Food

When those movies come out that are about food, do you find it hard to sit through them without drooling or your stomach rumbling?  Think about theses some of these movies - Big Night, Julie & Julia, Chef, Big Night and the most recent food-driven movie, The Hundred-Foot Journey. As images food, cooking and eating appear on the screen, I know that I, for one, start licking my lips, dreaming about what I will eat when the move ends and wishing the popcorn was more satisfying. Imagine if you could be eating dishes inspired by the film as you were sitting and watching it. Well, you can aboard Celebrity Cruises. As you are sailing on the open sea on one of three ships, you can experience a multi-sensory journey of watching a specific cultural, culinary or destination-based film, while dining on cuisine that brings the movie's scenes to life through your taste buds. And, I got a taste of that experience during the first land-based Taste of Film Experience in Southern California at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Celebrity Cruises A Taste of Film The movie was The Hundred Food Journey, the story of an extraordinarily talented and largely self-taught culinary novice who's family is displaced from their native India and settle in a quaint French village. They open an Indian eatery but  the proprietress of an acclaimed restaurant just 100 feet away strongly objects. War erupts between the two establishments, until the young chef's impressive epicurean gifts are recognized and the proprietress takes him under her wing.
10 June, 2016
Napa Valley Grille has sat on a prominent corner in Westwood Village for fifteen years. It has been the location for business meetings, family dinners and graduation parties. With an open-air patio, it was one of the only high-end restaurants in the UCLA college town. Napa Valley Grille In time for their fifteenth anniversary, Napa Valley Grille has undergone a $2 million renovation. The restaurant's interior and outdoor patio have been refurbished. What was once bright but dated is now warm and inviting. The 372-seat restaurant mixes earth-tone colors with stone, wood, tile and cooper textures. From the décor to the furniture to the lighting, Napa Valley Grille has captured the warmth of being in a wine cellar in wine country. Napa Valley Grille Dining Room
06 June, 2016
Heading to the beach for the day or just driving up the coast? If Malibu is where you are headed, be sure to make a stop at Trancas Country Market. Trancas Country Market Trancas Country Market is located deep in the heart of Malibu and is set on a 17-acre natural sanctuary. As you drive up Pacific Coast Highway, north of Kanan Dune Road and Zuma Beach, you will find the charming rustic, barn-style Trancas Country Market. It is home to a handful of shopping and dining experiences, including Malibu Beach House, Drill, Farmhouse Café, Irit Design, Nati, Postal Annex, Le Village Café, Pritchett Rapf Realtors, Sea Lily Malibu, Starbucks, Trancas Canyon Nursery, Trancas Tailor & Cleaners, Wells Fargo and Vintage Grocers, as well as open-air common areas for picnicking and live concerts.
04 June, 2016
Typically we eat waffles for brunch. Or for a savory note, some eat chicken and waffles. But just about anything can be paired with a waffle. Next time you are eating a sandwich, why not put it in a waffle? That is what they are doing at Bruxie. Bruxie is a new take on the sandwich. Founder Dean Simon fell in love with waffles when he was in Brussels. He came back to California and since he could not find light, airy, crispy style waffles, he began testing recipes until he created a recipe that matched what he ate in Brussells. Then he put quality seasonal ingredients in them to make sandwiches, both savory and sweet. Bruxie Simon and business partner Kelly Mullarney, both chefs, opened the first Bruxie in the historic Old Towne of Orange in 2010 and it became the busiest restaurant per square foot in the nation. Now with six restaurants in Southern California and one in Las Vegas, Bruxie is showing people that waffles are no longer just for breakfast. Bruxie sandwiches are not sweet. They are yeast risen waffles that are light, airy and crispy and will remind you of warm toasty bread. But, they weigh only three ounces and contain 250 calories. They are rather guilt free....until you start adding the savory or sweet ingredients. But who cares when they taste so good!
02 June, 2016
On May 25, 2016, The Abbey celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Long a mainstay bar in the heart of West Hollywood, The Abbey has received many awards and accolades over the years. They have been awarded:
  • Best Gay Bar in the World – Logo / MTV
  • Most Popular Nightlife Destination in Los Angeles - Zagat
  • Most Popular Bar in California – Foursquare / Buzzfeed
  • Most Popular Bar Drop off in the United States – Lyft
  • Most Popular Nightlife/Bar/Restaurant Destination in Los Angeles - Uber 
  • Best Gay Bar in Los Angeles – LA Weekly, LA Weekly Reader’s Choice, Time Out Los Angeles
  • Best Nightlife in Los Angeles – USA Today
In time for their 25th anniversary, The Abbey completed the biggest menu update in its history. Known for its flavored cocktails, they brought in mixologist Armando Conway (Pour Vous, La Descarga, Harvard and Stone, Hakkasan) to redo the menu. Armando Conway Now there are more than one hundred cocktails on the menu and each one is made with fresh herbs and produce and house-made juices and syrups. The cocktail menu at The Abbey has joined the craft cocktail world. The menu is broken into categories and I did my best to try one from almost each category when I was invited to check out the new menu.
31 May, 2016
There is no more waiting in anticipation! Salt & Straw came to Los Angeles and continues to expand across the area, bringing us creamy, artisanal ice cream with local flavors and ingredients!! Waiting for Salt & Straw to Open Salt & Straw is owned by cousins Tyler and Kim Malek. They started in Portland, Oregon five years ago with a push cart and today have three shops in Portland and three shops in Los Angeles - Larchmont, Abbott Kinney and Studio City and a fourth soon to open in the Arts District. Tyler Malek The ice cream at Salt & Straw is handmade in small batches using only all natural dairy. Whether in Portland or Los Angeles, they work with the best local, organic and sustainable ingredients the respective states have to offer. And, through the flavors, Salt & Straw uses ice cream as a platform to tell the stories of the city around them. Working with local chefs, growers and producers, each flavor has a story behind it.
16 May, 2016
A year after opening, Preux & Proper in downtown LA is like a new restaurant. The decor is the same and the slushy machines on the ground floor are still there, but there is a new chef at the helm. Chef Sammy Monsour Sammy Monsour came to Preux & Proper in January 2016 but is also new to Los Angeles. Raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, he went to culinary school at The Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park in New York. He was working in Boston, learning from great chefs, and then took his art on the road, organizing pop-up events such as "Chuck Taylor’s Fried Chicken All Stars", "The Future of Junk Food" and "Antibellum". But now he has found his new home at Preux & Proper. He also brought his chef de cuisine, Steven Hacker, and sous chef, Paul Trevino who worked with him at Antibellum and kept almost all of the original staff of the restaurant. While the restaurant was first opened with a New Orleans theme, Monsour calls his menu "soul food". There is a mix of southern flavors (New Orleans, Texas, the Carolinas, Alabama) that work well together. Monsour is down-to-earth, charming and outgoing. But what shines the most is his passion for what he does. The food is focused on flavor and soul and is very very tasty!
02 May, 2016
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