Please The Palate |

Eating: Graffiato DC

I continue to marvel at how many great restaurants there are now in DC and it is actually difficult to chose where to go when I only have a few days in town. On my last visit, I was able to make it a double "Top Chef Weekend". The first night we ventured to Bryan Voltaggio's new restaurant Range. The next night we ventured to Mike Isabella's Graffiato, which means "graffiti" or "scratched."

I will be honest in saying that, as a loyal Top Chef viewer, Mike Isabella on Season 6 was not one of my favorite contenders. He was too arrogant for my liking and his dishes didn't seem to be as exciting as some of his competition (ie. the Voltaggio brothers). But, I became a fan of his when he was on Top Chef All-Stars and after eating at Graffiato, I can say with confidence that his food is exciting and flavorful.

03 January, 2013

Cocktails: Death and Company New York

Since David Kaplan and Ravi DeRossi opened Death + Company in 2007, it has been one of the top cocktail bars not just in New York but internationally. Named in honor of the people known as Death and Company who drank alcohol during Prohibition and were thought to “live a life shadowed by death,” I was finally able to visit this famous bar in the East Village during a trip to NY. Arriving around 7pm on a Saturday night, there was already a line in front of the nondescript doors. Reservations are not accepted and the policy is "first come, first served" as there is no standing-room inside the bar. The doorman was taking names and numbers and sending people to neighboring bars for drinks while they waited for a seat. I patiently waited, hoping a single seat would open up, and it did after a 20 minute wait.

21 December, 2012

Eating: MessHall Kitchen Los Angeles

MessHall is the newest incarnation of the original Brown Derby in Los Feliz. Built in 1929, it was originally the home of Willard's Chicken Inn until 1941 when director Cecil B. DeMille bought the restaurant and turned it into the Brown Derby, birthplace of the "Cobb Salad." It was Michael's of Los Feliz from 1960 - 1992 and then became The Derby nightclub, home of swing dancing. After The Derby, the space became Louise's Trattoria and then a Chase Bank and in 2006 the building was declared a Historic Cultural landmark. Today, MessHall Kitchen is a 14,000 square foot space with seating for 175 people and a corrugated metal bar located in the center of the room. The long wooden communal tables and fire pits on the patio will transport you to an upscale version of an army mess hall or camp.

17 December, 2012