Author Archives: toddrickallen

La Gourmandise School Upcoming Vegetarian And Vegan Classes In Santa Monica

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La Gourmandise School, the culinary school in the Market at the top of Santa Monica Place is offering an array of upcoming vegetarian and vegan classes.  On Monday, August 1st, there will be a “vegetarian Indian basics” class at 6:30pm taught by Kaumudi Marathe of Un-Curry, the Indian pop-up (http://www.un-curry.com/Un-Curry_Website/home.html).  Then, on August 14th, there will be a “vegetarian BBQ” class from 10:00am to 2:00pm.  There is a “rewiring to vegan” class on Friday, August 23rd.  “Indian vegan” will be the subject on Thursday, Sept. 8th at 6:30pm.  Check out http://thegourmandiseschool.com/index.php for prices and more info. 


395 Santa Monica Place The Market, Santa Monica CA 90401
310-656-8800

Urban Fresh, Beverly Hills Opens August 15

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Work continues fast and furiously on the new Urban Fresh going into the old Mr. Kicco’s Coffee space at 9679 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills.  As you can see from the photo, they are currently hiring and are looking to open August 15th.  Look for a menu of organic coffees and teas, juices, farmer’s market-driven salads and sandwiches, and breakfasts.  Read more at https://toddrickallen.com/2011/06/03/urban-fresh-taking-over-the-mr-kiccos-coffee-space-in-beverly-hills/ or at http://theurbanfresh.com/.

 

Lemon Moon Happy Hour “Tapas, Tempranillo And Sangria”

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Looking for something to do tonight? Yearning for the Spanish coast?  Josiah Citrin, Raphael Lunetta and Jonathan Moulton are hosting a special happy hour at their restaurant Lemon Moon this evening (Thursday July 21)  titled “Tapas, Tempranillo And Sangria” featuring Spanish tapas and wines from 5:00pm until 7:00pm.  Lemon Moon is at 12200 W. Olympic Blvd. in Los Angeles. http://www.lemonmoon.com/

Veggie Grill Virgin Day At Rolling Hills Plaza

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Today, (Wednesday July 20th) is Veggie Grill Virgin Day at their Rolling Hills Plaza location.  If you bring in someone who has never been before (the virgin), Veggie Grill will comp their entrée.  But they have to be accompanied by an “experienced” VGer (that’d be you, you tramp), no solos and only at this location.  http://www.veggiegrill.com/

 

Susan Feniger’s Street Carmegeddon Deals

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To soothe the jangled nerves of the upcoming Carmegeddon, Susan Fenger’s Street is offering $4.05 beers and free kaya toast if you mention “Carmegeddon” when making a dinner reservation.   (Trust me, you’ll want the kaya toast!) Deal only available Saturday and Sunday, July 16th and 17th. 

Susan Feniger’s Street

742 N. Highland Los Angeles, CA 90038
Phone: 323.203.0500

http://www.eatatstreet.com/

Yotam Ottolenghi Book Signing In Santa Monica

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If you haven’t come across the name Yotam Ottolenghi yet, you’re just not paying attention.  He seems to be everywhere lately.  Despite four London restaurants and constant contributions to the food press there, the chef and restaurateur has been extremely busy promoting his popular vegetarian cookbook Plenty, and has finally arrived in Los Angeles.   He’ll be cooking a four course veg meal at Animal this Thursday, July 14th (see http://la.eater.com/tags/yotam-ottolenghi for info).  But if you can’t make that, you can get a chance to meet him on Friday, July 15th from 12:00pm to 2:00pm for a book signing at Anthropologie at 1402 Third Street Promenade (corner of Santa Monica and Third).  Refreshingly, although they encourage you to buy your book there, the manager assured me that you’re not required to purchase it there in order to get your copy signed.  I’ve had a chance to make a few things from the book already.  His technique of preparing individual components of a dish separately and then layering the flavors to create a complex yet unified whole produced some amazing results.  This is a great opportunity to check out the future of vegetarian cooking.  Read more at  http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/

Pizza Antica’s Chef Gordon Drysdale At This Week’s Cart For A Cause

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This week’s Cart for a Cause will feature Chef Gordon Drysdale from Pizza Antica of Santa Monica. $10 will get you choice of sandwich (such as warm grilled fontina sandwich with fresh morels and sherry-braised cipollini), drink, and a cookie with the proceeds going toward Meals on Wheels. Chef Drysdale will be cooking this Tuesday, July 5th from 12:00pm until 2:00pm in the parking lot of the Helms Building at 8800 Venice Blvd.

http://www.pizzaantica.com

Mozza’s July Pizza And Pasta Class Schedule

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Do you ever dream about the  bavette cacio e pepe  at Osteria Mozza and wonder how they produce such perfection rivalled only in Italy?  Now’s your chance to find out!  Here is the July schedule for Mozza Scuola di Pizza pizza and pasta classes:

Pasta Class will be held on Tuesdays July 5th & 19th 7-10:00pm

Pizza Class will be held on Thursdays July 14th & 28th 7-10:00pm

Cost is $150 per person.  Make reservations by calling 323.297.1133.  http://www.mozza2go.com/calendar.cfm

641 N. Highland Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323.297.0101
Fax: 323.297.0109

 

Obika, Century City’s New Summer Menu

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Obika Mozzarella Bar in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center has made some new summer-y additions to its menu:  a variety of new bruschette from various regions around Italy including the Piemonte: mozzarella & roasted peppers, or the Lazio:  plum tomatoes and olives.  Additionally, the have a new Neapolitan Pizza, the cunzato pizzato.  http://www.obika.it/

 

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza And Grill, El Segundo: Update

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A lot of you are interested in the progress at Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza And Grill the upscale pizza chain that is going into the space once occupied by Smith & Hawken in El Segundo Plaza on the corner of Rosecrans and Sepulveda in El Segundo.  The chain hails from San Diego (where they were the first to bring wood fired pizza oven to the scene there) and has since expanded to Nevada as well.  I had a chance to drop by recently and chat with a rep.  As you can see by the photo, they are now hiring and work  is nearing completion.  The official opening day is going to be July 14th.  You can read a sample menu on their website here:  http://www.sammyspizza.com/, however it was explained to me that the menu in the new location will be different from their San Diegan counterparts.  Chef Sami Ladeki not only created the menu for Sammy’s, but for another venture as well, Roppongi Restaurant & Sushi Bar in La Jolla.  The menu at the El Segundo location will be a combination of the two:  Mediterranean and Asian-Fusion (apparently the onion rings are legendary). I’ll keep you posted…

Rosti Tuscan Kitchen Contest: Win Free Pizza For A Year!

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You can’t beat this.. According to Rosti Tuscan Kitchen’s (Santa Monica and Encino) Facebook page, you can win pizza for a year by submitting your favorite pizza recipe.  You have to hurry though, contest ends tomorrow, June 24th. 

“Tell us your favorite Pizza recipe before it’s too late! Post by Friday for your chance to win Free Pizza for a year..and have your pizza featured at our restaurants. Be creative and have fun! The winner will be announced July 1.”

Go to their Facebook page for complete info:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosti-Tuscan-Kitchen/61344105305

The End Of Santa Monica’s Food Truck Tuesday Night?

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As per The Santa Monica Mirror, Tuesday June 21st, the Santa Monica city council will be addressing the future of food truck lots, affecting the Tuesday night cavalcade of trucks that park in the lot at the corner of Ocean Park and Main, and possibly even ending the weekly event.  The issue here appears to be that food trucks parked along city streets are one thing, but this congregation of trucks sits on private property and therefore constitutes a zoning concern.  Apparently the city has been operating a trial period for the trucks while they conducted a study of the effects on the neighborhood.  The results of the study are to be presented tonight after which the city council will decide the fate of the lots.  Here’s the agenda for the meeting: 

http://www01.smgov.net/cityclerk/council/agendas/2011/20110621/a20110621.htm. 

I’ll keep you posted as more unfolds…

Ferrarini, Beverly Hills Begins Construction

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After months of sitting idle (since at least August of last year), construction has finally begun on what will be Italian import market and specialty store Ferrarini at 9622 Brighton Way in Bev Hills in what used to be the old Le Croissant coffee shop.  What the delay has been is unclear, but the posters in the window of children cavorting through a bucolic Italian countryside chased by giant Parma hams have been replaced by particle board and scaffolding.  I’ll keep my ear to the ground for a potential opening date, until then you can find some of their products (Parmigiano Reggiano) at Vicente Foods in Brentwood. 

Before…
 
 
Construction has begun..