables, chairs....everything! It is a bit eccentric and leans towards Gothic. It is like a set from of Moulin Rouge or Phantom of the Opera.
14 November, 2016
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