I spent my formative years on the Westside. When I first became interested in eating something other than chain restaurant food, I remember that the Rose Cafe had a strong local following. In 2015, they changed hands and they brought in a new chef. My wife and I recently visited them for a weekend brunch….
San Pedro Fish Grille Celebrates One Year Anniversary
San Pedro Fish Grille in Rolling Hills Estates recently celebrated their first anniversary. To mark this occasion, they offered a free t-shirt for the first 365 customers and tax-free dining to help their customers during this tax season. Live mariachis were on hand to add to the celebration. The restaurant is located in the Peninsula…
Thai Lai – Delicious Vietnamese Food in the South Bay
South Bay Vietnamese restaurants primarily feature pho, bun and banh mi. I recently discovered Thai Lai, a South Bay Vietnamese restaurant that breaks this norm. They feature food that is common in Vietnam’s central region as well as the more common cuisine from the southern area. Thai Lai is located on Prairie Ave. in Hawthorne….
LA Food Bowl Returns in May
LA Food Bowl, presented by the LA Times, celebrates the best of food, farms, and sustainability. Food Bowl spans the entire month of May and encompasses a mix of dinners, parties, tours, pop-ups, films, classes and Night Market in Grand Park May 8-12. Some of the participating restaurants will participate in specials during the month…
Weekend Brunch at Lola’s Mexican Cuisine
Former LA Times Food Editor Russ Parsons was quoted as saying “Lola’s green salsa may be the single most compulsively delicious sauce since the heyday of the white garlic paste at Zankou Chicken.” This was enough for me to invite my wife for brunch at Lola’s Mexican Cuisine in Long Beach. Complimentary chips and salsa…
South Bay Spring Menus – New Food and Drink Offerings
Spring is here and fortunately, the weather is cooperating. Many South Bay restaurants are featuring new items to reflect this great weather. Here is a round-up of what they have to offer. El Segundo Flemings Steakhouse Flemings Steakhouse is pairing their popular Prime Burger with a glass of Paraduxx, a Duckhorn Proprietary Red Blend from…
Alta Adams Introduces California Soul Cuisine
Three years ago Keith Corbin was a newly hired manager at Locol, the community-focused fast-food concept from chefs Daniel Patterson and Roy Choi. Corbin never cooked professionally but was noticed for his skills and ability in the kitchen. Locol ended up closing its doors in 2018. Fortunately, Patterson gave Corbin an opportunity to run the…
A Basq Kitchen Celebrates National Paella Day for 4 Days!
A Basq Kitchen will celebrate National Paella Day, March 27. It continues the celebration with a different paella each day until Saturday, March 30. Paella is a Spanish rice dish topped with peppers and loaded with everything from shrimp to chorizo to lobster. Variations on original Spanish Valencia exist, but the commonality seems to be…
Pikunico – Japanese Fried Chicken Done Right
Jonathan Gold cast Kuniko Yagi into the spotlight when he reviewed Hinoki and the Bird in 2013. Soon after their Kaiseki-style pan-Asian cuisine restaurant made it into Jonathan Gold’s top 101 restaurants in LA. Yagi left Hinoki and the Bird and recently opened Pikunico in DTLA. I had Pikunico’s address but didn’t realize that they…
Pasta Sisters – Affordable Quality Italian
In LA’s westside, Culver City is where many new and exciting restaurant concepts appear. One of the latest is Pasta Sisters, a fast-casual Italian restaurant that makes their pasta fresh in-house. They pair the pasta with quality Italian sauces and offer them with an optional fresh ball of burrata cheese. Pasta Sisters first opened its…