Please The Palate |

Maude: Superb Seasonal Tasting Menu

Curtis Stone opened up his tiny little restaurant Maude in Beverly Hills at the end of January. I called to make a reservation as soon as I heard that it was opening and the first reservation I could get was a 9pm in March so I grabbed it and waited in anticipation for the date to arrive.

Maude is a fairly small restaurant that has approximately 25 seats. The kitchen is open and no matter where you sit, you can watch the cooks at work. In a way, it feels like you are going to a friend's house for a dinner party as the space is intimate and charming, like an intimate chef’s table experience.

25 April, 2014

Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine

Venice Blvd. in Culver City is lined with ethnic restaurants. Every time I drive down Venice, trying to avoid the congestion on parallel streets, I look at the restaurants as I drive by, and wonder how to chose one to try. So recently, I checked out Tara's Himalayan Cuisine, serving Nepalese and Tibetan cuisine.

Behind the vine covered fence, you enter a space with a tarp covered ceiling, that has lighting coming from behind it. While the decor and ambience are nothing special, Tara's serves authentic Himalyan cuisine from Nepal and Tibet and 10% of any profit earned goes toward education in Nepal. It's a nice idea knowing that we can go out to eat and some of the money we spend will impact the life of women and children in Nepal.

23 April, 2014

Al Bacio

The congested Sunset Strip that runs from Doheny to Crescent Heights is filled with clubs, boutiques and many restaurants that have been standing there for years. As a local Los Angeleno, the Sunset Strip was not my favorite street to go out to eat until Eveleigh and then the Churck Key opened. And now, across the street in the shadows of these two popular restaurants is a modern Italian restaurant, Al Bacio.

Located in the former Il Sole space, Al Bacio is named after that gesture of approval where you kiss your fingers after tasting something wonderful. Open since December 2013, the restaurant has a fresh elegance to it and reminded me of some of the more modern restaurants I have dined at in Italy lately.

17 April, 2014