Ah, Autumn. There’s a thrill in the crisp air as you anticipate the upcoming season… for holiday cooking demos! The latest one is at Whole Foods at 23rd and Wilshire in Santa Monica. Natural foods personal chef Christine Oppenheim will lead you through the world of vegan Halloween treats this Saturday, October 22nd at 1:00pm. Included on the menu are caramel apple bites, pumpkin pie dip, and pecan pie shake. Cost is free, reserve at sp.smc.marketing@wholefoods.com.
September 27th saw the release of the brand-spankin’ new The Mozza Cookbook: Recipes from Los Angeles’s Favorite Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria by Nancy Silverton with Matt Molina, Carolyn Carreno, and intro by Mario Batali. Now’s your chance to score the new book and get it signed by Nancy herself, along with Matt Molina, the executive chef of Mozza. The book signing will take place on Sunday, October 23rd from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at the Mozza Scuola di Pizza (next to Mozza2Go at 6610 Melrose). You might want to get there early…
This Sunday October 16th, Native Foods founder Chef Tanya Petrovna, (who clearly loves Halloween and will be dressed as a witch) will be leading a free cooking demo at her Native Foods Cafe in Culver City at 9:30am. Included on the menu will be chewy dirt clod bites, green goo goblin stew, and witches warts. And if that weren’t enough, all Native Foods Cafes will be offering a special Vampire Burger from October 28th through October 31st. What is a vampire burger you ask? Blackened seitan with Native chili, Native cheese, served with garlic fries and beet salad. Reserve a seat for you and up to three of your friends for the demo by following this link: Nativefoods.com. Native Foods is at 9343 Culver Blvd. in CC.
While well-known cheese authority Andrew Steiner of Andrew’s Cheese Shop in Santa Monica periodically offers classes and tastings at his Montana Ave. store, the former Patina Maitre d’Fromage is hosting a free event on Tuesday, Oct. 18th at 7:00pm in the Fairview Branch of the Santa Monica Public Library. In Cheese 101, Andrew will lead you through the basics of cheese, its history and origins. Seats are likely to book up, so secure yours by calling (310) 458-8681. Find out more about Andrew’s programs by visiting http://andrewscheese.com/ . The Fairview Branch of the Santa Monica Library (http://smpl.org/) is located at 2101 Ocean Park Blvd.
Breadbar’s latest pop up makes its debut this weekend. Being billed as “creative, affordable, modern haute cuisine”, Bistronomics Lucky 13 will run every weekend through October at Breadbar in the Century City Shopping Center from 6:00pm until 11:00pm. Chefs Jet Tila (ChefJet.com) with Alex Ageneau (sous at The Royce) will be offering a French and Asian blend seasonal menu. Reservations will be hard to come by… Get yours by calling (310) 277-3770. Read more here: http://www.breadbar.net/archives/966.
This Tuesday, October 11th, Susan Feniger’s Street is going “herbivore like never before”. They are offering a seven course vegetarian tasting menu (that can even be made vegan upon request) for only $45! Here’s the menu:
Autumn Squash Soup with Balkan-style Flatbreads
Malaysian Vegetable Springrolls
Indian Spiced Melon with Homemade Paneer and Pickled Chiles
Stuffed Tempura: Shiso Leaf, Toybox Pepper, Kabocha
Braised Endive Gratin with Herbed Breadcrumbs and Late Harvest Tomatoes
Wild Mushroom Piroshki
Almond Cake with Bitter Orange and Peach Marmalade
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Reservations are likely to sell out so get yours ASAP by calling (323) 203-0500.
www.eatatstreet.com
742 N. Highland Los Angeles, CA 90038
Phone: 323.203.0500
Thanks to reader Zaine at Zaine Colour Salon, Toddrickallen has learned that a new tea shop is going into the vacant space on the corner of 16th and Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. Hoping to anchor the other end of the block from Sweet Lady Jane, Josh Pourgal (a businessman who already has a presence on Montana with Bellacures) will be opening the tea shop in the old Sun Precautions space at 1601 Montana. Called Fenjune, the new store will be offering specialty tea, loose leaf teas, “tea concoctions”, fresh fruit and veggie juices, smoothies, macaroons, gifts and gourmet items. You’ll be able to sip your tea at a communal table while reading Paris Vogue from the international news stand that Pourgal will be installing on the blank wall of the store that faces 16th. Sounds like a refreshing change to pull people away from the tired coffee chains that choke the western end of Montana. Look for an opening sometime in November. (Remember, this is Santa Monica… so fingers crossed!)
OK, so they’ve had their share of delays… (Original date for opening was July 1st, then Sept. 1st, then simply “September”), but the plucky little outpost of sandwich chain Charley’s Grilled Subs has finally opened yesterday (Thursday) in the Century City Shopping Center. You can check out their menu here: http://www.charleys.com/. Read more here: Toddrickallen:Charely’sGrilledSubsDelays, Toddrickallen:NewRestaurantsComingToCenturyCity.
Work continues fast and furiously on the new Tortilla Republic going into the old Fat Fish space next to Sur at 616 North Robertson in West Hollywood. They have recently posted their flashy new application to sell alcoholic bevs. Shouldn’t be too long now…
The Counter, the build-your-own burger joint is now officially open in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center on the first floor near Rocksugar. Check out their menu here: thecounterburger.com. And don’t forget to drop in on October 1st, World Vegetarian Day, for a complimentary mini veggie burger.
La Gourmandise School in The Market at Santa Monica Place is offering a free tour of the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market and a cooking demo program called “Follow that Chef!” For absolutely no charge, you get to shop with a guest chef, then return to La Gourmandise School for a private demonstration and tasting. Classes start at 9:00am and meet by the kiosk at 3rd and Arizona, but you must have a reservation, which you can make here: cookingschoolsofamerica.com/thegourmandiseschool. This Saturday, Sept. 24th, the guest chef will be Kirsten Gum, Caterer and star of Travel Channel’s Treasure Hunter. You’d better hurry; classes fill quickly.
Taking over the space next door to the original Kreation Kafe restaurant at 1023B Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, Kreation Juicery has now opened for business. Although they’ve been open since Saturday, this is only the soft opening. Look for a grand opening sometime next week. On the menu are a variety of, you guessed it, fresh cold-pressed juices, smoothies, shakes, and custom blends with names like glow, relax, and trinity twist, the latter being a combination of lemon, apple, carrot, and beet. Read more about Kreation’s vision at http://www.kreationkafe.com/.
As readers will know, I’ve been following the progress of Urban Fresh, which took over the Mr. Kicco’s Coffee space at 9679 Wilshire in Beverly Hills. After a few delays, the casual eatery is now finally open. Look for a menu of organic coffees and teas, juices, farmer’s market-driven salads and sandwiches.
This Sunday September 18th at 9:30am, you can get a chance to catch up with busy Chef Tanya Petrovna, founder, executive Chef and co-owner of vegan fave Native Foods Cafe who will be leading a cooking demo at the Culver City location. Included on the menu will be a creamy wild mushroom soup, September morning apple cobbler, and something curiously called Honey I forgot the cauliflower in the oven. Catch her while you can… with six locations in So. Cal and a newly opened outpost in Chicago (with more to come), she will be opening two new California locations soon in Newport Beach and San Diego. Reserve your seat at nativefoods.com/events/.
This just landed in my inbox… It’s official, the Hotel Bel-Air, which has been closed since October 2009 for renovations, will officially open its doors to guests on October 14th. Of course we’re all dying to get into the new restaurant, Wolfgang Puck at the Hotel Bel-Air, but we’ll just have to wait a bit longer. The restaurant and bar won’t be open to non-guests until November 1st. The highly anticipated restaurant will be managed by executive chef Sonny Sweetman and will feature a menu with “modern California with European and Mediterranean influences” in a dining room meant to evoke the “glamour of the Golden Age of Hollywood”. They are offering a special preview rate of $565 with a $100 dining credit, but you can try your luck at winning a room on their Facebook page here: http://apps.facebook.com/hotelbelair/contests/115576/invites/new?just_entered=true&show_newsfeed=1
Check out photos of the new restaurant here: http://www.facebook.com/WolfgangPuckatHotelBelAir
Seed Bistro, the newly opened vegan, macro, and organic restaurant in West LA commences lunch service today (Tuesday) from 11:30am to 2:00pm. Read more at Seedbistro.com.
As per the sign across the front, it looks like the fast spreading burger joint, The Counter, is set to open September 21st in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center.
Looks like they made it… Tender Greens on the corner of 2nd and Arizona in Santa Monica is, as of Saturday, now open.
It’s taken a while, but it looks like (fingers crossed) Tender Greens will open tomorrow, (Saturday 10th) in the old Lighthouse seafood buffet building on the corner of 2nd and Arizona in Santa Monica. They had hoped to open yesterday (Thursday), but…wait for it… they had problems with a permit from the City of Santa Monica (feign surprise). All should be ironed out by tomorrow. In the mean time, here’s a quick glimpse into the bright and airy space…
Read more at http://www.tendergreensfood.com/locations/santa-monica/
Are you a vegan who loves Indian food? Troubled by the ubiquitousness of ghee, cream, and panir? Well now you can have your kheer and eat it too. La Gourmandise School in Santa Monica is offering a vegan Indian class at the Market at Santa Monica Place. Lead by Kaumudi of pop-up Un-Curry fame (Un-Curry.com), you will learn the basics of navigating your way around Indian fare without animal products. Included on the menu will be: cucumber-peanut salad with curry leaf seasoning, tofu “paneer” makhanwala, and creamy lentils with garlic & chilies. The 3 hour class is this Monday, Sept. 12th at 2:00pm and costs $95. Check out http://www.cookingschoolsofamerica.com/thegourmandiseschool/index.php?flag_menu_index=reservation_php#227 for reservations and more info.
Toddrickallen 