Good News! Mozza2Go is offering a terrific deal on pizzas on Sundays and Mondays: Two Margherita pizzas for $20. That’s a savings of $6. (Carnivores can also get 2 sausage pizzas for $25 or 2 ‘meat lover’ pizzas for $28.) I can’t think of a better way to start your week…
Call (323) 297-1130 to order or check out www.mozza2go.com for more details and other news.
641 N. Highland Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323.297.0101 Fax: 323.297.0109
Perhaps you’ve had a revelation at the Sunday brunch at Mesa Grill. Or maybe you just can’t tear your eyes away from any of his 10,000 daily appearances on tv, either way, face it… as much as you try not to be and don’t want anyone to know, you’re a fan of that irresistible griller, Bobby Flay. So put on your dark glasses and drive to the Williams-Sonoma in South Coast Plaza this Friday, Oct 15th at noon. Bobby will be signing copies of his new book, Bobby Flay’s Throwdown! More Than 100 Recipes from Food Network’s Ultimate Cooking Challenge.
Williams-Sonoma at South Coast Plaza
3333 South Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 751-1166
But maybe grilling isn’t your thing. If you’re a baking fanatic, and a reader of Bakerella.com (http://www.bakerella.com/), you may want to pop by the Williams-Sonoma in Santa Monica for the book signing of Bakerella’s Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats on Tuesday October 12th at 12:00pm. Who doesn’t need more mini-treats in their life?
Williams-Sonoma Santa Monica
1600 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 586-1018
More info at http://www.williams-sonoma.com/
Construction continues at a dizzying pace at The Market, the “Ferry Building style” marketplace set atop the brand spanking new Santa Monica Place. Words like “local” and “organic” feature heavily in the promos. What we DO know is that, according to the sign, Rockenwagner, N’Ice Cream, and Kings Road Cafe are slated to move in.
If you noticed that the Houston’s on the corner of Wishire and 2nd in Santa Monica quietly changed its name about 3 weeks ago and were wondering what was going on, here’s the skinny. No, it’s not a new restaurant, it’s still the same Houston’s and menu but with a new sign out front. It was explained to me by an employee that Hillstone, the parent company of Houston’s, Gulfstream, R&D, South Beverly Grill, and Bandera has been upgrading its higher-end Houston’s into the original brand name of Hillstone. The name change is an attempt to draw more attention to the Hillstone brand, or as it was told to me, “To get the name out there.” So there you go…
Chef Brian Patton “The Sexy Vegan” of vegan delivery service Vegin’ Out (www.veginout.com) will be presenting a vegan cooking demonstration at Surfas this Saturday, Oct 2nd from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. His Sexiness has given his demo (we can assume intentionally) the suggestive name, “Beatin’ Meat: Tempeh, Seitan, and Tofu“. In addition to learning how to make mock tuna sandwiches, veggie sausages, and buffalo wings, you just might learn how to drop the letter ‘g’ off various verbs like veging and beating. (Just a quick question: If you had chosen to name your presentation “Beatin’ Meat”, would you have chosen to use the same artwork in your poster?) Demo is free. Surfas is at the corner of Washington Blvd. and National Blvd. in Culver City. Check out http://www.surfaslosangeles.com/ for more info.
As part of the American Wine & Food Festival on Saturday, September 25th at Universal’s Backlot to support Meals on Wheels, Wolfgang Puck, Lee Hefter, Barbara Lazaroff, and Sherry Yard are hosting a Chefs Grand Tasting Dinner at Spago the following night, Sunday, September 26th at 6:00pm. There will be champagne, A paired tasting menu, silent and live auctions. But the draw factor for the pricey $750 price tag are the six guest chefs including Charlie Palmer, Nobu, Santi Santamaria of Restaurnat Can Fabes in Barcelona, and Michael White of Marea in NY; a great opportunity to see these amazing chefs in action! Contact Ellen Farentino at ellen.farentino@wolfgangpuck.com for more info. For info on the Saturday event, go to www.awff.org.
Just in time for the holidays: The folks at Mozza are offering a tart class on Tuesday Oct 12th or Tuesday October 26th from 7:00pm to 9:30. Mozza’s pastry sous chef Sara Asch will walk you through the art of creating and serving the perfect tart. Cost is $150, and as always space is limited. Reserve by calling 323-297-1133.
Mozza2Go
6610 Melrose Ave.
With LA locations in the Glendale Galleria, Fashion Square, Topanga Plaza Mall, and numerous locations throughout the US, it looks like purveyors of fine tea, Teavana, is opening in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center in the old O&Co space. The November opening will include a tea bar as well as a store. The concept focuses on the health benefits and flavors of tea as well as and experience of the customer. Check out more at their website http://www.teavana.com/.
Last weekend, Santa Monica was blanketed with flyers announcing the upcoming Wine and Food Festival of Santa Monica. The event will be held on Saturday, October 2nd from 11:30am to 7:00pm. Although I don’t see any of the heavy-hitters (Michael McCarty, Josiah Citrin) on the bill, local faves such as LaCachette Bistro, Yummy Cupcakes, various wineries, and local businesses are participating. $40 admission gets you cooking classes, food vouchers, wine tastings, and a Latin jazz concert. The venue is near Casa Del Mar at 2030 Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica. Check out http://santamonicawinefest.com/ for more info.
As you get funnelled around the construction as they redo the outdoor dining terrace at the Westfield Century City Shopping Center, you can’t help but notice the plywood and signs as they convert one of the food stalls into a new Greek restaurant, Big Fat Pita. So far, not much news on the specs, and as of yet no website. But the Westfield site explains it as “crisp, fresh, healthy and delicious”. It was slated to open this fall. We’ll have to wait and see…
Wonder what’s been going on behind the butcher paper at the corner of Montana Ave and 7th in Santa Monica? Turns out it is the second location of West LA’s Greens Up! Greens Up! is a concept lunch restaurant that focuses on salads that can be ordered from a menu, or are ‘built’ at the customer’s specifications. The emphasis is on healthy, local, environmentally responsible fresh produce. Robert (from Greens Up!) who has been developing the space, allowed me a peak in. As you can see, it looks fairly close to being finished, even though he explained that it would open in “a month or two”. Since the website lists a July opening, we wondered what was going on. “We’re taking our time,” was his explanation.
Well I’m not quite sure what-the-hey happened, but the restaurant that was scheduled to take over the old French 75 space in the Century City Shopping Center, The Tap Room by Capital City, is apparently au revoir. The ‘Capital City’ signs have come down and have been replaced by this…
Yes, it looks as though that old mall staple, BJ’s Restaurant And Brewhouse is now moving into the upscale mall. Thank God! How many times after a hard day of shopping at Louis Vuitton and Tiffany, have you thought to yourself, “Wouldn’t I just love a frosty glass of ‘Nutty Brewnette’ ale and some nachos?” http://www.bjsbrewhouse.com/
After what seemed like, well, forever, it looks like the West Coast’s first outpost of the Italian chain, Obika Mozzarella Bar in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center is scheduled to open on Wednesday. The only other US location is in New York. Obika offers a menu of salads, pastas, sandwiches, and mains based on Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP that is flown in fresh from Italy three times weekly. They also have a modest but well-thought out wine list exclusively of Italian regionals. The space is airy, bright, and industrial. Read more about Obika from this previous post http://wp.me/pIwAN-aO or go to the company’s website at http://www.obika.it/.
An exciting evening for fans of Asian street food: Susan Feniger is giving free rein to chef and cookbook author Robert Danhi on Saturday, September 29th at 6:00pm. A vast array of promised delicacies will be available at various food ‘stations’ set up both inside the restaurant and outside for a mini street fair of Asian flavors. For those who have marvelled at the Kaya toasts at Street, this is the man who introduced them to Susan. This is guaranteed to sell-out, so act quickly. The cost is $40 for unlimited tastings plus $5 for “exotic beers”. Additionally, Chef Danhi will be selling autographed copies of his James Beard nominated cookbook, “Southeast Asian Flavors: Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore” for $30 ($15 off the jacket price). Make your reservation (limited to 2 per party) by calling Street at 323.203.0500 or by go to Opentable.com.
742 N. HIGHLAND AVE
LOS ANGELES, CA 90038
323.203.0500
www.eatatstreet.com
Why can’t LA manage to come up with at least one really great Indian restaurant? I’m talking about the likes of which one sees in London. They have the most fantastic places like Amaya (http://www.amaya.biz/) that are sleek blends of hip style, incredible food, chill beats, and lively bar scenes. Going out for Indian is a whole night of entertainment. Sadly, LA lacks anything like it. I know there’s Tanzore. I like the ambiance but the food, while good enough, never manages to deliver the wow punch. Then there’s reliable old Bombay Cafe, which hasn’t changed in years. It’s more of mid-week restaurant than a big night out. There are a smattering of places in Beverly Hills and across the city, but still…they just fall a little short. So I give up. I decided to try to create an Indian dinner party at home. Hip Bollywood remixes, lush tropical flowers, and exotic scents set the mood. I chose a few fusion-y starters and nibbles, as well as a mango fool for dessert. For the main, I settled on a Goan curry from Camellia Panjabi’s authoritative tome, “The Great Curries Of India”. Where was I going to find all the ingredients for this meal? Little India of course! I headed straight to Pioneer Blvd in Artesia for one-stop shopping. I found everything easily enough (except for “true Kashmiri chilis” that Ms. Panjabi insists upon). But I had another motive for driving that far. Ever since I read in the LA Times about a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that specializes in Mumbai street food, and in particular a sandwich called a “dabeli”, I had to try it. So after much searching and u-turns, I eventually ended up at Mumbai Ki Galliyon Se (From the streets of Mumbai). Inside the simply decorated restaurant, I met the owner, Sailesh Shah, who with his wife have shaken up the Artesia food scene. A gentle, unassuming man, Sailesh spoke to me at length about his profound beliefs in vegetarianism and the teachings of Gandhi. It seemed clear to me that he was a deeply spiritual man. He took time away from his busy day to go through my shopping list, instructing me on what to look for and which of the local markets was likely to have the obscure ingredients. Then he added my name to a waiting list of people desperate to spend an afternoon in a cooking class with him, his 13-year-old daughter (who he brags is an amazing chef), and another Italian/Indian fusion chef from Napa. The list has grown to 400 since the article in the Times. Finally he brought me the dabeli, or to be more exact, two dabeli which is one order. They consist of a feathery toasted bun cradling a wonderfully spicy, soft, and crumbly Mumbai-masala potato patty. The flavors are then layered with chili peanuts, halved green grapes, raw onion, and pomegranate seeds. The effect is dazzling! The sandwiches are spicy, salty, sweet, tart, crunchy all at the same time. The overall sensation is pure heaven. I ate in a trance, washing them down with an iced yogurt drink flavored with saffron, cardamom, pistachio, and almond. The complexity of this “piyush” floored me and left me feeling refreshed, exhilarated, and extremely lucky. Ever since I shook hands with Sailesh and left Mumbai Ki Galliyon Se, I have not been able to stop thinking about the dabeli. Perhaps I’ll have to host another Indian dinner party soon… Oh, and the evening was a smash success!
Mumbai Ki Galliyon Se
17705 Pioneer Blvd, Artesia, Ca 90701 (562) 860-6699
The Mozza Brand has been busy, busy lately. They announced today another in their popular series of wine dinners. This one features Daniele Gaja, rep for Azienda Agricola Elvio Cogno of Borolo fame. Matt Molina’s sensational dinner will be served with a selection of the famous winery’s best, including a number of Boroli, and an “Anas-Cetta”, an ancient white variety native to Novello. The event is on Monday September 13th at 7:30 PM and costs $150. You know the story… as usual, the seating is extremely limited so if you’re a Borolo fanatic, (and you reading this know who I’m talking about) get on the stick by sending and email ASAP to Osteria Mozza’s Manager of Special Events, Sara Parenti via email: sparenti@mozza-la.com.
A favorite staycation getaway for me is the sleepy but incredibly beautiful and demure Montecito, just south of her louder and more narcissistic sister, Santa Barbara. While I can’t say that the food scene here is anything to marvel about, you get to have that food with some of the most impressive views in Southern California. When you need a break from padding Ty Warner’s pockets, the perfect place to arrange an impromptu picnic lunch on sunny (hopefully) butterfly beach is Pierre Lafond Market & Deli. Start upstairs for the charming selection of culinary and serving ware, books, and unique European scented products. All of it is completely unnecessary but I defy you to come away without purchasing something. The shop has a small but interesting supply of hard-to-find cooking supplies: pastas, olive oils, vinegars, cheeses, and spices. Finally, order a sandwich or choose from the impressive selection of ready-made deli items and voila! Instant romantic get-away from LA.
516 San Ysidro Road, Montecito (805) 565-1504
Who isn’t dying to know how they do that thing they do with mozzarella at Osteria Mozza? I have dreams about the artichoke, pinenut, mint, and cheese combination but I can’t seem to make it taste the same. Lucky for us that Mozza’s Scuola di Pizza is offering a mozzarella class with Mimo Bruno, owner and cheese artisan from Di Stefano Cheese. The workshop is on Tuesday September 21st & Wednesday September 22nd 7-9:30pm. Rumor has it that Nancy herself will be demonstrating some of her iconic dishes. Let’s pray for the artichoke… Cost is $150 per person and as always, classes fill up so hurry!
Signs are up in the window, and the liquor license was applied for on 8/12/10, but no other sign of activity on the conversion of the old Xooro space and adjacent at 123-125 Broadway in Santa Monica for the upcoming move of Thai Dishes aka Buddha Boy. Stay tuned.
Having recently returned from the Amalfi coast in Italy, we were enchanted by the amazing whites of the region; Falanghina, Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo. We found them to be bright, crisp, minerally, and not only did they pair excellently with the food of the region, but matched the lifestyle as well. If you’ve never heard of them, you owe it to yourself to give them a try. If you’d like to learn more about them, Osteria Mozza has a great opportunity: a special dinner on Friday August 27th at 7:30 hosted by Lucio Mastroberardino of Terredora di Paolo will showcase the incredible wines of Campania. Of course Matt Molina’s food won’t be so bad either… Cost is $150 contact Mozza’s Special Events Director Sara Parenti at sparenti@mozza-la.com ASAP.
Toddrickallen 