Known as one of the best pastry chefs in the world, Dominique Ansel recently opened up his first bakery in LA and chose The Grove as its home. He also brought his original Cronut with him. Named 189 by Dominique Ansel, it is Ansel’s first full-service restaurant. The bakery occupies the first floor and the…
Brio Coastal Delivers Great Happy Hour
A good friend of mine recently had a birthday. To celebrate, I asked him where he would like to go. He chose Happy Hour at Brio Coastal in the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance. The Del Amo Fashion Center has been undergoing a multi-year renovation. Brio Coastal is located on the west side of…
Eataly Brings Italian Marketplace to LA
Growing up on the Westside, I was quite familiar with the Century City Mall. It has since been acquired by the Westfield Group and transformed into a massive and modernized indoor-outdoor mecca for eating and shopping. Eataly just opened there and it sparked my curiosity. Eataly is a mega Italian marketplace that opened Friday, Nov….
Belcampo – Meat At Its Finest
Perusing my inbox, I saw a Groupon offer for Belcampo in Santa Monica. I had not heard of Belcampo and knowing that my wife is a steak lover, I figured she would appreciate dining there for a date night. I find it impressive that Belcampo raises animals on a farm they own at the base…
Dominique’s Kitchen Celebrates Its 5th Anniversary
My wife and I recently dined at Dominique’s Kitchen when they celebrated their 5th anniversary. Dining at Dominique’s Kitchen is very much like eating at someone’s home. Co-owners Dominique and Liza Theval are there each day and warmly greet many of the regulars as they enter. For many years, the Le Beaujolais restaurant operated in…
The Prince of Venice Delivers Delicious Pasta
When I heard of the Prince of Venice food truck, I chuckled to myself. To the best of my knowledge, no royalties live in Venice California, or does the name of the truck mean something else? The Prince of Venice food truck was conceived by a real prince – Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia….
Captain Kidd’s Now Offers Delicious Cocktails
Captain Kidd’s is a South Bay institution for fresh seafood. Part of the establishment is a fresh seafood market where they have locally caught fish and fish that is imported from other parts of the world. The other side is their casual restaurant designed much like an east coast fish shack. In addition to their…
Honey’s Kettle – Truly Delicious Fried Chicken
Fried Chicken continues to remain the rage in LA. Waiting in line at Howlin’ Ray’s still takes up to 2 hours. There are other variants: Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, Spanish and the most common, Southern fried chicken. Honey’s Kettle Fried Chicken isn’t a new restaurant. It has been listed on quite a few top fried chicken places…
Tapas Pop Up Featuring Hand Carved Jamón Ibérico
I met Pedro Liébana earlier this year at the Latin Food Festival in Santa Monica. He was hand carving a large leg of Jamón Ibérico, a classic delicacy in Spain. I hesitated at approaching him, but he was quick to smile and offered me a sample. The flavor was quite remarkable and it was obvious…
Roman Aroma Now Features Wine Tastings
Roman Aroma was a fairly recent discovery of mine. It has become my “go to” Italian bakery for pastries and cannolis. The latter have been a bit hit with my friends and family. I recently learned that they are serving wine and offer wine tastings each week. To kick off the new offering, they recently…