Please The Palate |

Marino Ristorante

It's sometimes easy to forget about long-standing restaurants when we are always trying the newest place. But, for more than 30 years (since 1983), Marino Ristorante has been family owned and operated serving traditional Italian food to the Hollywood and Hancock Park communities. Every morning at 5am, Mario Marino (the son of founder Ciro "Mario" Marino) can be found at the fish market, selecting fresh fish for the menu. Then you will find Mario at the restaurant, both at lunch and dinner, charming guests and suggesting wine pairings.

12 January, 2015

The Warwick LA Goes Film Noir

One year ago, the Warwick Hollywood opened on Sunset Boulevard. A club offering craft cocktails, when it first opened the decor included floor to ceiling photographs of naked women and dark leather couches with an all-white upstairs room. Then, in June, the Warwick opened the doors with beach resort interior including new furniture and beach umbrellas. And now the Warwick has changed their look again. This time it's Film Noir. Everything has changed......from the couches to the rugs to the chandeliers.

20 October, 2014

The Formosa Cafe – 75 Years and Counting!

Sitting on Santa Monica Blvd, on the corner of Formosa Avenue, is the Formosa Cafe. Located in a former Red Car Trolley, the Formosa has been a Hollywood hangout and a Los Angeles icon for 75 years. My grandparents went there in the 1940s and 1950s and my parents hung out there in the 1960s.

Then when the movie Swingers came out in 1996, suddenly it was the place to be for myself and my post-college friends. The long space with low lighting, red leather booths and celebrities photos hanging on every possible space on the wall was just like when my grandparents and parents would go there.

22 July, 2014