I live in a great neighborhood. Westfield Century City Mall and Westwood Village are both walking distance. Walgreen’s and Coffee Bean and Tealeaf are too. There’s even a stellar newsstand adjacent to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. That being said I could count the times I’ve actually walked there on both hands and I’ve lived there for 27 years. Ahem.
The thing is, when it’s a neighborhood business, you’re liable to stumble upon it and think you discovered it. But no, I just happened to live up the street from the best caviar store in town.
The Bel Air Caviar Merchant’s storefront looks more like a Psychic Reading parlor than the premier caviar supplier for the Westside. I’d say it’s a well kept secret, but its really not. People stake out their orders and wait patiently on folded chairs in a makeshift lobby. Business is done behind a screen.
Day 29 of 31 Days Of Pie is Lemon Meringue Pie from Kate McDermott, Art Of The Pie
Growing up, we spent the month of August at a tennis resort near La Jolla, California. For me, it was like going to camp each year. The same families came back year after year and our days were filled with lots of tennis, stealing golf carts, movie night, and lunch at the “club house”. As a young child, sitting in the club house with my friends, drinking my “Tab” with lemon and ordering my own lunch was a huge treat.
I just can’t forget the truffle pasta we enjoyed at the American Embassy residence in Rome accompanied by homemade Limoncello served by Ambassador John Phillips himself. We walked the catacombs under the Embassy to get to the wine cellar where just the three of us including my husband Mike ate the best Limoncello and pasta in the world. It was simple with butter and truffle, just pure food magic. 
Hot fluffy biscuits right out of the oven from 
Whenever I'm in Hayes Valley around lunchtime, I'm always tempted to stop by 