During the month of January, Susan Feniger’s Street has made everything on their lunch menu a very reasonable $11. So there’s only one week left to take advantage of this deal. Chances are you’ll get an opportunity to chat with workhorse Susan herself, who’s a champion palm-presser and seems to be there, well, always. (Once I asked her for the recipe for the amazing kaya toast, and she promptly emailed it to me!)
www.eatatstreet.com
742 N. Highland Los Angeles, CA 90038
Phone: 323.203.0500
Attention multi-taskers! M Café de Chaya is announcing a new express menu at both their Beverly Hills and Melrose locations. The idea is a limited menu of 5 items so you can run in, grab, and be out the door in 5 minutes. Included on the menu is the M Chopped Salad and the Madras Tempe Wrap with Kale Salad. There is also a limited beverage menu. And if you’re in such a hurry that you can’t manage 5 minutes, they have new curbside pick-up as well, which begs the question: Will eating a macrobiotic tempe wrap while stuck in traffic on the 405 cancel out the effects of each? Check out more at www.mcafedechaya.com
Looking to create more family time in 2011? Then head down to the Santa Monica Williams-Sonoma this Saturday January 22nd, where Laurie David and Kirstin Uhrenholdt will be signing copies of their book The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time. The signing will start at 12:00 noon and you must have purchased your book from W-S.
Williams-Sonoma 1600 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA, 90403
While we’re on the subject of out with the old, in with the new, it looks like Leonidas, the Belgian chocolatier at the corner of Santa Monica and 4th in Santa Monica has called it a day and it didn’t take long for the store to be stripped to the bones. There is a sign on the door stating that Jamba Juice is renovating the space. As confirmed by an employee at the Jamba Juice almost across the street on Santa Monica Blvd, they will be moving into the new location sometime around the end of February.
It looks like Malibu’s old-school Italian staple, Tra di Noi is expanding into Beverly Hills. It didn’t take long for another old-school Italian, Prego at 362 N. Camden to clear out and make way for Tra di Noi’s spinoff La Focacceria, as per the sign on the door. No word on the menu yet, but I’m going to take a big leap here and guess old-school Italian. I’ll keep you posted… In the mean time, here’s Tra di Noi’s menu: http://www.tradinoimalibu.com/MENU.htm.
I snapped a photo of the progress on the Market At Santa Monica Place, the Ferry Building style fresh marketplace atop the new mall in Santa Monica. Still boarded up and wrapped in plastic, it’s difficult to get a glimpse inside. It looks like they still have a way to go, but you can get a sense of the individual stalls from the photo. I’ll keep you posted… Read more at https://toddrickallen.com/2010/10/04/the-market-santa-monica-place/
Overdid it a little during the holidays? M Café de Chaya has got the solution to too much figgy pudding and eggnog. Jessica Porter, author of The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics leads a “post-holiday detox” cooking demo at the Beverly Hills location. The menu includes carrot-daikon tonic, rice and avocado and corn salad, and purple passion stew and greens. The demo will be followed by a macrobiotics Q&A and booksigning. Cost is $45 per person. 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13. E-mail amy@mcafedechaya.com to reserve a space.
9433 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills; (310) 858-8459; www.mcafedechaya.com.
With four locations in California and others throughout the US, it looks like CrêpeMaker, a chain of restaurants that specializes in a variety of savory and dessert crepes is coming to the food court in Santa Monica Place. Check out their website here http://www.crepemaker.com/.
I just noticed the sign up tonight in the old Claypit Indian Restaurant space at 145 Barrington in Brentwood Village announcing that the fresh and cheerful restaurant Lemonade will be moving in. With four locations in LA and one in USC, it looks like the upscale lemonade stand in spreading out. Check out the menu here http://lemonadela.com/menu-ii to see what you’re likely to get besides sugary citrus beverages.
I haven’t been able to check this out because the store is closed until January 6th, but I noticed this sign in the window of L’Epicerie de Paris in Beverly Hills that clearly states that the store is moving out of its present location. I’ll post more info after I talk with Arnaud, the store manager. Read more about L’Epicerie at http://wp.me/pIwAN-7Q.
L’Epicerie de Paris 310 North Camden Drive in Beverly Hills, 90210
I noticed this bit of sad news in the form of a crumpled piece of paper taped to the door of Angelina’s Frozen Yogurt, a local favorite at 430 N. Bedford Dr. in Beverly Hills. In an apparently heartless move, Santa by way of the sheriff’s department issued a “writ of possession of real property” (otherwise known as an eviction). The date of the eviction was 12/21 and Angelina’s had to be out by the day after Christmas! Needless to say, it probably wasn’t a joyful Christmas for the people behind Angelina’s.
Susan Feniger’s Street is throwing a New Year’s Eve bash complete with a special menu that promises to “explode all five” of your senses… plus one more!? (Hmmm) Actually the sixth sense is a surprise to take home with you. Entitled Essence of the Senses, the themed night boasts a 5 course menu of exotic bites from around the globe including such enticing treasures as ear of corn tamale with fresh corn, roasted poblano chiles, pumpkin, and huitlacoche and Indian sev puri crisps with spiced potatoes, two chutneys, yogurt and cilantro water. See entire menu here http://www.eatatstreet.com/pdfs/nye10.pdf. And, you can soothe your aching head at their brunch the following day provided you can get out of bed. For more info or to make a rezzie, call 323.203.0500 or check out www.eatatstreet.com.
So I got a chance to pop into the new Veggie Grill at 2025 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica for a Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ sandwich (which I love) and chatted with the manager. Besides telling me that they expect their liquor license to arrive any day (Thank God!), he informed me that they are opening two new branches. One in Rolling Hills Plaza on the corner of PCH and Crenshaw in Torrance, and the other will open in late May in Farmer’s Market at Fairfax and Third. Go Veggie Grill! http://www.veggiegrill.com/
On Tuesday Dec 21, from 6:00pm to 7:00pm, M Cafe de Chaya at 9344 Brighton Way in Beverly Hills will be hosting a vegan baking demonstration by Erin McKenna of Babycakes NYC. Included in the program will be a recipe for brownies, Q & A, and booksigning. Cost is $25. Sign up at amy@mcafedechaya.com. You can read more at http://www.mcafedechaya.com/or http://www.babycakesnyc.com/.
Breaking news! Just heard from the manager Sauro, that Bar Toscana is now open, next door to sister restaurant and Brentwood mainstay, Toscana at 11633 San Vicente Blvd. The cozy space features a menu of Italian tapas and an emphasis on mixology utilizing fresh herbs, fruits, and other fresh ingredients. I’ll post more shortly… Until then, read more at https://toddrickallen.com/2010/10/25/bar-toscana-brentwood/.
Ok, so I had a peek into Jeffrey Cerciello’s FARMshop in the Brentwood Country Market. Obviously the ‘Shop’ part is incomplete. But the restaurant half bears a striking resemblance to the previous inhabitant, City Bakery. This left me and a number of local business patrons with whom I spoke wondering what the hell they were doing behind those boarded up doors for such a long time. The restaurant is structured exactly the same. Even the pastries look the same. Hmmm.
Susan Feniger’s Street has announced a new line of cocktails to put you in the holiday spirit after a wearying day of Christmas shopping. Pop in for a little constitutional after you’ve braved the crowds at Bev Center to find the perfect tie for Uncle Vincent.
Bru’s Wiffle, which you may remember reading about here http://wp.me/pIwAN-bQ, is now open at 2408 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. Billing itself as a “Waffle Joint”, they serve both savory and sweet waffles made from a secret batter recipe. Breakfast waffles are topped with scrambled eggs and a variety of other toppings such as the “Popeye” which includes tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, and onions. Open for lunch and dinner as well, the simple savory waffle menu includes a pizza waffle and a chili cheese waffle. They also have salads and sides, and a drink menu consisting of coffees, teas, lemonade, and banana milk. Read more at bruswiffle.com.
Just noticed that a sign went up at the Veggie Grill construction site on the corner of Wilshire and 20th in Santa Monica indicating that Mexican chain Poquito Mas is somehow also going into the same space. Interesting…
Here’s a great opportunity for fans of Amarone della Valpolicella: Osteria Mozza is hosting a special wine dinner next Monday, December 6th featuring the Italian red. On hand will be Tony Apostolako from Masi Agricole whose vineyards have been producing wine since the 12th Century. He will be guiding the tasting of rare wines coupled with Matt Molina’s food. Cost is $150 and seating limited so act fast! Contact Sara Parenti at Mozza for rezzies or more info at sparenti@mozza-la.com .
