I recently joined Facebook and that is another story for another time, but its relevant to what I’m telling you because I’ve never made a friend this way until recently.
I was reading my favorite magazine, The Believer. I always turn to Sedaratives when I first get it and this month it was written by a girl named Julie Klausner. It was very funny and caused me to look up her web site where I read some of her other material. Even funnier. I wrote on her “wall” telling her how much I liked her writing. One thing led to another and I was taking her out to lunch because she was here from New York on a book tour. Her book, I Don’t Care About Your Band, had some of the funniest things I’d ever read about relationships.
When trying to figure out where to eat, she assumed that I might have that “California” thing and be all ‘food restriction-y”. I told her I was a native and that kind of crap was usually behavior adopted by people who move here. One thing we got out of the way right immediately was that neither of us was a vegan or vegetarian. We had some really arch things to say about people who are, but I’m not going to repeat them because you never know, right?
So, I thought, “Burgers!”
Is there an uptick in the number of French restaurants in Los
Angeles? I certainly hope so. French food = comfort food. At least in
the case of Le Saint Amour in Culver City. I haven’t kept track, and I
don’t really know actual figures but it seems to me that there are more
and more French restaurants opening in Los Angeles. And that’s a good
thing. We’ve been so Italian for so long that I’m ready for the return
of France. The best recent example of this was my weekend visit to the
very French Le Saint Amour, a Culver City restaurant that has been open
for a year and a half.
Sometimes it pays to be in the right place at the right time. In the case of the epic, pre-opening meal I got to enjoy at Trattoria Neapolis last week, I just happened to be at home to get the call. Our friends think we eat out all the time, but our "foodie" cred is mere illusion. Yes, we like to eat well when we go out (who wants to get dressed up and fight traffic for a mediocre meal), however, to us the wine/beverage program is just as important and finding places that are impressive on both the food and beverage sides of the menu are rare.
There’s a new cake in town. Actually, it’s a whole boutique full of cake and it’s here to stay! Lady M, the glorious cake boutique with three locations in New York City opened in LA last August, quietly without much fanfare but with a line out the door. It seems word spread fast among cake connoisseurs.
To great acclaim, José Andrés recently opened four restaurants (Rojo,
Blanco, Saam, & Patisserie) and a bar (Bar Centro) on the ground
floor of the SLS Hotel (465 S. La Cienega, Los Angeles, CA 90048;
310/246-5555). Collectively called The Bazaar, the space reflects
Andrés' elegance, playfulness, energy, and love of food.