Lifestyle

Known for its unique moon-like landscape, underground cities, cave churches and houses carved in the rocks, 48 hours in Cappadocia is a whirlwind of wonder....

04 February, 2015

This post originally appeared on FoodableTV.com   Tourists go to Tel Aviv to visit the beaches, wander the markets and explore the cultural history. Some also love to...

23 January, 2015
Creamy, semi-soft, hard, cow, sheep, goat....so many cheeses to choose from! I love cheese. Who doesn't? And, like wine, when you have really good cheese, you can taste its terroir, where it is from. But, it can be intimidating or overwhelming when it comes to really understanding French cheese. There are 350-400 types of French cheese, and with many varieties within each type, there may be more than 1000 different types of French cheese. Cheeses of France Have no fear! Cheeses of Europe and the French Cheese Board are here to help. Their mission is to create awareness about the variety of the cheeses of France available on the US market and the multiple ways that American consumers can incorporate the cheeses into their diets, their recipes and their lifestyles. One of the ways they do this is by creating pop-up stores in cities, like they did recently in Santa Monica. An outdoor pop-up store was created in the center of Santa Monica Place and for one day consumers could taste cheese (for free) and buy cheese (at great prices). Here are some of the cheeses we tasted and learned about:
20 January, 2015
It's time for dineLA when for two weeks (January 19 through February 1) restaurants offer specially priced prix-fixe lunch menus for $15-$25 and dinner menus for $30-$50. These are the perfect days to try new restaurants or visit old ones while maintaining a bit of control on the wallet.....and losing a little control of the waistline. After all, when some of the best chefs in LA are offering affordable dining opportunities, how can you say no?!?! One of the many participating restaurants is Acabar in Hollywood and we got a preview of their dineLA menu. The dineLA menu price is $40, a great value for Chef Octavio Becerra's food and includes three courses, with three options to choose from within each course. First Course:
18 January, 2015
When I went to lunch at Spago a few months ago, I saw that a new place was going in next door called Spaghettini. Silly me thought that meant that it was a "little Spago." But it's not. It's actually the second location for a successful restaurant and music venue, owned by Laurie Sisneros and Cary Hardwick, that has been in Seal Beach for 26 years. Spaghettini is a large rectangular space that is wide open. With white walls and dark wood and blue accents, it is rather simple in its décor, but also modernly elegant. Spaghettini Dining Room We started at the bar and ordered a couple drinks to start the evening. We ordered The Home Slice (apple ginger soda, Angel's Envy Bourbon, citrus) and The Duet (El Dorado 12 Year Rum, Rhum JM, honey, Italian sweet vermouth, Angostura, grapefruit peel). The Home Slice was refreshing with the sweetness of the bourbon on the finish. But, I would have liked a bit more acidity or bite on the front of the palate. The apple ginger soda seemed a bit muted. The Duet on the other hand was a well balanced cocktail. Perhaps not the first drink you want for the night on a chilly night, it was perfect. The cocktails range from $15-$18 and are a bit steep.
15 January, 2015

This post originally appeared on FoodableTV.com It’s been six months since I unlocked the key to wine country in Santa Barbara. Last time it was summer...

14 January, 2015
When the clock strikes midnight, does the world change? No, not really. Truthfully, it's like any other night at midnight.....it's late. But, on New Year's Eve, we wait all night to shout out "Happy New Year" and then it's all over. So, why not celebrate it over and over again, hour after hour? After all, over a 24 hour period, there is someone celebrating almost every hour somewhere in the world. This is the way to do it! For the last four years, Big Bar in Los Feliz has taken us on a journey around the world as we celebrate New Year's Eve in another city starting at 3pm until midnight. The bar crew at Big Bar become our flight crew as we start in Paris and end in Los Angeles. Big Bar Flight Crew The idea was born four years ago. Bartender Eugene Lee had worked as a DJ at the UCSD campus radio station when he was in college. He came up with the idea to start Mixtape Mixology (which is now on week #196). From Mixtape, the idea for the playlist for each timezone was born. "At 4pm it was Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland ... 6pm Brazil, 9pm New York, Boston and Jamaica.... I spent like 9 hours making the first playlist to go with the countdown," Eugene told me. "I remember making them perfectly sync into a pre-recorded countdown that I recorded with a bunch of friends in the language spoken."
08 January, 2015
With more than 15 years in the wine industry, I have met so many wonderful, intelligent successful women in various positions - from making wine to selling wine to buying wine to writing about wine. And, in my experience, these women are not only passionate about wine but they are gracious and supportive of one another. This was exemplified when CEO of St. Supery Winery Emma Swain recently visited Los Angeles to host a small lunch with women in the wine business. While we enjoyed the wines of St. Supery, we chatted about wine, shared funny stories and laughed together. Emma Swain
17 December, 2014
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