Please The Palate |

Añejo Cantina & Grill Is Spicing Up Ventura Blvd.

I was told that this restaurant had table-side guacamole on the menu and I was anxious to try this. This is another of the new restaurants to open along Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. Located on the second floor of a building, Añejo Cantina & Grill is an upscale Mexican restaurant that opened this past summer and is offering authentic Mexican cuisine to valley dwellers. It is a big place with a big menu. With 11,000 square feet, space is not an issue. There is the indoor dining room where live music can be heard (or danced to), a large outdoor patio with a fire pit as well as private event space. The best seats in the house are on the outdoor patio that overlooks Ventura Boulevard. Even on a cool night, the patio is warm with the table-side heaters and blankets the restaurant is happy to provide. Once settled in, get ready to eat because the portions are big. The danger at any Mexican restaurant is filling up on chips and salsa. So, we did not waste any time and ordered the tableside guacamole. I just love the the taste of fresh avocado mashed with tomatoes, onions, cilantro and fresh lime.

21 December, 2015

Corazon Cucina Santa Barbara Pop Up

Last time I was in downtown Santa Barbara (less than a year ago), I went to a pop-up sushi bar at Three Pickles Deli. Yes, inside a deli! But, as the deli itself is closed at night, it was a perfect location to set up a pop-up inside. Sadly, the pop-up sushi bar is no longer there but now there is a pop-up every Sunday called Corazon Cucina run by Chef Ramon Velazquez and his wife Chrissie.

Another big change since I was last there is that the neighborhood (aka the Presidio Neighborhood), which is centered around a historical Spanish fortress and Santa Barbara's former Chinatown, is now booming. While last time we walked a few blocks from State Street to find Three Pickles Deli on an isolated street, now it is surrounded by restaurants, wine tasting rooms, coffee houses and shops. There were people everywhere and I almost didn't recognize it. Due to the popularity of the area, and the Corazon Cucina pop-up, it was difficult to find parking. And, once we did, we found ourselves at the back of a long line.

27 February, 2015

Red O: New Menu

It’s been 4 years since Rick Bayless, the Chicago-based American chef who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations, opened his restaurant Red O on Melrose Avenue in LA. Since then he has opened a second location in Newport Beach, making two locations where you can experience sophisticated Mexican cuisine. While the menu is seasonal and changes regularly, for their 4 year anniversary, most of the menu was redone. Overseen by Executive Corporate Chef Keith Stich, and in conjunction with Rick Bayless, this is the first major change in 4 years so we went in to check it out! The cocktails have been updated as well by Director of Wine and Spirits Dan OIiver so we began with cocktails, of course!

01 July, 2014