February 2011
28 posts
dinnerpartyla:
THE DINING SOCIETY third iteration starts SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27
6 CHEFS and 5 MIXOLOGISTS and maybe a SOMMELIER, echo park
65$/person—food and beverage/RSVP at thediningsociety@gmail.com
(fuck the oscars.)
January 2011
28 posts
Red Hill Chef and Co-owner Mario Orellana Tells... →
Mario Orellana has been toiling in kitchens for some time now, working his way up the line to become sous chef at one of L.A.’s favorite restaurants (Lazy Ox Canteen) and partner at another (Mo-Chica).
Now he’s partnering with Silver Lake restaurateur Jason Michaud to open Red Hill in the former Phoenix Bakery building on Echo Park Avenue. He’s briefly worked in the...
Baby lions and hilarious monkeys and thirsty...
This is the month of being envious of my friends’ travels. First Rachel takes off to Colombia for a month - that’s a place I’ve been wanting to visit for a few years now. Then, Alex Ward flies off to Africa for all kinds of adventures - and his pictures make me want to go on a safari. Here, look:
A solution to the Chick-fil-A problem?
So, we have learned that Chick-fil-A doesn’t just give money to right-wing groups. They also don’t want gay people using their corporate retreat facilities. Horrible people, these chicken-slingers.
But people - even people who love gay people! and gay people themselves! - love buttery chicken sandwiches. And now that Chick-fil-A is expanding in Los Angeles (one at USC and one soon to...
Chick-fil-A Explicitly Does Not Like Same-Sex... →
As we wrote about a few weeks ago, Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm, the WinShape Foundation, has been particularly active in the fight against marriage equality. They’ve hosted conferences with some of the leading opponents of gay marriage in this country. A higher up at WinShape has even praised the efforts of anti-gay activist David Blankenhorn for working against marriage...
Food Industry Advertisements
There’s a restaurant trade rag called Nation’s Restaurant News. It contains incredible food service ads - a delight to mock, but they’re also a collection of eye-openers. I’ve never felt so lucky to live in a huge city, where we can choose to frequent restaurants that use fresh produce and, say, butter rather than melted industrial by-product. Feast (your eyes) upon what...
Dress Up and Drink: Bar Hopping in Beverly Hills →
Beverly Hills will never have the same party-town reputation as other parts of L.A., which is fair. It is a pretty sedate place. But it’s not as though it shuts down completely after dark: There are a handful of spots perfect for classy boozing. Here are some of the best dress-up-and-drink spots in the storied city. The Blvd.: A good place to slowly start the evening, this lounge...
Party at the Peninsula Shanghai →
Up on the top floor, Sir Elly’s is the restaurant of choice for those looking to spend a few hundred dollars. It’s a hotel restaurant, so the service is a bit overly formal, but the food’s no joke, mixing European techniques with Asian ingredients to excellent effect. But the people watching is just as diverting as the tasting menu. The lady escorts are here in full effect...
Perhaps you'd enjoy a not-boring Valentine's Day? →
Going out to dinner and/or a movie on Valentine’s Day is for amateurs, really. It’s cute and appreciated, but sometimes you’ve got to go a more unexpected route, whether it’s to impress someone new or spice up the ol’ routine. Go with one of these less predictable options of Valentine’s Day, and then reap the rewards of your creativity. Charmlee Wilderness...
Les Deux Redux: From Club to Comfy Restaurant →
For years, Les Deux was a Hollywood nightclub par excellence, full of celebrities (sometimes acting up) inside and always with a backed-up valet line full of expensive cars outside. It represented the best and the worst of that neighborhood’s nightlife scene: exciting, sure, but a little on the shallow side. But following the bigger trend of Hollywood growing up a bit, the ...
Top Spots For Grilled (And Roasted) Chicken →
Angelenos love chicken — and don’t make us choose between grilled, roasted or rotisserie. Those are the three most popular ways of enjoying the glorious bird in this city, whether it be Peruvian style, Japanese, Lebanese … the choices are endless, since the city-wide addiction needs to be fulfilled. Here are some of the best temples of chicken. Cha Cha Chicken: This brightly...
PROFILE: L.A. Lunch’er Katherine →
Name: Katherine
Age: 28
Occupation: Writer. Lifestyle journalist, when I’m feeling fancy.
Where in L.A. do you Work?: I work from home in Silver Lake, freelancing for any publication that still pays its writers. Right now I’m doing a lot for City’s Best.
Favorite Kind of Food: That’s way too hard. I’m going to cheat and say “Asian.”
Least Favorite Kind of Food: After a horrifying experience...
Bar Hopping In Echo Park →
There is no common theme to the bars in Echo Park, L.A.’s most of-the-moment neighborhood. Some of them have been around for ages and have never changed, others are pretty new, and some are struggling to make sense of the changing area. But this gives it enough variety to ensure everyone finds a vibe they like. Here are the best of Echo Park. Taix: One of the oldest restaurants in Los...
“Shanghainese people are known to eat in delicate portions (which makes them a...”
– Shanghai cuisine, Wikipedia. (Pretty sure I’m actually Chinese.)
Echo Park Farmers' Market Finds →
Pineapple guavas! Injection-free chickens! Romanian food! Check out the Echo Park Farmers’ Market, you guys…
Top 4 Vietnamese Vermicelli Spots →
Vermicelli noodles served cold with meat and vegetables is an often-overlooked, but really quite delicious, Vietnamese dish that’s often perfect for L.A.’s warm weather. The noodles are called bun, and that’s often the name given to the whole dish (but that only works in the U.S. Asking for bun, period, in Vietnam would get you a dish of plain noodles). The basic components...
“We were not a hugging people. In terms of emotional comfort it was our belief...”
– David Sedaris, spirit animal.
[via bbook]
5 Reasons To Love & Visit Sunset Junction →
Sunset Junction is the heart of Silver Lake, one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in Los Angeles right now. Located on Sunset Boulevard and hemmed in, more or less, Sanborn and Maltman avenues, the neighborhood has played an important part in gay-rights history, and is still home to Le Barcito, which has been running drag shows since the ’60s. But the neighborhood has changed, and...
American Food, as Interpreted by Europeans
What they think we eat -
in France: Marshmallow fluff, maple syrup, beans, salsa, hot sauce, spice packets.
in Finland: Mixers, ice cream toppings, Jell-O, candy, Oreos, ALL the salad dressing, processed cheese product, mayo, mustard, BBQ sauce, soup, baked items from boxes, maple syrup, pickles.
Apparently we like maple syrup?
Not Just For Travelers: Top Hotel Restaurants →
Nice hotels always have restaurants, but they’re not always very good. In fact, they’re usually quite disappointing, with diner-level food at caviar prices. Luckily for L.A. eaters, a few forward-thinking hotels have realized that they can cater to everybody, not just exhausted business travelers, with excellent food. Here are five of our favorite hotel restaurants in L.A. The...
Bar Hopping On Hillhurst Avenue →
Hillhurst Avenue is sort of the lesser of Los Feliz’s two commercial thoroughfares, with Vermont Avenue being the brighter, shinier and more crowded of the two. But it’s a great place for bar hopping: all walking distance, all low-key places where jeans and clean sneakers are considered dressy. Here are the best watering holes on Hillhurst Avenue. Big Bar: This latest addition to...
Detox Foods/Drinks Following the Holidays →
After all the indulgences of the holidays, it’s nice to be able to restart your engine with something a little lighter than latkes or tamales or five pounds of cookies or whatever the December indulgence was. These Los Angeles restaurants can help get the healthy-eating train up and running with their wholesome offerings. Tender Greens: Salads aren’t necessarily the health-bombs...
Get out the vote!
For Mendocino Farms!
This is the most important thing you can do this year, Angelenos. The absurdly good sandwich shop is taking requests for their fourth location (apparently they thought I was kidding about opening it in my apartment).
They’ve got one in Marina del Rey and two Downtown. The latter are great for people who work there, but since weekday parking Downtown essentially...
