It is undeniable that agave spirits have risen in popularity and are neck and neck with vodka sales (the most popular), according to many industry professionals.  

Actor and Beverly Park resident Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has built a lifestyle platform around his Teremana tequila brand, rooted in his Polynesian background. “Mana has always been a part of my life and my culture,” says Johnson. “It’s the spirit and energy we bring into every room and every interaction.” 

This new initiative was created to prove that positivity and optimism, or “mana,” is contagious, so the actor has launched a series of culinary gatherings with over 100 people for a community experience at one long table, where food and drinks are shared, called “Share The Mana, Share The Table.” “It’s about creating a real platform for people to learn about the power of coming together, connecting, and feeling that contagious positive energy,” he said. “The chance to share that with more communities everywhere means the world to me.” 

Johnson is not simply putting his name on a brand but personally tasted 113 distillations when developing his tequila (in 2020), which has three expressions: Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo, all under a $40 price range, and can be found at Saks Fifth Avenue, Spago, The Hideaway, Mastro’s, and Craig’s, among others. teremana.com

Academy Award-winning actor Benicio del Toro is the co-owner of high-end brand Perro Verde Mezcal, handcrafted by a fifth-generation family of Oaxacan mezcaleros for over 120 years, but he has taken this endeavor a stylish step further. Co-founded by Juan Santiago Rodriguez and Mariana Carvajal, the Colombian-born, L.A.-based couple reshaping luxury in the spirits world, and mezcal producer Don Porfirio Chagoya, they are offering three expressions: Espadin, Blend, and Tobasiche, bottled in fashionable green-hued glass vessels with wooden stoppers, that would look perfect on any home bar cart.

“I connected with Perro Verde because it embodies the spirit of imagination, craft, and heritage. And it tastes pretty good too,” del Toro told the Courier.

Carvajal taps into her background in fashion and time spent in Paris to bring a minimalist elegance with the sculptural bottle design—an homage to French apothecaries. Rodriguez, who comes from the floral world, approaches mezcal like a botanist and storyteller, with a deep reverence for the land, the agave, and the generations behind its craft. 

Launched earlier this year with several parties in Beverly Hills at the Horseshoe House and at the Hotel Bel-Air, fans include Formula 1 champion Jenson Button, actor Kevin Connolly, designer Marc Ange, and producer Rick Yorn, among others. 

Perro Verde Mezcal was inspired by the colloquial Spanish and Latin American expression “Más raro que un perro verde,” which translates to “rarer than a green dog,” a nod to its extraordinary taste, which spans from yellow apples to lemongrass. With prices starting at $72 up to $325, it’s also available at Wally’s in Beverly Hills and Brentwood Fine Wines, or for cocktails at Honor Bar on South Beverly Drive and Eataly Century City, to name a few. perroverdemezcal.com

From Jalisco to Rodeo Drive

For a true born-in-Beverly Hills spirits success story, Rodeo de las Aguas Tequila, produced by Doheny Road Spirits, was conceived locally by Tony Garcia and producer-director-writer Jefery Levy (his wife Pam Levy co-founded Juicy Couture clothing brand), who lives in talk show host Merv Griffin’s former estate on Doheny Road. 

After meeting in a wine tasting group about 25 years ago, Tony and Jef decided after many discussions on the history of the area—the brand name pays homage to Maria Rita Valdez and her El Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas (The Ranch of the Gathering of Waters), a 4,500-acre expanse of fertile hills and natural springs dating back to 1838 in Beverly Hills—and the abundant water source, to launch a tequila company. After researching and tasting tequila brands during the COVID-19 pandemic, they started working hand-in-hand with master tequilero Álvaro Ramírez and CEO Enrique Balderas. 

“I just took everything I learned from wine,” recalls Garcia, who has traveled extensively in Burgundy, France and Piedmont, Italy. “The French term ‘terroir’ [in this case rooted in the red soil from mineral-rich highlands of Southern Los Altos de Jalisco] can also be applied to the agave fields, along with the highlands and the lowlands. There’s a difference in water and where it’s produced. Tequila from the highlands is more premium,” he added.

That approach has clearly paid off as the brand’s five expressions, which start with a Blanco at a $44 price point, Reposado, Añejo, Cristalino, and 5-year extra Añejo, at $225, have collectively garnered 52 medals, and counting, including Platinum, Double Gold, Silver, Bronze, Best of Show, Best in Class, Innovation Award and Design awards.

Can’t decide? The brand has launched a mini bottle set of all the expressions that would make a perfect stocking stuffer or hostess gift for $39.99 and is available at Wally’s or Total Wine. rodeodelasaguas.com 

Not Your Granddad’s Rye

The most surprising brand launch of recent note has been the Beverly Spirits Beverly High Rye, which is catching on with a younger demographic. It was founded by 30-something local Andrew Borenzweig—who “fell in love” with rye while working at Drake’s whiskey company, Virginia Black, when he was just 20 years old. The young entrepreneur set out to create a rye that was not “too rough” but still harnessing that spicy flavor and infusing some of the richness while balancing it with a little bit of sweetness that you find in a bourbon. 

The blend has struck a chord. In just a few short years, his rye has quickly been featured in specialty cocktails in some of the hottest restaurants and bars in Beverly Hills. These range from Funke to Cipriani (Beverly High Rye is used in the house Manhattan), The Grill on the Alley’s “Beverly Manhattan,” The Beverly Hills Hotel Polo Lounge, the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel, and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, along with Erewhon for holiday gifting ($64.99 for the original expression). 

The brand has also created a special blend for The Beverly Hilton Hotel’s 70th anniversary. “The Beverly Hilton has such a special history,” Borenzweig told the Courier. “We wanted to honor that legacy of all of the celebrations that have happened at this hotel over the years.” The team took one of their signature blends, The Beverly Reserve, which is 60% straight bourbon, 40% straight rye, and bottled it at 100 proof, just for The Beverly Hilton. The result is a rich blend that is perfect for sipping neat. It can be purchased at the bar or delivered to a room as an amenity for $270 per bottle.

For a limited time, The Beverly Hilton Reserve will also be featured on the Decades drinks menu at CIRCA 55 Restaurant + Lounge, with signature cocktails crafted by award-winning bartender and author Jeffrey Morgenthaler, including the “Golden Hour,” made with The Beverly Hilton Reserve, bianco vermouth, crème de pêche, thyme liqueur, and black lemon bitters.

Pop star Beyoncé has also stepped into the arena with SirDavis American Whisky, which was the official spirit of her Cowboy Carter Tour. Founded by Knowles-Carter herself, the spirit, encased in a tall, beveled glass bottle with a raised gold horse emblem, has rich and buttery toffee notes, and can be found at several local Beverly Hills and L.A. restaurants and bars, including The Maybourne Beverly Hills, L’Ermitage Beverly Hills and West Hollywood Edition. The “Honey Bee” cocktail, recipe in the sidebar, is perfect for chillier holiday weather. 

Honey Bee Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz. SirDavis American Whisky

• .75 oz. Lemon Juice

• .5 oz. Honey Syrup*

• Honeycomb garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add liquid ingredients to a shaker tin with ice going in last. Shake for dilution and pour into a coupe glass. Garnish with honeycomb.

*To make honey syrup, add 2 parts honey and 1 part water into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the honey is dissolved. Allow to cool and transfer to an airtight container. 

Other celebrities that have “side hustles” in the spirits industry include rock star fashion designer John Varvatos in West Hollywood, who launched Villa One company with Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers right before the pandemic. “We come from two different ends of the world, but somehow we connected,” said Varvatos. “We ended up collaborating on fashion and a fragrance and we really hit it off. Every time we were together in L.A., we would celebrate over tequila.” Villa One is made at the brand’s own craft distillery, Fabrica de Tequilas Finos in Jalisco, using traditional techniques and natural ingredients for three expressions (Silver, Reposado and Añejo). villaonetequila.com

Walton Goggins of “White Lotus” fame quietly started his Mulholland Distilling brand with Matthew Alpert as a cinematic ode and celebration of their love for Los Angeles. They produce gin, whisky, and vodka which are meant to be enjoyed with friends—and even strangers. mulhollanddistilling.com

Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh has a spirit called Singani 63 that he discovered while filming in Bolivia and is responsible for developing the brand and bringing it to the U.S. market. The unique brandy is distilled from white Muscat of Alexandria grapes and can be found at wine.com. 

The post Celebrity Spirits on the Rise appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

1. Beverly Hills

Perfect for: A delightful Sunday morning with the entire family

When: Sundays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: 9300 Civic Center Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210

When it comes to the best farmers’ markets around Beverly Hills, look no farther than the heart of the city itself. Now in its 32nd year, the Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market boasts 55 vendors in a peaceful, car-free environment that allows kids to have a blast while parents pick out the perfect produce for dinner. 

“The Farmers’ Market has become a very important place for community members to gather and connect with their neighbors, not to mention, it’s a great way to support local farms and small businesses,” said Stephanie Harris, Beverly Hills Director of Community Services.

Located on Civic Center Drive, adjacent to the Beverly Hills Public Library, the market provides access to a wide variety of farm-fresh, seasonal fruits, vegetables, eggs, meats, juices, breads, baked goods and more. It also gives residents access to the knowledge of expert farmers, who can advise on how to store and prepare the best of the season’s produce. 

“We have farmers that have been with us for more than a decade, and they are enthusiastic about sharing their expertise,” said Harris. “It’s wonderful when our market patrons engage with our farmers to learn more about their produce and show appreciation for locally sourced food.” 

During the fall and summer harvest, residents also have the opportunity to sample some of the most locally grown goods imaginable—fresh herbs and vegetables from the Greystone Demonstration Garden at Greystone Mansion, such as eggplants, onions, peppers and basil. 

Little visitors are also sure to enjoy tasting delicious samples, dancing to the live music, getting creative at the craft tent, riding ponies and feeding goats at the petting zoo. Two hours of free parking in the Civic Center lot makes a trip to the market a no-brainer for the whole family. 

On Oct. 26 the market will host its annual Fall Funtastic celebrating Día de los Muertos, Halloween and Diwali. Then on Dec. 14, it will host a Holiday Craft Fair, where local artisans will showcase their creations, perfect for holiday gift shopping.

2. Brentwood

Perfect for: Impressing your teen while getting great groceries

When: Sundays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: 741 S. Gretna Green Way, Los Angeles, CA 90049

The Brentwood Farmers’ Market is a bustling and trendy Sunday gathering perfect for picking out fresh fruit, gorgeous blooms as well as delicious, prepared soups, dips and sandwiches. The market is often packed and sometimes not ideal for small children, but a fantastic place to bring teenage children who will love checking out the many cute jewelry vendors or fun food trucks serving arepas, aguas frescas, breakfast burritos, overflowing crepes and other tasty goodies.

3. Downtown Santa Monica 

Perfect for: The expert or aspiring chef in pursuit of perfect seasonal ingredients

When: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: 155-199 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Founded in 1981, the Downtown Santa Monica Farmers’ Market is one of the oldest and best-known farmers’ markets in all of Los Angeles, featuring more than 60 California farms. The market, which places an emphasis on fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables over packaged or cooked foods, is a favorite place for chefs to source ingredients for many of LA’s best restaurants. Some of its regular visitors include Josiah Citrin of two-Michelin-star restaurant Mélisse and one-Michelin-star restaurant Citrin; Travis Lett of Gjelina and RVR; and Evan Funke of Funke, Felix Trattoria and Mother Wolf.

4. Hollywood 

Perfect for: A big, bustling weekend adventure

When: Sundays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: 1600 Ivar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028

The Hollywood Farmers’ Market is the largest in the L.A. area, boasting more than 160 stalls featuring farmers, food vendors and artisans. Founded in 1991, the mega market is also a favorite place for chefs to visit due to the wide variety of produce on offer. You can easily spend the entire morning exploring the market, which offers live music, children’s activities, knife sharpening, free compost services and book signings with some of the biggest authors in the food world.

5. West L.A. 

Perfect for: The local looking to check out new vendors and kids’ activities

When: Sundays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: 1635 Purdue Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90025

The West L.A. Farmers’ Market is one of the closest markets to Beverly Hills and is a great option for when residents are looking to shake up their Sunday market trip by checking out new vendors. The market is also a nice place to bring children as it offers a dedicated play area, weekly craft workshop and monthly kids’ cooking classes. There’s a big stage with a diverse live music program and plenty of seating, as well as fun food trucks and juice and coffee vendors. There is also a whole section dedicated to handcrafted jewelry, clothing and other accessories. Early birds can even enjoy a free yoga class at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday.

6. Mar Vista 

Perfect for: A fun trip west filled with awesome music and food trucks

When: Sundays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: 12198 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066

The Mar Vista Farmers’ Market is a Westside staple and another big market that offers something for everyone. One of the highlights of the town-square-style market is the bustling food emporium that brings together some of the best food trucks from across Los Angeles in a spacious outdoor dining area. There are free dog-sitting services, cooking classes, knife sharpening, children’s activities and an awesome rotating mix of live performers and DJs. The colorful market is a great place for people-watching, grocery shopping and of course, sampling.

7. Century City 

Perfect for: A midweek restock, or a lunchtime treat

When: Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Where: 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90067

Located in the heart of Century City, this market is walkable from many offices and the perfect place to meet a friend for lunch. The midweek market also avoids some of the crowds that can plague the weekend markets, giving shoppers the chance to peruse the fresh produce in a calm and peaceful environment. The market offers a great selection of farmers, artisans and vendors selling food from around the world, including Hawaiian BBQ, sushi burritos and pierogies.

8. Topanga 

Perfect for: The hippie craving an escape into the mountains

When: Fridays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Where: 1440 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290

The Topanga Farmers’ Market is one of the most whimsical and unique farmers’ markets in the Los Angeles area. Nestled in the lush greenery on the top of the Topanga Mountains, it offers a serene and stunning place to shop. In addition to the gorgeous locale and excellent produce, a big draw of this market is the stands run by local Topanga artisans showcasing one-of-a-kind handmade clothing, jewelry, body lotions and more. For bonus points, check out a local hike after you’re done at the market.

9. Melrose Place 

Perfect for: Pairing grocery shopping with boutique hopping

When: Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Where: 8400 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90069

A Sunday visit to the Melrose Place Farmers’ Market is the perfect way to kick off a day exploring the upscale boutiques located along the stylish street. The market is on the smaller side, but still offers a fantastic array of fresh vegetables, fruits, bread, baked goods, flowers and food vendors. And it’s a great local option for avoiding the crowds at some of the larger weekend markets.

10. Westwood Village 

Perfect for: Those who prefer an afternoon market

When: Thursdays, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Where: 1036 Broxton Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024

The Westwood Village Farmers’ Market is a favorite among UCLA students and places an emphasis on fun food vendors with favorites including pupusas, dim sum, and Lebanese shawarma. The later in the day market is also a great option for night owls or anyone who can’t spare the time for a morning market visit. 

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Salads, Sandwiches, and Smoothies

Following the success of its Koreatown opening several years ago in a former gas station, Royal Lobster has opened an outpost on Little Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The concept is simple: Use only the freshest lobster from Maine to Hawaii, where they were also voted the best lobster roll in Honolulu, made with just butter, brioche, and fresh Maine lobster. You can order individual rolls (also made with crab from Maine) or by the pound, along with seafood salads or creamy bisque. This location has indoor seating. 

The popular Florentine sandwich shop, All’Antico Vinaio, opened its third Los Angeles location in Beverly Hills earlier this year in the old Cheese Store space on Beverly Drive. Since its founding in Florence in 1991 by the Mazzanti family, this concept has become a global phenomenon. Known for its signature schiacciata bread, which is made fresh in-house daily, and the use of premium Italian ingredients, it has been hailed as one of the best street food experiences in the world. 

Second-generation owner Tommy Mazzanti made sure to include the craveable classics such as creamy Pecorino and truffle spreads to savory Prosciutto Toscano and artichoke cream, but also a few specialty salads, affettati (meat) plates, and gelato that will only be available at this location. “Opening a location in Beverly Hills is a dream come true,” said Mazzanti. “Bringing the authentic flavors of Florence, while making everything fresh daily in-house, is what makes us unique.” 

With a philosophy of “Health is Happiness,” the popular Miami all-day wellness cafe Pura Vida Miami opened in late July on Beverly Drive. Omer and Jen Horev, the husband-wife duo behind the lifestyle concept (founded in 2012), are on a mission to provide delicious and healthy food to the community. The range of menu options includes vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free items, from superfood smoothies to acai bowls, wraps and sandwiches, and all-day breakfast that includes a unique tomato bagel.

“From the beginning, our goal has been to grow with thoughtful intention, never just to open more stores, but to bring the Pura Vida lifestyle to communities that embody our core values of wellness, connection, and intentional living,” said Omer Horev, founder and CEO.

Down to the interiors, the cafe evokes a sense of calm and well-being, featuring natural wood finishes, soft neutral tones, and lush greenery. The dishes are clean-crafted with fresh, unprocessed ingredients and entirely free of seed oils. As part of its community culture, the brand engages in eco-friendly practices such as composting food waste and donating soil to local farms to support its commitment to a sustainable future. 

Bagel Boom

While it looks like we might be saying goodbye to Nate’n Al’s again, there has been a quiet bagel boom in Beverly Hills this past year that includes imports from New York to Santa Monica, along with gluten-free options. 

Carbs are back in a big way at Modern Bread & Bagel from New York City, but expect gluten-free options in a cozy indoor-outdoor cafe and market setting. The large menu includes a super seed bagel and a Jerusalem egg salad or za’atar tuna. 

Layla Bagels & Coffee from Santa Monica has also opened on South Beverly Drive. It is known for its hand-rolled, sourdough bagel and upscale ingredients from heirloom tomatoes to a passion fruit medley that attract lines around the corner on weekends.

Pop’s Bagels on North Beverly Drive is a beloved chain feeding communities from Fairfax to Brentwood. It also offers gluten-free options as a vessel to spread the popular Nova lox or the B.A.C. with bacon, avocado, and cream cheese.

The next carb option on the South Beverly Drive horizon will be low-key Sam’s Bagels with locations around the city, including Pico-Robertson. This brand is known for whitefish salad and the lox spread. 

And, more comforting carbs are on the way from Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Luscious Dumplings from the San Gabriel Valley. Popular for handmade Northern Chinese dumplings stuffed with pork, it is opening an outpost soon on Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

Sweets and Treats

Gelato lovers are in luck with Bacio di Latte’s new flagship location in Beverly Hills on North Canon Drive. As the world’s largest, family-owned, artisanal gelateria, expect a truly authentic Italian gelato experience with flavors from Belgian chocolate to pistachio or the popular three chocolates with a double blend of cacao and stracciatella, along with a cheerful eat-in experience at a banquette or cafe table to enjoy it before it melts. 

Beloved Asian bakery brand, Hi Bake, is making its U.S. debut with a flagship location in Beverly Hills on North Canon Drive. The menu will include customer favorites such as Thousand Layer Cake and Tokyo Banana Roll, along with inventive toast flavors and a full line of house-made drinks and ice cream. This new location also introduces fresh-baked treats for dogs, so you can bring your pets to this new cozy neighborhood hangout.

Kicking off its 30th anniversary this year, Levain Bakery has expanded its cookie empire to Beverly Hills and is also releasing its first book that is a retrospective of 30 years in the business, which started in New York City. Continuing a charitable opening tradition, during the opening day of the third LA location, all the proceeds went to support Our Big Kitchen Los Angeles, whose mission is to combat hunger by providing meals for those facing food insecurity. 

Designed by Brooklyn-based Sarah Carpenter & Studio, the 90210 location features a built-in, outdoor-indoor storefront bench, direct views into the busy kitchen, and a front-entrance signature, custom-designed mural created by local artist Janice Chang, with nods to the Beverly Hills Public Library and the Electric Fountain. You can expect the legendary signature cookie flavors, including Chocolate Chip Walnut (also available in vegan and gluten-free), Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, and Coconut Caramel Chocolate Chip – all baked fresh, in-house daily, along with blueberry muffins, loaf cakes, bread and rolls, and weekend-only sticky buns, plus LA roastery Canyon Coffee for all espresso beverages.  

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Napa Valley

The Wine Train is a fine-dining restaurant on the rails in a stylish vintage Pullman rail car, and it’s the closest thing America has to an Orient Express/Belmond style of experience. The three-hour, seven-course “Tasting on the Rails” or the six-hour “Legacy Experience” with a four-course lunch service and wine pairings are great ways to see the Napa Valley without needing to drive or hire a car service. 

The train journeys leave the downtown Napa station. Depending on your ticket, you can start the day with Eggs Benedict and Champagne while you cruise past famed landmarks such as Yountville, and the architecturally stunning Opus One winery (which is also available to sip on the train journey) all the way up to St. Helena and Calistoga. One of the stops includes Charles Krug for a tour and tasting before you hop back on board for more imbibing and gourmet fare such as mushroom risotto and cider-glazed salmon.

There is also an afternoon high tea in partnership with Chandon Champagne on a vintage 1920s rail car, along with other experiences such as a grape-stomping ritual at Grgich Hills Estate, and the new “Fly and Ride” Balloons Above the Valley for one-hour hot air balloon excursions. winetrain.com

For more tea and vino, Opus One offers new elevated experiences for wine tasting, including a tea pairing with handmade ceramic bowls crafted by world-renowned artist, Pekka Paikkari, and their new four-course “Art of the Table” wine and culinary pairing amid a world-class art collection. The tastings begin with the tea service, with pairings developed to cleanse the palate and not interfere with the taste of the wine. An herbal blend curated for Opus One by San Francisco’s Red Blossom Tea Company is meant to awaken the palate with a blend of chrysanthemum, goji berry and winter melon. opusonewinery.com

Oasis by Hoopes offers a new kind of wine-country tasting experience. The vineyard has a wine club that’s not only about tastings. They invite members to become part of an extended family experiencing the regenerative farm life, with loved ones and dogs welcome. It is located in the midst of organic gardens and an animal sanctuary that is home to pigs, chickens, goats, dogs and a donkey, all of which you can pet while sipping on a selection of Hoopes premium wines. hoopesvineyard.com

Paso Robles and Central Coast 

About 20 minutes south of Paso Robles, the charming town of Santa Margarita is one of California’s best-kept secrets. The Old West town, with only one stoplight, is home to Ancient Peaks Winery. 

Santa Margarita Ranch is located on 14,000 acres in the Santa Lucia Mountains. What sets its beautiful surroundings apart from others in the region is not only the sustainable farming and Ancient Peaks winemaking, but additional adventures available on site. Visitors can zipline over the vineyards, go horseback riding through hidden oak groves and explore the land on guided foraging and wildlife tours. Estate-grown wines available for tasting range from chardonnay to cab franc, thanks to the diverse terroir from volcanic soils and the coastal breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean. Don’t miss the Ancient Peaks Café and general store, which is a throwback in time where everybody knows your name.  ancientpeaks.com

If your fall plans include exploring more of California’s Central Coast, do stop in Buellton, at the Brick Barn Wine Estate, which hosts fun-filled events from comedy night to a creative paint and sip experience. Also, the Vega Vineyard & Farm offers family activities that include a petting zoo and private cabanas available for rent. discoverbuellton.com

Santa Ynez Valley

Alma Rosa in the Santa Rita Hills offers several unique and immersive experiences either by open-air tram or an invigorating hike. Jump on a private, guided, 2.5-hour tour aboard a seven-seater golf cart that winds through the vineyard vistas for a behind-the-scenes look at the 628-acre estate. Alternatively, take a one-mile Caracol Hike through elegantly planted patterns inspired by the Fibonacci sequence, with five distinct clones of Pinot Noir spiraling around a knoll with a view of the hills and ending at the Ranch House for a seated tasting paired with an artisanal cheese plate. almarosawinery.com

Santa Barbara 

The San Ysidro Ranch is one of the most stunning places for a staycation in a private bungalow, dinner at Stonehouse, spa treatment by the fireplace, or a wander around the gardens, but there is also a private underground wine cellar for tastings and tours. Here, down a long, narrow, stone staircase under the restaurant (next to the Plow and Angel speakeasy), you will find a well-preserved, 15,500-bottle collection, featuring 3,500 individual labels from 70 of the world’s most renowned wine regions. This includes a 120-bottle complete vertical of Château Pétrus from 1945 through 2017, and a recent acquisition of a 138-vintage collection of Château d’Yquem, including the exceptionally rare 1811 “Comet” vintage, celebrated as one of the finest wines ever produced. This is one of the best cellars in the country and an amazing insider experience, including a hidden wine-tasting room behind the bottles that you can also book for a private candlelit dinner. sanysidroranch.com

Ojai

For an outdoor immersive experience, The Ranch House is located amid a historic 15,000-square foot garden in Ojai. Book a global wine pairing with dinner from ‘the garden menu’ by The Rochers, Perfecta and Alia, from near Valencia, Spain, who have taken over this storied property. Before or after, you can wander through the bamboo forest, private tea house, wisteria, and rose garden.

Malibu

Thankfully, Malibu is now accessible after the devastating fires earlier this year. After a major refurbishment, Calamigos Guest Ranch and Beach Club in the Santa Monica Mountains is welcoming visitors to the sprawling, 250-acre grounds for a bungalow staycation, dining, and wellness. They also make wines from cabernet to chardonnay and have fairytale nooks and crannies to indulge in for a special occasion. The antique carousel on the lawn (one of two on property) between the main restaurant and private event building is a fun centerpiece for a magical wine tasting. The North 40 has a classic Ferris wheel for events, and they also have a members club with other perks. calamigos.com

Laguna Beach

The signature restaurant at Montage Laguna Beach has been reimagined as Studio Mediterranean, which opened over the summer on the cliffside bluff overlooking the ocean. The menu features cuisine by Grecian native and chef Dennis Efthymiou (formerly of Luce in San Francisco and The Fat Duck in the U.K.). Along with this refreshing change is the rare Greek wine selection offered at the restaurant to complement the food, and you can have a private tasting overlooking the Pacific Ocean, as well. Sommelier Claude Isambert will pour vintages and varietals from Gai’a made with the assyrtiko white grape only grown in the volcanic soil on Santorini, which is fruity, oaky and pleasant to sip, proving that the wines of this region have come a long way.  “They are the discovery grape that I can make you have an experience apart from the food and service,” Isambert told the Courier. “Try something different.” montage.com

Temecula

While you might not be familiar with Temecula wines, now is your chance. This region holds the first subterranean wine cave in Southern California, concealed 104 feet below the surface. This immersive Cave Wine Tasting Tour showcases varietals at Oak Mountain Winery while teaching about the Temecula wine country. oakmountainwinery.com

For even more action, Grapes & Gears will have visitors participating in an ATV vineyard tour that blends adventure with wine education at Danza del Sol Winery. Guided by experienced hosts, visitors traverse rolling vineyards while learning about the art of winemaking and enjoying a curated tasting of seven distinct wines. danzadelsolwinery.com

Valle Guadalupe

If you can take a few days to venture down south to Baja, California, El Cielo resort offers a one-of-a-kind activity during the “Introduction to El Cielo’s Falconry,” where guests can meet one of the estate’s falcons and learn about their role in the winery’s sustainability practices. This is a fascinating glimpse into how the resort integrates nature and winemaking while you are in the Valle Guadalupe surrounded by rolling Mexican vineyards. Guests are able to taste plenty of wines and even blend their own to take home as a quaffable keepsake. elcielovalledeguadalupe.com 

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Spanish wines have been around for a long, long time, for thousands of years, matching or even predating their Italian neighbors. Today, Spain is the third-largest wine producer in the world, behind France and Italy, and the array of choice is both dazzling and confusing since there are 400 native grape varieties available. The most well-known and most used are Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, Mencia and Airen, the latter now fading in popularity, as was the fate of the Malbec grape in Bordeaux. 

There are four main wine-growing regions: Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Priorat and Montsant in Catalonia, and Rias Baixas in Galicia. Despite the recent rise in popularity of Spanish whites, red wines are still predominant in the Spanish viticultural landscape. 

History

One may venture as far back as around 3,000 B.C. for the first mention of Moorish viticulture and then advance to circa 700 B.C., when the Phoenicians established winegrowing around Cadiz and then amble forward to 700 A.D., when sherry was first produced in the Jerez region around Andalusia. 

The most famous viticultural area is Rioja or La Rioja, located in north-central Spain along the  Ebro River, which is in turn, subdivided into three zones, Rioja Alta, Rioja Oriental and Rioja Alavesa. It has a D.O.Ca., or “Qualified Designation of Origin,” the highest category in Spanish wine regulation.  

Rioja began to modernize in the 19th century when Spanish winemakers began to adopt French winemaking techniques, particularly aging in oak barrels and enhanced by the migration of many French winemakers to the region in mid-century when phylloxera decimated the Bordeaux area. As a direct result, there was a boom in demand from English consumers which lasted until the end of the century, when phylloxera invaded the Rioja region, causing massive damage and replanting of vineyards. 

Moving forward towards the mid-20th century, Spanish wines became a staple on the shelves of European supermarkets for the most part anchored to the fate of cheap wines and known as plonk. This phenomenon spread to the United States, and who can forget as a student indulging in sangria, usually concocted with cheap Spanish wine and vodka as the primary ingredients. 

Spanish Red Wines

There was one notable exception, and that is the most prized Rioja of all, Vega Sicilia, a winery founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves. He notably planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grape varietals he had imported from France, and which are still used in the wines today, although the majority blend is 80% Tempranillo. Wines are aged in barrels for eight to 10 years before release, an unusually long period by any global standard and top vintages such as 1962 and 1970 can fetch prices of approximately $1,000 per bottle at auction. The Vega Sicilia winery has enjoyed a reputation for producing top-quality wines, which is still as heralded as ever today. 

In the late 1990s a whole new generation of pioneering winemakers emerged led by the  Danish winemaker Peter Sisseck, who established Dominio de Pingus in the Ribera del Duero  region in Spain at price levels that rival Vega Sicilia of $600 to $1,000 per bottle.

In the Priorat region, Álvaro Palacios emerged as a young superstar with his premium brand of L’Ermita, which utilizes a high percentage of the Carinena grape with spectacular results and price levels exceeding even those of Pingus and Vega Sicilia. 

Lastly, in the Bierzo region of northern Spain, Bodegas Raúl Pérez Ultreia was the brainchild of Raúl Pérez. It uses the Mencia grape to produce full-bodied wines with structured balance and great aging potential, but with a much more modest price tag of $20 to $80 per bottle. 

Spanish White Wines

In the past few decades, Spanish white wines have also greatly improved in quality, the most remarkable being Albarino or Alvarinho from Galicia in northwest Spain. On the lighter side, these wines are known for their minerality and are especially delicious when paired with seafood.

Two to try are Verdejo, a light-bodied wine with an oaky sauvignon blanc taste, and txakoli, a dry, slightly sparkling wine from the Basque country.

Typically, Spanish whites are priced between $20 and $30. These wines are mainly light in body and aromatic. They do face stiff competition from similarly priced French and U.S. rivals from Oregon and California but present a delightful value for money alternative.

Richard Torin is the owner of Clarets LLC (www.clarets.com), fine wine merchants, founded in 1992 and a supplier of great wines to a local and international clientele. Richard can be reached at rtorin@gmail.com.

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88 Club

A few doors down from La Dolce Vita, Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” winner chef Mei Lin—last seen at her award-winning Nightshade in the Arts District—and owner Francis Miranda (Daybird) have opened a fine-dining project rooted in the time-honored Chinese flavors Mei grew up cooking with her parents. 

Designed by Los Angeles-based firm Preen, Inc., the dimly lit space has a hidden speakeasy feel with just 44 seats and an intimate side cocktail bar. The private dining area overlooks the main floor, with jade details paying tribute to the stone’s cultural significance in Chinese tradition, symbolizing protection, prosperity, and longevity—along with the number 8. 

“I chose [to open in] Beverly Hills because I felt as though Chinese food had been extremely underrepresented in such a beautiful city,” Miranda told the Courier. “I think there are about 30 or more Italian restaurants and almost the same number of steakhouses. When you think of Chinese in Beverly Hills, all that comes to mind is Xian, Mr. Chow and Joss. Mr. Chow as a person and a restaurant is legendary, but I felt like it was time for something more playful and youthful that has a different vibe.”

While seated in the main dining area, the elevated comfort fare is placed on a marble rotating lazy Susan to share from sesame prawn toast, chrysanthemum salad, seasonal market fried rice, bok choy, tender grilled char siu using a pluma cut of Ibérico pork, and jasmine milk tea buns. The primarily French wine list is by Sommelier and General Manager Diana Lee (Gwen, Intercrew), with Kevin Nguyen (Death & Co, Camelia) consulting on cocktails that range from fun classics with a twist, such as Mai Tai and Long Island iced tea.

Cavcas 

Cavcas brings an underrepresented cuisine to Canon Drive—Armenian and Georgian—providing a nice alternative to the many Mediterranean or Italian options in the area.

Privately owned by a Beverly Hills resident, the restaurant features a glamorous white-hued dining room with a full bar and outdoor seating area. Signature dishes include wood-fired khachapuri—a cheese-filled bread boat topped with mushroom and black truffles that is a modern Georgian version of flatbread. Khorovats are smoky grilled meat and vegetable platters that are draped with thin layers of lavash bread and a side of Persian baghali rice pilaf with dill and lima beans. The salads are also substantial, including the house Cavcas served with heirloom tomatoes, crispy eggplant, and mint-infused cream cheese. For starters or snacks, Wagyu beef dolma or dumplings, plus the beet hummus are good options. For a sweet tooth, the baklava served warm with Madagascar vanilla bean ice cream is a must, as is the Dubai (pistachio paste) chocolate dome.

La OLA

The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on Doheny Drive has turned the rooftop restaurant into La OLA—a coastal Mexican eatery by longtime hotel Executive Chef Jesus Medina at the helm. Sandwiched between the spa and pool area, offerings at the alfresco dining spot, which means “the wave” in Spanish, include duck carnitas with a Yucatán salsa made with fresh habanero and swordfish al pastor with pineapple, along with agave flights of tequila or mezcal.

“We wanted to create a vibrant, open-air dining experience that truly reflects the spirit of Los Angeles—fresh, diverse, and effortlessly stylish,” Hotel Manager Erin Quon told the Courier. “We recognized a clear opportunity in the Beverly Hills dining scene to introduce elevated coastal Mexican cuisine, and this concept felt like the perfect fit for our rooftop oasis, blending bold flavors with California produce and laid-back rooftop vibes. It’s a celebration of the city’s cultural richness and love for refined, alfresco dining.”

Casa Dani and Katsuya

On the ground floor of Westfield Century City, Sam Nazarian’s sbe has brought together Casa Dani by Michelin-award-winning chef Dani García and Katsuya Century City by master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi. 

Housing the dynamic pairing is a 17,000-square-foot space designed by the acclaimed David Rockwell and Rockwell Group. Accommodating up to 400 guests, the two side-by-side restaurants are connected by an atrium arrival space leading to a circular bar, an open-air garden and terrace overlooking Beverly Hills and Hollywood. 

Casa Dani offers modern Mediterranean cuisine rooted in Andalusian traditions with vegetable paella or a seafood version with saffron, prawns and mussels, along with traditional classics such as Ibérico ham croquetas, and Basque cheesecake with shaved goat cheese. The adjoining Katsuya will offer fan favorites such as rock shrimp and crispy Brussels sprouts, a new toro tartare and A5 Wagyu tataki with plenty of sake selections and cocktails. 

Coming Soon

This fall, the former Tatel space on Canon Drive will become Azur—a French Mediterranean spot by the team behind the lively and colorful Lou Lou in Santa Monica. The latter is known for legendary Sunday brunches, and expectations are high for the new Beverly Hills venture.

Also this fall, Swedish chef Marcus Jernmark—who hails from the three-Michelin-starred Frantzén in Stockholm, as well as Aquavit and Per Se in New York, is opening Nordic-themed Lielle LA. The location is behind the former Mr. C Beverly Hills in the space once occupied by Walter Manzke’s Bicyclette French bistro and Ricardo Zarate’s Picca.

Additional international openings are set for 2026. Sant Ambroeus is an Italian concept from Milan (named after the city’s patron saint) that has garnered cult status in Palm Beach, New York, and more recently in Aspen. In 1936, two pastry chefs opened a cafe just a few steps away from Teatro alla Scala. In 1982, the first Manhattan location of Sant Ambroeus opened on Madison Avenue. Today, corporate chef Iacopo Falai focuses his menu on elegant Milanese-style cuisine and will be bringing his talents to a custom-designed stand-alone building on the corner of Beverly Drive and Dayton Way in the first quarter of next year. Expect a full-service restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating and two expansive bars, plus a private dining room for events and a daytime cafe with a separate entrance. 

The brand’s first flagship location for the West Coast marks a milestone more than a decade in the making. “We always knew we wanted to bring Sant Ambroeus to Los Angeles,” Managing Partner of Sant Ambroeus, Gaetano Guarducci told the Courier. “But it was important to us to be thoughtful and deliberate about choosing the right location. After many years of searching, we’re thrilled to have found the perfect spot in Beverly Hills.”

News from Old Favorites 

Nozawa Bar, the 10-seat, 20-course exceptional omakase haven tucked behind SUGARFISH on Canon Drive, has welcomed new Japanese Executive Chef Jay Sada. Born and raised in Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu, Japan, Sada brings his decades of experience along with some fun additions to the menu, such as a shabu shabu course with 100% grass-fed Wagyu ribeye from First Light Farms, and plenty of sashimi and nigiri dishes to carry the tradition forward. 

Culinary Icons on the Move: 

Nancy Silverton Adds to Menu at the Original Soho House in West Hollywood

After 15 years, the original Soho House on Sunset Boulevard has undergone a top-to-bottom make-over. This includes James Beard Award-winning superstar chef Nancy Silverton revamping the menu in the Garden at Soho House West Hollywood restaurant. Silverton, who was profiled on Netflix’s award-winning docuseries “Chef’s Table,” and is the co-owner of the Mozza Restaurant Group encompassing Michelin-starred Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza, and chi SPACCA, to name a few in Los Angeles.

Silverton’s new Tuscan-inspired menu includes about 10 items destined to be signatures, such as Nancy’s Nicoise with Ventresca tuna and potatoes, but don’t expect any pizza or pasta from the chef this time around. Instead, fun finger foods include the mini corn dogs with pimento cheese and pickled celery, along with arancine smoked scamorza cheese. 

More salads and veggies come in the form of a 10-wedge Cobb and a Caesar crostone (Italian toast) with braised leeks and egg with Cantabrian anchovy, and a cauliflower fritti with Calabrian mint aioli.

Larger format plates range from a grilled whole branzino with preserved lemon aioli, salsa verde, spicy romesco, and braised chicken thighs with broccoli or the grilled ribeye with black olive tapenade and white beans. 

For dessert, expect the chef’s rich butterscotch budino with caramel sauce, crème fraiche and pine nut-rosemary cookies made with polenta for a sweet and memorable ending. 

Evan Funke’s Roman Street Food Lounge Concept in Hollywood

Just when you thought master chef Evan Funke didn’t have any more Italian concepts to share with Los Angeles, Bar Avoja opened over the summer tucked behind his Mother Wolf restaurant in Hollywood. This modern Roman lounge is run by Mother Wolf Group Managing Partner Giancarlo Pagani and presents chef Funke’s take on Roman street food or “cibo della strada.” Avoja is Roman slang for “hell yeah,” and this sentiment blends cocktails, fine wines, and pizza al taglio, arancini cacio e pepe, fiori di zucca, and house-made dolci. The clubby space wrapped in rich walnut woods and red velvet seating, is only open Thursday through Saturday, but it’s a sexy date night outing with occasional live music, and the perfect lounge to begin or end your evening. 

Brock Makes His Debut

James Beard Award–winning chef Sean Brock from Husk in Nashville and Charleston, to name a few, makes his West Coast debut with darling, a restaurant and hi-fi listening lounge on North Robertson Boulevard. While Brock is best known for championing Southern food, this venture will celebrate California’s agricultural abundance through elemental live-fire cooking. The 12-dish menu will shift monthly to reflect the local micro-seasons. Bar Director Jason Lee (Bar Benjamin, baroo, n/soto) mirrors this philosophy while drawing cocktail inspiration from peak-season produce and global influences. 

The post The Beverly Hills Dining Scene appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“In the last 20 or 30 years, a small handful of people changed how we look at food.”  

The narrator then proceeds to cite the late Anthony Bourdain and René Redzepi of Noma. 

“And then you have José Andrés,” the voice adds. 

“José is a maximalist. On one side, you have the chef who has established a small empire of incredible restaurants, in essence bringing Spanish cuisine to the U.S. And the other side, you have a guy entirely dedicated to World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization wanting to feed the world. It’s totally unreasonable to try to do both those things at the same time, but José wants it all.” 

Indeed, if the Spanish-born Andrés’ life was a movie title, it would be “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” And the local restaurant scene played a supporting role in the Andrés success story.  

In 2008, the chef opened The Bazaar by José Andrés at the SLS at Beverly Hills on La Cienega Boulevard. The ground-floor venue, in a space designed by Philippe Starck, quickly rose to superstar status with its Spanish-influenced take on modernist molecular cuisine. Among its many accolades were four stars by the legendary Los Angeles Times food critic S. Irene Virbila and a place on the top 10 new restaurant list by GAYOT. A separate tasting area, which became Somni in 2018, garnered the chef his first two Michelin stars. Though both restaurants closed in 2020 after a consulting agreement dispute, the Andrés legacy—and that of The Bazaar—remain a powerful force in greater Los Angeles.  

Andrés, of course, is a powerful force globally, as well.  

His José Andrés group oversees more than 40 restaurants, one of which holds two Michelin stars, with several others accorded Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. Andrés is a New York Times bestselling author, James Beard Foundation Award-winner, Emmy-winning TV personality, entrepreneur and prolific communicator. His three-year-old Substack newsletter, “Longer Tables with José Andrés,” regularly regales close to 90,000 followers (whom Andrés calls “Food Fighters”) with uplifting stories, culinary tidbits, recipes and profiles. Topics this past summer ranged from the wonders of the Cap de Creus lobster of the Costa Brava to a primer on Mexican Merlot. The content, brought to life by National Geographic-worthy photos, weaves together a central theme: that every meal has the power to change the world.  

It’s a through line of Andrés’ work.  

In 2010, he launched the nonprofit World Central Kitchen (WCK) after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti. In the 15 years since, WCK has become synonymous with frontline emergency food relief during disasters both natural and man-made. Known for quick, nimble action and the ability to adapt on the ground, the organization has provided a food lifeline to hundreds of millions around the globe. Its teams are currently braving danger to provide ongoing aid in Ukraine (287 million meals provided thus far) and Gaza (147 million meals). Earlier this year, Andrés joined WCK relief workers mobilizing after the Southern California wildfires. More recently, WCK teams sprang into action after the tragic flooding in central Texas. 

For his actions, Andrés has thus far been recognized with a National Humanities Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom and Nobel Peace Prize nominations in 2019 and 2024.  

His humanitarian efforts also extend beyond WCK. In 2023, Andrés launched The Longer Tables Fund, whose mission is to address “urgent issues in food systems, social justice, and education and advocacy, while uplifting communities.” In the same year, he founded the Global Food Institute at George Washington University, a multidisciplinary think tank to address food insecurity, food systems solutions, and in essence, seek solutions to the world’s problems through the lens of food. 

At the same time, the roster of Andrés’ endeavors continues to expand.  

This spring, he co-hosted a culinary cooking competition show on NBC with Martha Stewart called “Yes, Chef!” He also published “Change the Recipe: Because You Can’t Build a Better World Without Breaking Some Eggs.” Billed as a collection of life stories and lessons, it reads like a tapas menu of wisdom gleaned from experience (“You Don’t Need Everything to Be Happy,” “Move Forward Fearlessly”). Recollections range from his boyhood in Barcelona, savoring the simple dishes of his mother; to his days as a cooking school student and later as a chef at El Bulli, the transformative Catalan restaurant named the world’s best several times over; to a stint in the Spanish Navy; to the launch of his first restaurant, Jaleo, in Washington, D.C. 

Though some of the book’s chapters are scant in size, they’re profound in message. One chapter begins, “Cooking makes us human. It’s what separates us from every other animal on the planet. There’s good reason to think that cooking helped our brains grow, to develop sophisticated language and to grow community.”   

One community in particular—Los Angeles—holds a special place in Andrés’ heart, as I learned during an interview with him earlier this summer. He was half a world away in northern Spain, but eager to speak about his role in LA and its importance to his personal story.  

Though our meeting was virtual, via Zoom, the chef’s larger-than-life persona had no trouble breaking through. 

“Yo no hablo inglés,” (I don’t speak English) he proclaimed in a booming voice as he switched on his camera.  

“Yo hablo español!” (I speak Spanish!), I replied, although I had assumed the interview would be in English. It was, with the chef occasionally giving instructions in Castilian Spanish to those around him. Every now and then, he would puff on a cigar before responding to my questions.  

I began by asking about his first venture into the City of Angels.  

Courier: Chef, we know the José Andrés name as a global brand today. But not everyone realizes how important Los Angeles was to your early success. You launched The Bazaar here in 2008 as your first expansion outside of your home base of Washington, D.C. Tell us about that experience, which was groundbreaking in many ways. 

Andrés: It was, and I was very thankful to Sam Nazarian, the founder and owner of sbe and his family. To me, they’re family and friends. Sam was a very young man, looking for somebody to open his first hotel on La Cienega in Beverly Hills. And probably it’s always better to let others say this, but I have a feeling that what we did in the hotel was a breakthrough. I will be in eternal gratitude to Sam Nazarian, his family, his company SBE and his team to give me the chance to join Philippe Starck to show that hotels had room for creative improvement. We created one of the most amazing food-restaurant experiences. I think what we did at Bazaar was a ‘before and after’ in the understanding of how restaurants could be amazing food, amazing service but also highly original and entertaining all at once. 

Courier: You now have a presence in downtown Los Angeles, with the Spanish restaurant San Laurel at Conrad Los Angeles. That hotel is part of The Grand LA, the mixed-use project designed by Frank Gehry across from the Disney Concert Hall. Is it true that Gehry walked you through that space and encouraged you to open there? 

Andrés: Well, yes, all the above. Frank Gehry for me has been an icon. I met him many years ago. Frank Gehry is very obviously a visionary who has done so much, not only for LA but so many communities in America and around the world. Not so young anymore, but he’s still strong. He had such a passion for what he wanted to do there, explaining what he envisioned for that part of town that everybody agrees needs to become part of the greater LA. But when I met him, we were already committed. And it is not the only work I’m doing at the Conrad; we have already built a Bazaar there, too. 

Courier: That’s my next question. Can you tell us about the plan to open an outpost of Bazaar Meat at The Grand LA? That concept has been very successful in Las Vegas and Chicago as a ‘celebration of the carnivorous.’ What will this LA version be like, and when will it open? 

Andrés: It’s already built, but we need to be smart, and we are waiting for the right time between our friends and partners. But the restaurant is fully built. It’s right under the hotel. It’ll be Bazaar, which has been moving into Bazaar Meat. It will have the spirit of the original Bazaar, with traditional dishes and modern dishes. More focusing on meats that move away from steak, but steak, too, and obviously, fish and vegetables. People seem to want, and we’ve been having a lot of success with fish. We call it Bazaar Mar. We probably will end up opening Bazaar Green, which will be vegetables. But again, LA gave me this opportunity to be creative in probably one of the most creative cities in the world without a doubt. 

Courier: In the last year you have also expanded into Culver City at the Shay Hotel. You have Zaytinya there, which follows in the Mediterranean footsteps of its namesake in Washington, D.C. You have also opened the Mexican-inspired Butterfly on the rooftop. You seem to gravitate toward hotels. Is that part of your strategy?  

Andrés: I love hotels. In D.C., all my restaurants except The Bazaar in the Waldorf Astoria are stand still restaurants, but that is my home where I live. When you go to cities, it is good to be in the comfort of a home, and a hotel is a home away from home. There is great synergy with hotels and malls. We have some projects where we don’t have to carry the heavy burden of the investment. And in a way it’s a win-win. I did two big investments in New York with Mercado Little Spain and in Disney Springs with Jaleo. I opened the two biggest food enterprises representing Spain in the world right before the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I have all these spaces, this big investment.’ And you need to adapt to the situation and make the best out of it and create an even bigger opportunity. So, this expansion into hotels and a few malls that are up to the standards and quality I’m looking for makes all the sense in the world, and that’s what we are doing.  

Courier: You have experienced great success in LA over the years. What comes to mind when you think about the overall dining scene in LA right now?  

Andrés: It’s a city called Los Angeles (the angels) with ancestry from Spain and Mexico and all those Spanish and Latin influences. It’s a very cosmopolitan place in a way. And I have to mention people who came from being my teammates in Bazaar that now own their own restaurants. Somni used to be my restaurant. We opened inside Bazaar LA, and the name was my gift to one of my team members who wanted to be on his own like I did when I was young.  

[Author’s note: That team member, chef Aitor Zabala, opened a reimagined Somni (the Catalan word for ‘dream’) in West Hollywood in 2024. Earlier this year, it became the first restaurant in LA to earn three Michelin stars.]  

Andrés: It gives me a lot of joy that now Somni becomes its own dream, and in a way, I feel a grandfather of those three stars of Somni. I mean, it took him a long time and perseverance. But obviously, Aitor is one of the most talented chefs, not only in LA, not only in America, but in the world. And so, people like Aitor and Somni show us that the power of the will can move mountains.  

Courier: There are other veterans of The Bazaar who have also gone on to make a name for themselves, right?  

Andrés: Yes. Joshua Whigham also was with me many years. He was chef at Bazaar. I’m so proud that now he has his own restaurant [Casa Leo in Los Feliz]. Joshua is amazing. And the Voltaggio brothers, especially the chef Michael Voltaggio, who was my opening chef at Bazaar when we got the four stars in the LA Times. I remember when Mercado Little Spain got a huge review in the New York Times, too. I’ve been getting through my life a lot of three or four stars in reviews. And that doesn’t mean we are perfect. We also had our shortfalls. Everyone understands that in the restaurant business, you are only as good as the last plate. But for me, talking about a chef who came from Bazaar gives me a lot of joy, and I can keep giving you more names. Not to praise me or Bazaar. It only tells you that it’s a team that keeps investing in each other. And that’s how you create the city.  

Courier: In addition to those former teammates of yours, what other chefs do you think are doing the most interesting work here in LA? 

Andrés: Obviously, I’m a big fan of Roy [Choi, the chef who launched the Korean Mexican taco truck concept, Kogi]. What he’s done, the food trucks, he’s created the system of making good food more democratic and able to reach everybody. Not only in a high-end restaurant or a fancy restaurant, but even in the streets. People like Roy bet that food trucks could bring good food to people who would not go to a restaurant. That’s only LA. Also, the guys of Eggslut in that market [Grand Central Market]. You go there, and it looks like, what the heck is going on? You don’t know if you want to quit and run away. But once you become part of it, you may be a foreigner or tourist in LA, but all of a sudden you become a local, even if you are only there one day. And to see what Eggslut and its founder—he’s amazing—to see those lines, to get the egg sandwich, breakfast sandwich, oh my God. 

I mean LA is a small country, man. The bounty of things is just unbelievable. And influences. And that’s very powerful. Just look at the farmers’ markets where my guys go and buy things that are iconically seasonal. You keep going and going from the best breads and pizzas by Nancy Silverton to the Mexican restaurants and the great molés you can find. And the Japanese places like Sushi Zo, which is one of my favorites. I remember when I brought [El Bulli’s] Ferran and Albert Adrià for the first time to LA. We went there, and we went for lunch early, and we finished. And before they closed, we told them, ‘Can we do a second lunch?’ And the quality of taco places and the quality of Arab Muslim food and the quality of Jewish kosher Israeli food and the quality of Persian food.  

But LA to me, you have in LA a guy like Seamus Blackley, the founder of Xbox, who was crazy enough to make bread from scratch with ancient yeast. He’s able to create the best chocolate bar in the middle of LA with trees he’s growing in LA. I mean, this guy may be one of the best creative minds and engineers in the world. And in his free time, he’s able to make the best loaf of bread. And on top of that, being so generous that he shares that technique with everybody. You have a guy that has nothing to do with cooking, but he’s teaching even people like me how to make the best loaf of bread, create your own natural ferment and yeast from scratch. That’s LA. 

Courier: LA went through a terrible period early this year with historic, wind-driven wildfires. I understand you had a personal reason for coming out to help the WCK teams on the ground.  

Andrés: Usually, I take time away from my business and from my family for World Central Kitchen in big events. And big events are Category 5, where millions of people are impacted. Because if not, I will be 24/7 working on World Central Kitchen. And I still have to work. I mean, World Central Kitchen is not my job; it’s my hobby. It is my giving back to the community. But seems it’s taking more time of my private life and my business than I ever imagined or expected. And I’m very proud of it. But on paper, I was not going to go to LA. I was in a taxi on my way to Europe to take the plane. I got news that my friend lost his house. He texted, ‘José, my house burned down. My entire neighborhood burned down; my church burned.’ And in that moment, I stopped the taxi, I went back home, I put my golf clothes and my ‘having fun’ clothing away. And I took my World Central Kitchen bag, and I was on my way to LA to join teams that were already feeding people.  

Courier: Can you tell us what the experience was like and was there anything special about the way that Southern Californians responded to the disaster? 

Andrés: In the worst moments of humanity, the best of humanity shows up. And LA was not any less. Sometimes it is not just giving a plate of food; it’s giving a smile. Sometimes people just want to talk to somebody. And that’s what World Central Kitchen does. We had the actress Jennifer Garner with us. She was great. She spent many days helping her community, helping us. To me, it was beautiful to see because she didn’t have to do that. Her house was on the watch list. She was driving me around and giving hugs to firefighters and to police and to people who lost their homes and crying with them and laughing with them. What LA should be very proud of is that LA came together as one. Putting religion aside, putting politics aside, putting color of your skin aside, Angelenos were helping Angelenos. And that I’m very proud of. 

And then LA goes beyond the moments of emergency. A lot of people don’t know about David Grohl from Foo Fighters, ex-Nirvana, he joins local organizations. He cooks barbecue when he’s in LA on a Friday night in the back lot of his music studio. And then when he finished barbecuing all night, he goes out in the morning without sleep. He delivers food in different squares and neighborhoods with, unfortunately, a large, hungry or homeless population. So, it’s people like Dave Grohl who also make LA great. He does it because he believes that’s the way he can make his city slightly better. And that’s the power of LA.  

Just then, an assistant gently reminded us that we had gone over our allotted time. I quickly asked one last question about new ventures outside of LA, such as a reported new branded hotel in Washington, D. C. (“Not yet, but we have the plans,” said Andrés in reply.)  

He then picked up his phone and began to walk but remained on Zoom. For a few moments, he spoke about his life’s philosophy and worldview. 

But, those are topics for another interview, which I hope to conduct someday.  

He did give me his word about meeting in person the next time he is in town.  

“My team will make it happen; I promise you. Ciao.” 

The post José Andrés Wants It All appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

A city of Beverly Hills spokesperson described the fire as “small” and “contained primarily within the ventilation duct system with minimal damage to the restaurant.” The spokesperson added that the cause of the blaze is still under investigation. 

Chef Evan Funke provided this statement to the Courier regarding the incident at his eponymous establishment:

“To our cherished guests and friends,

Last night, a fire occurred in the upper portion of our exhaust system, the cause of which is still unknown. We’re relieved to share that all building safety systems functioned exactly as designed.

Thanks to the calm cooperation of everyone present, our staff and guests were evacuated swiftly and safely. Our deepest gratitude to the Beverly Hills Fire Department for their rapid response and expert handling of the situation.

To our guests with reservations this week, our team will be reaching out personally to arrange alternative accommodations at either Felix or Mother Wolf. We’re truly grateful for your patience and understanding as we work diligently to repair and restore the affected areas. 

We can’t wait to host you all very soon. 

All love and pasta.

EF”

The tri-level Funke opened in 2023 to great acclaim, with an emphasis on hand-crafted regional pasta dishes. Like its fellow Evan Funke-helmed outposts, it is a favorite of celebrities, food critics and even royalty. Earlier this month, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, posted a photo of her birthday dinner at the restaurant. She noted, “The culinary mastery of @evanfunke and his team is in the top five meals in my life.” 

A spokesperson for Funke told the Courier that they hope to have the doors open again as soon as possible. 

The post Fire at Funke Temporarily Closes Restaurant appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

What’s a holiday dinner without pie?

Australian chef Curtis Stone is back with his sweet and savory pies in the old Maude space on South Beverly Drive and this time, they are here to stay.

The Pie Room by Curtis Stone has morphed from pandemic pop-up bakery into a permanent bistro-style, all-day menu with not only pies, but an assortment of pastries, puddings, tarts and sandwiches. The vast talent to help execute Stone’s vision includes Maude and Spago alum chef Serkan Çetinarslan, head pastry chef Mitzi Reyes who has worked for José Andrés and Dominique Ansel, and head baker Luis Flores, who hails from the kitchen of Thomas Keller in Las Vegas.

The Pie Room is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for gourmet sandwiches (don’t miss the duck leg confit) and bistro fare available for dine-in or to-go. In the evening, the space transforms into a romantic, European-style wine bar with charcuterie boards from Gwen, Stone’s Michelin-starred butcher shop and restaurant in Hollywood; a selection of farmhouse cheeses, and daily specials such as loup de mer and duck ragu gnocchi—and, of course, a sweet section for dessert. 

New on South Robertson Boulevard, the acclaimed Lodge Bread brings artisanal whole-grain sourdough, house-made pastries, and a menu inspired by Middle Eastern flavors to the area. Holiday offerings include pecan pie topped with whipped vanilla ganache and toasted pecan pieces, or pumpkin pie topped with whipped chai ganache ($46 each).

For even more holiday temptation, Mastro’s Steakhouse will feature a pecan pie on the menu for a limited time, as well as a special cinnamon and pecan butter cake—a twist on its famed butter cake, which is a must after any meal there. Both available now through Dec. 30.

Let them eat panettone 

Gucci Osteria is kicking off panettone season early this year. The Michelin-starred establishment on Rodeo Drive (and select locations around the globe) is partnering with legendary Italian specialty bakery Pasticceria Tiri 1957 for the traditional sweet Christmas bread. 

Typically shared with family and friends over the festive period, Gucci Osteria’s limited edition panettone reflects the Gucci brand’s spirit of ornate decadence. The bread goes through three kneading phases during a 72-hour production, before it is elegantly packaged in a limited-edition tin with historical iconography from the Gucci Archive. It’s a stunning keepsake and great gift that will keep the product soft, fragrant and flavorful for weeks to come ($140).

Gift baskets and more

The holidays are all about hosting—and being hosted by—family and friends. Thoughtful gift baskets are a always a great way to show your appreciation. Haute Mess, the market and café on Beverly Boulevard, is offering a limited-edition, pre-order gift basket that includes artisinal and imported items, such as wines, premium anchovies, imported olives and homemade biscotti. 

Now that the weather is cooler, and nights are longer, why not host an at-home movie night? It’s the perfect excuse to tuck into some famous Neiman Marcus gourmet popcorn. Holiday tins of sweet and salty favorites include honey butter, almond pecan and cashew almond toffee. Available in-store and mail order ($32).

Hanukkah sweets

Susie Cakes in Brentwood and West Hollywood offers an assortment of red velvet, good old vanilla, or chocolate with white and blue sprinkled borders in a Hanukkah-themed cupcake box (serving 4 for $23.96). Also available is a cake decorated with a Menorah, frosted star-shaped sugar cookies (also available as a platter) and gingerbread people individually wrapped with a blue ribbon. For a fun family gathering, order a Hanukkah cookie decorating kit that includes two tubs of buttercream and four different sprinkles.

Frozen finds

After a hard day of holiday shopping, why not treat yourself (and the ice cream lover in your life) to a little holiday-themed indulgence? Shake Shack’s Limited Edition Holiday Shakes have arrived at the South Santa Monica Boulevard location of the popular outpost, and they are worth the calorie splurge. Back again is the classic Christmas Cookie Shake, featuring sugar cookie frozen custard topped with whipped cream, crumbled shortbread and holiday sprinkles. The Chocolate Yule Log Shake combines chocolate frozen custard hand-spun with chocolate cake, topped with whipped cream, cake crumbles and festive sprinkles. And the Apple Cider Donut Shake features apple cider donut frozen custard topped with whipped cream and cinnamon donut crunch.

If you prefer to celebrate the “Merry Dairy” season at home, pick up some pints at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on North Beverly Drive. The scoop shop’s Splendid Holiday Collection includes new limited-edition flavors such as Iced Molasses Gingerbread, a spiced molasses cream with gingerbread cookies and white icing swirl, and Seven-Layer Bar with bittersweet chocolate pockets and brown sugar crumble in coconut-scented toasted caramel cream. Returning favorites include White Chocolate Peppermint, with swirls of pink and white peppermint dotted with white chocolate. 

Hands-on holiday hotel experiences

Local hotels are beckoning visitors with unique holiday-themed activations. Back by popular demand, the Fairmont Century Plaza’s Swiss Chalet “après-ski” dining experience is live through New Year’s Day. The back patio off the lobby has transformed into a chic winter wonderland. Sample cheese fondue and other Alpine favorites, along with winter cocktails and an interactive make-your-own hot chocolate experience​​.

Nearby, the hotel’s Lumière restaurant will feature a different crème brûlée flavor each week for the month of December, including eggnog, Valrhona chocolate and roasted sweet potato with cranberry. 

The lobby of the Peninsula Beverly Hills is filled with holiday cheer this time of year. Highlights include carolers (Dec. 20-24), a visit from Santa (on Christmas Eve) and the Polar Bear Gift Shop (Dec. 1-26). Additional holiday activities include curated events such as cake and cookie decorating for children.

On Dec. 3 at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, little artisans can build and decorate their own gingerbread house for a chance to have their creation on display in the lobby during the month of December ($25 per person).

At the Maybourne Beverly Hills, the Gingerbread House Decorating Class is perfect for children of all ages. Led by the in-house pastry team, two sessions of the class are set for Dec. 21. Participants will receive a decorating kit, a personalized apron, hat and takeaway box for their creation ($125 per person). 

The post Holiday Sweets and Treats in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The Peninsula Beverly Hills

Considered by many to be the crème de la crème of afternoon teas, the luxurious service in the Living Room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills is not to be missed. Indeed, attendees will feel positively royal while sipping Dom Pérignon on plush velvet sofas and listening to a classical harpist perform. The Peninsula offers a selection of 20 loose-leaf teas ranging from Earl Grey to a tropical fruity green tea to a buttery smooth Tahitian vanilla tea. Its world-class pastry chefs come up with a different selection of baked delights every month, but guests can always be certain to enjoy the finest finger sandwiches and scones. In the winter, the opulent living room has a wood fireplace offering the perfect place to cozy up with friends and family. Reservations are required and seatings are offered on Wednesday through Sunday at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills

On Saturdays and Sundays, the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills boasts an exquisite afternoon tea experience with all the trimmings. Located in the historic hotel’s chic, three-story, Art Deco lobby, the afternoon tea offers the perfect blend of relaxation, indulgence and people-watching. Tea selections include a monsoon chai, vanilla rooibos, lavender Earl Grey and organic peppermint. And, of course, there is an ample supply of Champagne and fine wine on offer, as well as a live harpist. On Nov. 23 and 24, the Lobby Lounge will host its annual Nutcracker Tea in partnership with the Los Angeles Ballet. The event serves as a fundraiser for the ballet and a delightfully whimsical event where young sippers can meet Clara and her doll friends, take photos with Santa and shop at the pop-up L.A. Nutcracker Boutique. 

The Maybourne Beverly Hills

Located in the stunning indoor-outdoor Terrace restaurant, the Maybourne’s afternoon tea service offers a California twist on the classic British tradition. Patrons will sip on Laurent-Perrier Champagne while listening to the cascading fountain under the golden afternoon sun. The Maybourne offers a unique black tea blend created exclusively for their sister hotel, Claridge’s in London, which is home to one of the world’s most iconic afternoon teas. They also serve an exquisite selection of sweets, including an exotic baba with passion fruit and mango chutney, dark chocolate pot de crème with hazelnut rocher, pavlova with strawberry and toasted pistachio and a coconut religieuse with lemon curd and baked meringue. The tea service is offered from 2-4 p.m. on weekends.

The London 

If you are searching for a classic British afternoon tea, look no further than the London Hotel just over the border from Beverly Hills in West Hollywood. The hotel is proud to honor its English roots by working closely with the world-renowned Henrietta Lovell, founder of the Rare Tea Company, to serve a selection of sustainably sourced tea from producers all over the world. Reservations are required for the tea service, which is served from 12:30-3:30 p.m. on the weekends. Tea sandwiches include a matcha green tea crêpe with smoked salmon and crème fraîche and a peach molasses sandwich with chicken and onion profiterole. Sweet treat highlights include white chocolate dipped strawberries, Battenburg pistachio cake and a lemon verbena meringue tart. 

The Getty Villa or Center

Take a step back in time and enjoy afternoon tea by the sea at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades. The tea service was inspired by the Getty Villa’s authentically recreated, first-century Roman gardens and by visitors’ fond memories of the beloved Tea Room, which closed in 1997. The sandwiches and pastries feature flavors of the Mediterranean herbs, vegetables and fruits that grow at the Villa. Tea is served at the Villa every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1-3 p.m. If you are searching for something a little closer to home, The Getty Center in Brentwood also offers a tea service from 2-3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays on the restaurant terrace. Enjoy a selection of savory and sweet snacks as you gaze at the panoramic view. Reservations are required for both services. 

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While most of these locations are stylishly decorated already, the right floral arrangements are key, and the first step, to setting the right tone for your gathering. The Hidden Garden is the in-house florist for many Beverly Hills institutions from the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel, the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Maybourne Beverly Hills, the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and restaurants such as Il Pastaio. 

The Courier spoke with Amy Marella, founder and CEO of the Hidden Garden, who advised letting the floral designer utilize what is best in season at the time of the dinner party. “If you don’t have a set color scheme for the table asking, ‘What looks best from Mother Nature today?’ It allows us to design something that might be uniquely in bloom that week.” 

Known for larger-scale events, weddings and bat mitzvahs for over 30 years, the Empty Vase on Doheny Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard is doing more smaller-scale events in private rooms. The family-owned business counts e. baldi Ristorante, Cecconi’s (which has a private space with a Damien Hirst painting) and Stella among its regular clients.

 “We work with so many places on a regular basis that we know what would suit the space and work with the decor, color scheme and style of the room so it’s not a blank canvas,” Manager-Designer of the Empty Vase Avva Babaeean told the Courier.

A few things to consider from both florists are the shape and style of table, side tables, and how they will be used, such as a coursed-out meal, allowing for a more elaborate floral arrangement, or  family style, which offers less room. In some cases, gifts for the guests are provided from a rosebud vase on each place setting to guest chocolates or napkin rings to take home. 

According to fine linen stylist and owner of E. Braun & Co. on Robertson Boulevard, Liz Barbatelli, the ambiance you create is very important and integral to your success. “From the linens, the room decor and ambiance, the flowers, candles, dinnerware, cutlery and other necessary accouterment set the tone. Every detail should be planned and thought through in advance.”

Barbatelli, who works with many local restaurants and hotels, advised on a few things to look out for when planning a private soiree. First of all, “Avoid a restaurant in which you have never dined, and one that will not give you firm pricing. Also, make sure they have a special event coordinator that you can work with, and be sure they will let you bring in anything that you feel is missing or important for your event. You want a collaborative experience that creates an extraordinary event with an artful, inspired and thoughtful approach.” 

The Venues

E. Baldi Ristorante

The Aperitivo Lounge on Brighton Way, which is the new addition to e. baldi Ristorante, features a stylish private dining room behind a curtain. This space can seat 49 people with different table configurations from smaller round tables to a long communal setting, or intimate parties of 10. For a corporate meeting, there is a flat-screen for presentations, but the main use so far has been for celebrations and celebrity parties. You will also have menu options from beloved chef Baldi for “Tuscan food with an accent of Emilia-Romagna,” and they offer a range of price points. privateroom@ebaldi.com

Steak 48

For a large variety of room options, Steak 48 offers a sophisticated setting, equipped with television screen capabilities. The Wine Room accommodates groups of up to 24 with sliding doors and views of the lounge. For more privacy, the Canon Room is closest in proximity to the front door and seats up to 30 guests with a variety of table configurations and dedicated volume controls for music to set the right tone for the evening.

For true gourmands who want a glimpse of the kitchen action, book the Chef’s Dining Room for a group of 34 or fewer.  You will have the audio-visual capabilities, and can combine this space with the Cannon Room, for up to 65 guests. If you are planning a reception-style soiree, the Dominick Room setup includes a mix of high-top tables and booth seating for a maximum of 40 guests. 

No matter which room you choose, prices start at just $95 per person for a “city menu” with appetizers, entrees, sides and sweets, and up to higher price points for a “chef tasting.”  guestservicesbeverlyhills@steak48.com

Novikov

Mediterranean newcomer Novikov has a private dining room that seats 16 at a gorgeous oval table. The space is adorned with a chandelier, greenery, a large mirror and a modern abstract painting, creating a homey atmosphere. The enclosed, glass-walled space provides a view of the dining action, yet with some privacy. You can also book the side or front patio, which holds about 25 in each space. A set menu is required for prix fixe or family-style service. The food and beverage minimum is $2,500. To book, call 310-300-0090.

Ocean Prime

Seafood haven Ocean Prime offers a plethora of private dining options and price ranges. Half and full buyouts are available for the Wilshire Room (36 seated, 40 reception); Dayton Room (10 seated); Camden Room (14 seated); Apex Bar (80 seated, 100 reception) or the Terrace (44 seated, 75 reception).

From holiday parties to more intimate, special moments like bridal showers and birthday celebrations, the team will accommodate special requests including floral arrangements, audio-visual support, specialty cakes and desserts. Guests can choose from an option of welcome cocktails, a Champagne toast or wine bar. Caviar service is also available, as well as food stations or sushi platters. Lunch menu options vary from $60 to $75 per person while dinner menu options range from $115 per person to $170. To book, call 310-859-4818.

Crustacean

If you’d like to dine in a private wine cellar with five of your closest friends, head upstairs to Da Lat Rose at Crustacean, which also features an open kitchen, private bathroom, private bar, audio-visual system and a private entrance. This space can hold 60 guests seated and 150 plus for cocktails. The minimum for food and beverage is $8,000 with a room rental of $1,000-$1,500. Other options are downstairs in the Santa Monica Room (25 seated or 40 plus for cocktails) and offer accordion doors, a flat-screen TV and access to a private Koi bar ($3,500 minimum spend). For more information, email the private dining director at Hannah@houseofan.com.

The Hideaway

No matter how often you sat on the patio by the wood-burning fireplace or pushed the tequila button for a table-side shot, hidden pockets remain at The Hideaway. The Mexican-themed gem is backed by celebrity investors, including Ryan Phillipe and Evan Ross.

At The Hideaway, you can book the extended patio that seats 50 or up to 100 people standing. This area also has a dedicated private bar connected to it that fits 25 people and can be booked independently, and it has a private entrance. 

Other options include the main bar, which can be booked for up to 50 people and features eight private booths and a tequila-tasting room. The side dining room closest to the bar can also be closed off for privacy with up to 30 seats.

Drinks are charged on consumption, and prix-fixe menus are offered at different price points, plus the room rental fee is waived if you fill it to capacity. To book, contact General Manager Bart Clemmer at bart@thehideawaybeverlyhills.com.

Wally’s

At Wally’s, you won’t be short of top wine options if you book a private party. Tucked away in the back of the restaurant, the main room for private events accommodates 22 guests for a sit-down gathering, which includes a prix-fixe family-style menu, or 35 people for a standing reception with tray-passed hors d’oeuvres. The food and beverage minimum ranges from $4,000 to $6,000 (depending on the day of week and season). You can also book the Barrel Room for 10 people, which is located in front of the rare wine vault and spirits room. The minimum buyout for this space is $3,000 to $5,000. To book, contact privatedining@wallywine.com.

The Cheese Store

If a wine and cheese party is more your style, The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills has a new patio that can hold 22, with 16 seats and four high-top tables that can accommodate another eight people standing. This space has a $5,000 minimum spend for a buyout. The entire shop can also be rented out for private events with a $9,000 minimum spend for both combined. To book, contact events@cheesestorebh.com.

Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills

For a splurge, try the in-suite culinary experience in the Presidential Suite at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotel’s bespoke culinary dining experience. It includes a private chef, personal mixologist, special musical performances and the global cuisine of your choice for an exclusive experience for up to 12 seated and 20 for a standing-style reception (starting at $4,000). This culinary amenity is ideal for those celebrating a romantic date night for two, a private dinner party with friends and family or even a corporate event. In-suite dining experiences can be arranged by contacting the property at insuitedining@waldorfastoria.com or 310-860-6617.

MXO

New to La Cienega Boulevard, right across the street from Nobu, MXO is an upscale open-flame steakhouse with a Mexican twist by James Beard Foundation award-winning chef Wes Avila, sbe and Marc Anthony. Brought to life by celebrity designer Jae Omar, the space includes several patios with fire pits and offers not one but two private dining rooms. The larger space has a fireplace, and mid-century modern style furnishings in earthy tones, and can hold 20 people with a minimum food and beverage spend of $2,500. The smaller private dining room is $1,500 minimum and can fit 10 people with a sliding glass door for privacy. To book, visit
http://www.mxosteakhouse.com.

Funke

For a unique opportunity to experience old-world handmade pasta techniques in an intimate setting, book Evan Funke’s namesake eatery for a private bash. The dark green-hued private dining room fits up to 20 people on the mezzanine dining level with an oval table and windows down to all the action below. Expect a base rate for the room, plus per-person costs depending on the date, menus and party size. To book, contact events@funkela.com.

If you prefer an alfresco gathering overlooking Beverly Hills, the restaurant’s Bar Funke can hold 40 guests seated and 100 standing. Or, if you would rather party in Hollywood, Funke’s other acclaimed restaurant, Mother Wolf, has two private dining rooms. Remus is a more intimate room, decked out in rich woods, with a capacity of 10, and Romulus holds up to 22 guests. To book, visit www.motherwolfla.com/book.

The Mother Wolf building also offers an expansive space upstairs at Citizen News that can be modified to fit various group sizes or productions. Expect a $5,000 venue rental fee and a $30,000 minimum food and beverage spend. To book, contact events@rh-hollywood.com. 

The post Private Rooms for Holiday Events in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

1. “Babette’s Feast” (1987), a universally revered Danish movie, stars iconic French actress Stéphane Audran as a refugee from war who takes asylum in an isolated village along the rocky coast of Jutland. Arriving in the middle of the night at the home of two pious sisters, she implores them for a job. They have no money to pay her but she begs to work for free. Grateful for the many happy years she’s spent with them, she asks to cook a French dinner in honor of their deceased father’s birthday. And what a feast it is, lusciously prepared with exotic ingredients, served to abstemious villagers who are afraid that enjoyment would open them to the sin of gluttony. Oh the food, the wine, the service, the colors! You will definitely remember that banquet. (Max)

2. “Big Night” (1996) is an ode to Italian cooking sung by Stanley Tucci (Secondo) and Tony Shalhoub (Primo). No, it’s not a musical but it is an opera of fine food served before its time in the New Jersey of the 1950s. Secondo and Primo, brothers, are recent immigrants from Italy hoping to bring elevated cuisine to America. Unlucky for them, their restaurant is located on the same block as the hugely popular Paradise, a checkered tablecloth meatball and spaghetti joint. Pascal, the owner of Paradise, will stop at nothing to lure Primo to his kitchen, believing the only way to do this is to ruin their restaurant, devising an elaborate scheme built on a plausible lie that will prove their undoing. If you remember nothing else of this wonderful film, it will be the timbale. (Paramount+)

3. “Delicious” (2021) takes place just prior to the French Revolution. The starving populace may be humming a tune of revolt but it falls on the deaf ears of the Duc de Chamfort who has raised gourmet cuisine to a competitive sport. His talented chef, Manceron, will be his ticket to Versailles and the King if his guests approve the latest menu. But one of them doesn’t and Manceron is banished, returning to his humble origins, declaring he will never cook again. Into his life enters Louise who asks that he take her as an apprentice. They both blossom and the kitchen is soon bubbling away. Her motives, however, are not for the love of food but the love of revenge on Chamfort who ruined her life. Ultimately, she will get that revenge but not in the way she originally planned. It is the food that stars, all framed and sumptuously photographed like 17th and 18th century still lifes. (Amazon Prime)

4. “Like Water for Chocolate” (1992) is a storybook romance set in upper middle-class Mexico during the era of Pancho Villa. This is the Cinderella story of Tita whose romance with Pedro was preordained in the cards by her much-loved nanny Nacha. But because Tita is the youngest daughter, tradition dictates that she may not marry and must remain at home to care for her mother Elena. Denied the woman he loves, Pedro marries Tita’s oldest sister, Rosaura, just to be close to Tita. Tita’s powerful mastery in the kitchen is seductive, especially for Pedro and her sister Gertruda who runs off with a revolutionary. Passion, unrequited love, a good witch (Nacha), a bad witch (Elena) and a selfish sister (Rosaura) all are stirred into a simmering pot of magical realism and the mouthwatering food that comes out of Tita’s kitchen. (VOD)

5. “The Lunch Box” (2013) is a delightful film from India that grows deeper and more romantic as it unspools. A young woman, living in a small drab apartment in Mumbai, has, for all intents and purposes, been abandoned by her husband who has lost interest in her. An excellent cook, she is determined to win him back with his favorite lunch, all packed elaborately and beautifully in the multilayered lunch box that keeps each course separate, adding a loving, sexy note to each box. Every day it is sent via a food delivery messenger who misdelivers it to someone else, Saajan, an accountant. He is amused by the notes and loves the lunch, a chain reaction he is loath to quit. When she finally realizes the delivery mistake, she writes a note to Saajan and he replies; a letter exchange develops along with their friendship. Growing more distant from her unfaithful husband, she is increasingly drawn to her pen pal. It is a love story of slow-burning fire and wonderful depth. (VOD)

6. “The Menu” (2022) is the diabolical tale of a chef (Ralph Fiennes) who, tired of cooking otherworldly meals for unappreciative, shallow rich people, devises a fiendish revenge on a personally handpicked group of diners. “The Menu” serves up archetypes of the entitled and superficial that are uncomfortably identifiable. It is only when he interacts with Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), someone not intended to be there, that hints of what he is about to do are dropped like breadcrumbs along a trail. How they interact is delightful, like a chess game between masters. But the best is saved for the end, a tribute to a childhood favorite, a finish that is gothic, incendiary and will make you laugh despite the horror. (VOD)

7. “Menus Plaisirs – Les Troisgros” (2023) is a deep dive into one of the most famous French restaurants in the world. In the middle of nowhere, the Troisgros family set up shop in the village of Ouches, 65 miles from Lyon, long the hotbed of French haute cuisine. The Troisgros own three restaurants in the region, but the one profiled is Le Bois Sans Feuilles (The Woods Without Leaves). Despite name and location changes over the years, the one constant has been the three Michelin stars they were awarded in 1968. Michel, the chef de cuisine and grandson of the founder, is now in the process of handing over the reins to his two sons, one who will take over Le Bois and the other who will manage their other two restaurants. The camera seamlessly follows the entire lunch and dinner preparations and service, from market to dessert, allowing you an unprecedented look at how the meals are created as they scrupulously prepare to serve the guests, most of whom have reserved months in advance. All the more remarkable, this documentary is four hours in length and at the end, you’ll long for more. (PBS Passport)

8. “Ratatouille” (2007) is set in Paris. Remy is a rat with the unlikely dream of becoming a chef. Part of a clan of scavengers, his loftier ambitions are scorned by his peers. Remy befriends a lowly scullery worker, Linguini, in the kitchen of a famous restaurant and teaches him to cook. They bond and Remy becomes his sub rosa instructor. Through fits and starts, villains (the restaurant owner and the health inspector) and a pack of rats, Remy and Linguini join forces, even winning over the vicious food critic, Ego, with their ratatouille. And the good guys cook happily ever after. (VOD)

9. “Sideways” (2004) is the film that upended, temporarily at least, the trajectory of Merlot wine and brought deserved attention to actors Paul Giamatti (Miles) and Sandra Oh (Stephanie). Two men approaching middle age with not much to show for it take a road trip to the Santa Barbara wine country. Miles, a depressed would-be wine connoisseur, wants to show off his knowledge to his friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church), an actor now reduced to voice-overs and commercials. Miles takes them on one last outing before Jack gets married. Jack, however, is more interested in a last fling than fine dining. The dialogue was crisp, famous for the line “No more f***ing Merlot” and the hair-pulling fight between Jack and Stephanie. Despite the fact that the main characters are remarkably unsympathetic, the film is charming, insightful and laugh-out-loud funny. (Hulu)

10. “The Taste of Things” (2023), starring Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel, is the quintessential metaphor of food as love. Set in the 19th century, Eugénie and Dodin work side by side in Dodin’s kitchen preparing elaborate, otherworldly dishes to serve to his friends. As she chops and stirs and tastes, he looks at her lovingly, recognizing her beauty but mainly her unselfconscious ability to produce finished dishes of exquisite taste and elegance. They share a bed, but she has been reluctant to share her life. In the kitchen they are equals, each adding to the other’s skills in a stunning example of the whole being more than the sum of its parts. Working in the kitchen together is a daily seduction of tasting and longing. She will not give up her independence, and he feels less than complete without her. Truly the star of the film is the extraordinary feasts they prepare as you see the many steps it takes to make their multicourse and complex meals, all of which represent so much more than food. (VOD)

Happy viewing

The post Wine + Dine at the Movies — A Cinematic Feast appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Sure, you may raise eyebrows with a lack of culinary or regional theme. Korean Banchan followed by Greek Souvlaki? It is your party; you can be as whimsical as you wish.

Here is our lineup for a fabulous gathering in which each course takes center stage. The possibilities are endless, and we hope you’re inspired to create your own “Uncatered Affair.”

Welcome Apéritif

Dark & Stormy

Three ingredients make this party cocktail a classic.

2 oz. Planteray Original Dark Rum from Barbados

3 1/2 oz. Fever Tree Ginger Beer

1/4 oz. fresh lime juice

Combine in a glass over crushed ice and garnish with a lime wheel atop the rim. Do not shake, as ginger beer is effervescent. If you’re feeling festive, add a tiki umbrella.

planterayrum.com

Passed Hors d’oeuvres
‘Surf and Turf’

Cheesesteaks from Matu

So naughty and so good. Slice the submarine-sized sandwiches into two-bite portions and place them on a silver tray. This elevated Philly fave is composed of 100% grass-fed Wagyu ribeye and sirloin, sharp cheddar, onions and an optional hot pepper piled on an insanely toothsome sesame seed roll.

The sandwich is served only at Matu’s bar at lunchtime, so you’ll have to order ahead and arrange for pick up or delivery hours ahead of your party. Excellent reheating instructions are included.

matusteak.com

Sushi Selections from Sugarfish

Premium quality fish atop lightly vinegared rice makes for one intoxicating bite. Your guests will gobble up the most tender and flavorful yellowtail—spritzed with tangy lemon juice—sitting on lightly packed rice, for a texture treat. Tuna in house-made lemony ponzu makes for a fun amuse-bouche served in a Chinese soup spoon.

If you’re a sushi lover, no introduction is needed. Sugarfish, the scion of the revered Sushi Nozawa restaurant in Studio City, is consistent in its high quality and serves a simple but scrumptious omakase menu. À la carte is also available. Order a couple of bento boxes to go and serve them with your welcome cocktails.

sugarfishsushi.com

Salad Course

Chopped Salad from La Scala

Beloved for 60 years, this iconic salad is perfect for taking home to serve your guests. La Scala expertly combines romaine and iceberg lettuces, garbanzo beans, Italian salami and mozzarella, all expertly chopped into tiny pieces. Simple enough. But La Scala’s red wine vinaigrette is the enigmatic star, and I’ve never been able to replicate the flavor.

If you grew up in Beverly Hills and were able to experience La Scala when Hollywood still dined out, you’d have sat alongside Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner (who got engaged there), or Suzanne Pleshette (who regularly lunched on the salad with her equally gorgeous friends).

Indeed, these folks created the vernacular of the chopped salad itself. Explaining to then-owner Jean Leon that the salad’s dressing splashed on their designer threads, patrons urged the chef to chop the salad to make it more manageable to eat. And thus, an entire dining category was born. Nowadays, celebs like Kate Hudson wander in for a chopped fix.

lascalabaverlyhills.com

First Course

Soup Dumplings from Mr. Chow

A half-century ago, Mr. Chow brought its chic, vaunted version of Beijing-style Chinese cuisine to Beverly Hills and it’s been the raucous place to be seen ever since.

Though it’s difficult to choose just one item to highlight from the menu (We’re looking at you, Glazed Prawns, Gambler’s Duck, Chicken Satay and Pea Sprouts!), we’re going with the soup dumplings. Here, they’re called Shanghai Little Dragons. Minced pork swimming in a rich flavorful broth is bundled tightly into a noodle dumpling and steamed. It’s served alongside a bowl of seasoned vinegar, which adds a complex acidic hit. (Dip your soup spoon into the vinegar once you’ve loaded the dumpling onto it.) You will never go back to any other soup dumpling once you’ve served the gold standard that is the Shanghai Little Dragon.

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Pasta Course

Involtini di Spaghetti from Il Pastaio

This flavorful baked casserole of homemade spaghetti wrapped inside eggplant slices, tomato, provolone and ricotta cheeses, fresh basil and olive oil is Sicily on a plate.

Giacomino Drago, Il Pastaio’s Sicilian-born chef/proprietor, has delighted locals at his fashionable, friendly corner trattoria for 30 years. It’s one of Beverly Hills’ most profound longtime establishments that keeps our little village—yes, many still feel that way about Beverly Hills—feeling like a residential community and not simply a shopping destination for tourists.

Drop off your own ceramic casserole dish at Il Pastaio a day before your dinner party and Drago will fill it with Involtini di Spaghetti or any other selection of his delicious baked pastas.

ilpastaiobeverlyhills.com

Main Course

Branzino from Piccolo Paradiso

Also from Chef Giacomino Drago, this South Beverly Drive vibrant neighborhood haunt is extremely popular with locals. Fresh fish, consistently exquisitely prepared, is always on the menu. The branzino with olives, potatoes, cherry tomatoes and fresh parsley in a garlic and lemon broth is the perfect crowd pleaser at a dinner party. This delicate whitefish offers a lighter juxtaposition to some of this menu’s more substantial offerings. Additionally, it is pretty on the plate.

piccoloparadisobeverlyhills.com

Chocolates and Digestifs

andSons Chocolatiers

This jewel box of a boutique is the second chapter in a chocolate shop dynasty story. For 36 years, a family-run Teuscher chocolates store, draped in pastel-colored faux flowers that spilled onto the corner of Brighton Way and Camden Drive, sold rich truffles and Swiss chocolates. When the proprietor retired five years ago, her two sons reimagined what a chocolate store should be for modern tastes.

andSons Chocolatiers offers a modern interpretation of the classic bonbon. Bright colors splash across smooth-domed chocolates in a Jackson Pollock-inspired riot. Inside, one may hold molten creamy caramel or a nutty praline mousse. PB&J makes its debut enrobed in dark chocolate, as does the campfire treat s’mores. These luxe bonbons are truly delicious. Display them on a modern serving tray and thrill your guests.

and-sons.com

Ravella Tequila

From the creators of 11 Ravens, an ultra-high-end, design-forward maker of game tables, this super-premium tequila fits right in with the company’s ethos of stylish living.

Double distilled from 100% Blue Weber Agave in Jalisco, this Extra Añejo sipping tequila is aged for a minimum of 36 months in American white oak barrels that previously held whiskey. You can taste wisps of whiskey in Ravella’s complex, full-bodied flavors. It’s a sophisticated ending to dinner when served with a piece of delectable chocolate.

There are no additives in Ravella, allowing its slightly smoky flavors of almonds, honey and vanilla to shine. The exquisite packaging is reminiscent of a raven as a nod to the tequila’s owner, 11 Ravens. The box unfolds like the wings of the bird,  revealing the bottle with a cap evocative of a raven’s beak. Ravella is a sipping tequila so be sure to serve it in a rocks glass, a designated añejo glass, or better yet, a Baccarat shot glass.

ravellatequila.com

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West Hollywood

The old Madeo space on Beverly Boulevard is unrecognizable since Gusto 54 Restaurant Group transformed it into Stella. An airy patio overlooks the West Hollywood Design District, while the downstairs now holds an open kitchen, glass-enclosed pasta-making area, a bar and the main and private dining rooms. Canadian chef Rob Gentile serves specialties that include “the rarest pasta in the world,” su filindeu, made with bone broth, pecorino dolce and braised lamb neck. Try the branzino carpaccio, carved wafer-thin tableside before drizzling with olive oil, Meyer lemon, a little sparkling wine, and shaved salt flakes from Cervia. The juicy Ibérico pork pluma is a standout dish sliced and served like a steak. There’s also a special steak menu for those who prefer beef. Olive oil martinis, another specialty, come with a choice of basil, lemon or jalapeño drops.

The former Palm space on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood is now the home of famed Uchi from Austin, Texas. The L.A. menu includes tempura with rotating vegetables, a full Toyosu fish list from Japan and Kaluga caviar from James Beard Award-winning Executive Chef Tyson Cole. Uchi recently rolled out an eight-course omakase happy hour, which might be the only one in town for such a great value (under $100). It includes sushi, handrolls and other plated dishes. Try the beautiful bento-style to-go boxes in three price ranges.

Just down the block from Uchi, French bistro Coucou from Venice has opened an indoor-outdoor spot. This new neighborhood gem is perfect for a romantic dinner on the patio or a seat at the bar for an apéritif such as a Coucou sour riff on a classic pisco cocktail with Lilette Rosé. Do not miss an order of the addictive fried olives stuffed with merguez sausage served with lemon labneh dip. The menu was created by a Bouchon alum Jacob Wetherington, with additional standouts that include zucchini beignets with creamy tapenade dip, steak frites, harissa roasted cauliflower and a classic French onion soup.

When you are shopping on Melrose Place and in need of sustenance, try the new Blessed Bread truck parked in front of Alfred Coffee. The gourmet toasted brioche sandwiches are stuffed with everything from eggs, chorizo and salmon to peanut butter, banana, and chocolate.

Just around the corner, Norma on La Cienega Boulevard is a great spot for brunch, dinner or happy hour with Aidan Demarest of Sofitel who brings inventive cocktails to the bar menu, and celebrated chef Jason Fullilove in the kitchen. His Santa Barbara stone crab crispy fried rice, lamb meatballs, and heirloom carrots are not to be missed.

Bonus tip: Just a block over in the old Ago space, look for indoor-outdoor Mediterranean newcomer Chez Mia on Melrose Avenue by the owners of Olivetta. The space was also designed by Tom Parker from Fettle Design, and features an outdoor bar with 500 potted plants, lemon trees, and plenty of banquettes with curtains to close off for private gatherings.

A Five-Mile Drive

Culver City continues to make headway for culinary excellence, and there is no better exemplar than n/naka. The female-owned, Michelin-starred establishment has undergone a massive revamp conceived by Tokyo-based Oyamatsu Design Studio. The meticulous craftsmanship of the signature kaiseki menu is the move here. This is also the only place in Los Angeles where you can find Xander Soren Wines, which are served in many Michelin-rated restaurants and hotels in Japan. For a new pairing twist, the California Pinot Noir, made by award-winning winemaker Shalini Sekhar, complements the delicate Japanese flavors such as yellowfin tuna.

Located in a 1920s Art Deco building on Melrose Avenue, The Benjamin Hollywood is a hot new superclub with an upstairs speakeasy bar, The Moon Room, with live entertainment and an outdoor terrace. The space was brought to life by Ben Shenassafar of the iconic streetwear brand The Hundreds, who also designed the chic staff uniforms. The menu includes upscale takes on beloved American dishes from Executive Chef Johnny Cirelle (formerly of Spago, Bestia and Bavel), including triple fried chips and caramelized onion dip, and the Benjamin Burger with New School American cheese, hickory sauce, grilled onion, house pickles and fries. Desserts include brown butter chocolate chip cookies served with house whipped cream.

The Tel Aviv-influenced Carmel on Melrose Avenue is another inspired choice for Mediterranean fare. Chef Asi Moaz’s famed hummus is a must-order along with a red snapper schnitzel and 72-hour fermented dough served with tahini, matbucha and Syrian olives. The freezer martini with vodka-infused olive oil makes a great pairing with many menu items.

At Laya on Cahuenga Boulevard, “Top Chef” winner Charbel Hayek of Ladyhawk at Kimpton La Peer Hotel showcases grilled octopus skewers and freshly baked pita with goat cheese za’atar. With two bars, you can also sip cocktails near the large Renta wall painting with a décor that evokes Greece or Tulum.

The global empire of celebrated chef Akira Back includes ABSteak at the Beverly Center and the Michelin-starred DOSA in Seoul. Now Back has opened Norikaya on the trendiest corner of Koreatown (6th Street and Western Avenue). The intimate, 20-person Japanese temake/small bites outpost showcases Japanese artistry as well as flavors and is quickly becoming one of the hottest tickets in town.

Downtown Los Angeles

For a unique mix of French Japanese bistro fare, head to the Arts District for Camélia, by the co-owners of James Beard Award-winning OTOTO and Tsubaki in Echo Park. Charles Namba has worked in classic French restaurants such as the Beverly Hills location of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon, and Courtney Kaplan hails from the beverage side at both Domaine LA and Bestia. Their latest collaboration is on hallowed, brick-paved ground in the old Church & State space.

Small bites include chicken liver mousse toast and cauliflower soup with XO sauce. The Croque Madame topped with a sunny-side-up egg, layered with gruyere and fried ham katsu is a standout. And Spaghetti Bolognese à la Japonaise is the perfect childhood comfort food dish. Finish the meal with a chocolate gateau with black sesame. For cocktails, try the milk punch with Miza Saga Barley Shochu and a Suntory Haku vodka martini with an iced sidecar.

Just a few blocks away, YESS is the brick-and-mortar spot housed in a warehouse-style space from Junya Yamasaki, who was a top chef in London. This minimalist, progressive Japanese restaurant has reopened with an approachable, izakaya-style menu. Start with daily sashimi or a sushi handroll brimming with fatty tuna and a few rounds of sake by the glass or bottle. There is a rotating binchotan selection of grilled meats, fish and vegetables such as eggplant with walnuts. The whole lobster katsu burger is a nod to the food truck this brand started on this very corner during the pandemic.

For anyone with a passion for a Southern-inspired, seafood-focused restaurant, family-owned Joyce on Grand Avenue’s Financial District should be on your radar. The menu was conceived by Michelin award-winning chef Sammy Monsour (formerly of L.A.’s Preux & Proper). The cornmeal-crusted Nashville hot catfish filets with buttermilk marinade are surprisingly light and can be ordered on a brioche roll or as a plate with coleslaw. Try the raw bar, along with the martini plus oyster and dollop of caviar add-on, fried quail, cast iron mac-n-cheese, and bourbon beignets with a scoop of Fosselman’s ice cream for dessert.

Not far from L.A. Live, Hotel Figueroa has opened a new Mediterranean restaurant Deme—named after the Greek goddess of the harvest and a nod to the hotel’s historic roots centered around celebrating and empowering women since 1926. Led by Executive Chef Blake Shailes (of Grandmaster Recorders and Eleven Madison Park), the menu focuses on the culinary traditions of the Greek Islands, Turkey, Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel.

For a treat after a museum outing, Dahlia by James Beard Award-winning duo Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne has a new afternoon tea service at the Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel, designed by Kelly Wearstler with Mexican modernism and Moroccan influence. The tea program by TEALEAVES will kick-start the experience before a sampling of sandwiches from deviled egg to crab with crème fraîche followed by a few baked goods. Vegan options are also available.

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Stella Coffee

6310 San Vicente Blvd., #106

Stella Coffee is a small business and a beacon for coffee aficionados and dog lovers alike. The shop was founded in 2020 by newlyweds Joshua and Emilie Mentrup, who hail from Norway and Germany and met during international student orientation in college. The dog-themed store features their logo, Stella, the Frenchie, on every cup, and 20% of proceeds from merch sales go to animal rescue organizations. In addition to its stellar coffee, the café boasts a range of special creations like the Strawberry-Rose Latte, Passionfruit White Peach Tea and Lavender-Honey Oat Milk Latte. A customer favorite is “Wake Me Up,” which is an organic matcha green tea latte with espresso, dark chocolate and homemade boba. For the hungry caffeinator, Stella also serves “bomb breakfast burritos,” sandwiches, salads and freshly baked pastries.

Aharon Coffee & Roasting Co.

9467 Charleville Blvd.

Aharon Coffee & Roasting Co. is a family-owned business that roasts all of its beans in-house. Its founder Aharon Vaknin was born in Tel Aviv to Moroccan immigrant parents. At 8 years old, he successfully made Moroccan coffee for his uncle, marking his first foray into coffee-making. After moving to Los Angeles in 2002, he refined his skills and, by 2014, opened Aharon Coffee & Roasting Co. The café has since expanded its offerings to include a full tea menu and a diverse food program. Its signature blends, such as the Aharon Espresso and the House Blend, showcase a depth of flavor that’s hard to beat. And the Aharon commitment to sustainable practices and community involvement make it a standout choice for socially conscious caffeinators.

Black Canvas Coffee

8610 Wilshire Blvd.

Black Canvas Coffee stands out with its contemporary design, plant-filled windows and commitment to high-quality coffee. This brightly lit spot has a cool aesthetic and is the perfect place for a quiet meeting or a productive work-from-the-coffee-shop morning. The interior’s sleek black furnishings and vibrant art create an inspiring environment for coffee lovers and creatives alike. The café offers a range of unique blends and brewing methods, including pour-over and nitro cold brew. Sweets lovers must try their affogato, which features a hot shot of matcha or espresso poured over ice cream. Other favorite dishes include the green apple and feta toast, acai bowl, and ham and cheese omelet.

Maru Espresso Bar

201 N. Canon Drive

Maru Espresso Bar is a stylish, modern café known for its exceptional espresso drinks and commitment to the highest quality brewing methods. Maru adopts its name from a native Korean language, San Ma Ru, and means “mountaintop.” This symbolizes quality as the finest coffee beans are grown and harvested from areas of high altitude. Maru’s beans are roasted in the Arts District in Los Angeles and transported daily to its locations in Beverly Hills and Los Feliz. The sleek design and comfortable seating create an ideal environment for work or socialization. Maru specializes in traditional espresso beverages, with their Cortado and Flat White receiving particular praise. A favorite specialty beverage is the Cream Top, an iced long black with sweet cream and cacao powder.

Avva Coffee

9559 S. Santa Monica Blvd.

Avva Coffee is a European-style café where high ceilings, suede booths and a crystal chandelier give classy nods to Beverly Hills’ reputation for grandeur. Avva is known for its commitment to high-quality traditional coffee and also offers a range of dairy-free milk alternatives. The baked goods are a true delight and range from a traditional pain au chocolat and coffee cake to creative creations like a banana, chocolate stuffed croissant and guava, cream cheese croissant. On a warm autumn day, nothing pairs better than Avva’s cold brew and a side of soft serve ice cream. Located a block from Rodeo Drive, the café  is the perfect place to stop before a shopping spree or stroll through Beverly Gardens Park.

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Newer and Affordable

Those who have dined at Niku X in downtown Los Angeles near the InterContinental know that the tab for a premium Wagyu tasting meal can be several hundred dollars. The Chubby Group owners have opened the more casual and affordable Chubby Curry on South Beverly Drive. The Japanese-style homemade curry dishes are inspired by century-old recipes of chef Shin Thomson’s family. Along with partner chef Liga Sigal, their signature curry blend features 25 different spices for premium Wagyu beef or a Japanese Wagyu burger. Other popular dishes include fried chicken katsu and udon noodles, which can be savored in a fun, dimly lit ambiance.

For more Wagyu, try Pink Moon in the old Bouchon ground-floor spot overlooking Beverly Canon Gardens. The small indoor bar and outdoor patio space are perfect for an Asian set lunch menu or afternoon high tea with dumplings. Standouts include Peking roast duck, Wagyu and black truffle xiao long bao, along with cocktails or wine in the evening.

San Diego and Newport Beach community import Parakeet Café has added an all-day, healthy and family-friendly option to South Beverly Drive.  Here you can find vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and paleo options conceived by the owner who trained at Le Cordon Bleu. The signature bowls have a brown rice base with roasted mushrooms, sesame collard greens, pickled cucumbers and almond butter miso mayo. The beverages include superfood lattes, magic mushroom matcha and protein-packed smoothies.

Espelette is still commanding the ground-floor dining scene at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, but the upstairs has rebranded to The Rooftop Beverly Hills. New menu highlights are hamachi sashimi and red Thai curry. Executive Chef Peleg Miron told the Courier, “Both items were inspired by the ocean, and both are complex in flavor. The hamachi dish has a clean, crunchy and refreshing taste while the red Thai curry is bigger in flavor, comforting and satisfying.”

Mediterranean Flair

The London import Novikov has taken up residence as a sprawling, open-air, Mediterranean restaurant and bar on Canon Drive. The menu is Italian-forward with highlights that include 30-month-aged prosciutto di Parma, warm octopus salad, black truffle pizza and tagliolini with crab meat. To take it up a notch, order a whole salt-crusted seabass, veal cutlet Milanese or the house Novikov Royal Caviar. Alternatively, the $36 three-course lunch special is a fantastic deal. Both the wine list and cocktail offerings are extensive.

On the suddenly hot Camden Drive, celebrated New York chef Preston Madson is helming the dining options at the new members-only club, Gravitas. Items from the Mediterranean menu will be available throughout the multilevel venue, including the ground-floor open-air garden, horseshoe-shaped bar and dining areas. Sommelier Raphael Guirguis and mixologist Yael Vengroff will oversee the creative beverage options. Josh Hering, formerly of Mother Wolf, is in charge of daily management.

Pizzeria Sei on Pico and Robertson boulevards created a buzz for its inventive pizza that merged Italian and Japanese flavors when it opened earlier this year and has even received a Michelin Bib Gourmand nod. This small, casual counter spot has recently added a genius weekly omakase pizza tasting ($150) to its offerings that allows you to try about eight different slices rather than one whole pie.

Happy Hours on the Rise

While we look forward to another flagship restaurant debut at the Beverly Hilton this fall, the CIRCA 55 rooftop restaurant and lounge has launched a rotating Rooftop Rhythms series. It features the hotel’s resident live jazz band or a DJ for sunset happy hour on Friday evenings. Expect discounted drinks and bar bites starting at 5 p.m. to accompany the entertainment and views as the sun goes down.

For the late lunch or the early bird crowd, one of the best happy hour deals in the city can be found at Ocean Prime. From 3-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, you can indulge in sushi rolls, baby lamb chops, pastrami dip sliders and the popular crab-artichoke dip, plus elevated cocktails for only $10. Do not forget to order a round of oysters.

Special Occasion Destinations

Tuscan staple e. baldi Ristorante has recently opened the Apertivo Lounge where the old edo café was on Brighton Way. Chef-owner Edoardo Baldi has created an intimate Italian-style space for a pre-dinner cocktail and small bite, or an after-dinner digestive, with live music and a large side room for private dinner parties.

Fans of Cipriani’s famous Bellinis will soon have a new spot to  enjoy them. The Jazz Café upstairs is open for private events and will expand service this fall. The space was designed by Carlos Almada with zebra fabrics on the banquettes, palm trees and a grand piano. An evening here feels like a throwback to an old Hollywood era so be sure to dress the part.

New Sushi Stars

Sushi Yamamoto at Two Rodeo has replaced Urasawa, which sadly closed during the pandemic. It offers an omakase menu as well as a barley shochu, which is a lighter alternative to sake. The spirit, Nikaido Oita Mugi Shochu, debuted this summer at Dodger Stadium.

JADE is Jordane Andrieu’s lively new concept in the old Hermitage wine bar space on Canon Drive. Blending traditional Japanese cuisine with contemporary twists, chef Matteen Khalifian’s menu includes selections such as Wagyu carpaccio with uni and white truffle oil and hamachi crudo with ponzu and chili crisp. Try the diamond roll with lobster, seared salmon, caviar and gold flake, or the interactive D.I.Y. hand roll platter, which is fun for a group. For a real splurge, order the 467 Carat Premium Dragon featuring caviar, uni, rolls and nigiri on a dramatic smoking dragon platter.

The Canon Drive outpost of the Miami/Latin America Negroni brand location opened earlier this year. Begin your visit with crispy rice topped with crab, tuna or salmon and an assortment of sashimi or sushi rolls. Dinner entrees range from risotto Milanese with saffron, bone marrow and parmigiano to roasted halibut with tomatoes, capers, olives and anchovies. Of course, Negroni lovers will enjoy variations on the popular cocktail, but the inventive martini menu is a must-try. “Negroni is meant to be a cosmopolitan hub, where guests can come and go and enjoy the spirit of our hometown of Buenos Aires as it mingles with flavors from around the world,” Negroni Founder Pablo Sartori told the Courier.

Sushi Nakazawa, the much-anticipated omakase-only spot by Alessandro Borgognone and chef Daisuke Nakazawa, will open in October on Robertson Boulevard. Currently, the restaurant has a location in New York (which is Michelin-starred) and Washington, D.C., but the L.A. location will be the first time that the restaurant will serve hot dishes.

Beverly Hills Adjacent Rooftops:

Nicholas Eatery (formerly Malibu) is reason enough to visit the Beverly Center, even when there is no sale at Bloomingdales. The French and Vietnamese-inspired family-run restaurant on the sixth floor is led by Nicolas Fanucci, formerly the General Manager at the French Laundry. Menu highlights include onion soup, egg rolls, lobster rolls, Bánh mì, lobster stir fry and steak frites.

LADiDa is a new rooftop poolside restaurant and lounge at the SLS Hotel on La Cienega Boulevard. You’ll find city views paired with creative cocktails and bites, such as duck confit egg rolls and chicken croquettes with caviar. For a heartier meal, try grilled fruit and jamón  with whipped burrata, bouillabaisse or asparagus risotto.

The London West Hollywood also has a new alfresco dining experience called Legend and LVE at The London WeHo Rooftop. The three-course, prix-fixe menu in partnership with LVE Wines by John Legend features a beef Wellington from wife Chrissy Teigen’s “Cravings” cookbook, executed by the hotel’s Executive Chef Anthony Keene.

Fairmont Century Plaza’s new rooftop pool deck restaurant-bar concept, ¡ESTA!, features grilled fish tacos, hamburgers cooked on the “big red egg” grill and sharable snacks like a mezze platter with fire-roasted baba ghanoush, hummus and pita. The bar features Tempesta, a rosé and Tres Generaciones tequila cocktail for those unseasonably warm fall nights and skyline views. Golden Hour is open to the public from 4-7 p.m. Monday-Friday with special deals on drinks and food.

More Coming Soon

Chef Curtis Stone will transform his tasting menu restaurant, Maude, back into The Pie Room by Curtis Stone this fall. Back by popular demand are the sausage rolls, tarts and sandwiches with an Aussie twist. The last service at Maude is Sept. 28.

The Hotel Bel-Air recently debuted a new casual lobby restaurant and bakery by chef Jose Garcia. The Living Room and Patisserie are both brought to life by Champalimaud Design, with an afternoon tea service coming soon.

Having just earned two Michelin Keys in April, L’Ermitage Beverly Hills is introducing two new restaurants this fall. Costa Covo Osteria is a fresh look at coastal Italian cuisine and Alcova is the new lobby lounge experience, with light bites from sterling osteria caviar to ricotta bruschetta. The showpiece is a Negroni trolley, inspired by The Connaught Bar martini trolley in London, which will offer tableside cocktails and a “Rendezvous Hour” between lunch and dinner.

Another beloved New York City restaurant, Marea, is opening on Camden Drive. ICrave is bringing the concept to life with two private rooms adjacent to the main dining area that will serve the brand favorites and signatures such as the crudi and fresh lobster astice with soft burrata, fusilli with octopus and bone marrow, gnocchetti with ruby shrimp and the salt-crusted branzino. Staying true to the East Coast flagship aesthetic, the interiors will showcase the iconic gold onyx bar as the centerpiece, the Murano glass chandeliers, curated art pieces, soothing mahogany wood and a vast dining patio.

“For some time, we have been considering taking the Marea experience to another vibrant city, and what better city than Beverly Hills,” said Ahmass Fakahany, founder and CEO of Altamarea Group. “We look forward to adding to the burgeoning culinary scene.”

Also on Camden, the old Villa Blanca space will become a version of Bacari, the popular Mediterranean cicchetti (shared plates) eatery from West Third Street, Silver Lake and Sherman Oaks among others. The plan is to open this fall, serving lunch and dinner every day.

The post Wine + Dine New and Noteworthy appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Ashley James

The Beverly Hills Hotel

Culinary Director Ashley James was last seen in Philadelphia as Vice President of Culinary at (Stephen) Starr Catering Group after a long career with Four Seasons properties from Los Angeles to Mexico and South America. British-born James is happy to be in Beverly Hills. “I’m delighted to be the culinary guardian of this wonderful hotel,” he told the Courier.

“A few of my favorite spots are Spago; you can never go wrong with the classics and their wiener schnitzel is exceptional, and also Cipriani. I am a huge fan of the impeccable old-school service and elegant Italian atmosphere. Veal Milanese is one of my favorite dishes here, and their wine and cocktail selection, especially the Bellini, are outstanding.”

James is also partial to Culver City’s Bianca. “It’s close enough; the restaurant and bakery have exceptional pastries and bread, authentic empanadas, provoleta (grilled Provolone cheese Argentine style) and delicious chocolate alfajores you won’t find this good outside of Argentina.”

Luca Maita

novikov

Hailing from Catania, Sicily, Novikov Executive Chef Luca Maita was born into a family of fishermen. His background in seafood is combined with a love for traditional Sicilian dishes, which brought him to kitchens in London, Australia and the U.S., where he joined the team at LAVO Ristorante in West Hollywood.

Now at Novikov, he is bringing patrons an incredible seafood program, including his favorite, whole branzino flown over weekly from the Mediterranean. “You can pick and choose how you prefer it to be cooked; my favorite is roasted in the wood fire oven,” he said.
Maita added, “I love working in Beverly Hills because of the amazing community. Everyone enjoys great food and good vibes. I feel that Novikov is a great addition to the neighborhood with the perfect concept that many people were waiting for. I’m new to the city, but I enjoy going to Funke, Il Pastaio and Osteria Gucci for a great dinner and a glass of wine.”

Preston Madson

gravitas

Executive Chef Preston Madson from New York City by way of Georgia will be helming the culinary concepts at the new Gravitas private members club on Camden Drive. “The Beverly Hills culinary scene has rapidly modernized in the past few years; it’s exciting to be a part of bringing Gravitas into the conversation,” he told the Courier.

“My favorite local spot is The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills—I love their sandwiches. I’m also a regular at Gjusta (Venice), Sonoratown (mid-city) and Saffy’s (Middle Eastern in East Hollywood). I love food from that part of the world—but at the end of the day, I love to cook for myself and my family,” Madson said.

joe garcia

Hotel Bel-Air

Santa Barbara native Culinary Director Joe Garcia, who also worked at The French Laundry, took over the reins at the Hotel Bel-Air kitchen earlier this year and is very enthusiastic about having access to world-class produce from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara. “I guess this is why I ultimately see myself as a steward of the local farmers who share their hard work and tireless efforts with our guests. They sure do make me look good,” he told the Courier.
Garcia added, ”One of my absolute favorite places in the world is The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills where I often go for their Macellaia sandwich. The Honor Bar’s fried chicken sandwich is always a great choice for lunch or dinner. On a ‘splurge day,’ Funke is great for some killer pasta. And Lawry’s for prime rib and a Manhattan on a Sunday night will always make me happy.”

Marcos spaziani

Lou’mar

You might recognize Venezuelan-born chef Marcos Spaziani from Bravo’s “Below Deck,” but you can now find him, along with partner chef Louis Huh, in Beverly Hills at Lou’Mar just above Nerano. They have recently revamped the menu to feature shareable seafood tapas including Peruvian sashimi in citrus sauce. The duo also owns a fast-casual take-out concept in Korean Town, Toast and Rice.

When chef Spaziani is not surfing in Laguna Beach or skiing in Big Bear, you can find him eating Korean BBQ at Hanu in Koreatown. “They bring you brisket, short rib, pork belly, seafood, and little side dishes. I drink a lot of soju there—especially with Louis when we know we are not going to work the next day—but sometimes we do,” said Spaziani. Back in Beverly Hills, his favorite spot is close by. “When I’m not working, I go downstairs to Nerano and eat a lot of Margherita pizza and tiramisu.”

The post Top Five Chefs’ Favorite Dining Destinations appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIR

Merry Edwards Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2021

From this all-women-led team comes a gorgeous wine resplendent with aromas and flavors of ripe cherries, dark chocolate, and an earthy, umami-like whiff of mushrooms. A versatile wine that will partner with whatever you’re serving. One of the finest producers of this varietal, it is made with grapes grown along the Sonoma coast.

merryedwards.com

Native 9 Pinot Noir 2016

This Santa Maria wine is a zestier and more peppery expression of the Pinot Noir grape, owing to its dry central coast climate. A small-production wine, Native 9 has flavors of dried fruits and that terroir-induced pepper hit. It’s perfect with barbecued or roasted meats.

native9wine.com

CALIFORNIA CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Miner – 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

A stunning example of what the vaunted Oakville appellation of Napa Valley does to grapes. Lush and ripe and round but made with such expertise that Miner wines are more restrained than many California reds. It is more like a Bordeaux, thanks to the addition of 15% Cabernet Franc, a grape that contributes acidity and structure. This wine is perfect with robust flavors like steak and wood-fired roasted vegetables.

minerwines.com

SAKE

Sake isn’t usually on a wine list outside a Japanese restaurant, but it should be. If you love drinking delicious cold rice wine with your sushi, why wouldn’t you also love it with other foods you enjoy? Any fish and chicken dish pairs well. Among the best Japanese sakes (for the price) are these:

Hakkaisan Junmai Daiginjo 45

At a 45% rice polishing ratio, this sake is a wonderful entry-level luxe choice that is clean, fragrant, crisp and mildly dry.

Kubota Manju Junmai Daiginjo

With a 33% rice polishing ratio, this rice wine is a bit more refined and florally aromatic, with a full-bodied flavor that hints of pear.

MTCSake.com

Bonus Entry That Is Worth the Splurge:

David Arthur 2021 Elevation 1147

If you were to splurge on one California wine for a special occasion, it should be this David Arthur Elevation 1147, Vintage 2021. It is a beautifully balanced 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine more akin to a vaunted Bordeaux with firm tannins than a giant-fruited California red. This small production wine, crafted from grapes grown atop the acclaimed Pritchard Hill, can be enjoyed now but was crafted to age for 10 years or more. If you can wait that long, your palate will be in for a rare treat. Enjoy with your best autumn-themed dinner or an elevated Indian Summer backyard barbecue.

davidarthur.com

APÉRITIFS/DIGESTIFS

Roederer Estate L’Ermitage Brut 2006 LD

This Mendocino County sparkling wine can pass as a beautiful aged French Champagne. This sparkler of estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes was left to age on the lees (yeast) for almost 15 years before it was disgorged and bottled. Such lengthy aging (referred to as LD or Late Disgorged) has bestowed mature brioche flavors and aromas of roasted nuts. The net result provides all the wonderful characteristics that are valued in a prized bubbly wine.

roedererestate.com

Ferrand Cognac Selection des Anges

This storied cognac from Ars, France is created with 100% Grande Champagne Ugni-Blanc grapes by the skilled master blender Alexandre Gabriel. Ferrand, a 1er Cru de Cognac, is delightfully fragrant and floral with wisps of honeysuckle and jasmine, and earthy flavors of nutmeg, wood and candied ginger. A super long finish leaves the taste of vanilla and cedar. Serve with fine chocolates or a flourless chocolate tart, and you’ll find heaven on earth with this incomparable selection.

maisonferrand.com

El Negocio Tequila

A Reposado with a clean mineral profile, this tequila pairs beautifully with an after-dinner assortment of fresh fruits and berries. Lovers of great California Cabernet Sauvignon will appreciate that this tequila is aged in the French oak barrels of its sister Napa Valley winery, Memento Mori. These barrels previously held the brand’s pricy wine made from grapes sourced from a variety of Napa’s lofty vineyards. The result is a delicate nuanced tequila.

Elnegociotequila.com

ROSÉ WINE

Simon Family Estate Tigress 2023

More flavorful than many French Provençal rosés, this Simon Family Estate Tigress is a better autumnal choice for an apéritif or for pairing with foods like roasted chicken and pork. Made of Grenache grapes grown in the Rutherford area of Napa Valley, this rosé is bright with citrus flavors.

simonfamilyestate.com

The post Top Five Fall Wines Under $200 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Strangulet, Funke learns, is made with a stringed wooden instrument called a “pettine,” and the one Cristina uses is generations old. Later, he is overcome with emotion as she hands the heirloom to him as a gift with the entreaty to “take it to California!”

Fast forward a few years and a world away to Beverly Hills, where Funke’s eponymous restaurant debuted to great fanfare in May 2023. Located in an art deco jewel box on South Santa Monica Boulevard and Canon Drive, it remains the hottest ticket in town.

Warhols and Basquiats grace the walls, but humble tools of the trade hold a higher significance in the space. Inside the imposing glass and steel “pasta laboratorio” in the main dining room, several wooden implements hang on the walls. Among them is a pettine, like the one Funke first encountered in Calabria.

“That’s not the real one. The real one is in a safe,” Funke noted when I met with him for an interview earlier this year.

And that, in a nutshell, exemplifies a key theme of Evan Funke’s remarkable career.

At 46, the two-time James Beard nominee is one of the most celebrated chefs in Southern California, if not the country. Yet, his role as chef-owner comes across as but an adjunct to his true passion, which is to be a culinary anthropologist and historian.

Standing intently beside me (as he did throughout our “sit down” interview at the restaurant), Funke doesn’t disagree with that assessment. He has made it his life’s work to discover, teach and share the art of handmade pasta in its hundreds of iterations.

“I am a student of this craft and of the history of pasta making. And, not necessarily just for the technical knowledge, but for the historical knowledge and the connection between the people who have made these shapes since a very young age and continue to do it,” he says.

Those “people” tend to be women, and Funke is an unabashed feminist in lauding the importance of the Italian “nonnas” (grandmothers) who hold the keys to the dying art.

“If you trace each one of those shapes back, each one of them has an ancestral shape that was at one time made in the home by a woman. And the ingenuity, the creativity was driven by women in the home working with their hands with very meager ingredients: flour and water. All the shapes that exist today are because of that creativity and the need to disguise that you’re going to be eating the same thing today as yesterday, made with that flour and water. All of pasta was born from that,” he said.

When he opened the Beverly Hills flagship 16 months ago, it was hailed as a crowning achievement to follow the venerable Felix Trattoria, which opened in Venice in 2017, and Mother Wolf, the opulent ode to Roman cuisine whose 2021 launch in Hollywood was an instant success.

Helming a triumvirate of wildly successful restaurants could easily fell an ordinary mortal. Funke, by contrast, has launched two new establishments in the past nine months, with another to soon follow. Mother Wolf Las Vegas opened at Fontainebleau Las Vegas in late 2023. Tre Dita debuted this spring at the St. Regis Hotel in Chicago’s Lakeshore East neighborhood. It quickly garnered top marks for its Tuscan cuisine (which, like Chicago, gravitates toward steak), as well as the sweeping views across a panel of 40-foot-tall windows.

By year’s end, a third Mother Wolf is set to open in Miami’s Design District.

Funke, who has said in interviews that “100-hour weeks are easy, if you spread them out over seven days,” has an understandable reputation as an intensely driven perfectionist. (He once spent 20 days in Rome eating only cacio e pepe to hone his presentation.)

On the morning of our interview, Funke had already returned with his team from one of his three weekly visits to a local farmers’ market.

“We’re roughly 93-95% farmers’ market driven in all the restaurants. Nothing outside of 500 miles,” said Funke. He then proceeded to describe the bounty that morning  in the throes of spring, from peas to artichokes and the last winter crop citrus, with the promise of morel and porcini mushrooms to come.

“It’s an incredible palette to paint from,” he noted.

Funke’s path to superstar culinary artist was by no means a predictable one. He and his four siblings grew up in Pacific Palisades. Their father, Alex, is an acclaimed special effects director of photography and three-time Oscar winner. Funke attributes his work ethic to his dad, though the cooking connection came somewhat by accident.

Finding himself at one point “lost” as a young man, Funke signed up for the Marine Corps. He was on the verge of reporting for boot camp when a friend’s mom suggested that he consider cooking school. Funke then made a decision that would change his life: to enroll in Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena.

The rest is culinary history.

From (the now defunct) Cordon Bleu, Funke went on to a seven-year stint with the Wolfgang Puck organization, first with the catering division and later the front lines at Spago where he worked his way to sous chef. An unfulfilling job followed at a hotel in Beverly Hills, after which he again decided to change course.

“I was trained classically in French technique at Le Cordon Bleu, worked for Wolfgang, cooked Asian and French quite a bit for seven years. And I obviously received extraordinary mentorship at Spago. I wouldn’t trade it for anything because the principles that I learned kind of define how I do a lot of things today,” he said.

Nonetheless, Funke was dissatisfied with cooking French food, which simply “did not resonate.” Once again, he decided to seek professional training, this time in Italy. He enrolled in a sfoglini (pasta maker) course taught by the acclaimed chef Alessandra Spisni at La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese in Bologna, Italy.

That time in Italy not only changed his trajectory as a chef but also as a human being.

“I immediately fell in love with the rhythm of Italian life. I was enamored with the way that they choose to live. What you do for a living does not define how you live or who you are as a person. You can sweep the streets and go home and make your own cheese and your own olive oil and live life culinarily to the fullest,” Funke explained.

He added that when he cooked French and Asian food, he was not aware of the background of a dish. Italy instilled in him a reverence for seasonality, for the land and for the history of things.

He came home from Bologna and worked for a while at Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica. His next step was a major one: opening his own place, Bucato in Culver City. Though a critical success and—ostensibly—a commercial one, the venture failed in 2015. In its wake, Funke faced personal bankruptcy and litigation from which he was later dismissed.

It was a low point in his life, but from great pain often springs great art.

In 2018, the media company Tastemade produced a feature-length, documentary film called “Funke,” which recounted the chef’s comeback from the Bucato implosion to launch Felix Trattoria. The film premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival and is still available on streaming platforms.

“Funke” is not entirely flattering to its namesake, laying bare the resentment left in the wake of Bucato’s closing. But displays of sheer doggedness and belief in something bigger than oneself transmute Funke into a hero figure by film’s end. Adding to the mystique is a parallel storyline detailing the faith Funke manages to instill in Janet Zuccarini, the Canadian CEO and founder of Gusto 54 Restaurant Group. Zuccarini takes an odyssey of her own in the film, agonizing as she risks everything to back his Abbot Kinney venture that would become Felix Trattoria in 2017.

The gamble paid off.

Felix was Funke’s breakthrough, earning accolades that included Esquire’s “#1 Best New Restaurant in America” and Eater LA’s “Restaurant of the Year.” It was there that Funke first introduced the concept of the climate and humidity-controlled glass “pasta lab,” through which patrons could observe firsthand the crafting of handmade pasta. The idea sprang from Funke’s time in Bologna, where pasta makers plied their trade in front of storefront windows.

With its menu that breaks down dishes by region of Italy, Felix transformed the way Californians, and by extension, Americans, think of pasta. The trattoria also introduced now-classic Funke signatures, such as the soft-as-down “sfincione” focaccia, which even renowned chefs describe as unequaled.

In 2019, Chronicle Books published Funke’s “American Sfoglino” cookbook. Its pages unfold as a paean to the hand-rolled sfoglino (sheet) of pasta made the old-fashioned way, with a mattarello (specialized wooden rolling pin) and not a pasta machine. The book won the 2020 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award for Best Cookbook, Chefs and Restaurants and a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Photography in 2020.

Though he literally wrote the book on it, Funke chuckles at the notion that he is one of the world’s expert pasta makers.

“I’m a perpetual student. I have a talent for this, and I define talent as an intense love of something,” he said.

He motions to a young man rolling out a sfoglino behind the glass of the pasta lab behind us. Murano glass light fixtures designed to evoke Champagne bubbles reflect from above like so many fairy lights.

“I’ve made upwards of 35,000 [sheets of pasta], far beyond the 10,000 hours of mastery, if you will. It’s very much a meditative state that you can lose yourself in. It’s part martial art, part craft, part mysticism, part spiritualism, for me anyway. Pasta is not really a job for me. It’s not a vocation. I have to do this,” he explained.

The year after publishing “American Sfoglino,” Funke opened Mother Wolf in Hollywood. With a name that pays homage to Rome’s origin story and a menu inspired by La Cucina Romana, its star power was immediate. In the words of an early L.A. Times review in the spring of 2022, “Mother Wolf is a Hollywood production in every sense. Every night is a party, loud and posh and rowdy …” That same review added, “A new Funke restaurant will always involve some razzle-dazzle, but I doubt he’ll attempt anything of this size again soon. There’s no need. With Mother Wolf he’s pulled off serious cooking while pulling in Beyoncé and the Obamas … and the rest of us jockeying for reservations.”

Alas, the reviewer may have mistaken Funke for an ordinary mortal.

In fact, Funke at that moment was already deeply engaged with a bigger, bolder project in the heart of Beverly Hills. Westside Estate Agency (WEA) Co-Founder Kurt Rappaport was the financial Midas who would become Funke’s Medici.

After purchasing the building at 9388 South Santa Monica Blvd. in 2018 (for a reported $40 million), Rappaport worked with Dan Brunn Architecture to reimagine and transform both its exterior and interior to house WEA’s main office.

Rappaport wanted a significant restaurant for the space. He also knew that many in his circle of friends and business associates were Funke aficionados.

“I knew of Evan from Felix and the restaurant before that. My friend Steve Tisch and others would always rave about him. I heard through the grapevine that he was opening in Beverly Hills with Larry Gagosian on Camden next to the gallery,” Rappaport recalled.

He added, “I was depressed because I had bought the building. I had potential clients that were major restaurant operators but with concepts I didn’t really love and wouldn’t do anything to improve the community. We didn’t need another steakhouse or some strange concept that wouldn’t have a longstanding ability to succeed. I thought, ‘Oh my God. It would be so incredible to have Evan in my space,’ and ‘How did I not hear about it till it was too late?’”

Then, in March 2020, the world came to a screeching halt.

“All of us were locked in our houses and businesses were shuttering. I wanted to check in to see if the Funke-Gagosian project was still happening. Funny enough, I called a mutual friend who said that the deal was on hold. I said to myself, ‘You don’t put Evan Funke on hold. I want to meet with him.’”

The next day, Rappaport and Funke met.

“I told him, ‘The world will come back. Let’s build something that is exquisite.’ I told him that I believe in letting talented people do their thing. We will make it beautiful and special for the public. We worked on the restaurant for 3.5 years of planning and construction,” said Rappaport.

He noted that the city of Beverly Hills was a great help in bringing the project to life.

“I would say that [former Mayor] Lili Bosse was a real champion. I said to her, ‘I need the city’s help because Beverly Hills is going to lose another great concept to WeHo. The city was great and understood when I told them the restaurant will bring traffic that will help revenue in all parts of the city.”

When Funke opened, it was hailed not only as a career pinnacle for its namesake, but an architectural and design marvel, as well. Spanning three levels (including the most popular rooftop in the city) and 10,000 square feet, it is a showplace of Italian moderne. Interior design by Clint Nicholas incorporates striking stone surfaces, graceful, curved lines and touches that only an unlimited budget can provide, such as Loro Piana fabric on soundproofing panels. The net result is a space that encapsulates and propels forward the glamour of bygone eras. At the same time, the energy of the bustling venue on any given night conveys the sense that this corner of Beverly Hills is the center of the world.

To Funke, the magnificence of the setting helps achieve one of his main goals as a chef, which is to tell stories.

“So much of the restaurant industry is theater. It’s environmentally driven, as is Italian food culture. It’s where you are, it’s who you’re with, it’s what you’re eating that informs the experience. And every dish that I make in all the restaurants has some form of storytelling connected to it. The history of Italy, the history of pasta is very much interwoven into the history of the country. And there are very beautiful themes that inform this space and all the spaces,” he said.

This spring Funke manned the pizza oven in his third year catering Vanity Fair’s post-Oscars party for Hollywood’s biggest night. But he always returns to pasta, which he describes as “the food of the people” or more aptly, the food of the nonnas who have shared their craft with him.

“[E]very dish that I make in all the restaurants has some form of storytelling connected to it.”

Many of those nonnas are immortalized now, their names on the Funke menu alongside regional specialties now served nightly to a rapturous clientele. There is Agnolotti dal Plin from “Gemma,” tagliatelle from Bologna, with credit to the Maestra Alessandra and, of course, the strangulet, attributed to Cristina, his teacher from the ancient village in Italy.

Funke, said Rappaport, is the highest grossing restaurant in the city.

“People love it, and everyone compliments me on the service, on the staff. The experience starts when you walk in the door. Everyone who works there is a passionate foodie, and Evan is the hardest working chef in America. He is never satisfied. Most people look at and are happy with 99 percent. He’s looking at the one percent and wonders how we can elevate and provide a better experience,” Rappaport added.

At the moment, Funke is also looking at other potential ventures, including an Amazon project with chef-restaurateur Giada DeLaurentiis.

“That is still in the works. But television always takes a lot longer than people think, and I want to make sure that whatever I do, no matter if it’s a restaurant or if it’s a TV show or it’s a book or a project, I don’t want to be a talking head. I want it to be meaningful.”

What about meaningful time off, I ask?

“I take about half a day off a week on Sunday. I cook a little, my wife [Grace] cooks a little. If I go out, I like to go to small Thai places, little Vietnamese places. But I leave pasta for Italy,” he replied.

Thus far, Funke has been to 17 of Italy’s 20 provinces and tries to visit between two and four times a year to, as he puts it, “reset the culinary North Star” and build relationships.

“I work every hour that is available in the day, and I’m very motivated to do as much as I possibly can with my life. And I just so happened to choose pasta and restaurants as my medium to build a legacy that I can leave behind. The mentorship that I leave behind will be the legacy. I just think I have a responsibility to do it, and I’m privileged to do it. I’m not having children, and this is what I’m going to leave behind,” said Funke.

He added, “L.A. is an extraordinary place to cook.”

The post The Paradox of Evan Funke appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The Maybourne Beverly Hills

One of the most pleasant ways to spend an afternoon in Beverly Hills is sitting at The Terrace overlooking Beverly Gardens Park. This Mother’s Day, The Maybourne Beverly Hills will present a mezze-style brunch, with crunchy crudités and dips, along with Mediterranean starters and entrées. For extra indulgence, try the Fruit de Mer platter, with optional caviar service. Sharable desserts will also be served. The price is $195 per person. For reservations go to opentable.com.

Before or after the brunch service, mom can also visit the spa for a special menu honoring her. It starts with complimentary Champagne for all the mothers on Sunday, along with a beautiful floral arrangement to take home. Treatments range from Dr. Sturm’s anti-aging facial and Knesko mask to hot stone massage with aromatherapy. Prices start at $275 for 60 minutes. To book, visit maybournebeverlyhills.com/the-spa-at-the-maybourne/.

Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel

This year, brunch at THE Blvd includes three courses with indoor and outdoor seating options and views of the action on Rodeo Drive. Brunch will run from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., but if you want to enjoy the live jazz band, book from noon to 3 p.m. The prix-fixe menu by Chef Rafael Alcala comes with fruit and yogurt for the table as well as coffee or tea and juice. First course options include, among other salads on offer, the signature fluffy pancakes,  huevos rancheros or smoked salmon. For the second course, Maine lobster eggs Benedict, mushroom ravioli, Dover sole, wagyu flat iron steak or the avocado elote and crab toast are among the bevy of choices. Finish the meal with Chef Riccardo Menicucci’s impressive pastry and dessert buffet. A station will be set up for children to create Mother’s Day cards, and moms will also receive a beautiful, small flower bouquet to take home. The price for the brunch is $175 per person and it can be booked at exploretock.com/theblvd/.

After brunch, why not treat mom to some additional pampering in the hotel’s spa? Every mother will receive a complimentary Rose Gold Mask enhancement to any facial or massage service enjoyed on Mother’s Day. They will also have access to the spa facilities, which include a tranquility lounge, eucalyptus steam room, ice fountain and experience shower; as well as the Mediterranean-style pool and jacuzzi, bi-level fitness center and complimentary valet parking. To book, go to na.spatime.com/fsbw90212/17443453/home.

Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and The Beverly Hilton

It would be an understatement to say that the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills has a lot to offer moms this year. The Astor Ballroom will feature a grand buffet brunch with live music. Acclaimed Chef Steve Benjamin and the culinary team will present multiple chef-led food stations featuring fresh seafood, a sushi bar, meat carving, an assortment of sweets, along with a mimosa and Bloody Mary bar. The first seating is at 11 a.m. and second seating is at 2 p.m. Prices start at $165 for adults and $60 for children under 12. For reservations, visit eventbrite.com.

Also at the Waldorf Astoria, Espelette will celebrate with a three-course, farm-to-table and land-to-sea chef’s curated brunch menu from noon to 4 p.m. Prices start at $135 for adults and $55 for children under 12. For reservations visit opentable.com.

Meanwhile, in the lobby, Mother’s Day Afternoon High Tea is available throughout the month of May on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. It features an exclusive TEALEAVES tea blend crafted for mom’s big day, along with Champagne from Veuve Clicquot and live music. From $110 per person, you can make reservations at opentable.com.

On the beauty side, acclaimed British facialist, Adeela Crown launches an exclusive residency at the hotel’s La Prairie Spa from May 10-24. The celebrity facialist will bring her customized luxe treatments to the five-star spa with a menu of new treatment options incorporating La Prairie products. Guests can choose one of the popular facials, including White Caviar, Gold Radiance and Platinum Rare, to be performed by Crown herself in the hotel’s spa, which is the only La Prairie Spa in Southern California.  Reservations are by appointment only and can be made by emailing hello@adeelacrown.com.

Next door at The Beverly Hilton, spectacular views are on the Mother’s Day brunch menu. The venue is Circa 55, now located on the hotel’s rooftop. The expansive menu offers a wide selection of classic favorites and specialty stations from build-your-own omelet to sushi or sweet and savory beignets. Available on May 12 only from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The price is $155+ per person and $60 for children 12 and under. For reservations visit opentable.com.

Hotel Bel-Air and The Beverly Hills Hotel

It’s always a treat to walk over the bridge across a swan-filled pond for a tucked-away meal on the patio, or by the fireplace of The Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air. New Culinary Director Joe Garcia, whose background includes Bicyclette and The French Laundry, is crafting a menu of modern California cuisine with an influence from the Mediterranean. Available Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the weekend brunch menu includes classics such as huevos rancheros and buttermilk blueberry pancakes. 

Just a stone’s throw from the dining room, treat mom to an afternoon of relaxation at The Spa. A new Oxylight facial is designed to transform skin one session, using Valmont products combined with LED, oxygen, microcurrent, resurfacing and ultrasound. The treatment is $850 for 90 minutes. 

At sister property The Beverly Hills Hotel, there is also exciting new food news. Chef Ashley James has returned to Los Angeles and is now the culinary director at the hotel. Expect a special prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner at the Polo Lounge on Mother’s Day. The price is $240 per person, and menu highlights include zucchini blossom veloute soup, Maine lobster risotto, and mushroom, spinach-baked lasagna to name a few standouts. 

You can also treat mom to a Marilyn Monroe massage in the hotel spa featuring CBD products and Himalayan salt stones, priced at $500 for 90 minutes. To book any of the experiences above, visit dorchestercollection.com. 

Fairmont Century Plaza

The Fairmont Century Plaza will celebrate mothers throughout May beginning with a brunch on May 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the French brasserie, Lumière. Menu highlights will include avocado toast, buttermilk pancakes, shakshuka and chicken and waffles. In addition to the à la carte menu, the brunch will feature gratitude stations for moms including flower crowns, tarot reading and a watercolorist. For reservations visit, Lumiere.com. 

The hotel’s award-winning Spa will offer numerous Mother’s Day treatments throughout the month of May. Options for mom include a “Moment for Me” massage, a “Matahari Mom” massage and facial, the “Goddess Treatment” massage, and a “Mani. Pedi. Mama.” Book at fairmontcenturyplaza.com. 

More Dining Options Around Town

If you have a day of shopping planned on Rodeo Drive, Gucci Osteria Beverly Hills will offer a special Mother’s Day Brunch on May 12. Priced at $145 per person, the experience will feature four distinct courses composed of standout dishes such as spinach-filled crepe with bechamel, crispy pancetta and sage, crispy enoki mushroom with seaweed aioli and bubu arare, and a Monte Bianco pavlova with chestnut, rum and chocolate. And, do not skip the Champagne cart. For reservations visit Gucciosteria.com.

Ocean Prime on Wilshire Boulevard only offers brunch three times a year and Mother’s Day is one of those special occasions. The team wants to offer a toast to all the mother figures who raised us. Opening at 11 a.m., the brunch menu at the surf and turf eatery will feature crabcake eggs Benedict, brioche French toast and smoked salmon latke. To pair with the sweet and savory brunch menu, specialty cocktails include a dragon fruit mojito, mango tequila sour or classic Bloody Mary. Make reservations at Ocean-prime.com.

On Canon Drive, Mastro’s Mother’s Day special includes a brunch with an iced seafood tower, steak-carving station, live entertainment and a decadent dessert display. The brunch is only offered on May 12 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The price is $135 per person, and reservations can be made at mastrosrestaurants.com. 

Beverly Hills’ only Mexican steakhouse, The Hideaway, will offer a three-course menu for $85 per person from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. on Mother’s Day. Favorite offerings include the tuna tartare pequenitos and pescado zarandeado, as well as one-day-only specials, such as cured salmon potato tostaditas, honey-baked ham and eggs Benedict, and guava cream French toast. Make reservations at thehideawaybeverlyhills.com.

More Beauty in Beverly Hills

Modern Esthetics on Canon Drive is a family-owned, cheerful and convenient day spa that features cutting-edge modern medispa treatments. They also specialize in bespoke facials by French skincare brand Biologique Recherche ($250 for 60 minutes) or Keravive for a scalp hydrofacial. Either one would be a great idea to gift mom this year. The spa is open Tuesday-Saturday, and reservations are available at modernesthetics.com. 

After a recent star-studded launch party at the rooftop spa at the Waldorf Astoria, celebrity dermatologist Dr. Ava Shambam has launched Althea Skin, a new brand that has targeted skincare through research on circadian rhythm and clock genes. The Cara is the next-gen beauty device designed to help absorb the products into your face and neck. To book an appointment at her Santa Monica Boulevard office, visit avamd.com.

For a pampering foot massage right on Beverly Drive, BAO Foot Spa specializes in foot reflexology with treatments utilizing this ancient Chinese art. The result will increase blood flow and rejuvenate the nerves all over your body. Prices start at $40 for 30 minutes. To book, visit baofootspa.com. 

For an elevated nail salon experience, make plans to visit Townhouse with your mom when it officially opens on May 23. Launched by Juanita Huber-Millet, founder of the “5-star nail service” in London, the brand’s flagship U.S. location will be in Beverly Hills just off Rodeo Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard. 

With 40 locations currently open in the U.K., celebrity fans of Townhouse include Margot Robbie, Drake, Kim Cattrall and Emilia Clarke. This upscale salon features everything from hard gel extensions to nail art and more. “When it comes to nails, in the beauty industry, we have been left behind,” Huber-Millet told the Courier.  

The nail brand plans to revolutionize the U.S. industry with its “better for you” products, the latest technology, and offering European-style benefits (including 28-day paid holidays) for their staff to truly nurture their craft and growth.  But, the best part might just be, as part of the “Flawless Finish Guarantee,” if your gel manicure is damaged within 7 days, it will be fixed for free. Also, look for future collaborations with brands such as Chanel and Givenchy. Manicure prices start at $54, and appointments are available now at townhousebeauty.com. 

The post Mother’s Day Brunch and Beauty in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills 

Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills is introducing a special menu to commemorate Passover from April 22 to April 30. Guests can opt for either a three-course prix fixe menu or choose from traditional appetizers, entrées and desserts à la carte. The three-course menu is priced at $79 per person. To place an order, call Culina Ristorante & Caffé at 310-860-4000.

Judi’s Deli

Judi’s Deli is featuring classic Passover dishes for dine in and takeaway starting April 19 through April 30. Dishes include matzo balls, classic potato latkes, Moroccan fish balls, braised brisket and cranberry rice. In a nod to tradition, the deli is also offering a unique twist: any sandwich from their regular menu can be transformed into a “matzo sandwich,” catering to those observing the holiday. For more information, visit https://judisdeli.com.

“Pesach is such an important holiday for us as a family, and we wanted to bring those traditions to our customers. We are proud to have been serving the Beverly Hills community for 42 years, and hope to be able to enrich our customers’ homes with the flavors of Pesach for many more years to come,” Judi’s Deli owners Sharon and Yuval On told the Courier.

Lawry’s The Prime Rib

Lawry’s The Prime Rib is offering an à la carte Passover menu from April 22 to April 30. Available for both takeout and dine in, the menu includes appetizers like grilled artichoke and French onion soup and entrées that include Skuna Bay salmon and roasted Jidori chicken. Also available are traditional Passover side dishes such as roasted fingerling potatoes with chimichurri and flourless chocolate cake for dessert. To make a reservation, visit https://www.lawrysonline.com/.

Nate’n Al’s

Beverly Hills’ beloved Nate’n Al’s is offering a special prix fixe Passover dinner available for dine-in guests on April 22. The menu showcases Nate’n Al’s signature dishes, including their classic matzo ball soup and crispy potato pancakes, alongside main courses such as honey glazed salmon as well as honey nut loaf and apple matzo kugel for dessert. Priced at $49.95 per person, reservations are not required. 

Alternatively, for those looking for an easy at-home Passover meal, Nate’n Al’s is offering an à la carte Passover menu for pickup and delivery from April 21 through April 30. The menu features all the classics, plus some new additions this Passover season. Nate’n Al’s has partnered with Cookie Good bakery to introduce six gluten-free cookie flavors that will be featured on their menu. Among them are brown sugar snickerdoodle macaroon, flourless chocolate cake and strawberries and cream. To place your order, visit https://www.natenals.com/.

Spago Beverly Hills

Barbara Lazaroff, co-founder of the renowned Spago Beverly Hills, is hosting the 40th annual charity interfaith Passover Seder on April 23. Dinner and service will begin promptly at 6 p.m. The event will once again benefit MAZON, The Jewish Response to Hunger, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger across all faiths and backgrounds in the United States and Israel.

The Maybourne Beverly Hills

The Maybourne Café at The Maybourne Beverly Hills is offering a “carry-out” Passover Seder menu all day on April 22 and April 23 (from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The option allows guests to simply pick up and plate at home. The menu includes glazed heirloom carrots and Brussels sprouts, braised beef brisket, as well as coconut macaroons and flourless chocolate cake. Each package is $85. To place an order, visit https://www.exploretock.com/maybournebeverlyhills or call 310-860-7971

The Nosh of Beverly Hills

The Nosh of Beverly Hills is offering its Passover menu available from April 20 through April 30. It features traditional appetizers like potato kugel and whitefish salad mixed with onions and bell peppers, Angus brisket braised in onions and herbs, as well as chicken soup with carrots and celery. The menu will be available during their usual business hours throughout the specified dates. For Ron Magnin, owner of The Nosh of Beverly Hills, offering Passover dishes is more than just providing delicious meals; it’s about honoring tradition and fostering unity during a time when Jews need it most.

“It is more important than ever for Jews all over the world to recognize their heritage and celebrate it. Given the state of things in Israel and the prevalence of antisemitism worldwide, we need to come together and show solidarity,” Magnin told the Courier. To place an order, visit https://www.thenosh.com/ or call 310-271-3730.

Tutto Bene

Tutto Bene bakery is introducing an array of Passover-friendly desserts to its menu from April 20 to April 30. Included in these offerings are their popular Marvelleux, a chocolate mousse with hazelnut meringue, flourless almond tart, coconut macaroons, mixed berry trifle and more. The bakery is also offering a cookie gift box for those seeking a Passover gift. Orders can be placed either in-store or online at http://ordertuttobene.com/. 

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The institutions that define England—not just the governmental, but also the cultural—tend to be marked by their tendency to divide, to split opinion, to push apart. Pubs are different; pubs pull together. Our pubs are where high and low mix, where friendships likely and unlikely are forged, where love stories are both sparked and snuffed. They are there whatever the weather, or mood. In Belgravia, they hold particular value. Long one of London’s most fashionable districts, from time to time it is still taken as somewhere for little more than top-end shopping and cars that look like sharks and sound like bears. But, beneath this gilt veneer, there is still a community to be found. There are actors and politicians, those big in finance, those big in media. Rumors swirl of the last remaining old-world aristos. There are the art collectors, the antiques specialists. In truth, the area draws all sorts, from curious travelers and students to those who simply fancy wandering London’s prettiest streets. And all of these, at one time or another, end up in a pub. There is confluence. These are Belgravia’s best.  

THE WILTON ARMS

The Wilton was never a bad pub per se, but, by the time it closed in time for Christmas 2019, some 193 years after its 1826 opening, the old girl needed a rest. Now that she is revived, refreshed, redone—she is a looker. Part wood paneling and an ornate carved bar, part a subtle shimmering gold wall and mid-century leather seats, the Wilton is both old and new. What you might call timeless chic. It draws a lazy Sunday crowd with their dogs, for the excellent roast beef, and a lively after-work Friday crowd who laugh a lot, drink a lot and flit between a straightforward but decent draught beer list (Meantime, Guinness, Grolsch, but try the Allsopp’s pale ale) and cocktails (the Negroni and Espresso Martini impress).

71 Kinnerton Street

thewiltonarmssw1.com

THE GRENADIER

Some pubs are superstars; some feel like secrets. And some, like The Grenadier, defy logic by being both. Perhaps SW1’s most celebrated pub, it sits tucked away down a winding alley, a prize for the curious. Over three centuries old, it is resplendent in white and navy, the red sentry box nodding to its early days as an officers’ mess for bear-skinned Grenadiers, the regiment who have served 15 monarchs, including our present. It serves a finely-turned-out menu of upscale pub food on its little terraces and in the compact bar. They’re proudest of the beef Wellington, probably because the duke the dish is named after used to eat here. But you’re more likely to find the well-heeled sharing bottles of rosé or drinking pints of the pub’s own bitter. These might include Brad Pitt or Lady Gaga, but, as with a recent trip, they could just be smiling visitors pinning cash to the ceiling—it’s a tradition to pay the debt of Cedric, the guard killed here for cheating at cards. “We get all sorts in here,” the girl behind the bar says, with one of those looks. Including, it turns out, a ghost.

18 Wilton Row

grenadierbelgravia.com

THE ALFRED TENNYSON

Sometimes pubs are not pubs at all, but landing decks, places to meet, second homes. The stylish Alfred Tennyson has some of this, sitting as it does on the cobbled corner of Kinnerton and Motcomb streets; it has, in recent times, become a landmark of sorts. One might meet at the Tennyson. But people linger too, drawn to its impeccable menu—try the monkfish, paddling in a pool of mussels, or the lamb rump, bundled up with fat and good things in a croquette. Linger is the right word. “I suppose we’d say the Tennyson is our grown-up pub,” says affable co-owner Sam Pearman, who also runs The Thomas Cubitt nearby and others further afield. “You might come for a long, boozy lunch and stay for brandies.” He laughs. You get the sense he may have done it a few times; you might, too.

10 Motcomb Street

cubitthouse.co.uk

THE STAR TAVERN

This is not a boozer—boozers are not a Belgravian speciality—but it is, gloriously, a proper old-fashioned pub, the kind where afternoons are gently lost as pristine pints are passed over the wraparound bar to a bohemian local set sat on stools. It is, then, heaven. Its Victorian frontage is gloss black and brass and strewn with flowers, a dark blazer with a carnation through the pinhole. As per most Fuller’s pubs, the beer is kept very well—their London Pride is particularly fresh, and there is a “now pouring” board listing the specialties and curiosities filling the pumps—while their selection of ales has won them Camra awards. The Star is a beacon of sorts; The Star is aptly named.

6 Belgrave Mews West

star-tavern-belgravia.co.uk

PAXTONS HEAD

Many of the pubs on these streets are tucked-away places that feel like cottages which strayed into town. Paxtons Head offers something substantially different and is particularly well suited to bigger groups and the breadth of age and interests that such groups customarily envelop. A hall of old oak and cut-glass, the enormous central bar serves an egalitarian range of drinks—easy-going lagers (Camden Hells, Estrella), pumped pints of bitter, both cheap and expensive wine, lots of spirits—while the menu is unfussy but unfussily priced, too (fish and chips are decent). Downstairs is a pool table and screens for sport; upstairs is a pretty dining room. There is, then, both room and a welcome for everyone. It is a commendable thing.

153 Knightsbridge

greeneking-pubs.co.uk

THE ORANGE

Though it’s named after an old brewery that sat on this site (itself named after a coffee house that came before it), The Orange seems a suitably playful moniker for this place, which is a little sister of sorts to The Alfred Tennyson. “We tend to think this is our more Mediterranean one,” says co-owner Sam Pearman. Like the Tennyson, it is beautifully turned out—it is rustic but not really, has painted posters of oranges and lemons, and a blackboard with the day’s specials—and offers an excellent pizza menu alongside the likes of grilled red prawns simmering in their shells, hake tart with preserved lemon and a wine list where it’s hard to go wrong. Little wonder the crowds here, often couples and young families, are all so cheery. 

37-39 Pimlico Road

cubitthouse.co.uk 

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One of the greatest bars in New York City opened its first West Coast outpost in the summer of 2023. Zachary Weiss recounts the history of Dante’s, an institution whose finest iteration now sits atop the rooftop of The Maybourne Beverly Hills.

There’s a beautiful din to be heard upon stepping into either of Dante’s bustling New York City outposts: convivial conversations peppered with laughs; the stacking of finished plates that once played host to delectable bites such as arancini al ragù; and, of course, the unmistakable shaking of a cocktail, before it’s poured into a frosty glass. It was a similar ambience, in 2015, that served as a siren call to Linden Pride and Nathalie Hudson, who took a chance on acquiring what was then a charming, albeit slightly run-down, café in Greenwich Village. 

New Yorkers by way of Australia, the husband-and-wife duo were shown the space, a jewel box on MacDougal Street, under one condition: Caffe Dante, which opened in 1915, had to remain as such. “There were rumors the space would be converted into another cupcake shop. The owner, Mario, just couldn’t let that happen,” Pride tells me on a sunny afternoon as we sit outside Dante enjoying an orange juice. “He was holding out for the right person to continue the legacy of the restaurant. As we were sitting there getting acquainted with him over espresso and sambuca, it dawned on us that we were ready to do this. Australia has an incredible Italian presence, so we were well-acquainted with casual, all-day service, but we knew we eventually wanted to add a bar.”

In the beginning, Dante’s clientele remained firmly in two camps: the octogenarians who favored the tried-and-true coffee service and the younger set who sought out the venue for its budding menu of Italian-inspired bites and cocktails; a secret for those living within a few blocks. “Nathalie would work days and I’d do nights. When she had our daughter, Noa Grace, we’d literally hand the baby to each other as we crossed paths,” Pride remembers with a laugh. 

Among the regulars was “Elvis” director Baz Luhrmann, a fellow Australian who quickly became their best customer. “We were making about $300 a day for about a year,” Hudson recalls. “We were fortunate Baz was living across the road at the time. He came in one day and said, ‘I heard these Aussies had opened this place.’ He wanted a coffee then changed his mind to a Negroni. We worked out an arrangement where Linden would take Negronis across the street to Baz’s house for his guests. Then he was nice enough to start taking his meetings outside the shop, so he’d be in the café with notable friends. This led to a moment on Thanksgiving when Baz and Catherine [Martin, Luhrmann’s wife] hosted a dinner party for 30, including Bradley Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It really was surreal.”

 These days, Dante’s reputation precedes itself. The crowd is often equal parts local loyalists—some of whom order their “usual” with a simple glance toward the bartender—sitting with first-timers aware of the accolades the café has amassed over the past decade, as coffee has taken a back seat to bustling weekend brunches and artfully crafted cocktails. These awards hit new heights in 2019 when Dante was crowned the World’s Best Bar at the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s fiercely competitive ceremony, hosted in New Orleans, and later garnered the number one spot in the World’s 50 Best Bars list. 

 In 2020, they opened another outpost on Hudson Street, which served as an impromptu hub to send out pre-batched cocktail kits during the pandemic then became a center of gravity in the West Village hospitality circus. It was here that the love story of Maybourne and Dante began in 2022, when Dante West Village hosted the launch of “Claridge’s: The Cocktail Book.” “The conversation started simply about throwing a party and grew to a week-long residency of events in the West Village, so it was this immersive experience where we really got to know each other and connect,” says Pride. “The logical next step was to work on a pop-up together in London or the South of France, but then the opportunity to provide something long-term at The Maybourne Beverly Hills came up. Every step along the way from that first meeting, which began with trying to work out how to do an event together to working out how to build a business together, has had that same fluidity and serendipitous connection.”

 It’s all come to fruition on the rooftop at The Maybourne Beverly Hills, where signature libations such as the Negroni Bianco and Seville Spritz live alongside dishes designed with an eye toward fresh, seasonal ingredients. Dante Beverly Hills has come to life through wood-fired pizzas served poolside as well as roasted Santa Barbara black cod, organic chicken and rainbow trout, all from nearby suppliers. “The produce is so fresh and flavorful. We certainly want to take advantage of that,” says Hudson. “It’s like bringing the Amalfi way of life to California.” 

To book an evening at Dante Beverly Hills, visit dantebeverlyhills.com. 

@themaybournebh 

The post Dante’s Destiny appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

With its bare brick walls, smart, buttery-soft leather banquettes and gleaming open kitchen, Muse is very much a modern Mayfair brasserie. Staff are clad in pristine white T-shirts; a professional barista bar serves serious coffee and the lighting is elegantly expensive. There’s even a giant 200-year-old olive tree smack bang in the center of the room.

Then, of course, there’s the food. Being an all-day operation, freshly made croissants, French toast, shakshuka, acai bowls and Full English turn gently, as the day goes on, into vibrant salads, homemade pasta, wood-oven-baked pizzas, grilled fish and Thai king prawns. For pudding, the sort of patisserie that tastes as beautiful as it looks. But Muse is no ordinary restaurant, rather the extraordinary Claridge’s staff canteen, situated two floors below the lobby.

“This really is the toughest crowd,” says Head Chef Jorge Baumhauer da Silva with a smile. “They come here three times a day. All of them food critics. And they’ll let me know if they don’t like it!” He runs a brigade of 15 chefs, who start cooking breakfast at 5:30 a.m., then carry on throughout the day and night, feeding around 600 employees. His kitchen very much fits in with the Claridge’s ethos of promoting from within. “It’s all very exciting, as the general manager wants chefs to train down here and eventually go upstairs to the main hotel restaurants. We have kitchen porters becoming commis chefs, and see this as very much a training ground, an incubator for talent.”

And it’s not just the chefs they share with the main hotel, but ingredients too. The Muse kitchen uses the same meat and fish suppliers as the Claridge’s restaurants, as well as the patisserie. There’s a grab-and-go section for those in a hurry, with fresh sandwiches and juices, as well as the aforementioned barista, using a state-of-the-art Faema coffee machine that produces expressos, lattes and flat whites by the dozen.

It’s about as far removed from the classic restaurant staff lunch as you can possibly imagine. Rather than a bowl of dreary mush, quickly knocked up from kitchen scraps by some harried sous chef and wolfed down in seconds on their feet, the Claridge’s family sit in relaxed comfort. Some of the tables are filled with big groups, chatting away merrily, while others have solo diners, replying to emails or just taking a quiet break. It’s a place to decompress and relax, a welcome respite from the hard work upstairs. Equally important, there’s no charge for any of the food or drink.

The room has a palpable buzz, the sort of well-fed bonhomie that characterizes a decent restaurant. Claridge’s Culinary Director Simon Attridge looks around the room with pride. “Staff food is so very important. If they’re happy, they go out and deliver,” he says as I tuck into impeccable fish and chips. “The food has to be perfect to get the magic upstairs. For me, it’s the most important restaurant in the hotel.” In short, Muse is the beating heart of Claridge’s, as happy workers mean happy guests. “Staff are gold,” he goes on. “If you don’t care about them, then someone else will. I’m so proud of how people can progress in this kitchen. You really get a feel for future stars.”

Muse is the most democratic of places too. You’ll find Paul Jackson, the general manager, eating alongside his staff. “It was very important to me that people could eat here as many times as they wanted,” he says, “and I didn’t want any restrictions.” Jackson was one of the driving forces behind Muse and is palpably proud. “We just had to make sure the restaurant was amazing.”

Just after noon and things are getting busy. Pizzas fly off the counters, along with French onion soup, vegan calzone, lemon chicken escalopes, cauliflower cheese pasta, kimchi, antipasti and oozingly lactic burrata. Oh, and not forgetting raspberry pavlova and chocolate eclairs. Michael Lynch has been at the hotel for 45 years, working his way up to head butler. He’s charming and loquacious, but not a man to mince his words. “Muse is fantastic,” he says, between bites. “They love us here at Claridge’s.” He pats his tummy and laughs. “I’m a good advertisement for the food.”

The light is cleverly designed to mimic sunshine pouring through the windows, and the room has a bright, airy feel. “Having fresh fish every day is incredible,” he says, tucking in. “It’s very different from the old canteen.” And, because the cooking is of such a high standard and the choice so vast, staff don’t feel the need to go out for their lunch. Glenn Piper, Foyer and Reading Room Restaurant Director, says Muse has made all the difference. “A few years ago, people would go out over the road. Now, all my team eat here.”

It’s not just the daytime staff who are looked after but the equally essential people who take care of the guests, and hotel, during the night. There’s fresh food available through the wee hours, and full roasts on Sundays too. As ever, everything goes back to the team who make Claridge’s one of the greatest and best-loved hotels on Earth. “To be successful, you need good people,” says Attridge, gazing out over Muse. “Jorge does an amazing job, and I don’t have to worry about it. But as long as the staff are happy, then I am happy.” Wise words. Because Muse is not so much a staff canteen as a proper restaurant in true Claridge’s style. And, ironically, probably the only place in town where even those legendary concierges will be unable to bag you a table. @claridgeshotel  

The post Muse Reviews appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

During the one-hour debut program, Stone takes us behind the scenes in Hong Kong. He visits with friends, farmers, fishermen and cooks in markets, restaurants and obscure locations, to uncover unique customs, rare ingredients and preparations that make up the fabric of this fascinating culture. Here is a taste of what he uncovered in Hong Kong and what you might find on the menu back home.

BHC: Why was Hong Kong your first choice for the new season of “Field Trip”?

Curtis Stone: Plans were in the works to get to Hong Kong four years ago, and well, we all know what happened. We had not been to Asia in the [first] Field Trip series, though I have traveled to Hong Kong several times and have always loved it. The city is dynamic with such an incredible quilting of history and old traditions, coupled with the new and modern.

What surprised you the most about the country and culture on this trip?

I think that blending of the old and the new was not something I expected to intertwine so seamlessly. Old temples dot a modern metropolis, and you could easily pop into an old noodle shop for an inexpensive lunch and be eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant for dinner.

Did you discover any new and interesting ingredients on the journey?

I had no idea about the reverence given to dried seafood. Michelin-starred chef Vicky Chen of Vea met me on Des Voeux Road and introduced me to ingredients that are far more expensive than the caviar and truffles on Western menus. I had never encountered dried fish maw, which are the bladders of larger fish like sturgeon. So many dried ingredients have medicinal uses. Vicky told me that his mother would visit these shops as she would a pharmacy when he got sick. We picked up some dried sea cucumbers and went back to the restaurant where he showed me the rehydrating process, which can take up to a week and how he uses his background in French culinary techniques to present them on his fine dining menu.

In the small fishing village of Tai O, I encountered a woman in her 80s who was curing the yolks of duck egg. Her name was Po Po. She separates hundreds of the whites and yolks a day and lets them dry in the sun. She gifted me a few.

Are you utilizing any of them back home in your kitchens at Maude or Gwen?

I have grated the dried egg yolks over pasta at home. They have an umami quality to them that just melts into the dish. I am not sure either restaurant is quite ready for the sea cucumber serving, but it was incredible. I would not be able to do it justice the way Vicky did either.

Why is Hong Kong a good travel destination right now?

There are a million things to do in Hong Kong. Beyond first-rate shopping and cultural experiences, of course, I am all about the food. Archan Chan worked for my mate Andrew McConnell in Australia. She is manning the wok at an incredible spot called Ho Lee Fook. It is rare to see women leading a restaurant, but Archan is a trailblazer. The whole crew loved her. Before she invited us over and cooked dinner, we met up with her at her favorite dumpling spot, Saam Hui Yaat, where the dumpling master has been at it for 40 years. She showed such respect for her elder who was filling hundreds of baskets a day with different shaped dumplings. Next, Archan took us to the island of Sai Kung and the boardwalk where we bought her favorite razor clams from vendors with small boats selling their catch. We ate so well during our time there. From that old school dim sum, to celebrating a cameraman’s birthday over hot pot, to our first crew meal of Peking duck to a lunch of Peking goose. I mean, go for the food alone.

Do you have any seasoned tips for navigating and working with jet lag?

I am one of those enviable people who can fall asleep at the drop of a dime. The best jet lag tip I have heard, which seems to work, is to drink a bottle of water every hour you are on a flight. You will not get dehydrated and will have an easier go of making the time adjustment on the ground.

When preparing for a trip, what can you never leave home without?

I do everything in my power not to check luggage. My Rimowa is my trusty carry on. Also, my favorite pro tip is to pack things wrinkled and have clothes laundered and pressed at the hotel.

Where else will you be traveling for the series?

I am looking to show off more of Australia at some point and may do an episode closer to home in Los Angeles. 

Curtis Stone’s Top Five Essential Experiences in Hong Kong

1. Head to a rooftop bar at night to catch the famous light show on Victoria Harbor.
2. Hit up Kung Ho Beancurd Factory in the Sham Shui Po neighborhood. Renee So left her career in finance to help her dad with the family business. The sweet tofu pudding is something I never tasted before and delicious. They have been making the tofu the same way for the past 60 years.
3. Visit Tai O on Lantau Island if time allows. You’ll be rewarded with street vendors, fishing boats, men playing Mahjong on the decks of stilted houses, and a shrimp paste that will enhance your fried rice game.
4. Get out of your comfort zone. I met Sam Lau, a man almost twice my age and a martial arts legend whose most famous student was Bruce Lee. He masters in Wing Chun and quite easily humbled me and kicked me into next year.
5. Walk as much as you can. While there is great public transportation, I enjoy seeing as much of a city on foot as I can. The network of escalators on Hong Kong Island is like nothing I have ever witnessed. 

The post Curtis Stone’s Hong Kong appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

As soon as the last award is given at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony this Sunday, March 10, guests from Bradley Cooper to Margot Robbie and Steven Spielberg will head to the Governors Ball where Master Chef Wolfgang Puck and his team of 120 chefs will cater a lavish spread with small plate food stations, tray-passed treats and a buffet of sweets.

Puck has been throwing this party for the past 30 years and for over a dozen years, his 29-year-old son Byron Lazaroff-Puck has become an integral part of the event as well.  What is new this year? “Byron is cooking,” quipped Puck. All jokes aside, “Not even close! You need a good team to execute something at this high-level for this many people,” Lazaroff-Puck told the Courier. “And my dad, of course.”

“It can get a little nerve-wracking during those final moments,” Lazaroff-Puck told the Courier. “But whether you are at the ballroom in Hollywood or at Spago in Beverly Hills, the execution and quality is the same,” he added.

“We always do something traditional and then we have new menu items,” added Puck. New on the menu this year is an international array of Spanish paella, Peking duck, and Wagyu beef, plus the Iberico ham carving station will be back.  

Of course, a few favorites from black truffle chicken pot pie to cacio e pepe macaroni and cheese, along with the English pea agnolotti will be back by popular demand. “We always have the smoked salmon Oscars with caviar,” added Puck.  And what would an Oscar celebration be without the famous pizza? This year, the options include a mushroom truffle and a pepperoni with Calabrian honey, to name a few standouts. 

Every sweet tooth will be satisfied with the Norie Reserve Chocolate Oscar pops “spray-painted” with gold, and filled with vegan Scotch Ganache, along with chocolate cigars, bars and eclairs.

Partners for the event include Chefs to End Hunger, Weiser Family Farms and Harry’s Berries to name a few. “With a great team, we can do anything,” said Puck.

Culinary matters aside, Puck is rooting for “Oppenheimer” to win, and his son is excited to hopefully meet Cillian Murphy this year. “I was always a huge fan of ‘Peaky Blinders,’ said the young chef. And to finally see him have the leading role and the way he conducted himself in ‘Oppenheimer,’ getting to feed him will be a treat.”

As for wines, the crowd will be toasting with the newly released Petite Fleur de Miraval, from the only Champagne house exclusively devoted to Rosé, Brad Pitt’s, Château Miraval estate in the South of France. This vintage will be available after the festivities at Dante at Maybourne Beverly Hills.

For the second year, Prince Robert of Luxembourg, Chairman and CEO of Clarendelle Wine will be on hand pouring wines from his fourth-generation family company, Domaine Clarence Dillon. If you will not be attending the ball this year, but hosting an at-home gathering, the premium Bordeaux wines can be found at Wine.com and K&K, from the red and white varietals to a rare La Clarté  de Haut-Brion 2017 and La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion 2010 and coming soon to the wine list at Spago in Beverly Hills.

“Hopefully, they will have some wine left for us, so when it’s over, we can sit down with the whole team,” said Puck.

Don Julio partnered with the Academy for the Governors Ball again this year, with non-alcoholic options from Seedlip. Globally acclaimed mixologist Charles Joly and Mexico Bartender of the Year Israel Barón spent countless hours preparing the cocktail experience—including the 1942 Encore, Round of Applause, and It’s Showtime—made from different tequila expressions.

The drinks will require nearly two tons of watermelons, 12,000 leaves of epazote, over 18,000 kernels of corn, 27,000 sprigs of coriander and enough tarragon to stretch the length of three Olympic-sized pools just to satiate the crowd.

Following the Ball, back in Beverly Hills, pizza will again play a leading role at the Vanity Fair party this year presented by Nespresso. Held at the custom-built venue at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Chef Evan Funke and his Funke in Beverly Hills is catering the star-studded affair. 

Winners and nominees will dine on the award-winning chef’s signature thin-crust pies that will include a classic Buffalo mozzarella margarita, and a citrusy Meyer-lemon Amalfitana with a zing of peperoncino, among others, offered at the chef’s pizza bar, along with ricotta-stuffed zucchini blossoms, fried artichoke, and meatballs. 

An hour-long livestream of the event will be available on both vanityfair.com and Vanity Fair’s YouTube channel. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the 96th Oscars will air live on ABC and broadcast outlets worldwide on March 10 at the new time of 4 p.m. 

The post The Academy Awards Dining Scene appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The year is 1998 and Eva Longoria has just been crowned Miss Corpus Christi, Texas.

Though Eva had plans to earn her master’s degree in sports medicine having received her undergraduate diploma in kinesiology, one of the prizes that came with her crown was a ticket to Los Angeles to compete in a prestigious modeling and talent competition. By the end of that contest, 28 agents wanted to represent Eva, enabling her to pursue her other passion, acting.

It would take two years before Eva was cast in her first prime-time speaking role, a job that would earn her a SAG card and elevate her from aspirational to bona fide actress. The role was only three lines, but it was opposite Luke Perry, on the hottest show in the world, the pop culture phenomenon “Beverly Hills 90210.”

Today, Beverly Hills 90210 is the place Eva Longoria calls home. 

Back then, as a struggling actress, it wasn’t imaginable for Eva. 

“Beverly Hills felt so far. Not in miles, in thought. It was so farfetched.” She pauses, realizing the serendipity. “I forgot 90210 was my first speaking role.” 

By the time Eva settled in Beverly Hills, her accomplishments had defied expectations. But maybe not in Eva’s mind. As an actress, producer and director, she has earned 14 awards and 33 nominations, including Golden Globe, People’s Choice and Screen Actors Guild Awards. As a global influencer, with 9.7 million followers on Instagram, Eva has earned the world’s respect in the entertainment, beauty, fashion, cookware and spirits industries. 

And this is just the beginning. 

With boundless versatility, passion and talent, Eva uses her influence and insight to overcome the barriers that prevent advancement for minorities, the underserved and the mistreated. Her purposeful mission is to effect real change. Through her foundation and charitable associations, she advocates for women’s rights, persons with disabilities and Latinx equality. And, in her spare time, Eva, a seasoned businesswoman, engages in diverse entrepreneurial endeavors. 

Focused, determined and driven, she also employs her authentic storytelling to message through her craft. This year, having directed her first highly acclaimed feature film “Flamin’ Hot,” an “inspirational, feel-good story,” Eva, as with many of her projects, used the film as a tool to educate and to provide opportunity. 

As the ultimate modern shero, a happily married woman and a new mother, one wonders how does this trailblazing woman of influence do it all?

Long before Beverly Hills, Eva was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her family’s roots in the Lone Star State are traced back to 1603 when her ancestor, Lorenzo Longoria, sailed from Spain and arrived in the New World. But it wasn’t until 1767 when Eva’s 7th great-grandfather received a gift from the King of Spain. It was a land grant of almost 4,000 acres along the Rio Grande, which remained in her family for over a century. 

Born March 15, 1975, Eva Jacqueline is the fourth girl behind Elizabeth, Emily and Esmeralda. With her mother, Ella, and her father, Enrique, all have names that begin with the letter “E.” Eva explains the family tradition began with her maternal grandmother.

“My mom’s mom did that. And my mom chose to continue it. My mom’s brothers and sisters all start with an “E.” All my aunts, Elda, Elsa, Edna…There’s nine of them. Crazy.”

Eva was raised Roman Catholic and did not learn to speak Spanish until her mid-30s. When she was young and the darkest skinned in the family, her big sisters would jokingly call her “la prieta fea,” a Spanish expression meaning “the ugly dark one.” The thought is humorous as she became a world-renowned cover girl. 

Eva fondly remembers her childhood on the Longoria farm. 

“Growing up on a farm is a gift. I mean, it really is a gift. It gives you an appreciation for nature, animals, gardening and where food comes from. My dad would never let us eat fast food because we grew so many vegetables. He said there was no reason to ever eat out. We would pull carrots from the ground and just eat them. Not even wash the dirt off. We were savages at our ranch. We would run around all day.”

It was a different era in the 1980s, before cellphones and video games. 

“There was never a choice to stay inside. That was a punishment and the worst thing you could hear growing up on a ranch. It gave me such an appreciation for nature and specifically animals and raising chickens and raising pigs.”

Her father taught Eva and her sisters how to handle a gun to hunt. On “Dateline NBC,” Eva shared, “I can skin a deer, I can skin a pig. I can pluck a quail. You name it, I’ve done it.”

Giggling, “My first pet was a cow. I mean, it was definitely different.”

Eva feels it’s essential to raise her son, Santiago, with an understanding and appreciation of nature through taking care of animals. Fortunately, she still has her ranch in Corpus Christi. 

One of the biggest impacts on Eva’s childhood was her sister Elizabeth, whom everyone called Liza. She is intellectually disabled. Ella Longoria was determined to facilitate the best possible life for her eldest, as well as her other three daughters. So much so, she became a special education teacher providing guidance for the family and enabling her to accompany Liza in public school. Eva has shared in the press, “Growing up with a sister with special needs makes you selfless… you think of others first.” She also remembers volunteering annually with the Special Olympics. It helped her form her deep conviction to give back. 

Today, Eva’s Heroes, a nonprofit organization, founded by Eva in 2006, and based in San Antonio, Texas, puts into practice the lessons learned from her sister. It reflects Eva’s compassionate and empathetic desire to enrich the lives of other individuals with intellectual special needs. 

Despite Enrique working as a tool engineer and rancher, and Ella working full time, money was tight. Years before Eva’s quinceañera, the traditional coming-of-age celebration for Latinas, Eva realized there would be no money for her party. As the story goes, she “swiped” her sister’s ID and got a job flipping burgers at Wendy’s before the age of 15 to make enough money for her celebration. Her grit, determination and self-reliance were being realized. 

At Roy Miller High School, Eva not only played three sports, basketball, track and gymnastics, but she also made the cheerleading squad and head drum major, a near impossibility all at the same time. These extracurriculars led to a cheerleading scholarship at Texas A&M University in Kingsville. Five years later, after winning Miss Corpus Christi and scoring her first trip to Los Angeles, Eva was excited about visiting Hollywood. 

“I remember just wanting to go see the [Hollywood] sign when I arrived. All I wanted to do was live in Hollywood so that when I wrote home to my mom, my address would be Hollywood, California on the envelope.”

Finding success was not easy. To make ends meet, Eva worked at an executive search firm. Roles offered to a Latina were few and far between. Her dream was to have a recurring role on a soap opera. But first, she needed a break. “Beverly Hills 90210” was it. 

As for eventually living in the coveted zip code?

“It was my husband who wanted to move there. We lived in Hollywood. He was the one because of the show [“Beverly Hills 90210”]. One day he said, ‘I want to live in 90210.’ When we got married, we immediately started looking there. I have my husband to thank for that.”

In 2013, a friend set Eva up on a date with José (Pepe) Bastón, a Mexican-born businessman, and a successful Televisa executive and producer. She shared that by date two she was already swept away. Eva told People Magazine, “He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. He was so charismatic, charming, sweet and funny.” When Bastón proposed to her in Dubai, Eva went to social media, posting photos of the couple with the hashtags, #Engaged #Dubai #Happiness. In a white gown designed by her best friend and bridesmaid, Victoria Beckham, Eva married Pepe during a sunset ceremony at his home in Valle de Bravo, Mexico on May 21, 2016. Three years later, Eva gave birth to their son, Santiago Enrique (Santi), in June of 2019. 

The timing of the move to Beverly Hills, the Garden City, with her baby could not have been more perfect for Eva. 

“Not only did we move [here], we moved [here] and then COVID happened. To be able to walk during COVID was like a gift. I lived in the Hollywood Hills for so long. There’s no trick-or-treating, there’s no walking anywhere. You have to get in your car and get out. And during COVID, it was such a gift to not only walk outside on beautiful streets, but you could also admire the landscaping and the palm trees. You feel like, OK, this is L.A. living. We really felt this is what people think about when they think of L.A., like this street right here, these palm trees right here. And then you get the beautiful tour of these gorgeous homes. I could just walk and walk and walk and just stare at people’s gardens and people’s fences and people’s doors.”
And like her attraction to gardens, Eva’s character, the sassy, sexy Gabrielle Solis, on the highly successful ABC series, “Desperate Housewives,” was desperately attracted, while married, to her gardener. Eva starred on the show throughout its run, from 2004 to 2012, and received numerous awards and nominations.

Cast in the show more than three years after her first speaking role, it would take another three years before Eva was cast in her first feature film. While on “Desperate Housewives,” Eva starred in the thriller, “The Sentinel,” opposite Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland. She is not shy in sharing her feelings and reflecting on her years of hard work to gain traction in her acting career.

Her roles continued far beyond these few notable ones, and as her star rose, Eva began popping up in high-profile advertising campaigns in both male and female fashion magazines, as well as in many glamorous cover stories in Vogue, People, Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire. To this day, she is included on most magazines’ “top” and “best” lists. In 2005, she became a spokesperson for L’Oreal Paris and remains featured in their print and TV ads today, 18 years later.

In describing beauty as she’s matured, Eva has a different point of view from when she was younger.  

“It’s always wonderful to be called beautiful or be on these lists of most beautiful. And I think it’s cliché to say beauty comes from within, but it really does. If you can exude confidence and intelligence and empowerment, there’s nothing more beautiful on a woman. And that doesn’t necessarily come from makeup and haircare. That comes from knowing who you are. That beauty comes from being empowered in your job, being stable in your relationships. There are so many things that I personally identify with [when it comes to] beauty, and I think it has very little to do with the exterior, but I’m older. I’ve evolved to this place of really understanding and knowing beauty is deeper and has very little to do with the superficial surface.”

As time moved on, Eva broadened her creative energies to include producing projects under her UnbeliEVAble Entertainment company. She began to direct series episodes and documentaries, with an eye toward one day directing feature films. Satisfying her need to message through storytelling, Eva, as a producer, examined the plight of the migrant farmworkers and their dire working conditions in “Food Chains.” Similarly, “The Harvest,” another UnbeliEVAble documentary, is told from a child’s perspective about the deplorable working conditions that “tens of thousands of children face” in fields across the United States every year. 

By revealing these true-life stories, through the vehicle of film, Eva reminds us, “I don’t speak for the Latino community. I encourage the Latino community to speak for themselves.”

Recently, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment was folded into the media holding firm, Hyphenate Media Group. This new venture, which Eva co-founded with Cris Abrego, is part production company, business incubator and talent scouting agency. 

To further enhance her activism, at the age of 34, Eva returned to school to earn her master’s degree in Chicano Studies at Cal State Northridge.  

Aware of the inequities that affect Latinas and wanting to improve their trajectory, Eva created the Eva Longoria Foundation in 2012 with its mission, “to help Latinas build a better future for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship.”

Along with its advocacy and research, the foundation has funded educational programs such as STEM workshops aimed at school-age Latinas as well as classes and workshops for Latina entrepreneurs. In addition, the foundation has given $1.9 million in dispersed loans to 220 Latina entrepreneurs, enabling them to employ and retain more than 600 Latinas. 

Breaking through to that next step to become a feature film director, as a Latina, albeit an accomplished actress, series television director and producer, took confidence, conviction and self-belief. 

“It’s definitely hard for women behind the camera for sure. We in no way have gender equity in our industry, but honestly, that’s across all industries. There are very few women on boards, women in corporate America, women as CEOs. With Hollywood, people make the assumption we’re very progressive so Hollywood’s getting it right. We’re not. We’re far from getting it right. And again, if you look at the numbers, we have less women directing TV and film than we had a couple of years ago. So those numbers dictate we’re going in the wrong direction. But how can we be going in the wrong direction?” 

Eva advocates that the Hollywood community should course correct and broaden the applicant pool. But first, it has to acknowledge the problem. 

“Why wouldn’t people be more conscious about hiring women? It’s still a problem that we have to address and acknowledge because it’s not going to change. And we have so many amazing female storytellers that should have the same opportunity as men to get their projects made.”

Eva suggests that the cause of the problem is where change must occur. 

“I always hire ‘with the lens of other,’ whether that’s a woman, a person of color, a person with a disability, LGBTQ. I don’t think there are people at these studios up in a tower going, let’s not hire women and people with disabilities. I think they unconsciously work with who they always work with. It takes a different mind frame to expose them to a different talent pool. Let’s tap into a different talent pool that is equally talented. Just because you are doing a diversity hire does not mean you’re getting less. In fact, sometimes it makes your movie better.”

This year, in her feature film directorial debut, “Flamin’ Hot,” Eva tells the story of Richard Montañez, the son of a Mexican immigrant and a janitor at Frito-Lay who created the idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Following her own advice, Eva cast a wide net by offering opportunities and opening new doors. What was her takeaway? 

“That I could do it. I think a lot of times, specifically female directors say, ‘I don’t know if I’m ready. I don’t know if I know enough, I don’t know if I can.’ And we go in it with this real vulnerable, insecure position. At least I did. I was thinking, why did I say yes to this? Having that fear of not being ready and then finishing it and going, not only was I ready, I know what I’m doing and I’m good at it! I don’t think men do that. I don’t think men go, ‘I don’t know if I want this shot.’ It’s like they just go, assume the job is theirs and they get it. And so, for me, I think that was the biggest lesson was not only, you can do this, it’s you’re really good at it.”

Proud of the film’s message, Eva offered, “There was even a stroke of love in how we did the cholos… This was his [Montañez] lived experience. These characters were real people. And I think that we really were applauded for how we portrayed Latinos in this film, even to the cholos who are real, complex, beautiful people.”

The film, “celebrated an immigrant story rooted in the United States,” reported the New York Times and was screened with Eva in attendance at the White House with the President, First Lady and 600 attendees. President Biden said, “Opportunity is a cornerstone of our democracy and the American dream. And you’ll see in the film, that’s exactly what the Hispanic community embodies: opportunity, courage.” 

This was not the first time Eva was invited to the White House. In 2012, she supported Barack Obama and was one of seven Californians named co-chair of President Obama’s reelection campaign. 

Of the many hats Eva wears in the entertainment industry, including as a talk show host and podcaster, the one she would choose to wear first and foremost is as a director. 

“I just really enjoy it. I love having control of the final product. As a director, you’re in charge of everything. I like having the control of the overall creativity.” 

Pride-filled and passionate, you can feel Eva’s commitment to her Mexican culture in just about everything she does. Combining that with her love of family, food and fun, it’s no wonder she explored ideas around cooking as an avenue to hone her business acumen, along with her creative talents, in becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Unlike her character in “Desperate Housewives,” Eva loves to cook. A talented chef, Eva has authored several cookbooks inspired by her Mexican roots. She even posts about her cooking skills on Instagram, “There’s nothing like a homemade meal and sharing memories in the kitchen with your loved ones.” Of late, she posts videos that include her son Santiago. “He’s been cooking with me since he was two,” she told People Magazine. “Nothing brings me greater joy than feeding my family.”

Joy inspires laughter, and when Eva recently launched a new cookware line she named it Risa, Spanish for laughter. From the moment it appeared on the shelves, it received rave reviews in materials, design and storage simplicity. But not all food endeavors have been successful. Beso, which means kiss in Spanish, a restaurant and nightclub Eva created and co-financed, first opened in Hollywood in 2008, and later in Las Vegas. By 2011, the venture had failed, but provided Eva, as a young entrepreneur, with some valuable lessons. 

Casa Del Sol Tequila, which Eva calls her “baby,” was founded in 2021 by a female-led team “inspired by the magic of golden hour and the legend of the Aztec goddess of agave, Mayahuel.” The company touts that among its many distinctive qualities, instead of sourcing whisky barrels from the United States, it uses Cognac barrels from France. This unique aging process results in an extremely smooth liquid with a distinct flavor and aromatic profile. 

Despite the fact that Eva had been approached by many tequila companies over the past 20 years, she chose to become a founder of Casa Del Sol. 

“[The company] was really honoring the traditions of tequila making, honoring the jimadores [workers] in the fields, honoring the people of Jalisco, making sure people understood how to drink tequila, the tradition of tequila, the art of tequila. It wasn’t a money grab. It wasn’t a celebrity endorsement. It was a really authentic approach to celebrating the most iconic symbol of Mexico, which is tequila.”

“And then when I tasted it, I was like, ‘What is this?’ The juice is the best in the industry, hands down. We’re the only portfolio that ages in Cognac barrels, which gives this insane smoothness. Not that it’s a tequila for women, but we have the most women of any company in key positions. We have a female master distiller. We have a female president. We have a female CEO of the distillery. It’s important that we have success. So that the industry itself can put more women in positions of power, and go, ‘Oh, that works. Women can do this job, too.’ All those factors really made it a no-brainer for me to sign on to Casa Del Sol.”

The president of the company, Colbi Corbett, shared, “We looked at the landscape, and we really wanted a strong Latina voice as a co-founder in our business. We wanted to be able to have someone authentic and someone who has real genuine ties to the region. [Eva] is an incredibly savvy businesswoman [and] we looked at [her] as a true business partner. She’s had a ton of successful ventures in front of and behind the camera. And anyone who knows Eva knows about her grit, her hustle, her ability to make things happen.”

As for the company’s female Master Distiller, Carmen Gonzalez Alfaro, Corbett adds, “Less than 11% of Master Distillers in the tequila industry are women. We’re very proud that Carmen is our Master Distiller. When we go to hire, we want to make sure that we’re offering opportunities for women to be successful.” 

This year on CNN, Casa Del Sol was highlighted in “Searching for Mexico,” a six-episode series that explores the lesser-known parts of Mexico. Choosing Eva as the journey’s tour guide, Stanley Tucci and the team at CNN made the right choice for a delectable food and travel experience. Eva’s favorite segment is Veracruz, the port gateway between Mexico and the rest of the world. 

“I really loved Veracruz. I didn’t have many expectations for it. This was where everything started. This is the port where the conquest happened. This is where Indian spices came through, Asian spices, Asian cuisine, African cuisine, everything came in through that port. And so, Veracruz is probably the most eclectic state [in terms of] cuisine. It was so beautiful to see the history that had settled there. And I love Mexico City because it has a bit of everything; you can get Jalisco tacos or Oaxaca tacos or Yucatan fish. Mexico City has so much to offer.”

Just as Eva relished exploring her roots traveling Mexico, the holidays give her the perfect opportunity to tap into the traditions, food and celebrations of her culture. Aligning perfectly with what soothes the soul for Eva, it’s a special time in the Longoria-Bastón home. 

“We’re a Mexican household, so we do tamales at Christmas. It’s a tradition. You need a whole assembly line to do it. Usually, it’s all the aunts and the cousins, and it takes a lot of people. It’s labor intensive, but they’re so good. I don’t know why we only eat them around Christmas.” 

Eva offers that Santiago witnesses the tamale-making tradition and enjoys the fun when her big family gathers. 

“And we make a lot of Christmas cookies called pan de bono. That’s been a tradition in my house forever at Christmas time. We make buckets and buckets of them and give [them] out to everybody. Most of our holiday traditions really center around the kitchen.”

As for the New Year’s holiday and resolutions, Eva shares she would like to better her meditation skills. 

“My meditation is my workout, so I have an hour every morning, early. I have to get it in because it’s my mental health hour more than my, ‘I’m going to work out to get abs hour.’ For me, it’s really about clearing my head and setting up my energy for the day. But I wish I would meditate longer. I’m inconsistent with my meditation, so that’s what I’d like to do better.”

If Eva’s meditation is her workout, then how does she find peace? 

“Well, my family is my peace. Peace for other people may be a spa day. Sometimes they want to escape from their family. But for me, traveling is peace. Traveling with my family [is something] I love to do. I think traveling is still one of the greatest luxuries. It’s just so expensive now. But for me, peace is being with my family. But I also think the biggest lesson to people is you don’t have to do extravagant, expensive things to find peace. It could be a bath at the end of the night. It could be lighting that incense, lighting that candle that hasn’t been lit or throwing in the bath bomb. Use the bath bombs, don’t accumulate them. Use the good china, use the good plates. Don’t save them for a special occasion. Really live that life. Live!”

And as she lives her best life, who has guided her—who has been Eva’s north star, her role model? Who has influenced her and motivated her to move through life as she does? 

“I didn’t grow up with celebrity culture. So, if you ask people today, ‘Who’s your role model?’ They’ll name somebody famous without knowing them, without ever meeting them. When you ask me, it’s always my mother, my role model, my example. She taught me about my work ethic. I never have to really look that far to see an example of the woman I want to be. I even think about how much she did when we were young, and that’s what makes me feel like I’m not doing enough. I need to do more.” 

But she doesn’t do it alone. “I have an amazing tribe of women around me. My best friends of 30 years are smart, independent, incredible women. There’s no truer statement than birds of a feather. Specifically, for young people, who you hang out with is a bigger indicator if you’re going to be successful than whether or not you went to Harvard. I’ve purposely surrounded myself [with] examples of women I want to be.”

Sharing her time between Beverly Hills, Texas and Mexico is challenging enough. But then to juggle her many business ventures with developing her entertainment projects, advocating for the issues important to her and finding time for her family, it’s hard to believe Eva is as productive as she is. Her assistant, Jessica Peron, shared that those close to her know her secret. She’s the “master multitasker.” Even Steven Forbes at the 2019 Forbes Women’s Summit asked her, “Is there anything you aren’t doing?” Eva jokingly responded, “Well, I don’t sing.” 

Despite the importance of family to her, Eva decided to have a child later in life. Having lived for 43 years and then having a child was a big change. 

“It’s changed me completely. People sometimes go, ‘Oh my God, your life’s so complicated now that you have a baby.’ And I’m like, ‘No.’ He’s actually simplified my life because you’re no longer the center of your universe…I always felt like, oh my God, I’m going to miss out on that. I have to go there. I should do that. I need to say yes to that. Now, it’s so easy to say no if it really takes away from the time with my son. Time is precious. Time is my greatest resource. And so, for me, it’s been easy to reorganize my life now because he’s such the priority. Everything just falls away. He’s actually simplified my life.”

And then she adds, “Another way it’s changed me is it’s made my philanthropy so urgent. Ever since he’s come into this world, I’m like, we have to hurry up and make the world a better place because it’s scary. It’s a big job, now more than ever. It’s a big job.” 

Eva could have sat back and enjoyed the fruits of her fame, or retreated into the bliss of new motherhood, which would have been understandable, but she didn’t. She worked hard to get to where she is, and when she was given the opportunity to finally produce and direct, Eva pointed that lens squarely at the issues affecting Latinos. Beyond founding her charitable organizations, she’s driven to help others get a fair shake. Still, to her, it isn’t enough—she needs to do more. 

Given what she’s already accomplished, and leading by example, we can only imagine what that “more” might look like. One thing is for sure, it will come from her authentic desire to effect change for the better. 

And that is what makes Eva a proven woman of influence. 

The post Eva Longoria Redefines Star Power appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Lorenzo California

When Renato Araujo and his wife Cynthia Raslan opened Lorenzo California in early 2023, they weren’t simply opening a new sandwich shop. They were launching a dream.

Originally from Brazil, Araujo lived in New York where he worked at high-profile eateries such as Asia de Cuba and Man Ray. He moved to Los Angeles, where his first job was with Ago, Robert De Niro’s restaurant. He then opened a wine bar in Silverlake called Vinoteca.

“My wife and I went to Florence right before the pandemic and ran across an amazing sandwich shop. We were mesmerized. I told my wife, ‘Why don’t we have this in LA?’ We postponed our trip home to stay longer and researched all the sandwich shops in Florence. The city was so busy. Our GPS wasn’t working and we were looking for directions to this one shop. We met an Italian family with a little boy who was four years old. His name was Lorenzo. It turns out we were right in front of the sandwich shop we were looking for.”

He came back and worked on recipes for two years during the pandemic. After securing financing, they started to look for a location. “We looked at more humble places, but our broker said, ‘Why don’t you look at Beverly Hills? It isn’t that much more money.’” They’ve never regretted making that leap.

“We realized we took a risk in coming to Beverly Hills, but it was so well worth it. The foot traffic is amazing. We built Lorenzo from the ground up. There was nothing here. For eight months to get the permit and five months for construction,” said Araujo.

Located on South Santa Monica Drive, Lorenzo seats a cozy eight on the inside, eight outside. There are also to-go options, all a labor of love by the couple.

“I cook; I make the sandwiches; we are doing everything together. This is a small, little family business and we’re hands on.  I wake up at 5:30 a.m. I go buy produce and then to the bakery.”

Although Florentine sandwiches are typically made with Schiacciata (a thin, chewy flatbread) it is difficult to find. Renato uses the more familiar focaccia sourced from Bianca Bakery in Culver City. Lorenzo also features pastas on the menu.

“I would say 60% of the clientele work here in Beverly Hills. Another 20% drive here to try us and 20% are tourists,” said Araujo.

“Working with fine dining my whole life, we brought simplicity with elegance at Lorenzo. It is simple but delicious food.”

Cha Cha Matcha

Matcha is mainstream in Southern California, appearing in everything from smoothies to baked goods to lattes to lemonade. But even trendy Beverly Hills has not seen something quite like Cha Cha Matcha. Opening in late fall on South Santa Monica and Beverly Drive, Cha Cha Matcha will offer, in the words of CEO Jay Gujjar, a “full experience of matcha.” That translates into fresh matcha milled on site and made to order.

“Coffee shops have roasters. Matcha is milled. We will have it on display, so when a customer orders it, they can take it home in a custom tin, high quality matcha that we mill on site.
It’s super versatile for smoothies baking and beverages,” Gujjar told Wine + Dine.

“The matcha category continues to grow as people are conscious of its beneficial effects. It has an incredible amount of amino acids and antioxidants. It’s a superfood. You get caffeine with matcha and the great energy without the anxiety that comes from coffee. So, people are starting to transition their afternoon drink to matcha.”

Additional offerings will include a thoughtful food program that includes labneh (strained yogurt) and fresh pastries for a fresh, casual meal.

“It’s an ancient food that has been around for 1,000 years, and it is finally coming around for people’s diets and rituals. We want to continue to educate people about what matcha is. Deliciousness is at the heart of everything we do,” said Gujjar.

A big ribbon-cutting event in October will include farmers from Japan who will be milling the matcha fresh as customers order. It is a fitting touch for the new West Coast flagship.

“We will have exclusive merch for Beverly Hills, and a prominent location in front of the Beverly Hills sign,” said Gujjar.

He added, “We like to say there is something on our menu for a purist and a tourist. Above all, we take pride in what we offer and are really excited about this new Beverly Hills location.”

Sweet Angeles Bakery Café

Ruby Davids and her dreams have arrived in Beverly Hills. Sweet dreams, in fact, in the form of Sweet Angeles Bakery Café. Newly opened on the second floor of the Rodeo Collection, the inviting bright pink storefront is the result of years of Davids’ hard work, dedication to her craft and sights long set on Beverly Hills.

“I have always wanted to have my pastry shop where I can sell my recipes, which are delicate and detailed. Everything I make is from scratch, using the finest ingredients,” Davids told Wine + Dine.

Sweet Angeles sells not only hand-crafted desserts, but also home-made Belgian chocolate bars , ice cream and coffee.

Davids said that she learned from the “best pastry school,” which was her grandmother Hasmik, a renowned pastry chef in Armenia. Davids, too, hails from Armenia and spent years honing her skills in Washington, D.C. She eventually impressed no less than the Pentagon with her cakes (one shaped like the famous building itself), landing on their coveted vendors’ list.

Then, the pandemic struck, and business ground to a halt. At the same time, changes in her personal life made the mom-of-three decide to make the move to Southern California.

“I knew that Beverly Hills is where I can sell whatever I want because people will appreciate it. Very few bakeries now work the way that I do. They work from cake mixes. I do everything from scratch, and you can tell if you try my cake and cupcakes. My signature red velvet cake, carrot cake and peanut-butter cupcakes are award-winners,” said Davids.

Now that she is in Beverly Hills, Davids plans an expansive menu that will change throughout the day. She will also offer a grab-n-go breakfast box as well as breakfast in-store. Offerings will include bagel sandwiches with razor-thin slices of smoked salmon, pancakes, waffles, fresh orange juice, crepes and homemade yogurts. In the evening, customers will find Champagne and dessert pairings.

“Our chef is Ukranian, he is amazing. What we have at Sweet Angeles is so special, you will believe me as soon as you stop by.”

The post WINE + DINE STOREFRONT STORIES appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

And its roots took shape in Beverly Hills. 

It was here, in 1987, that the chef opened his flagship Matsuhisa on La Cienega Boulevard. Here, he introduced a new type of sushi with Latin American influences.

The rest is culinary history.

As he approaches his 75th birthday, Nobu continues to crisscross the globe to open new restaurants, check in on existing ones and preside at food festivals that bear his name. Wine + Dine caught up with him during a brief time back in Beverly Hills. What follows are reflections on a youth spent in Japan, early days in Peru, partnership with De Niro and visions yet left to fulfill. 

His words tell, quite literally, of rising from the ashes. They are inspirational as well as unprecedented — in sum, worthy of where it all began.

Yellowtail with Jalapeno, Black Cod with Miso, Rock Shrimp Tempura, Soft Shell Crab Roll. These are all your signature dishes and now we see them emulated all over the world. Where do your innovations come from? 

I never thought about being a force of change. I was just working, supervising in the kitchen. At my restaurant, we have the menu, but a lot of people tell me, ‘Hey, Nobu. Make me anything you want.’ They trust me. We go to the fish market every morning, always looking for something fresh, of course. We look for something different and something new. One day, for example almost three years ago, I found that an Italian chef sautés soft-shell crab in an Italian restaurant. I thought it was very interesting because I never had soft-shell crab. 

I went to the fish market and asked for the fresh soft-shell crab in the summertime. I brought it here and served it like an Italian or French restaurant, a fry or a sauté. Then a guest said, ‘Hey, Nobu, why don’t you make the roll?’ This idea the customer gave to me. I started making rolls. Now, soft-shell crab rolls are all over the world.

Tell us about your early days in Japan and how you first learned to make sushi. 

When I was 18, I started training with a sushi chef in Tokyo because being a sushi chef was my dream. When I was very young my father passed away. I had older brothers and they took over my father’s job. One day my brother took me to a sushi restaurant. The sliding doors, the grand welcome, sitting down at the counter, all the fresh fish there, I loved the experience. The chef makes the sushi one by one. You bite it, and ‘wow.’ This was my dream and immediately I wanted to be a sushi chef. After graduating high school, I was studying to be an architect, but after I discovered sushi, I forgot about this. I started training to be the chef at the counter. For the first two or three years I was doing dishwashing and bussing, cleaning, washing plates, and deliveries, the prep. Three years at the restaurant. How to make rice, how to prep the fish, that is what I did.

Sushi looks deceptively simple but it is truly an art form, right?

Yes, the sushi looks very simple; you only use 10 fingers and a sharp knife. Sometimes you have less than 10 fingers. [He laughs] I learned that when I was young. I was trying to make something easy, but one mistake cutting is very big damage to the fingers. I did it maybe four or five times, but you learn from mistakes, too. That’s why after the biggest cuts on your fingers, no more mistakes. Mistakes are good for people sometimes, especially young people.

Tell us about your experiences after you left Japan.

I spent seven years training to make sushi, doing delivery, learning step by step how to make rice, how to prep fish, how to slice fish, how to make a roll, how to make nigiri. After seven years, I got to know a Japanese Peruvian, who was a regular customer in the restaurant. He came twice a year from Peru to Tokyo and always stopped by. There are a lot of Japanese companies and a lot of Japanese immigrants in Peru. 

He asked me, ‘Do you want to come to Peru, to open a restaurant together?’ I was very interested in going to Peru. After my father passed away, when I was a kid and missing him, I would always open an old photo album and see photos of him when he was in Palau, some small islands in the south, and there was one with my father next to a big tree and the native people. So, one day, I was asked to come to Peru. Peru felt to me in my head like, ‘Oh, this is an experience like what my father had.’ Then I would love to go. I went to Peru. 

In retrospect, that decision changed sushi forever, didn’t it?

It was my chance. When I decided to go to Peru, I was 23 or 24, so very young. I moved there to open a restaurant partnership. Lima has very fresh seafood from the Pacific Ocean, with a market in the morning and afternoon, with all the fresh fish. Fresh fish was good for me because I knew it already from being in Japan. For example, sliced fish. Japan has sashimi, soy sauce and wasabi. But the first time I had a fish in Peru it was called ceviche.

Ceviche has the fresh fish and the onions and cilantro, with spicy chili paste cooked with lemon juice, and salt and garlic. They never use soy sauce and wasabi. I was like, ‘Wow.’ Same fish, but each culture is different. It’s prepared in a completely different way. My cooking style is 100% Japanese style. But in Lima, I started to feel comfortable not just making food in the Japanese style. I learned from Peruvian culture. Still, the basic Japanese cooking, but little by little, I combined Peruvian influence with simple Japanese food.

I don’t want to do fusion. What does fusion mean? Sometimes confusion. 

That’s why I like making simple sashimi with Peruvian ingredients. This is called the Nobu style. Still, my food is basic, very simple. Pure, clean. I don’t want to do too much at once with all the different ingredients.

You eventually left Peru, which is fortunate for us here in Beverly Hills. But it was quite a journey before you ended up here. Tell us about it. 

I was in Peru for almost three years and then one day, I had a meeting with my Japanese Peruvian partners, and we got into an argument. Business was good then, and I was looking for always good products. I buy the best quality fish, because I only want to make the guests happy, but some of my partners were only looking for money. One day in a meeting, my partner said, ‘Hey, Nobu, you don’t have to buy the best quality fish. Peru doesn’t know the best fish.’ I was young, and we had very different opinions. It turned into a big argument. I wanted to keep it as it was, but my partner wanted to buy cheaper fish. This is a big difference in our business philosophy.

Back then, I had a wife, one kid, and I was young. So, I said, all right, game is over. I’m finished here and I quit. But now, what can I do? I asked a friend because I didn’t want to go back home to Japan yet, I still wanted to make it somewhere, but it was impossible to stay in Peru. Right then, a friend of mine introduced me to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

It’s a beautiful country. I moved there with my wife and my first daughter. But the economy was very poor. Now that I’m a partner, it means I’m the half owner, and I’m employed but it means I have no salary. Also, there was not enough work. In Argentina, dinner starts at like 9 p.m. or sometimes 10 p.m., but in a Japanese family restaurant, we close at 10 or 11 p.m. We ended up having only one or two customers each night. I was young, I wanted to work because I like to work, but there were no customers. Around that time my wife was pregnant with our second baby, and I wondered how can I work and support them here?

In the years that followed, you found yourself back in Japan, then Alaska, and eventually to Beverly Hills. It was quite a saga, wasn’t it?  

I wanted to be a father, but if I stayed there, I could not see any future. So, I decided to go back to Japan after four years. In these four years, Japan had a big change, called the oil shock. It used to have a good economy, but when oil went down, Japan’s economy had a panic and everything was messed up.

We had a good life and good business abroad, but with the second baby coming, we went back to Japan. Our second baby was born there. Now, I still had a dream. I want to start over again, but my wife was almost ready to give up after the experiences in Peru, then Argentina, and now with the second baby. I said, ‘Please give me one more chance.’ Then I talked to another friend, who introduced me to somebody who was looking for a partnership to open a new restaurant in Anchorage, Alaska.

I was a little worried because my last partnership ended badly in Peru. Still, I could not give up my dream. I had one more chance, so I went to Anchorage, Alaska to open a restaurant. It was hard work, and after the grand opening, we were busy every night and worked for almost 50 days with no days off. We opened in October and by the end of November, I finally took a day off for Thanksgiving. It was my first day off after 50 days of being open, so I celebrated at a friend’s house drinking and celebrating almost until the middle of the night.

Late that night, my partner called. There’s a fire. It’s midnight, very dark out and immediately I hear the sirens, and outside I saw a big trail of smoke, a big fire, far off downtown. Oh, my gosh. I drove over to the restaurant, but of course, they would not let me get close to it. 

I just fell to my knees. I could not think about anything. It meant my last chance, my dreams, they were all gone, my money was all gone. 

‘My life is over,’ I was thinking. I don’t remember how I got back home. For almost a week I stayed there, sitting, and thinking. Thinking my only option was to kill myself. Thinking about how I could kill myself. But through it all, my wife and kids were next to me. The kids didn’t know, they were just happy because I was home all day with them. But my brain was blank. I could not eat, couldn’t drink.

One day, my kids were playing, they got a bit loud and started screaming and fighting. And I woke up. One second before, there was nothing, but when I heard this scream, the next second, I thought, ‘Oh, yes. I have kids.’ Then I saw my wife next to me. I thought, ‘I have a family, my wife, my kids. I must wake up for them.’

I was so tired, but I started again. After this experience, I decided to never rush into what to do next. I like to go one by one. I decided I didn’t want to die. I would go forward but not fast. I would go one by one, step by step, even 1 millimeter forward at a time, to start my life over again.

Finally, I ran out of money and had to go back home to Japan. But before leaving Alaska, I called a friend who lived in Los Angeles and explained about the restaurant fire and that I had to go back to Japan, with all my dreams gone. He said, ‘Come to LA.’ So, I sent my wife and kids to my wife’s family’s home. They lived far away from Tokyo in the Okayama prefecture. My wife and the two kids stayed with her mother and father. I stayed with them for one week in Japan. I had one bag and only $24 cash in my pocket. Then I came to Los Angeles. That was in 1979. I appreciate my wife because even in tough times, she always trusted and supported me. 

What did you do when you first arrived in L.A.?

A friend of mine introduced me to a small family restaurant in West Los Angeles, with only six seats at the sushi bar, and I started to work there. They supported my green card, and after two years, I got a green card to include my family, too. Once I got my green card, my boss said, ‘Okay, you have the technique, you have the great chef skills. You don’t have to stay here. You can go out now and work anywhere.’ He pushed me to keep growing. I went to a restaurant where I had more responsibility, more money and could do more of it my way. I was there for almost seven years, but then I found out the restaurant was up for sale. 

I was worried that after the sale it might not be a Japanese restaurant anymore. Maybe an Italian restaurant. I didn’t want to lose my job like I did in Alaska. I always had flashbacks to Alaska. I was always scared to lose my job. And I worried that when they sold this restaurant, maybe I was going to lose my job. So, I asked a friend for advice. 

I knew this friend from Peru, and he used to work at a Japanese embassy and he was almost retired. I asked him for help with my situation and he said, ‘Okay, I can give you $70,000 to find your own restaurant. Pay the money back anytime.’

So, then I needed real estate. I was looking in the newspaper, driving around, and asking anybody and everybody if they would sell their restaurant space. Then finally I found this restaurant. It even had a sushi bar. My first restaurant, Matsuhisa, opened in 1987. Only 38 seats.

Fear of being out of a job actually compelled you to be here today. Clearly, you no longer have those fears, right?

It’s like a cooking philosophy. My mind, I never change. I always try my best. I like to make my guests happy and I like to use the best products. I opened in 1987 and for the first two years, I never made any money because I would go to the fish market and buy the best fish. There weren’t enough customers and the food costs were so high. 

My wife did the books and the banking and controlled the money. After two years she said to me, ‘Okay, we’ve done two years of business. The bank account is at zero.’ There was no money because I used the best products, and after paying rent, staff, insurance, at the end of the month, after paying everything the money in the bank amounted to zero. But even with a bank account at zero, still we had a life. I could pay rent for the apartment, the kids were going to school, and we had food.

I said, ‘Please be patient.’ I knew it would take a couple of years. I invested in our customers because even though we didn’t make any money,  the customer understands that when they come to Matsuhisa, they will have very interesting fish, very good quality fish, and some Japanese and Peruvian styles of fish. They know it’s a unique restaurant. 

Do you think the fact that you opened in Beverly Hills contributed to your success?

Choosing a good location helps. Here in Beverly Hills, people know good food. Many people here have traveled internationally all over the world, and they know all the different cuisines. When I opened here, Japanese food was not popular yet. If I opened in another location, I might not have had the same success because here people accept my food, people understand my food, and people appreciate my food. Customers were used to sushi restaurants that used a lot of frozen fish. But I served fresh fish in the Japanese style and I invested in the quality for the guest. That’s why still people trust our quality. 

Then one day, Robert De Niro came here.

It was in 1988. He was here doing a movie. I had a regular customer, Roland Joffé, who is a British movie director, who brought Robert De Niro to the sushi bar. I didn’t know who he was. I had seven employees, including me, and I had to do everything. I cooked, I washed dishes, I did everything. So, at closing time, Mr. Joffé said to me, ‘Hey, now come sit down with us.’ 

I sat down with them and asked how they liked their dinner. They said it was great. I knew the name De Niro, but I never saw any movies because I was always working. But then I found out, he’s Mr. De Niro the movie star. He was a very quiet guy. He’d come from New York that day and was always going back and forth, but from then on, he would always stop by, and say, ‘Hey, Nobu, make me something, anything.’ Eventually, a lot of people would say, ‘Hey, Nobu, do you know this guy?’

I’d go, ‘Oh, now I know him. He likes my food.’ I don’t care which people come. I like to make all the guests happy, in every one of the 38 seats. 

You have since formed an incredibly successful partnership with De Niro. It was a long time in the making, though, wasn’t it? 

One day, De Niro asked me, ‘Hey, Nobu, you want to open a restaurant in New York with me?’ He sent me a ticket and arranged for the hotel, and we talked about opening a new restaurant. 

He’d bought an old building that used to be a warehouse. He brought me there, and the water was leaking, there were mice running around. He explained to me, ‘Nobu, this is my dream. This is a brand-new restaurant space. This is my office.’ Finally, I said ‘Hey, Bob, thank you so much. But my restaurant is still new and not organized yet.’ I didn’t want to be back in Alaska, and Peru, and open too quickly and make the same mistakes. I wanted to go one by one. I explained everything to him. Finally, I said, ‘Thank you, but no thank you, it’s too soon.’ He said, ‘Okay.’ He was very cool. Then I went back at it, I kept working, and he kept coming to my restaurant. 

After four, almost five years, he called me and said, ‘Hey, Nobu, how are you doing?’

‘Hi, Bob. I’m busy.’ In between the four or five years, the New York Times and even the L.A. Times, even Jay Weston, who had a newsletter, and even on TV—all the media were talking about the Matsuhisa restaurant. Even a New York Times article called it the best new restaurant in the world. 

When he called, I was doing well and also looking to start new stuff, growing, so he said maybe it was time to come to New York now. He was waiting for me, almost four or five years. 

After Peru and Anchorage, I didn’t want to work with partners anymore, but Bob is a different partner because he understands me. He was waiting for four years. Now I said, ‘Okay, maybe I can trust him.’ So, we started talking about the New York project, looking for locations. Finally, we decided and opened Nobu in 1994 in New York, Tribeca.

At the time, no one in New York had seen the type of sushi you were doing. The restaurant was an immediate success. You also brought in Drew Nieporent as a partner. What role did he play in the business? 

When I started in New York I was 38. I wasn’t a professional restaurant businessman, but Drew Nieporent was a great restaurateur. He’s very professional. He had Montrachet, which opened where the Nobu restaurant was supposed to go years before, but when I turned Bob down, he asked Drew, and then it became Tribeca Grill. 

Drew knew how to do all the organizing, and training systems and promotions, and then we started the New York restaurant, in 1994. When we started it wasn’t the Matsuhisa style. The food was my concept, but Drew helped create the Nobu style of service.

You then launched a third restaurant in London, right?

Yes. New York was immediately a success. When we opened the new restaurant, we spent so much time training and preparing. A successful business brings more investors looking to start another successful business with our good reputation. 

The next one was in London in 1997 with a man who was my customer here and he had a hotel, the New London. 

He asked me to come open a restaurant in London, but he didn’t want Bob in the beginning. Just me and Drew and a Singaporean partner. I said I cannot do business without Bob. He gave me the chance. That’s why I’m here.

Europe had never seen anything like Nobu. In fact, in the early days, customers didn’t even know how to eat the sushi. Now you are credited with enhancing the culinary game of London itself. 

Customers asked me, ‘Nobu, why you like London so much?’ Back then, London was all about the fish and chips, but not good fresh fish. 

A lot of my customers travel internationally. They come to LA, they go to London, they come to New York, they travel all over the world. So, my regular customers would come to London and visit Nobu there. And then, I started using the different local fish, different products. 

The black cod dish was getting popular, and one day the London newspaper printed a title with me and Bob, calling us the ‘Godfather and the Codfather.’ 

Another aspect of your partnership with De Niro is that he cast you in some of his movies. You’ve had roles in “Casino,” “Goldmember” and “Memoirs of a Geisha.” How did he convince you to take on that work?

In 1994, around the same time we opened in New York, Bob was working on ‘Casino.’ Bob asked me to go to the audition. I didn’t even know what he meant by audition. He said, ‘Oh, we’re doing a movie with Martin Scorsese, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone. Go there.’ I said, ‘Oh my gosh, Bob. I’m very busy. I have no time,’ but my manager said, I should go. So, I met with the casting director, and they shot some of my reactions, and then I went back to the restaurant. They sent the tape to Bob and he said, ‘Looks great. Next step you go to Las Vegas.’

I said, ‘Hey, hey Bob. Wait, I haven’t said yes yet. I’ve got to work!’

But I did agree, and I was sent on a plane to Las Vegas, and Bob and Martin Scorsese were there. They said, ‘Now you’re in the movie.” Bob gave me the trailer next to him on set. That was my first experience in a movie, for ‘Casino.’

You have inspired many people that have worked for you and give you all the credit for their work ethic and success. How do you mentor people and what do you do to support them? 

Since I started, I’ve always tried my best. In work, in my life when I talk to people, even when I play golf. I always want to be my best.

I was challenged so many times. I met the challenges not just to be successful, but because I didn’t want to make a big mistake like I did in my worst experience in Alaska. With all experiences, people try and make mistakes. The people looking for the easy way to success, make mistakes, never help. The advice I give to young people is don’t be frightened about a challenge, even making a mistake. 

You are the true hospitality entrepreneur, with restaurants all over the world. You have Hokusetsu Sake, you’ve got Qui Tequila and Nobu Hotels. How did the hotel business come about?

The hotel started as Bob’s idea. We have Nobu restaurants in a lot of different hotels, and Bob said, ‘Hey, why are we opening a Nobu restaurant at somebody else’s hotel? We have to make a Nobu Hotel with a Nobu Restaurant there.’

We had a busy restaurant but our operations were much smaller than a hotel. We started to build our hotel teams. The first Nobu Hotel was in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace. We already had a good relationship with them. Now we have breakfast, room service and lunch and dinner, not more operation. We already had all the food and beverage teams and chefs’ teams. Then we created a room service menu and breakfast menu.

The first Nobu Hotel has been a success for over 10 years. Now we have about 15 or 16 hotels.

You also are busier than ever, judging from your social media. You are in a different country every week. How many restaurants do you have now?

A couple days ago, I was in Spain, for the Seville opening. It used to be 52 or 53 restaurants. Now 54, 55 maybe. Then Matsuhisa, we have about 12, but it’s going to be 13 soon. And 15 or 16 hotels. Phew. We have a very strong team, and I appreciate them.

Next, I’m going to Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and Houston, then back to LA for 10 days, then going for almost two months to Europe, London, Monaco, Seville, Ibiza, Athens and Mykonos. It’s only three days at each location. Some are new restaurants opening, some already existing ones. 

I’m lucky because being busy is good. 

You have always emphasized the importance of a good team and you inspire loyalty. 

If I go to different locations, my team travels with me and they support me. The team educates the next generation. There’s a lot of history since I started here, in ‘87, New York in ‘94, London in ‘97. A lot of people grew up from these restaurants.

Also, some customers are the second or third generation coming here to Beverly Hills. I appreciate Beverly Hills because it has a lot of good people and good families, and a lot of my loyal customers. After 36 years, they still keep coming back. 

Everybody has their day. They come on a Friday, they come on Thursday, they come today. It’s the same in New York.

Now we create with our takeout business, too. We learned from the pandemic. 

Even on the cooking side, the guy doing the tempura in New York downtown, now his son is doing the same job, just like his father. In Las Vegas, the chef’s kids are working at the Nobu Restaurant. And Bob’s still with me and that’s amazing. 

I always say to my teams and staff, ‘What’s the most important thing? The people.’

I’m a very lucky person, but we also have a great team that works so hard. I like to support my team because my dream is for them to reach the next step. Everyone around me is looking for their future, looking for their dream. 

The post Feature Interview: The Many Lives of Nobu Matsuhisa appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“Beverly Hills is the epicenter for ateliers, Gucci is here, Louis Vuitton is here, Hermès is here, all of these very important houses are here and I think I wanted to lean into that,” Funke told the Courier. “That’s why I did it and I take it super seriously because you can only give a restaurant your name once.” 

Funke is the latest dining experience from the man behind acclaimed WeHo restaurant Mother Wolf and Venice hotspot Felix. It is located at 9388 S. Santa Monica Blvd. and is Funke’s love letter to the timeless art of Italian pasta making.

The venture is a collaboration between Funke and real estate magnet Kurt Rappaport who owns the gorgeous 1930s Art Deco Building that the restaurant is housed within. The pasta palace encompasses 10,000 square feet, three levels of dining, and a rooftop bar that features some of the best views in the city. 

At the center of the restaurant is a chrome-framed two-story pasta lab that was inspired by Funke’s experiences wandering the streets of Bologna and seeing pasta being handcrafted in store windows. Funke said the lab forges a special connection between the diner and the pastaio, which is the Italian term for pasta maker.

Take for instance, an order of trofie with pesto Genovese, which consists of 150 tiny coils of pasta that each weigh about a gram, he said. 

“If the diner looks through the glass of the pasta lab and sees a pasta maker making 150 repetitions just for that diner, that’s a connection that can never be lost and that diner will never look at that pasta shape the same way,” said Funke, who also has a lab in his restaurant Felix. “For me, the pasta laboratorio is the beating heart of the restaurants I do.”

Funke’s menu is an homage to the unique flavors and techniques of different Italian regions, with an emphasis on the seafood focused cuisine of Sicily, which Funke said is his latest obsession.

Diners can enjoy Funke classics like his cacio e pepe, all’amatriciana, ribeye cap steak and focaccia in addition to wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and a range of new dishes. 

A special reverence, of course, is reserved for the pastas. 

They are each listed on the menu with notations for the region and town they come from and the name of the woman who taught Funke to make the dish during his extensive travels in Italy.  

“In these listings I’m continuing the conversation of how culinary traditions have been passed on through generation to generation for the last couple thousand years in Italy, which is by word of mouth,” he said. “I’m continuing the stories of these people and trying to honor their traditions with as much respect and authenticity as possible.”

In addition to the chance to showcase his encyclopedic knowledge of Italian pasta shapes and styles, Funke is excited by the opportunity the restaurant provides for multiple dining experiences.

The space was crafted by architect Dan Brunn with interior decor by Clint Nicholas and has bars on each of the three floors including the glitzy rooftop Bar Funke which is built from Cristallo Rosa quartz. Bar Funke is available for walk-ins only and offers a select menu of fresh baked breads, crudos, caviar, desserts and more.

The mezzanine and main dining rooms are adorned with photos and artwork from the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Jean “Johnny” Pigozzi. A private dining room is also available for special events.

“You can enjoy a different experience on each of the levels and I’m excited about how this will grow organically when diners come in and experience it in three different ways,” he said. “The space is stunning, the art is spectacular and the building is beautiful.”

Funke is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Bar Funke is open from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. 

The post Celebrity Chef Evan Funke Opens Tri-Level Pasta Mansion in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Nostalgic over that familial memory, she concedes the food didn’t compare to the the seders she presently hosts at Spago, her high-end restaurant in Beverly Hills, which pairs cuisine with charity by supporting a nonprofit dedicated to fighting food insecurity.

“The food is infinitely better, and it’s nice to generate goodwill in the community and most importantly give money away to an important cause,” Lazaroff, co-founder and owner of Spago Beverly Hills, said in an interview. “Bless my grandmother, but the food is a lot better.”

This year, the 39th annual Passover seder at Spago Beverly Hills, an interfaith evening benefiting Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger, is expected to draw more than 300 attendees. Taking place April 6 and costing $250 per person, the luxurious seder includes homemade gefilte fish, roasted Alaskan salmon, braised beef short ribs, vegetable ratatouille and Moroccan carrots. Of course, chicken and vegetable matzo ball soup will be provided.

All the food is served with fine Israeli kosher wines, coming from vines dating back thousands of years, from Taub Family Selections. 

While the meat isn’t kosher, those who do not mix meat with milk products will be pleased to know the desserts, which include matzo toffee, fromage blanc cheesecake, Passover puffs with caramel sauce and sorbet, don’t contain any dairy.

The annual seder draws members of the Jewish community observing the holiday along with Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and those without any religious affiliation.

“Basically, the idea is to put community together, dispel the notion of the other and create commonality as we support people in L.A. who can’t afford a meal like this and some of whom who can’t afford to eat, period,” Lazaroff said. “We have a very diverse community here in Los Angeles.”

A memorable experience helping others has been the objective since the inaugural Spago seder took place more than three decades ago. Recently, the seder raised money for HIAS, an international humanitarian organization that supports refugees and asylum seekers. When Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Lazaroff knew she wanted to support Ukrainian refugees.

This year, by raising funds for Mazon, she is aiding food-challenged families. The national organization is dedicated to eradicating hunger in the U.S. and Israel. The group promotes systematic change through better anti-hunger policies at the federal, state and local levels. This includes strengthening federal nutrition programs.  

Beverly Hills residents and those from outside the city are expected to attend. Many of the guests will be unfamiliar with Passover rituals, which Lazaroff welcomes. 

“Every year, there are people who have never been to a seder,” the restauranteur said.

Organizing the seder in a popular restaurant requires closing the entire establishment for the night. The culinary team includes Executive Chef Ari Rosenson, Chef de Cuisine Areg Avanassian, and Executive Pastry Chef Della Gossett. 

During the height of the pandemic, the restaurant offered to-go seder meals for their guests. Last year, the seder was held in the restaurant’s outdoor pavilion on N. Canon Drive, extending from Clifton Way to the public art wall. It made for a unique, festive experience.

This year’s seder will be held indoors.

Even with the time and energy it takes, Lazaroff is happy knowing people look forward to it.

“It’s a very important event to me, and it means a lot to other people,” Lazaroff said. “I try to make it as warm and festive as it can be.”

Leading the Haggadah service this year will be University Synagogue in Irvine’s Rabbi Arnold Rachlis and Cantor Ruti Braier, who have taken part for years. Also, guests enjoy live musical performances by the Klezmer Kings and the West Los Angeles Children’s Choir.

After a satisfying evening, you’ll take home a bag of the restaurant’s incomparable shallot-and-thyme matzah along with a to-go bag of macaroons. 

The post Spago Seder to Serve Memorable Passover Experience appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

According to the Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report 2022, 58% of those who drink alcohol are increasingly opting for non- and low-alcoholic cocktails across the globe. This worldwide trend is not a temperance movement; it isn’t about morality or enforced sobriety; it’s about choices and having options. And it’s being driven largely by the younger generation and the health-conscious. 

After years of constantly thinking about our individual health and the collective well-being of our communities, it’s not surprising many are choosing to get in the holiday spirit, sans spirits. 

To understand why this shift has happened we have to look to the early days of the pandemic when there was so much uncertainty and anxiety compounded by lockdown, imposed isolation and the stress of navigating work from home and remote schooling logistics. There was a palpable tension that seemed to hang in the air everywhere–along the sparse-shelved supermarket aisles, in the spaces between the social-distanced, masked-clad people waiting in epic lines outside of shops. Adjusting to the “new normal” of this unprecedented event began to take its toll. And many Americans turned, as they have in the past during times of crisis, to drinking. 

According to a study published in December 2020 by the National Library of Medicine (an organization within the National Institutes of Health), in-store alcohol sales jumped 54% and online purchases spiked 262% between March 1 and April 18, 2020 (compared to sales data for the same week in 2019). And throughout the rest of 2020, alcohol consumption remained high, with 60% of participants in the study reporting that their drinking increased in 2020. “Of those, 45.7% reported that their drinking had increased because of increased stress, 34.4% reported that their drinking had increased because of the increased availability of alcohol, and 30.1% reported that their drinking had increased because of boredom. Almost two-thirds of the participants (63.7%) listed some combination of these three reasons. The remainder either gave no reason (1.7%) or some other reason (4.0%), such as ‘It gives me the feeling of going out,’ [or] ‘I feel safer because I am at home…,”’ the study stated, also noting that similar alcohol consumption spikes were reported in the wake of 9/11. 

Numbers remained high but fluctuated throughout 2021 as many tried to course correct, culminating in a worldwide movement spurred by social media. Known as Dry January (with its own hashtag), millions publicly pledged to abstain from alcohol for the entire month. The trend continued and has gained steam. 

According to a report by NielsenIQ published this year, U.S. retail sales of non-alcoholic spirits have grown 116%; non-alcoholic beer jumped 21%; and non-alcoholic wine rose 20%. 

The zero-proof industry is now expected to become a multibillion-dollar industry. Dozens of brands like Seedlip, Amass and Monday Mezcal are popping up to meet the demand. Even celebrities like Katy Perry and Blake Lively are jumping on the booze-free bandwagon with alcohol-free wines. 

 In February 2021, Boisson, an entire boutique dedicated to high-end non-alcohol (NA) spirits, wines, and brews, opened in Brooklyn, New York. A year later, four more Boisson shops opened across Manhattan. And now the company’s West Coast expansion has begun–first, with a storefront in Brentwood this summer, and this month, the Beverly Hills outpost opened with a tightly-curated selection of the best NA brands on the market. Co-owner Nick Bodkins has said that his goal is to provide non-alcoholic shoppers with the same experience as someone walking into an upscale liquor or wine store, including having a knowledgeable staff on hand to answer any questions. “Most of our customer base is composed of people exploring non-alcoholic options for the first time. Whether they are sober, ‘sober curious’ rethinking their relationship with alcohol or simply moderating,” he said.  

“Choosing a location is about neighborhood, walkability, and central location that will allow us to facilitate same-day delivery in a super-efficient way. With these criteria in mind, we chose Brentwood, Beverly Hills and Studio City as our inaugural locations to bring free-spirited sips to Angelenos.” 

Local bars have also taken note of the trend. We reached out to popular drinking spots in Beverly Hills to find out what alcohol alternatives they are serving up this holiday season. 

The Maybourne Bar
225 N. Canon Drive
310-860-7800

Discreetly tucked away just off the lobby of The Maybourne Beverly Hills Hotel sits The Maybourne Bar. It’s a little jewel box of a space with a show-stopping bar–carved in Art Deco style from a single piece of solid Turkish silver onyx–as its centerpiece. Polished curving nickel fixtures and giant glowing Lalique lamps accent the room. Bartenders outfitted in seersucker suits and penny loafers serve up cocktails inspired by The Five Elements Theory, which simply states that everything in nature is connected by Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. But in addition to the fiery-Mezcal and earthy-gin-based concoctions on the menu, you’ll find a selection of artisanal handcrafted spirit-free cocktails. Award-winning mixologist Chris Amirault, who spearheads the drinks program at The Maybourne Bar, says that he’s witnessed a spike in requests for zero-proof drinks. “Lots of guests are skewing in the non-alcoholic direction. But I wouldn’t call it a trend because non-alcoholic cocktails are here to stay,” he said. “At The Maybourne, we draw a lot of inspiration from The Aviary [in Chicago], which was arguably the first bar to make their own non-alcoholic ‘spirits,’ and we try to do the same since we have the culinary capabilities to do so.” As a result, the options offered here are more refined and complex. The most popular is the “Hendri-x & Tonic” made with Maybourne Cucumber Zero Gin and East Imperial Tonic, a non-alcoholic spin on the timeless gin and tonic, built on the flavors of Hendrick’s gin.  The “Hundred Acre Wood” is a mix of Lapsang Souchong tea, honey, lime, pineapple and coconut cream, which tastes like a smokey piña colada. The “Melanie,” comprised of Ghai aperitif, pomelo sherbet and soda water, is a citrusy slightly bitter version of a classic Aperol Spritz. 

The Hideaway
421 N. Rodeo Drive
310-974-8020 

Secreted below the Rodeo Collection sits the recently opened subterranean hotspot The Hideaway. The uber-hip, swanky, Mexican surf-and-turf restaurant and bar is the brainchild of party planner to the stars Jeffrey Best and nightlife impresario Sylvain Bitton (with Hollywood heavyweight actors Ryan Phillippe and Evan Ross among its investors). An ode to 1970s Baja, inspired by Best’s childhood trips to a fishing village in Rosarito, the glowing amber-lit space features a spacious patio, intimate cabanas and a central fireplace. The menu from Chefs Alex Moreno (formerly of Best’s Habana in Irvine) and Viet Pham (formerly of Best’s Firefly in Studio City) boasts riffs on traditional Mexican dishes like wasabi-guacamole, lobster tempura and barbacoa short ribs. Overseeing the bar and its cocktail program is Julian Cox (formerly of Bestia and Otium). While tequila is somewhat of a no-brainer at an establishment such as this (in fact there’s even a button on the dining tables to call for another round), The Hideaway also has a selection of non-alcoholic options on offer. Their most popular zero-proof libation is called the “Post Melón” (a tongue-in-cheek nod to the chart-topping, tattooed-faced crooner Post Malone). It’s made of lemongrass, fresh lime, housemade coconut cream, and honeydew. The latest seasonal cocktail is called “So Fresca, So Clean” (another pop culture reference, this one a play on the hit song by Outkast) made with hibiscus, lime, pineapple juice and dragon fruit. And for those recovering from an evening of overindulgence, Cox says you can’t go wrong with a classic Virgin Bloody Mary. “People and particularly Gen Z are looking for healthier options for beverages in general,” he said. “I’ve definitely seen an uptick in requests. The non-alcoholic or spirit-free section of the menu is now quite common, particularly in higher-end restaurants and bars on the West Coast.” 

CUT Lounge at Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel
9500 Wilshire Boulevard
310-275-5200 

The CUT Lounge (sister to Wolfgang Puck’s adjacent Michelin-starred steakhouse CUT) has been a favorite watering hole for post-work crowds ever since it first opened in 2016. The Richard Meier-designed space, with its monochromatic décor and dim lighting, provides a serene backdrop for those looking to unwind after a stressful day at the office. Bookending the large glass and steel doors at the entrance are two windows showcasing high-end bottles of spirits with the reverence of fine jewelry in the shops along Rodeo Drive. And inside on lighted shelves behind the bar, the full selection of liquors are on display with the same level of veneration. But after all of the worry and stress during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 days, some patrons are looking for something other than the standard shaken or stirred options. “I think the past few years have made people rethink their drinking habits. And mocktails are a refreshing and fun alternative that allow you to savor various flavor profiles,” offered General Manager Charles Hueston. “The ‘Double Happiness’ is our most requested mocktail. Not only do people love the name, but it also naturally brings happiness with the combination of pineapple juice, passionfruit, orgeat (a sweet syrup made from almonds, sugar, and rose or orange flower water) and lime,” he shared.  Other options include an “Apple Ginger Spritz” made with fresh apple cider, lemon, sweet honey and ginger syrup and an earthy “Rosemary Limeade” with fresh sprigs of the woodsy herb. 

THEBlvd Lounge at Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel
9500 Wilshire Boulevard
310-275-5200 

You might expect martinis and single malts to be the preferred drinks of choice at THEBlvd Lounge with its vaulted ceilings, wood and leather paneling and Old World-meets-Minimalist vibe. And you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But according to General Manager Sanju Beri, requests for non-alcoholic options are becoming more frequent. They’ve become so common, in fact, that the selection of zero-proof options have been given a playful moniker. Here they aren’t mocktails, they’re “Boozeless Bevys.” “We are seeing a lot of millennials and women choosing our ‘Boozeless Bevys’ over cocktails. I think more people are doing cleanses, choosing a vegan diet or just looking to lead an overall healthier lifestyle,” he explained. “Opting for a mocktail over a cocktail has many health benefits, including hydration, fewer calories and more nutrients.” To meet the rising demand, the lounge has added four mocktails to the drink menu. The “Pear Nojito” is a refreshing and fruity option made of fresh lime and pear juice; the “Winter Passion” is a mix of passion fruit puree, agave syrup, aquafaba (a liquid derived from chickpeas that creates a foamy froth) and ginger ale with hints of spice. The “Garden Nojito,” Beri explained, not only aids in digestion (thanks to fresh mint) but is also a great hangover remedy as well. “The cucumber contains vitamin B and electrolytes to help replenish essential nutrients back into the body. And the fizziness from the ginger ale is a great way to help settle queasy stomachs,” he said. But by far the most requested right now is the “Grapefruit Spritzer,” a bubbly and tangy blend of citrusy grapefruit with a hint of sweetness from agave and effervescence from a splash of soda water. 

The Bar Room
424 N. Canon Drive
310-274-6534 

Lively and convivial, Porta Via’s The Bar Room has been a go-to neighborhood spot for those looking to drink fine wines in a more casual yet sophisticated environment. According to owner Peter Garland, during COVID-19, crowds opted for “the hard stuff.” Now, as most have returned to the workplace, he’s witnessed a shift back to lunches with iced teas over tequila. “A year or so ago, we didn’t have any mocktails on our menu, but now we’ve added a few because people want a refreshing alternative,” he said. “Most of these requests actually come from drinkers who just want an alternative. It’s kind of like the Impossible Burger explosion. We have an Impossible Burger and an Impossible Bolognese on our menu, and they are among our best-selling dishes. It’s not like there are so many vegans all of a sudden. Most of the people who order these dishes are in fact meat eaters who still want the taste but now have a healthier option.” Among the new mocktails currently on offer is a “Santa Monica Mojito” made with muddled strawberries and raspberries, mint leaves, lime juice, club soda and a mint leaf garnish; a “Malibu Spritz” with fresh squeezed grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange juices, club soda and a grapefruit twist; and the “Santa Cruz Martini,” a blend of fresh watermelon juice, lemon juice, simple syrup, sparkling water and a basil leaf garnish.

Umbrella Social Club at SIXTY Beverly Hills
9360 Wilshire Boulevard
310-388-6860 

Perched on the rooftop terrace of the SIXTY Hotel, the Umbrella Social Club offers spectacular views of the city. On cool nights, you can grab a drink and cozy up beside the flickering flames of a fireplace or kick it in a hanging wicker chair. Here, natural and biodynamic, low-sulfite, and even orange wines are very popular. “In general, people are more aware of what they are drinking,” said Manager Austin Melrose. The Gen Z set in particular seems to be more focused on non-alcoholic options. “Pre-COVID, it was all about pounding Four Lokos, but leave it to a global pandemic to make the younger generation think about what they put in their bodies.” And non-alcoholic drinks are an extension.  “What I’m seeing is that most people are willing to try zero-proof cocktails especially when there’s a functional aspect to the drink. They actually have health benefits–to lighten your mood or aid in digestion. And sometimes you just want to keep hanging out at the bar with your friends, enjoying the social aspect of being in a bar, but you don’t necessarily want to keep slamming tequila shots. Having an alternative, something delicious that’s helping your body or your mood, is very appealing.” Right now, guests can enjoy a non-alcoholic buzz with Umbrella’s “Portland Pick Me Up” cocktail, a mix of Pathfinder Amaro, Lyre’s White Cane Spirit, blueberry-cinnamon-thyme syrup, and a shot of espresso.  

Ocean Prime Lounge
9595 Wilshire Boulevard
310-859-4818 

The real draw at this 1,400-square-foot space with its large terrace dotted with umbrellas is the food–the smoking seafood towers and sizzling prime cuts of steak. But the restaurant’s Lounge is a happening draw in its own right. And while whiskey and tequila are still among the top-ordered drinks, Manager Robert Elliott has observed an increase in requests for non-alcoholic drinks coming from the dining room. The most requested is a Virgin Mojito. “I know that a lot of our competitors in the Beverly Hills area are embracing the zero-alcohol trend and actually have full menus devoted to them,” Elliot said. “I’ve contemplated developing a few mocktail options for our program, but haven’t pursued any of them yet.” For now, servers offer Virgin Marys, Virgin Piña Coladas, and a non-alcoholic version of the popular “Berries and Bubbles” cocktail, made with red cranberry and white cranberry juices, sour mix, and Sprite, served with dry ice, and fresh berries. 

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paqeATvsjhk[/embedyt]

Read the text version of this interview here.

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Crustacean

“Our menu highlights Master Chef Helene An’s modern Asian cuisine with an emphasis on Vietnamese flavors,” says Eden Dozier, Crustacean’s In-House PR and Marketing Manager. A Beverly Hills gem since 1995, it was opened by House of AN CEO Elizabeth An, and has become famous for its multi-faceted concept. “We always source the healthiest Vietnamese herbs and spices and opt for sustainable ingredients whenever possible,” says Dozier, adding that “farm-fresh, non-GMO elements are an integral part and thus, our menu changes seasonally.” From the famous garlic noodles coated in “Chef An’s secret sauce,” to the signature seafood plates and even a truffle Wagyu burger, the food here will wow you with its inspired and memorable flavors. Look for the expanded bar and lounge coming this fall. Pro tip: Beverly Hills locals can ask for the $35 secret lunch menu.

Led by Chef Mattia Agazzi and situated on the roof of Gucci’s Beverly Hills Boutique, this intimate restaurant combines the historic Gucci lifestyle and fine culinary arts. It also celebrates its Los Angeles location, relying on daily farmers markets and the agricultural scene in California. Agazzi and his kitchen seek out vendors who grow food in a fair, ethical and sustainable way, even working with five different trout farms to get the freshest possible fish. The innovative menus include signature dishes such as Tortellini with Parmigiano Reggiano Cream and the legendary Emilia Burger, plus rotating takes on Italian centered but seasonal California-inspired new creations. 

Matsuhisa

In 1987, ambitious sushi chef, Nobu Matsuhisa opened his first restaurant in Beverly Hills, bringing his inspired blend of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine to the public. “There is only one mission: Buy the best and do the best, to make the best!” proclaims the legendary chef, who has inspired a generation of master chefs. Although Matsuhisa has gone on to open many fine dining locations around the world, his original flagship on La Cienega retains its low-key décor and vibes from day one, distinguished by its skilled staff and an enormous menu–featuring a Chef’s omakase, tempura, sushi, and special king crab dishes. Matsuhisa not only represents dining at its finest, it is also the foundation of a culinary empire that is still growing today. 

MÍRAME

Founded by Michelin Star chef Joshua Gil and Matthew Egan, Mírame brings contemporary Mexican cuisine with a California sensibility to Beverly Hills. Chef Gil’s ever-changing, ingredient-driven menu embraces regional Mexican flavors using local and seasonal influences. From fresh ceviche to local salads and grilled fish, each dish stems from the team’s dedication to Mexican flavors and food with a focus on organic, sustainable, and market-driven ingredients, creating a melting pot of world flavors with a California twist. Keeping true to its roots, the bar menu features unique Mexican spirits and a 100% Mexican wine list.  

Nozawa Bar

This small and intimate experience has been serving a top-notch, tradition-based omakase sushi meal since 2013. The multi-course menu, made of primarily nigiri sushi plus sashimi and handrolls, features many of the more adventurous sushi items that dedicated sushi eaters will appreciate. “Our menu changes throughout the year based on the seasonal availability of fish in Japan and around the world,” says Tom Nozawa, co-founder of Sushi Nozawa Group/Nozawa Bar. “Each course is served to all guests at once, which encourages a sense of community.” Some guest favorites include the sustainable bluefin toro, Santa Barbara uni, akamutzu, hokkaido scallops and tamago.

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The Beverly Hills outpost will be Boulud’s first foray into the West Coast. In this exclusive preview, Boulud spoke with Wine + Dine about his vision for the new Beverly Hills project, the culinary bond between the coasts and his long-standing friendship with Wolfgang Puck.

Everyone in Beverly Hills is excited that you are coming here. Why did you decide to make this move now?

This all started because of my 20-year friendship with Michael Shvo the developer. He proposed to me that he was going to develop the first Mandarin Oriental Residence in Beverly Hills. I felt it was going to be a good opportunity to be associated with this brand because I know the Mandarin brand, having worked together with them in the past. 

I’ve been coming to L.A. for decades. I have family members living there as well and lots of friends there. The customer relation between L.A. and New York is one of the biggest bridges between the two cities. We have a lot of regular customers from L.A. that come and see us all the time in New York. And vice versa, a lot of our regular customers in New York ask me, ‘Where should I go in L.A?’ L.A. is doing very well on its own and we are very happy to partake in the constant evolution in excellence in L.A.

What is the timeline for the new restaurant and what is your vision for it? 

It will be in 2023, although we do not have an opening date yet. It will be on the ground floors of the Residences, not very big but still a good location with a window over the avenue. There is going to be a little garden with tables outside as well. I think we want the restaurant to feel casual and to feel sophisticated but very relaxed at the same time. I think it will be a destination but at the same time something that the locals in that part of L.A. will consider one of their favorites. A place where you can easily drop in and enjoy. We have an L.A. designer, Marc Ange, who has a great affinity for details in architecture. There is a bit of the inside-outside feeling, because in L.A. there is always that connection with outdoors. And there is great parking with a valet on Wilshire, which is very practical. People drive in L.A.

You have a huge presence in New York and have restaurants all over the world. What are some of the factors that set L.A. apart from those other locations?

In New York City, restaurants have a tendency to be a little more dressy and businesslike, while in L.A. many of the restaurants are quite approachable. People may be in leisure clothes, but they are doing business. In New York City we have always been very seasonally driven by the market. We have four seasons, with a fall and winter that are much more prominent than in L.A. There, you have a farmers market all year long. In New York, we have been living on Californian produce and goods for a long time, even cheese. We fly over lots of product that is from the coast or from the land, also the wines from northern California and central and even now from the south. No doubt that abundance and excellence in produce will not be the worry for us. 

You have a long friendship with Wolfgang Puck, our ‘Man of the Year.’ What can you share with us about it? 

We’ve known each other for almost 40 years. Wolf, for a long time before he opened his restaurant downtown at the Four Seasons, would come to New York regularly for business. He would do ‘Good Morning America’ every month and would stay at the Regency on Park Avenue. He would walk to DANIEL every night for dinner. He would call me and say he’s in town. And we have just opened a restaurant called Le Gratin, two blocks away from Wolfgang at Cut so it is perfect. Now I can go see him downtown and he will also come to my restaurant. And Spago has always been my home in L.A. and will always be. There is camaraderie and no competition because at the end, the customer makes the decision about where he wants to go and eat. Our friendship matters most before business. 

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Wolfgang Puck opened Spago on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood in 1982. He later moved the location to the former Bistro Garden’s spot on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills. In the intervening four decades, Puck’s international brand has expanded to include restaurants across the world, frozen pizza, a celebrated catering company, cookbooks, cookware, and more. In this inaugural issue of Beverly Hills Courier Wine + Dine Issue, Puck sat down with his old friend, Christian Navarro, President & Principal of Wally’s Wine & Spirits, at CUT Beverly Hills to discuss his early days in the business, what inspires him, and what his future holds. To put it another way, it is the culinary landscape of Southern California according to the man who shaped it.  

When you first came to Beverly Hills, people wondered why you left a bustling location to move to a dusty, old place here. What made you choose Beverly Hills? 

Well, I saw this location on Canon was so iconic and thought that we could really make it into a California-style restaurant, because it had this beautiful garden outside. The rest of the restaurant was a bistro-style thing, a fake bistro in a way, the food was just okay. I used to go just to sit outside. It felt like a nice place in Europe, in the summertime.

At the beginning it was difficult, they got jealous of me, because I remember the Bistro Garden used to have the Oscar party with Swifty (Lazar). Then one day I told Swifty, ‘Why don’t you have it at Spago, this is a Hollywood restaurant. The Bistro Garden is for the old people.’

He said, ‘Okay, kid, what’s the deal?’ I said, ‘I’ll give you the same deal as Kurt Niklas gives you at the Bistro Garden, except you’re going to get good food.’ He said, ‘Done.’

Everyone came to those after parties that you and Swifty Lazar hosted. Tell us about them.

I remember, at the beginning, it was amazing, because we had all the old guys from Jimmy Stewart to Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor, and what’s his name? From ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. All the old ones and then the young ones came like Madonna and Michael Jackson and Sean Penn, and they were all in their 20s at that time.

It was really an amazing thing to have the old and the new meet. I remember Swifty late at night, Jack Nicholson came. He said, ‘Okay, Jack is here. I’m going home now. I had enough of my party.’

When you started out, there were great chefs and there were chefs who liked wine, but no one really tied them together. Where did you get the idea to tie everything together? 

Well, to me great food and great wine always made for the perfect marriage. It started when I worked in France, in Dijon, in Burgundy, and over there you drink all Burgundy. I got a taste of Musigny, wines from the DRC (Domaine de la Romanée-Conti). Even there the restaurant wasn’t the greatest restaurant, but I tasted it with the boeuf bourguignon and some good red wine. I was 18 or 19-years-old at that time, and I thought, this is amazing, food and wine. In Austria, we drank beer. Then, I moved to Baumanière, near Avignon, one of the greatest restaurants in the world. There, I found my inspiration, my mentor, Raymond Thuilier. He changed my life really, because up to then, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be a cook. I thought maybe I’m going to be a truck driver. I had a friend in Austria who was a truck driver, and he made a lot of money. I didn’t make any money, barely enough to live. The restaurant is in a tiny village in Les Baux, and that changed my life because we really had the best ingredients, and then because I liked wine, the sommelier there said, ‘Why you don’t come with me? We are going to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. I go to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and I wondered how they could make wine when the whole field is full of pebbles. They explained to me that the pebbles get the heat from the sun, and it stays nice and warm. I remember we went to Rayas, we went to Belcastel, and I fell in love again. We were in that region that’s what I drank then when I was in South of France. Really, for me, food and wine was always the ultimate experience.

How did you get to California?

After Baumanière, I worked in Paris at Maxim’s, which was also a three-star restaurant. I had a good job there. I already drove an Alfa Romeo, and everything was very chic. I was the night chef, which means I was responsible for the kitchen after 10:30 or 11:00 because they had a lot of customers come from the opera. Maxim was the center of Paris at that time. A waiter who was a friend of mine had another friend who came from New York, and he said, ‘You have to go to America. If you want to make money, if you want to get forward in your life, go to America, the land of opportunity.’ So, I went to New York. I didn’t really like New York that much, but I always liked auto racing. Somebody offered me a job in Indianapolis, and then with the last pennies I had left, I took the Greyhound bus to go to Indianapolis.

I thought it’s going to be Monaco, something chic, but there was nothing there. On Sundays, everything was closed, but I couldn’t leave, so I had to start working there. Then, the easy thing was, I got my Green Card there.

What was the name of the restaurant in Indianapolis? 

The restaurant was called La Tour, at the Indiana National Bank. The head of the bank wanted to have this fancy French restaurant on top of the tower, the highest building in Indianapolis. It was my first chef job really, where I was totally responsible, but after a year, I got my Green Card, and then I said, ‘I want to go to California.’

When you are in Europe, you dream about California, the ocean, the beaches. I couldn’t get a job in San Francisco, so I ended up here in L.A. At first, downtown, and then I met Patrick Terrail at Ma Maison, at that time the restaurant was bankrupt.

I remember my first paycheck bounced, and so I went to the fish market. I bought the lobster shell, for nothing almost, to make lobster sauce and lobster soup. Then, Ma Maison started to get better and better, and became very successful. I met awesome worlds. I met Billy Wilder and a lot of other famous people, who used to go to the restaurant.

About five years into it, I told Patrick I found this location on Sunset. I said to Patrick, ‘We have to form a restaurant company, a management company, basically. I want to own 50 percent.’ Patrick looked at me and said, ‘I went to Cornell, I know how to run a restaurant. I’m always going to own 51 percent.” I looked at him and said, ‘Me too.’

Thank God for me, we split up. I had to leave Ma Maison. He actually fired me. Because everybody was talking, saying, ‘Wolfgang is leaving. He’s going to open a restaurant on Sunset.’ They used to ask Patrick, ‘Are you going to be part of it?’ That drove him crazy, so he took my car away, cut my credit card in half, and that was it. Then, obviously, we started Spago in 1982.

Where did you get the name Spago? 

Well, when I left Ma Maison, I had to find the money. I didn’t have anything, so I talked to Giorgio Moroder, who was a good customer at Ma Maison. He did all the music for Donna Summer, “Midnight Express” and “Top Gun.” He was the biggest thing, because disco was it, and he invented the synthesized music, made a lot of money. When I told him what I going to do, he said, ‘Okay, I’m in,’ but we didn’t talk about the deal.  

The name ‘Spago’ came from Giorgio. He wanted to write a musical called ‘Spago’ at that time. That was around 1980-81. He told me Spago means to him, at least, poetically, a string with no beginning and no ending. Now, we know the beginning, but we don’t know the ending yet. Hopefully, it’s going to go on forever. 

Later, I think his lawyer told him, ‘Well, you should get 60 percent. He has no money; he should be happy with 40 percent.’ I told him, ‘No, I only take a small salary until you make all your money back, and then I get 60 percent and you get 40 percent,’ and he said, ‘no.’  

In the end, I found some of the guys who used to come to my cooking school at Ma Maison. I asked them, some dentists, some shrinks, some lawyers, whatever.  

What was it like opening Spago?  

My ex-wife, Barbara, built the restaurant. When we opened, we had no money left. I spent all the money that we had. I had no income, but my first cookbook came out, still with all the recipes from Ma Maison. I went on a cookbook tour, and sold cookbooks, so that’s how I made the money.  

The restaurant was open from 6:00 until 11:00 or so, it was hard, six days a week. I was cooking, and Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton were cooking, and Kazuto was cooking, so we had really good people cooking, but very few, we had 26 employees all together. I was going to the fish market every day, because I knew a few Japanese restaurants. I asked them where they got the fish.  

You reinvented the pizza at Spago. How did that come about? 

One of the things I wanted to do is pizza. Everybody said, ‘Are you crazy? You make this amazing French food, and now you’re going to make pizzas.’ I said, ‘Yes, I’m going to make pizzas, but not the way Italians do.’ I said, ‘The tomato sauce and a little mozzarella, and instead of making pepperonis, I made duck sausage.’

I bone the duck legs and put duck meat in it, and then roasted them slowly, and then put them on the pizza, maybe with some Shitake mushrooms and things like that, all fresh and good ingredients, and people loved it. I remember Linda Evans coming to the restaurant, and having her duck sausage pizza. It became famous, and I made one with Santa Barbara shrimp. I just put a little pesto on the pizza, very little cheese, and the tails of the shrimps on it, and maybe a little onion and maybe a little fresh basil at the end, and that was it, so simple, but it was tasty. 

What is the story behind the smoked salmon pizza? 

One day Joan Collins comes in late, and she loved our smoked salmon, because we made it ourselves. We cut it thin, like the way they do it in England, and she ordered the smoked salmon. We ran out of bread. It was like eleven o’clock at night. I said, ‘What we are going to get for her now to eat with the smoked salmon? We have no bread left.’ I said, ‘Oh, I’m just going to put in a pizza dough, bake the pizza dough, and cut it into pieces almost like a focaccia, and give it to her like that.’ I put olive oil on it, put some sliced onions on it, and baked it nice and crispy, and we had the dill cream, which we served with the smoked salmon, put the dill cream on top, and then put the smoked salmon on top, and the little caviar, and then I tasted it. The first thing I said, ‘This pizza needs a glass of champagne,’ and the rest is history. I then made another one for Joan and she said, ‘This should be the Joan Collins pizza.’

That pizza changed everyone’s mind about food in California. Where do you get all of your inspiration? 

Sometimes, you create while doing things. For me, I have to be doing something. I don’t sit at home and think, what can I do? When I see all the ingredients next to me, that’s when I get excited. Now, every restaurant in the world has tuna tartare, some sliced tuna, whatever. At that time, no. I went to the Japanese fish market, where all the Japanese chefs went, bought the same tuna as them, and I made a tuna sashimi. I made it a little bit my style. I mixed soy sauce with lime juice, some pepper in it, some spices in it, and then I made a little salad, made the slices of tuna around with the little avocado slices, and some sweet onion slices, and on top again a little caviar, and that was our famous appetizer then. Little-by-little, that became the norm, but at that time, you couldn’t get a lot of ingredients. That’s why I used to go down to the Chino farm in Rancho Santa Fe to pick up the best vegetables. They had amazing melons. Strawberries, like 10 varieties of strawberries. I went down with my station wagon, filled it up with vegetables. I still remember people coming up to the counter and seeing a pile of strawberries, so dark red and so juicy and so sweet and saying, ‘Wolfgang, where do you get these strawberries? Are they real?’ We have made more advances in America than any other country in such a short amount of time in wine and in food.

Why do you think Spago resonated with people so much back then?

When I opened Spago, I was the manager and the chef. I said, ‘I’m going to build the kitchen in the dining room.’ That was the first restaurant with a total open kitchen. That didn’t exist before. The chefs were on stage, basically. It was like a theater. I said ‘We should have fun. Not a fine dining restaurant, but a fun dining restaurant,’ obviously, with the best ingredients. If I bought fresh fish downtown at a fish market, I just put it in a wood-burning oven, roasted it with some onions, maybe a little saffron, maybe some small tomatoes. It was really simple, but very tasty. That’s the way I like to eat. And I always had a good sense of what goes with the wine. I didn’t want to overpower, to say, ‘Okay, we have a great red wine,’ and then put jalapeno pepper and raw onions, or a salsa type thing, because that will fight it. I think I was always very conscious about the pairing of food and wine. I actually love to do it, and I love to think about it.

We have talked about Spago, now let’s talk about CUT. It is really a steak joint, but with a Richard Meir interior, artwork by John Baldessari on the wall and your touch. It’s a Wolfgang Puck steak joint in Beverly Hills.

Exactly. Here at CUT, we start with great meat. I like to cook it really slowly on our grill here, and then let it rest for a good 20 minutes. If you want steak like that, you have to have a little salad, a little appetizer, and have time to wait. You enjoy it. It’s the anticipation for a great piece of meat, which is an important part, I think.

What is the origin of Chinois on Main? 

I started Spago, then we opened Spago in Tokyo. Then, I said, ‘I’m tired of doing Spago.’ The same thing all over again. We found this place in Santa Monica, and I said, ‘I’m going to do Chinese food.’ The landlord said, ‘Okay, I know whatever you’re going to do, it’s going to be good.’ Then, I had to think, I said, ‘[Expletive]. What am I going to do? I never used a wok in my life.’ In 1983, we opened Chinois, and it became the first fusion restaurant. There was no such thing as mixing two cultures in the kitchen together. I think when I look back, I said, ‘Do you know how important that was actually?’ Because then little-by-little people got a hold of it. It was so successful. I remember Madonna and Warren Beatty and Elizabeth Taylor, all these people used to travel all the way to Santa Monica. 

You have more staff that’s been there for more than 25 years than any other restaurant I know.

Exactly. I remember Bruce Paltrow, the father of Gwyneth Paltrow, and Blythe Danner, they used to come when Gwyneth Paltrow was little. Now, when Gwyneth comes to the restaurant, we have a food runner there, she comes up to him and says, ‘Papa, so good to see you.’ [laughter] He knows her from the beginning. It’s really a nice feeling. I think that’s what is really great. When I opened Spago, I said, ‘I am going to open a restaurant for the locals.’ When we open CUT here, I said, ‘We going to open a restaurant for the locals.’ I always said, ‘If we want our neighbors to be interested in us, we have to be interested in them.’

How many restaurants do you have in your portfolio? Do you even know?

No. I think I have four sons. I have an ex-wife. Maybe two ex-wives. We don’t talk about that. I think we have like 27 restaurants, and then we have another 80 or so in airports and so forth. Plus, we do have a catering company you know. Then we also have a company where we have merchandise, we sell pots and pans, and appliances and stuff like that. We always try to do new things. 

I remember this place you used to have, Eureka. Today, it would be a big hit, but you were way before your time. Same with Granita, your old place in Malibu.

Yes. You know we learn from failure, too. I did not make everything perfect. I did not just have a hundred percent success. People forget a lot of things have started here. It’s not from New York, it’s not from Washington. L.A. had the most innovative stuff. Even today, still, I think with all the different neighborhoods, we still have a lot of innovation here.

The first thing he did, he gave me a glass of Schnapps. He said, ‘No, first we have to say cheers.’ [laughter] I saw a lamb that looks really good. I thought, why are we trying to import meat from somewhere? We can just use that. I still go to see him. Each time I go to Budapest, I go see him and we take some lamb home.

You see each location as a celebration of its community.

Exactly, yes. I also say we are in the hospitality business. It’s not about me, it’s about the guests. We are here to make the guests happy. Some chefs go to the table and say, ‘How did I do?’ Who the [expletive] cares about the chef, how he did it or whatever? It’s whether the guest enjoyed their time there. 

I think in life, we have so many tragedies already. When you are at the restaurant, you want to get relaxed, you want to have a good time. You don’t want to be talked down to. We are in the hospitality business, and we have to make people feel good. When they leave our restaurant, they have to feel, ‘Wow, I spent money, but you know what? It was a great time.’ I think restaurants become part of the community. I have so many people who still come to the restaurant. Now, they are 80 years old, and they say, ‘Oh, I cannot drink too much,’ before they used to drink a cocktail and then wine. ‘My doctor told me I have to watch what I eat.’ I said, ‘You know what? I know you forever, so whatever you want, we make.’

Are there any chefs around L.A. today that impress you? 

Yes, there are a lot of young chefs like people who worked for me, Evan Funke who has Felix, and now opens other restaurants, and there are quite a few who worked with us before. I think there are many young chefs now, especially downtown. Unfortunately, I’m a creature of habit, so where do I end up? I go to Matsuhisa probably the most. I go to Osteria Angelini. Last night, I went to Sushi Tama, a Japanese restaurant on Robertson. I try new ones, but more or less, I like to go where I have friends.

I always like people who are interested in food and wine. I see it now with my son, Bryon. He, too, is so passionate, he is also young, but he is very passionate about food and wine. If you have that passion, you can be successful. If you find something you love and want to do more than anything else, basically, that’s when you’re going to be successful. A lot of people have talent, but they don’t really work on it. Talent alone isn’t going to get you anywhere. You have to mix talent with tenacity, with doing things over and over again.

Do you think Spago wouldn’t have worked anywhere else? Could you have opened it in New York City?

Maybe in New York City, I would’ve done it a little differently to fit into the space there. I wanted it to be like a beach house. We had this bleached wooden ceiling, and it was white inside. It’s so interesting to see how we have influenced people all over the world. I have a very good friend in London, Ruth Rodgers. She owns The River Café, a famous restaurant in London. Where did it start? She came to Spago in the early 80s and said, ‘Oh my God, we have nothing like that in England.’ She found this place way outside of downtown, and opened this restaurant, and when I walked in, it felt like the old Spago. 

The influence of Spago has gone really everywhere, and not to say to put the chef on the center stage. By opening up the kitchen, by going out to say, ‘hello.’ It wasn’t always easy for me. At the beginning, I only said ‘hello’ to the people I knew, and then little-by-little, I started to go to say ‘hello’ to everybody. I think it was important because I always felt they were guests in my house.

You are all over the world now. Tell us more about your future plans.   

We are in Budapest, in London, in Istanbul, in Bahrain, Qatar, Singapore, Maui, you name it, but we are still going to do new things. Our biggest project now is with Frank Gehry. I always love architects, so Frank Gehry is going to build us a restaurant where Gladstones is now (at Sunset and PCH). We’re going to tear it down. When people ask me when I’m going to retire, I say, ‘Why retire?’ My sister was a school principal in Austria, she retired. She said, ‘Why do you want to open another restaurant?’ I said, ‘This is what I live for, this is what I love. Do I need a restaurant in Riyadh? Do I need a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur?’ It is going to be more work, more travel, and everything, but that’s what gets me excited, and not to mention the restaurant on the beach, that’s going to be the biggest thing. To get anything done on the beach, it takes forever.  But it is Frank Gehry and let me tell you, it’s going to be a historical landmark, and people will come to that part of town forever. 

Do you look forward to your great-grandchildren one day saying, “My great grandfather did this with Frank Gehry, the greatest architect California has ever seen? Maybe you will be in that chef place in the sky by then.

No, I would be in hell for sure. [laughter] If you ask my ex-wife or anybody they’ll say, ‘Wolfgang will be in hell.’ And you know what? I will like it better there anyway. All my friends are there, and we have the hot grill and the fire there.  How much better can it be? 

Chef Wolfgang Puck and his extensive list of restaurants can be found online at www.wolfgangpuck.com

Read the flip edition of the full Beverly Hills Courier Wine + Dine Issue here.

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The Club Bar at The Peninsula Hotel

This elegant, wood-paneled lounge seems like it’s straight out of a bygone era, but the exclusive drink menu and innovative cocktails give it a modern edge. It offers the perfect ambiance for settling into one of the deep leather chairs with a scotch cocktail, like the “My Buddy Bolden,” or choosing a drink from the list of rare single malt whiskies, scotches, tequilas, cognacs and more. There’s also an extensive wine list of high-end pours, including the hotel’s private-label Keller The Peninsula Sonoma Pinot Noir. Whether your evening is just starting or is coming to a close, this is the perfect spot to sit back and enjoy the finer things in life. 

The Maybourne Bar at The Maybourne Beverly Hills

Head mixologist Chris Amirault is in a mission to revolutionize the cocktail, one clarified infusion at a time. His culinary background is apparent throughout the innovative menu that categorizes drinks according to the five elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Space, featuring layered flavors and unique ingredient combinations. “It’s important to use an ingredient when it’s in season and more importantly, how to utilize it in its best form,” says Amirault. And sure enough, each stunning drink incorporates unique forms of ingredients like lime, black tea, even mandarinquats (a hybrid of mandarin and kumquat). From the delicious zero proof mocktails, to the black tea infused Old Fashioned “Salute Your Shorts”, to the crystal-clear cucumber margarita “Mirror Mirror,” the drinks are never what they seem, and consistently overdeliver on flavor. When it comes to Amirault’s craft, the simpler it looks, the more complex the flavors. 

The Pool Bar at the Beverly Hilton

What better place to lounge by a pool, sunglasses perched on your head, with a fabulous cocktail in hand? With colorful fruits, refreshing drinks, and a menu that pays tribute to their tiki bar roots (this is the former home of Trader Vic’s after all), the Pool Bar is the ultimate destination for relaxation if you also take your cocktails seriously. You can go all out and order the signature copper tiki bar drink, or get the “Poolside Swizzle” with green chartreuse and a touch of herbaceous flavor. Either way, you’ll get the full star treatment and feel like Beverly Hills royalty.

The Rooftop by JG at Waldorf Astoria

“Our menus are very seasonally driven,” says Maykel Escalona, Director of Food & Beverage. “I emphasize with our team to really source everything locally, too.” The bar team is also very detailed about collecting guest feedback, regularly asking for opinions and tweaking new cocktail recipes until they are palate-perfect. And with the panoramic views, this may be the best rooftop destination you can find in the city. Order one of the refreshing, seasonal cocktails to enjoy at the bar or the lounge outside the restaurant, with stunning views of the city surrounding you. Whether you’re celebrating a special occasion or need a break from the everyday, a beautiful rooftop with a great menu is always a good idea.  

Umbrella Social Club at SIXTY Beverly Hills

Enjoy elevated sips and bites on the Umbrella Social Club deck. The food features a California-centric sustainable organic and vegan-friendly menu, alongside plenty of crafted cocktails and a vibrant atmosphere. With cozy fireplaces, hanging wicker chairs, and a bar set amongst luscious greenery high above the glittering city, you can experience 360-degree views of Beverly Hills seven days a week. Order a classic Mai Tai or the tequila-based Calle Sesame, then find a spot on this beautiful rooftop terrace to take everything in. 

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The event will feature prizes in the categories of “Best Dill Pickle in Beverly Hills” and “I Can Pickle That!” Contestants in the latter category are encouraged to submit any type of pickled fruit or vegetable. “We’ve had people pickle everything from the traditional cucumbers to fruit items like watermelon and stone fruit,” said Evan Doyle, Farmers’ Market Supervisor. All pickled produce submitted must be grown in California.

Nate ‘n Al’s will award $200, $100 and $50 gift cards to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.  A panel of judges, including an expert member of the Nate ‘n Al’s deli staff, will select the winners based on a list of criteria.

The Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market is a weekly outdoor certified market which provides the finest California-grown, fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables, juices, breads, specialty items and more in a festive outdoor setting. Enter the contest online at www.beverlyhills.org/farmersmarket. The application deadline is July 31. 

The post Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market PickleFest Set for Aug. 7 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Eighteen contestants entered pies named after their tasty ingredients, such as Cabernet Grape Pie, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie and Lazy Apricot Pie. The first place winner of the “Best Tasting Pie in Beverly Hills” award and $200 in Farmers’ Market money went to Stacy Wright of Los Angeles, for her Strawberry Lemon Icebox Pie. The “Most Pie-utiful” and second place title, along with $100 Farmers’ Market money was awarded to Joe Lux from Los Angeles, for his Honey Lemon Chiffon Pie with the face of the pie resembling a honeycomb and artful bees scattered on top.  The third place and $50 Farmers’ Market money was awarded to Sarah Simms and Violet Tarpey, both from Beverly Hills, for their Life’s a Peach Southern Pie.

The esteemed panel of judges for the pie contest were Recreation and Parks Commissioners Susan Mishler and Julian Javor, Human Relations Commissioner Laura Margo, and first place winners from the 2019 pie bake contest, Elisa Kaplan and Charlie Grand. Criteria for judging was based on appearance, creativity, crust, consistency and flavor.  

The Pie Bake a’la Beverly Hills and Piesta is presented by the City’s Community Services Department and held annually in June at Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market. The next exciting Farmers’ Market featured event and contest will be Picklefest on August 7. For more information about the Farmers’ Market and featured events such as Piesta and Picklefest, along with other Farmers’ Market activities, visit www.beverlyhills.org/FarmersMarket. 

The post Annual Pie Bake a’la Beverly Hills and Piesta Winners Announced appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

crosswise

5 ounces red grape tomatoes (150 grams)

¼ yellow onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ bunch parsley leaves

2 ounces grated Pecorino cheese (50 grams)

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup mussel broth (250 grams) or fish stock (chicken and vegetable 

stock may be used as a substitute)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 380°F.

2. Lightly rinse the rice to remove part of the starch surface.

3. Clean the mussels externally with steel wool and wash them under running water.

4. Open the raw mussels by pressing one of the two valves forward until it cracks open. Insert a small knife and slide it until it opens all the way. Keep the seafood inside one shell only and discard the empty shell.

5. Drizzle a 12-inch round ovenproof pan (with lid, or Dutch oven) with olive oil, and then add half of the onions and garlic. 

6. Add some of the tomatoes and one third of the parsley.

7. Place all the mussels (in half shell) in the pan with the mussels facing upwards, forming a layer. 

8. Sprinkle with the rice, but don’t let it enter any of the open shells.

9. Add one layer of tomatoes along with half of the remaining parsley and half of the Pecorino. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. 

10. Make another layer of potatoes, tomatoes, the remaining onions, and garlic.

11. Sprinkle the remaining parsley and Pecorino over the top, then drizzle a generous amount of olive oil. 

12. Pour the broth gently, starting from the side then going in a circle until the juice lightly touches the potatoes.

13. Place in the oven for around 40 minutes, covered for the first 15 minutes, then uncovered.

Focaccia Ingredients:

1 1/3 tablespoons water 

2 tablespoons cream 

1 whole medium egg 

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 

1 1/3 teaspoons salt 

1 teaspoon instant dry yeast 

1 ¾ cups ’00’ flour or all-purpose flour 

1/3 cup whole wheat flour 

2 teaspoons honey 

Wash:

1 tablespoon water 

2 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

Maldon salt for garnish

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl combine yeast and water together. In another smaller bowl combine and mix the honey, cream and eggs together with the salt.

2. In a large bowl combine and mix ’00’ flour and whole wheat flour, then stir in all wet ingredient mixtures to make a dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in only enough flour to make a soft dough that is smooth and elastic (knead dough between 3 and 5 minutes). Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 30 minutes at about 80°F – room temperature).

3. Grease two large baking sheets; set aside. Punching down dough, divide dough into six equal pieces using oiled hands, if needed. Place three dough pieces on each baking sheet. Press each piece of dough into a 5-inch circle, making sure there are 2 to 3 inches of space between each dough circle. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°F.

4. Vigorously whisk the extra-virgin olive oil and water until it emulsifies. Spoon emulsion over the dough evenly. Using the tips of your fingers make ½ inch deep indents over the surface of the dough, then finish with Malson salt.

5. Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom, checking after 8 minutes and popping any large air bubbles with a sharp knife. Cool for 15 minutes on wire racks. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Chef Isaac Gamboa, Prospect Gourmand

Tri-Tip Marinade

Pinquito Chili Beans

Grandma Libby’s Potato Salad

 “I was born and raised in Santa Maria, California where there’s a large BBQ community. My mom was born there also. My grandparents were born in New Mexico and Colorado and migrated to that area and started grilling in that Central Coast way [a hand crank grill over open flame] but with New Mexico influences. My grandmother always had chiles shipped from New Mexico for her beans, and she added black olives to her potato salad which gave it a distinctive Central California twist (my mother and my aunts still do this). The marinade my grandfather made for the tri-tip had a little Asian influence, borrowed from the large Filipino community there, so you’ll see soy sauce listed as an ingredient. My grandparents had 10 kids, so there are about 50 grandkids, and when they had a party everyone got together–spouses, kids, in-laws, friends. I remember I’d be out playing with my cousins, my grandmother would be in the kitchen making the side dishes and my grandfather would be out in the strawberry fields cooking on the grill. The night before he would marinate the beef and chicken in giant metal trash cans lined with bags. The next morning he’d wake up at 5 a.m. and light up the wood fire grill. As far back as I can remember my family has made these recipes. They mean a lot to me, and whenever I go back home to visit, my brothers and I make them the same way all over again.”

Tri-Tip Marinade Ingredients:

½ cup water

1 cup soy sauce

1 ½ cups canola or vegetable oil 

8 cloves garlic, peeled

½ tablespoon ground black pepper

1 whole tri-tip beef, slightly trimmed

Directions:

1. Puree all ingredients in blender and marinate beef for 10 hours or overnight in fridge.

2. Next day, grill over wood, charcoal, or gas grill until cooked to medium (tri-tip lends better to a medium cook), about 25 to 30 minutes total (15 to 20 minutes on each side).

Pinquito Chili Beans Ingredients:

2 pounds dry Pinquito beans

1 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 Spanish onion, diced small

12 ounces fire roasted green chile (Anaheim or Hatch)

1 can (16 ounces) whole peeled plum tomato

1 can (10 ounces) Las Palmas red chile sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Boil the potatoes until fork tender, drain, and allow to cool to room temperature.

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl while potatoes cool.

3. Mix potatoes into the bowl, garnish with celery leaves, egg slices, and sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne pepper, if desired.

Chef Curtis Stone, Maude

Spice-Rubbed Lamb Rack with Vinegar-Mint Sauce and Zucchini-Feta Fritters

Cherry-Amaretto Lattice Pie 

“My mum Lozza was the cook in the family, preparing meals for my older brother Luke and me. She was a single mum so she was incredibly busy, but on Sundays we always had a big dinner, either a pork roast or lamb. Aussies enjoy their lamb much more than Americans do; it’s a very prevalent and important staple. We have such diverse cuisine, taking influences from Southeast Asia and our British cousins, but I’d venture to say that lamb might be our national dish. I’ve been making lamb since I can remember. And summer is my favorite season for fruit, and I look forward to the appearance of stone fruit every year. Cherry pie is just perfect (and nobody says you can’t have a slice for breakfast). Grilling and stone fruit just scream summer to me. Cooking for people is the best way to say “I love you” without words. I love being outside at the grill, keeping an eye on the boys in the pool and gathering around the table for dinner with long summer days and warm nights. And pie? I always say pie is just like a big hug and a great way to end a meal.”

Spice-Rubbed Lamb Rack with Vinegar-Mint Sauce and Zucchini-Feta Fritters Ingredients:

Vinegar-Mint Sauce:

1 cup (not packed) fresh mint leaves

½ cup good-quality red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

Lamb:

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

2 ½ teaspoons fennel seeds

 ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 lamb racks (about 2 ½ pounds total), rib bones frenched

2 tablespoons olive oil

Fritters:

1 ½ pounds zucchini, coarsely grated

8 ounces feta, crumbled

¼ cup chopped green onions

¼ cup chopped dill

¼ cup chopped mint

¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 large eggs, beaten to blend

1 cup (2 ½ ounces) panko breadcrumbs 

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Grapeseed oil (for deep frying)

Directions:

To make vinegar-mint sauce:

Place mint in medium bowl. In small saucepan, bring vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 cup of water to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour vinegar mixture over mint and steep for 30 minutes. Mix in sea salt and strain sauce.

To make spice rub:

In small frying pan over medium-high heat, stir peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, and cumin seeds for about 2 minutes, or until spices are toasted. Transfer to mini food processor and grind to fine powder. Pulse in 2 teaspoons kosher salt. In small bowl, mix freshly ground spices with paprika and cayenne. 

To cook lamb:

1. Prepare covered grill for indirect medium-high heat. For charcoal grill: Just before grilling lamb, bank all hot coals to one side of grill and leave other half empty. For gas grill: Preheat all burners to medium-high heat. Just before grilling lamb, turn burners on one half of grill off and keep other burners on medium-high heat. 

2. Coat lamb with oil and sprinkle spice mixture all over lamb. Grill lamb uncovered over direct heat, turning as needed, for about 8 minutes, or until brown all over. Transfer lamb to indirect heat, cover grill, and cook 20 to 24 minutes or until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of lamb registers 125°F for medium-rare doneness. The internal temperature of the grill will rise from 300°F to 400°F as the lamb cooks. Rest lamb on cutting board 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, to prepare fritters:

1. In medium bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside for 10 minutes. Transfer zucchini to center of clean tea towel. Gather corners of towel together to enclose, then squeeze excess moisture from zucchini. Return zucchini to bowl. 

2. Stir feta, green onions, dill, mint, parsley, eggs, breadcrumbs, cornstarch, ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper into zucchini. Divide mixture into 16 even portions.

3. Add enough oil to 5-quart casserole pot to reach depth of 2 inches and heat oil to 350°F. Working in batches, deep fry fritters for 5 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown. 

4. Transfer to large plate lined with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. 

To serve:

Carve lamb racks into chops. Divide chops evenly among plates and serve with mint-vinegar sauce and fritters.

Cherry-Amaretto Lattice Pie 

Ingredients:

¾ cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar 

3 tablespoons cornstarch 

¼ teaspoon salt 

5 cups pitted fresh dark sweet cherries (about 2 pounds unpitted 

cherries) 

¼ cup amaretto 

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

1 cinnamon stick 

Buttery Pastry Dough (recipe follows), shaped into 2 disks and 

chilled 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 

1 ½ teaspoons whole milk 

Vanilla ice cream, for serving 

Directions:

1. Position one rack in the lower third of the oven and a second rack just above it. Set a baking sheet on the bottom rack. (Being near the heat source will help the bottom crust bake and brown properly. The baking sheet will catch any bubbled-over juices.) Preheat the oven to 425°F. 

2. In a medium bowl, combine 3?4 cup of the sugar, the cornstarch, and the salt. Stir in the cherries, amaretto, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick; set aside. 

3. Unwrap the larger disk of dough, set it on a floured surface, and lightly dust top of dough. Roll out dough into a 13-inch round, occasionally rotating dough and dusting it with flour to prevent sticking. Brush away the excess flour and transfer dough to a 9 1/2-inch glass pie plate, centering it in the pie plate and letting the excess dough hang over the edges. Lightly press dough into the dish. Refrigerate the pie shell. 

4. On the floured surface, roll out the other disk of dough into a 12-inch round. Using a large knife, cut 10 1-inch-wide strips from dough round. 

5. Transfer the cherry filling to the pie shell, then scatter the butter on top. Arrange dough strips over the filling, forming a lattice (see tips below). Trim dough overhang to 3/4 inch. Pinch the bottom crust and strips together and fold the overhang under. Crimp the edges to seal. Lightly brush the lattice with the milk, and sprinkle the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar over it. 

6. Bake the pie on the rack above the baking sheet for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, and bake the pie for about 1 hour longer or until the crust is deep golden and the filling is bubbling. If the crust begins to brown too quickly, tent the pie with foil. Let the pie cool on a wire rack until warm, about 1 hour. 

7. Cut the pie into wedges and serve warm with ice cream. 

Buttery Pastry Dough:

The secret to homemade pastry dough is to avoid blitzing your butter to smithereens in the food processor. Leaving pea-size pieces of butter in the dough is key, because they will melt in the oven and release water, which will become steam. The steam helps to puff up the dough and contributes to that melt-in-your-mouth texture. The dough can be made up to 1 day ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Alternatively, it can be frozen for up to 1 month. 

Ingredients:

2 ½  cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt

½ pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 

About 1/3 cup ice water 

Directions:

1. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse about 10 times, or until the butter is in pea-size pieces; do not overprocess. While pulsing the processor, add
1/3 cup of the ice water, then pulse just until moist clumps of dough form, adding more water 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary. 

2. Transfer dough to a work surface and divide it in half (make one half slightly larger) and shape each piece into a thick disk. Wrap each disk individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. 

How to Lattice:

Lay half of the strips across the filling, spacing them evenly. Fold back every other strip; then place another strip perpendicular at the folded edge of the strips. Unfold the folded strips so they lie over the perpendicular strip. Fold back the other set of strips. Stopping about 1 inch from the first perpendicular strip, place a second perpendicular strip at the folds, and unfold the folded strips. Repeat with the remaining 3 pastry strips to cover the pie with the lattice. 

 If weaving feels a bit intimidating, just lay half of the strips across the pie parallel to each other, then lay the remaining strips across them, perpendicular to the bottom strips. Don’t worry if your strips aren’t perfect– all the more handmade charm.

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According to BHPD Public Information Officer Lt. Giovani Trejo, officers arrested James Terrell Williams, 47, of Los Angeles on Jan. 4 for the incident. Officers picked up Williams near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.

Crustacean did not respond to a request for comment.

Trejo explained that the hefty haul from Crustacean included top-shelf liquor.

“It’s not so much the amount of liquor that he stole, but the price of the liquor he stole,” Trejo said, though he could not provide any brand information. “That’s what made the total go over the $100,000 mark.”

Williams has a lengthy rap sheet going back at least as early as 1999. He also has a preferred target, according to Trejo.

“We investigated him in 2021 for two separate incidents involving commercial burglaries [in Beverly Hills],” Trejo said. “His MO appears to be commercial burglary, where he targets businesses.”

One of those incidents occurred on Feb. 2, 2021, according to Trejo. In that case, Los Angeles Superior Court records indicate that Williams was sentenced on Dec. 20 to 16 months in state prison for one count of burglary. It was not immediately clear how or why Williams was out of custody by the time of the Crustacean burglary. 

Trejo said this was part of a recent pattern of criminals reoffending after release.

“We keep seeing arrestees with lengthy convictions for the same offense, like in this particular case,” Trejo told the Courier. “This is the revolving door that we are seeing constantly, where we arrest someone for an offense that he or she was convicted of literally months before the commission of a crime here in Beverly Hills.”

Thanks in part to his history of offenses in the city, Trejo said that BHPD detectives promptly closed in on Williams as a suspect. Detectives were also aided by surveillance footage.

“They’re definitely familiar with the MO and they started to put the pieces together,” he said. “That’s the detective work that some of our people are doing here where some of these repeat offenders like Mr. Williams, he is now known by detectives because of the way he operates.”

While property crime is down in Beverly Hills, the business community has been shaken by a series of high-profile robberies and attempted burglaries. Todd Johnson, Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, says that businesses everywhere are worried, not just in Beverly Hills. He insisted, though, that Beverly Hills remains safer than most places.

“I don’t think businesses that are coming to Beverly Hills should be scared,” he told the Courier. “Crime is a part of life, but we have one of the best police departments in the country.” 

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Gucci

If the friend you’re gifting is a serious foodie, the newly Michelin-starred Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura Beverly Hills, has partnered with one of the pastry world’s most distinguished and creative minds, Roy Shvartzapel, to create two limited-edition Panettone for the Holiday Season. Both sweetened breads (one with orange and gianduja, the other with candied orange and raisin) are packed in a beautiful limited-edition collectible tin designed by Gucci. (It is available at the store for $150 each.)

Like everyone in business during the past few years, Christian Navarro at Wally’s was searching for new products due to logistical issues. “We are always looking for unique high-quality products,” he told the Courier. Or, in some cases, it’s best just to go back to a tried-and-true old favorite.” 

To that end, Navarro has rediscovered and recommends Henriot Champagne, which has been around for 100 years and is a great quality bottle for a fair price (NV Henriot Blanc De Blancs Brut, $70). For a new rosé, the Lady A hits the top of the mark this season with a label designed by Damian Hirst for $20 a bottle. “It’s the best, least expensive you will find,” said Navaro. Finally, for red wine drinkers, no holiday table is complete without a Pinot Noir from Oregon such as the Nicholas J. for $60.

First Light is a small New Zealand company that produces some of the world’s best grass-fed Wagyu cattle. This environmentally conscious cooperative of family farmers is responsible for naturally marbled beef with Omega 3’s that is Certified Humane, Halal and sustainably raised with zero antibiotics, hormones or GMOs. This beef is also served at mat? on South Beverly Drive and can be ordered individually via Thrive Market starting at $8.99, but you might want to look into the meat lover’s box for $209.99, or check out steakclub.firstlight.farm for monthly deliveries. 

For a sumptuous gift basket, Eataly at the Westfeld in Century City has an array of condiment baskets for any cook or Italian food lover. Two great finds for bringing to your host or hostess include The Truffle Feast gift box ($299) with 12 styles of truffles from pasta to pistachio chocolates or the Taste of Natale box ($134.91) with a highly sought-after Tartuflanghe (black truffle sauce). 

Another top spot for holiday hostess baskets is The Cheese store on Beverly Drive. They also have a rare and limited Vacherin mont d’ore gooey cheese that is sold in a self-contained wooded round box for $55. This special fromage from France is only available seasonally. This is also the time of year to buy white truffles from Alba, which start at $400 per ounce. The store has them available, and you can even buy one fresh truffle and place it in a festive small box. In addition, they are the main retailer in Beverly Hills for Chocolates from Coco Suisse, priced from $6 to $20.  

Gourmet food distributor La Megara, specializes in a variety of food and home wholesale products made from the finest quality ingredients imported from Tunisia and the Mediterranean. The best-sellers include organic olive oil ($11.99 for 750ml), sardine tins, jars with harissa or tapenade, plus you can also order a set of their 3 small olive wood bows, salad hands or cutting boards to go with the gift starting at just $10. These are all finished with wax for a longer lifetime and treated with olive oil. You can order online at lamegara.com or if you are a local, please call 310-887-7044 to arrange for a pick-up at the Canon Drive office.  

Celebrity favorite for special occasion cakes, Sweet Lady Jane, opened on South Beverly Drive over the summer. Known widely for the triple berry cake, the “Beverly” cake was created specifically for the 90210-location. This confection is a yellow butter cake with layers of chocolate mousse and vanilla cream, frosted in chocolate ganache and covered in a chocolate glaze with delicate flowers and leaves of 24-carat gold leaf. The six-inch is sold for $60, eight-inch for $80. They also have an assortment of Hanukkah and Christmas cookies and other specialty holiday cakes that would be a welcome treat.

For coffee aficionados, long-time favorite European spot, ORO Caffé on Santa Monica Boulevard is under new management. They are currently selling Columbine ground coffee from Africa ($7.95 per 200 grams). Or, drip coffee from Costa Rica, Columbia, Brazil and Ethiopia by Mondo. The medium roast, 100 percent Arabica coffee is creatively packaged in 10 individual servings per box with its own pop-up filter that you can place in a cup and just add water ($14.99), which makes a great gift for home or even the office.  

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Stop for a quick treat, order thousands of dollars in personalized business gifts or purchase for festive parties. With increasing numbers working from home, it would be a Godsend to get a package of goodies to soothe the soul on a scary Monday or jittery Tuesday. Better yet, take a box to make your marriage proposal all the sweeter. 

All of the listed emporiums will design personalized orders, and each ships nationwide. Check for special holiday hours.

CHOKOLATTA 

255 ½ South Beverly Drive

(424) 278-1998

Daily: 8 a.m.- 8 p.m.

Chokolatta.biz

Open just two years, newcomer Chokolatta has a different take on their handmade chocolates, filling many of their bonbons with Latin American flavors, along with traditional French-inflected fillings. Owners Oscar and Andrea Maldonado moved to Los Angeles from Guatemala and Mexico, respectively, opening their first shop in Hollywood and a second on South Beverly Drive. Oscar, an accountant by trade, partners with his wife, a culinary school graduate, to fulfill her chocolatier dreams. 

The sunny café and chocolate shop is more casual than the other Beverly Hills boutiques. It’s less posh and more neighborhood. Decorated for the season with boughs of greens, the case of multicolored bonbons sparkles in the light. Customers can choose one or ask for a mixed box of up to 24 to their taste. One is filled with tequila and others are flavored with hibiscus and mango chamoy. At holiday time, families love the seasonal chocolate ball which when dropped into hot milk melts, transforming into a delicious drink. 

A year-round best seller is the chocolate-covered strawberries. The large, perfectly formed berries come encased in either dark or light chocolate and make a wonderful holiday dessert or afternoon snack. Andrea says that almost any fruit can be dipped in the molten chocolate. Another gift idea is the snowmen or reindeer, loved by children and adults. Boxes or baskets can be filled to clients’ specifications so the gift giver knows the recipient will enjoy everything included. 

Their corporate clients have included universities, one of which ordered 500 pieces, and a winery as well as comedian George Lopez’s charity. The cast of Netflix’s “Lucifer” has filmed in their shop and now come into buy for themselves. “We feel that we’re offering a little different experience to customers,” says Andrea. “These are the flavors of our homeland.” 

JOHN KELLY CHOCOLATES

9523 South Santa Monica Boulevard

(310) 734-7228

Mon-Sat: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Sun: 12- 6 p.m.

johnkellychocolates.com

John Kelly Chocolates’ look is understated elegance with monogrammed glossy dark brown paper, coordinating with the shop’s interior design. Though holidays at John Kelly are a Santa Claus-free zone (The seasonal wrapping has a scattering of gold snowflakes), their best-selling candy is as homey as granny’s apron. The partners, John Kelson and Kelly Green’s signature creamy fudge was inspired by a family recipe and then taken to culinary heights with artisanal ingredients in all their handmade candies. 

Chocolate lovers in the know immediately recognize the John Kelly signature touch of brightly colored ribbons. They can be personalized with a corporate logo or a newborn’s name. Legendary rocker Steven Tyler loves their fudge so much he hauls carry-on bags stuffed with their chocolates to Hawaii. Their newest product is a boozy box of bourbon filled bonbons. Service is gracious with everyday folk cared for just as carefully as regulars Renee Zellweger and Viola Davis.

Their 11-year-old business has a robust and growing corporate trade according to the partners, but they’d rather tell a personal customer story than talk numbers. A local financial advisor started buying yearly holiday assortments for clients after he got so many thank you notes and comments after his first order. None of his previous gifts had elicited such strong reaction. Seeing the return on investment, he just upped this year’s shipment.

EDELWEISS CHOCOLATES

444 North Canon Drive 

(310) 275-0341

Mon-Thur: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Fri-Sat: 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.

Sun: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Edelweisschocolates.com

Established in 1942, Edelweiss still has candymakers in back working on the machinery that inspired the famous Lucille Ball television episode. A loyal customer before her death, Ball got the idea for the hilarious show from Edelweiss. Now too many to name celebrities come into the cozy little space with or without children. The recipe for the famous fluffy marshmallow filling was the original owner’s and remains the most popular candy. The holiday season special is enlivened with peppermint. 

The fifth owners, Steve and Madlen Zahir, have had the shop for the last 20 years and now work with their son, daughter and son-in-law. They haven’t changed the look or feel of the cozy interior or their instantly recognizable shiny red bag. That’s not to say, that even after all these years, their customers can’t surprise them. One morning, a man appeared with $10,000 in cash and instructed them to fill all the baskets and boxes available. He then loaded everything into a truck. They still have no idea who he was.

Though they won’t talk about current customers, Madlen says that Frank Sinatra’s preference was the maple truffle. He’d pick up a box, go across the street to a bar, and with Dean Martin eat the candies with martinis. Liz Taylor loved the turtles, and Katherine Hepburn mentioned Edelweiss in her memoir. The shop’s Rolodex is filled with years of notes on customer favorites, along with closely guarded addresses and phone numbers. 

Their corporate gift chocolate baskets are cause for celebration when they arrive at agencies and law firms. Orders for business gifts are already rolling in, and the back room hums with staff hand dipping and carefully packing the candies. Nothing has changed at Edelweiss. 

andSons Chocolatiers

9548 Brighton Way

(310) 276-2776

Mon-Fri: 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Sat: 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Sun: Closed

and-sons.com

Originally opened by Aviva Covitz in 1983 as a Teuscher Swiss chocolate franchise, her two sons Marc and Phil decided to take luxury chocolate in a different direction. They gave up Teuscher but kept their corner location, redesigned to reflect their contemporary tastes. The corner location’s takeout window for coffee and snacks is buzzing all day with locals and out-of-towners. Their unique packaging designs, commissioned from a different artist every year, carry out their modern approach. 

The candy display cases resemble jewelry counters. Los Angeles artist Maggie Lochtenberg’s mural of a cacao tree coils around the ceiling. The colorful confections filled with unique flavors including hazelnut praline and pop rocks fit snugly in the special gift collection boxes, named after Beverly Hills streets. 

andSons’ partnership with the Huntington Botanical Gardens honors that verdant landscape. The box includes chocolate covered nuts, Orange and Pecan Pralines, using the Huntington’s Valencia oranges and a jar of the Huntington Orange Marmalade, along with Black Tea Caramel made from the Huntington’s own jasmine and citrus flavored tea. The container art depicts five of the Huntington gardens. 

Their updated design and creative fillings have become a go-to for many businesses, especially those whose clients appreciate the unexpected. Their seasonal flavors include eggnog, spiced caramel, dark chocolate mint and saffron with marzipan. They do more traditional holiday chocolates like turkeys and Santa Clauses but with a modern spin. They are happy to personalize for weddings or other special events and ship nationwide from their L.A. Arts District kitchen staffed by chocolatiers using the best ingredients from around the globe. 

As the brothers say, “Not your mom’s chocolate shop.”  

BEVERLY HILLS TEUSCHER 

371 North Camden Drive

(310) 734-7734

Mon-Sat: 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. 

Beverlyhillsteuscher.com

Tom and Tara Gallop, known as Mr. and Mrs. Truffle, took over the Teuscher franchise, one of nine in the U.S., from andSons and moved across the street. While andSons’ décor is clean lined modern, the Teuscher shop is giddy kitsch, exactly as all their franchise shops across the globe are. Handmade flowers fill the window and climb walls to the ceiling; examples of tiny box toppers made by the same Swiss artisan for 40 years line the display cases, and the famous truffles are lined up behind glass. The Champagne truffle filled with Dom Perignon is their most popular confection, but there are hundreds of choices especially for the holidays. Try a nutcracker or a Santa Claus. 

Because Teuscher is known globally, many customers come in knowing what they like. Chrissy Teigen and her kids chose the rich hot chocolate, which many say is as good as the iconic drink at Angelina’s in Paris. They’re not sure that Brad Pitt likes pralines exactly, but his assistant bought $5,000 worth of the Orangerie boxes because orange is his favorite color. A woman who’d never been to the Beverly Hills location called to order $35,000 in corporate gifts after hearing Oprah considers them the best. That’s branding! Now she’s ordering more for a holiday party. That’s return business!

Chocolate is part of the language of love and the Gallops’ story certainly proves that. An actor best known for his role on “Will and Grace,” Tom was dating Tara when she told him that if he really loved her, he’d buy her a chocolate shop. So, he did. Then he went even further. While touring Teuscher’s factory in Zurich, he got down on one knee and proposed to her. 

After just three years, Mr. and Mrs. Truffle are a neighborhood fixture with passersby stopping in the door to say “hi.” Their many Middle Eastern customers know Teuscher from their travels. Here they can order a truffle filled with a special rose oil, rather than liquor, and the staff helps those others with dietary restrictions choose. In this shop, there’s love all day long.    

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Gucci Osteria joins a handful of Southern California eateries honored by the French tire company with their first star.

The success of the dining establishment atop the Gucci boutique on Rodeo Drive is a shining note in what was otherwise a bleak period for restaurants in Beverly Hills and globally. Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura opened in March 2020, promoting modern Italian cuisine reinterpreted with local Californian ingredients. Lombardy-born head chef Mattia Agazzi was brought in at the helm, under the guidance of Italian superstar chef Massimo Bottura. 

Bottura’s acclaimed Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy holds three Michelin stars. His original Gucci Osteria, in Florence, has earned one. But, he may be most known to many Americans from his engaging turns in Netflix’s “Chef’s Table” and “Master of None.” 

Agazzi was previously sous chef at the Osteria’s Florence outpost. In Beverly Hills, he has made a name for himself with cooking that Michelin describes as “at once whimsical and grounded.”

Agazzi is proud of what the Michelin star means for Beverly Hills. 

“Hopefully, it highlights what a great place it is, with a vibrant and diverse culinary scene. Our menu is rooted in this location, from the local suppliers we’ve discovered and started to build relationships with to the local farmers’ markets. The menu is Italian, but it uses primarily local ingredients with a few specific products from Italy.  It’s important to me that the restaurant has its own identity and that we are connected to Beverly Hills,” he told the Courier.

 Agazzi also described what diners can look forward to at Gucci Osteria this fall. 

“As our menu is seasonal, we will introduce a few new dishes this fall using more autumnal produce, including squash and nuts. At the moment, I’m discovering and tasting lots of different types to see which will work best.  We also plan to introduce apples to the menu. In the North of Italy, where I come from, apples are very common, but the Californian varieties like the rosehip apple are much more flowery in taste.  So, we’re experimenting and looking at ways to use this in a new dessert. Apart from the menu changes, our plans this fall are to continue growing as a team.  We only opened Gucci Osteria in February 2020, so there’s lots more we want to develop and create.”  

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The three men involved in the Il Pastaio robbery are identified by law enforcement as members of the Rollin’ 30s Harlem Crips street gang. According to an affidavit filed by an FBI special agent in support of the charges, Powell’s car was used as the getaway vehicle. The affidavit states that a fourth accomplice surveyed the area around the Business Triangle before the group singled out Shy Belhassen and the Richard Mille watch on his wrist.

Belhassen told the Courier that he saw three men “running towards me with a gun” before the two unarmed men took his $500,000 watch. A third man held him at gunpoint. Belhassen fought back, saying that he “grabbed the gun” from the suspect and “fought him to the ground.” In the ensuing scuffle, the gun went off and injured another patron who sustained a minor injury to her leg as a result.

The watch still has yet to be recovered, according to Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) Acting Captain Max Subin. Belhassen has offered a $50,000 reward for its return.

McGhee and Powell submitted their pleas on Sept. 29, while Gardon pleaded guilty on Sept. 10. McGhee and Powell are scheduled to face sentencing on Oct. 14; Gardon’s sentencing date is scheduled for Nov. 29.

On Sept. 22, two individuals were robbed at gunpoint by two suspects on the 300 block of North Beverly Drive. In the holdup, which happened around 9:30 p.m., the victims complied with demands and gave the suspects their watches and jewelry, according to Subin.

“Beverly Hills detectives are actively investigating this robbery,” he said. 

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The interim ordinance amends the Beverly Hills Municipal Code to allow “rooftop restaurant and rooftop open air dining uses” in the C-3 Commercial Zone, which encompasses most of the Business Triangle. The city defines the zone’s boundaries as Wilshire Boulevard to the southwest, Santa Monica Boulevard to the northwest, and an alley parallel to Crescent Drive to the northeast. With the passage of the ordinance, restaurants in the Triangle will be able to apply to the Community Development Department for a Rooftop Dining Permit.

The interim ordinance will return to the Council as a permanent ordinance in about two months, after minor changes to noise regulations have been incorporated.

By approving the ordinance, the Council also granted a Rooftop Dining Permit to 257 N. Canon Drive, a 44,627-square foot, three-story building next to Beverly Canon Gardens that is currently home to real estate firm Hilton & Hyland, real estate development firm Discovery Land Company, and Julien’s Auctions. When building management applied to convert an existing rooftop lunchroom into a 292-seat deluxe Peruvian-Japanese restaurant called Chotto Matte, the Planning Commission and Community Development Department saw the application as a COVID-safe opportunity to expand upon the success of the OpenBH outdoor dining program, compete with neighboring cities that do allow rooftop restaurant dining, and restore buzz and vibrancy to a touristy, non-residential area. 

Before the Aug. 17 Council vote, rooftop dining was limited to hotels, lunchrooms, fitness facilities, and any supporting “ancillary structures.” While many of the city’s prominent hotels, including the Peninsula, Waldorf Astoria, Beverly Hilton, Maybourne, and SIXTY Beverly Hills are able to offer rooftop dining, restaurants not associated with hotels were not. 

Over the course of two meetings on June 23 and July 8, the Planning Commission voted to recommend to the Council a draft ordinance to create a review process for rooftop restaurant dining, which is subject to regulations regarding building height, available parking, noise, furniture, and more. The ordinance also created a pilot program stipulating that the next two Rooftop Dining Permits are forwarded to the Planning Commission for review. All applications after that will only need the approval of Community Development Director Ryan Gohlich, who will need to determine that the proposed rooftop “will not adversely affect existing and anticipated development in the vicinity and will promote harmonious development in the area.”

Now that the permit for 257 N. Canon Drive is approved, construction will start in six to nine months, and the Chotto Matte restaurant will open in roughly a year and a half, 257 N. Canon Drive landlord Steven Bohbot told the Courier. The restaurant can seat up to 292 people spread out over 85 tables. It will convert an existing lunchroom into an indoor space that will lead to open space covered by a taupe-colored sail. 

The Council enthusiastically approved the ordinance, with Councilmember Lester Friedman calling it “excellent” and Vice Mayor Lili Bosse hailing it as “extraordinary.” 

“I think the Planning Commission did an extraordinary job with this,” Bosse said. “I think any sort of potential unintended consequences were mitigated. I love this idea, and from my perspective, this is something I wish we had done even sooner, and we don’t have the concerns about the impacts to the residential area. If this was near the residential area I think we would have a different conversation. As we all said, we have seen the parklets’ success, and I feel very confident that this is also going to be successful.” 

The Council approved most building and parking regulations contained in the draft ordinance without much discussion or debate. The Municipal Code previously barred rooftop restaurants due to fears that they would push buildings over the district’s three-story height limit, so the new ordinance stipulates that nothing on the rooftop can exceed 15 feet above the adjacent deck, and tall rooftop structures are positioned in such a way that they are not visible from the streets below. All structures except for furniture must be permanently affixed to the ground, and all rooftops must contain landscape buffers at least 42 inches high permanently affixed around the edges. 

The ordinance also requires that off-site parking is available within 750 feet of the site, and available from 6 to 10 p.m on weekdays and operating hours on weekends, with valet services available. 257 N. Canon Drive has 136 spots available in a subterranean parking garage, with five spaces available at nearby 301 N. Canon Drive. The ordinance requires a designated waiting area, and that the rooftop is only available to the public when the restaurant is in operation.

After some debate, the Council requested to overturn the draft ordinance’s ban on singing, dancing, and spoken word. Although the Business Triangle is a busy commercial zone without residential neighbors to disturb, the ordinance contains a number of operational bans to prevent restaurants from becoming too much like nightclubs. The draft ordinance allows for background music, “as long as this music is not noticeably audible beyond the site property lines.” Prior to the final Planning Commission draft, the ordinance banned any sort of live music, to the protests of Bohbot, but a compromise allowed for live music with no more than two performers. That limitation is still in effect after the Council vote.

Council members wondered why the “noticeably audible” standard, which Gohlich said roughly means that neighbors should not be able to make out the lyrics of a song, couldn’t apply to any type of music or performance. 

“It’s kind of like if a tree fell and nobody heard it, did the tree really fall?” Bosse said. “For me, it’s more of a question of sound. If there’s a sound impact that is somehow creating an impact that is audible from the street, that is my concern.” 

According to Gohlich, that requirement was taken from existing code provisions for indoor entertainment occurring outside the Business Triangle. “It tends to be much more difficult to regulate noise that is coming from people singing or speaking because the volume fluctuates so much when it’s not just an instrument being played, or prerecorded music where you can control the volume,” he said.

Gohlich also clarified that the ban only applies to singing, dancing, and spoken word performed by professional entertainers, so patrons could still sing “Happy Birthday,” to answer one of Councilmember Julian Gold’s questions.

Regardless, all five council members said they felt the restriction was unnecessary, and voted to strike it from the ordinance. 

“I was definitely impressed with [the Council’s] ability to take something that was recommended, and then break it down further to see if there’s any more common sense they could add to it, and they successfully did so,” Bohbot told the Courier following the vote. “They said what does it matter if they’re singing, as long as it’s not heard outside?”

Bohbot said he still wishes the Council had also nixed the two performer maximum, but that is the only item from the ordinance he would change. He also noted that he tried to make that point known during the public comment phase, but was told he submitted his comments too late.

Public comment contained letters from Beverly Hills business owners and residents who were just as excited about the ordinance as both the council members and planning commissioners. 

“Permitting rooftop dining more widely creates flexibility for properties to create experiences that will attract businesses and visitors to Beverly Hills, and create an interesting environment to shop, eat, visit and work,” Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Johnson wrote in a June 21 letter read on Aug. 17. 

“As a third-generation resident of the City of Beverly Hills, I cannot express enough how heavily I support the rooftop dining initiative that you are considering for approval during this evening’s meeting,” wrote Next Beverly Hills Committee member Charles Smith, who noted the committee’s official support for the ordinance. “Passing this measure would spark a new genre of business opportunity in the city that would subsequently improve quality of life and opportunity for residents as well as business owners for years to come.” 

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The Maybourne will expand into Beverly Canon Gardens by temporarily removing some of the hedges and shrubs adjacent to the southern pedestrian walkway to allow for more outdoor dining. However, no trees will be removed and access to elevators from the garden will be maintained. Central seating will remain separate from that of the hotel, with direct elevator access available. 

As evidenced by preliminary draft designs, the Maybourne plans to make space for a total of 40 dining tables and 120 chairs by removing seven shrubs. The City Council authorized that all applicable fees and staff time be waived, and the project will be reviewed again in six months based on the current health orders, occupancy limits, pedestrian traffic and impacts on the community. When the permit is terminated, the Maybourne must fully restore the area to its current fashion. 

The city’s OpenBH initiative has allowed businesses to temporarily expand their services to adjacent areas such as parking lots and the public right of way. 

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“This transition presents a promising future for our City as we continue to work together toward fully reopening,” said Mayor Lester Friedman in a statement this week.

“The phones haven’t stopped ringing. The anticipation is very high,” Giorgio Sease, General Manager at The Grill on the Alley told the Courier. 

The exact reopening date at The Grill is still to be determined, said Sease. “All our employees are calling to see when they can come back. But we want to first make sure everything is safe. Stay tuned. We will be back soon, just as we were. Once again we will be the top power lunch venue in all of Beverly Hills.” 

Il Pastaio Manager Carolina Drago surveyed the scene at the Canon Boulevard mainstay the day after dining reopened. “Of course, we are very excited to have the inside and more of our regulars coming in. But the feeling was very intense yesterday. It was a good feeling, a beautiful feeling. It’s been one year to see everything empty and then to see people sitting inside was beautiful. … We are so grateful. Beverly Hills for us is like a home,” Drago told the Courier.

The city’s hotels have been especially hard-hit by the pandemic. As restaurants have expanded outdoors with parklet space, hotels have also made creative use of outdoor space for dining. 

“We have been able to welcome our Beverly Hills community to the beautiful Avec Nous al fresco dining space over the past few weeks,” said Scott Berger, General Manager of Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills. “Not only will it be nice to see life and energy back inside our interior dining rooms, but it will also create more opportunities and hours for our staff to engage with guests,” noted Berger.

At the Beverly Hilton, a new outdoor dining experience called Sant’olina has debuted on the rooftop. The venue, in conjunction with the prolific h.wood Group, offers Mediterranean and Israeli cuisine infused with a Southern California flair.

“We’ve transformed the space upstairs. Sant’olina is beautiful, both day and night. We’re excited to be able to offer some indoor dining there in a couple of weeks. We think it is going to be very popular because of the views and the space up there,” the Beverly Hilton’s General Manager Sandy Murphy told the Courier. 

The Beverly Hilton recently completed a $35 million property-wide hotel renovation. The venerable main dining venue, Circa 55, is still under renovation. It will reopen in the next few months, said Murphy.

At Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, Jean-Georges Beverly Hills is reopening for indoor (and outdoor) dining on March 19. The lounge area will offer a small a la carte menu designed for pre-dinner or post dinner cocktails and bites. 

“I am thrilled that indoor dining is able to resume at Jean-Georges Beverly Hills with our special six or eight-course tasting experience offered Thursday through Sunday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. We cannot wait to welcome guests back into the award-winning restaurant after many months and will do so in a safe and socially distanced manner,” Vanessa Williams, General Manager at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills told the Courier.

Safety, of course, remains at the top of the reopening conversation. Barbara Lazaroff, ASID, Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Spago, Beverly Hills and Co-Founder of the Wolfgang Puck brand told the Courier that her staff keep an eight-foot-long pole handy, to mark required distances between tables. 

“It is a great thing that we are opening up. For those who chose not to participate in OpenBH or those that didn’t have the space, obviously the ability to open somewhat indoors is a blessing. But it is not a panacea for people to believe that things are fine and restaurants are now all well and good. Twenty-five percent still doesn’t work for a lot of restaurants. Can you imagine if you have a small restaurant, and you can only open up 25 percent? That might only be a few tables,” said Lazaroff. 

At Spago, the new red tier rule means they can use their inside patio and perhaps a portion of indoor dining space. But for now, operations are concentrated on the 120′ X 50′ clear outdoor dining tent dubbed Spago L’Exterieur. The city approved the erection of the tent outside Spago, against the muraled Metro construction wall on Canon Drive. 

“I worked very hard for the wall. We are happy about it. I appreciate the city, all the stakeholders and everyone who took a lot of effort with us to get it. It is festive, it is doing what we hoped it would do. It’s allowing us to generate some profit to keep the restaurant viable. But, until restaurants open up at least 50 percent, most or at least some cannot sustain themselves,” said Lazaroff. 

As for the vaunted Spago name, Lazaroff said she hopes to “one day be back to the business we once were. We want to be an asset to Beverly Hills. We want to continue to help the city with projects they have, and to help support all of our guests’ charities.”

For the past 37 years, Spago has raised funds by holding a Passover Seder to benefit MAZON, the Jewish hunger charity. 

“Last year we did it on a to-go basis. Our guests were incredibly generous. We were able to generate $10,000 for MAZON. The challenge this year is that we don’t have the staff in place and we still can’t gather for events. So, we are going to put some Passover items on our menu March 27 and 28. I’m hoping people will consider what they did last year and make a donation to Mazon.org. Next year, we hope to be back. But we have to be careful on every point. We can’t run until we learn to walk. We’re just learning to walk again.”

With Samuel Braslow 

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Two days after the incident, Acting Police Chief Dominick Rivetti condemned the crime as “appalling” and sought to reassure residents and guests of the city’s safety. “I want the world to know that Beverly Hills is a very safe community. We invest significantly in our police department to ensure our officers have every resource necessary to do their jobs effectively,” he said in a March 6 statement.  “We work closely with our businesses so that shoppers and restaurant guests feel comfortable and secure. And we are vigilant in investigating and bringing to justice those who make the grave mistake of committing crimes here.”

It’s unclear whether the assurances were strictly necessary. In the days following the shooting, Il Pastaio’s outdoor dining appeared as busy as ever, if not more so. Nonetheless, Rivetti committed to increasing security measures with additional private, armed security guards. 

Already, the city has seen private security companies including Covered 6 and Nastec, International, patrolling the Business District since the unrest around the election. According to BHPD spokesperson Acting Captain Max Subin, both companies will provide four armed guards each. 

“They will be on foot and drive around in cars, providing high visibility,” he told the Courier. “The private armed security will be present through this weekend in this fashion. The security companies will be reevaluated as to the numbers of private armed security to provide safety and visibility to the Beverly Hills community.”

The BHPD also put out an appeal to witnesses who may have filmed the incident. “If you captured video footage of the armed robbery at Il Pastaio on March 4, you can submit the footage to the BHPD,” the Department posted on its Twitter account, including a link to https://beverlyhills.org/PDEvidencePortal. Video can also be submitted anonymously.

In a conversation with the Courier, Il Pastaio founder Giacomino Drago and his wife Alessandra described their feelings after first hearing the news of the attack. “[Our first thought] was just to make sure everybody was safe,” Ms. Drago said. “We have a lot of family working in the restaurant, we have people that come every day. We wanted to make sure that everybody was okay.”

Instead of driving away customers, the incident has galvanized support in the community for the Beverly Hills institution. 

“The residents, our guests have been amazing, amazing,” Mr. Drago said. “The next day, they were all there, because they were hungry for the support. That’s what made us feel better, because it was pretty tense to be all over the news.”

In response to the robbery, Il Pastaio has added additional security of its own to its lunch hours. Mr. Drago says that he will continue to work with the city and with BHPD to ensure the safety of his guests. 

In a March 4 statement, BHPD said it first received reports of a robbery and gunshots around 2:09 p.m. and arrived on the scene “within 90 seconds.” The three suspects nonetheless escaped. According to Subin, “We are working with our Federal partners and local Law Enforcement agencies to apprehend the suspects that committed the robbery at Il Pastaio.”

Beverly Hills has seen a number of high-profile robberies since the new year. In the last month alone, luxe retailers on Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive have experienced thefts of their own. In a Feb. 16 incident on the 200 block of Rodeo Drive, an unknown suspect absconded with a charm valued below $950 that they placed inside a purse, which was purchased legally. That same day, two suspects entered a luxury department store in the city, grabbed over $950 worth of clothing from a shelf, and fled to a getaway vehicle. The car’s license plate was captured and the suspects were arrested in Los Angeles. 

But at least in January, the most recent month for which data is available, crime still remains at a statistical low. According to the January 2021 BHPD Executive Summary, total crime remains down at “-13 percent year-to-date.”

The post BHPD Seeks Help in Il Pastaio Shooting & Robbery appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Nominees are selected on several criteria, including: exemplifying a particular way of life that helped to strengthen the economy of the city; fostering public appreciation and civic pride for the character and quality of the city; possessing artistic or aesthetic values and unique characteristics of an architectural style, type, period or method of construction; association with community members businesses, institutions or events that are important to the cultural heritage of the city; possessing a unique location with singular, physical characteristics; or having educational value to the city and the community at large. 

The first three recipients of Golden Shield recognition plaques include the site of the Dona Maria Rita Valdez de Villa Homestead, located at Sunset Boulevard and Alpine Drive; the original location of Lawry’s Restaurant on North La Cienega Boulevard; and the original Giorgio Beverly Hills Boutique, the first luxury boutique on Rodeo Drive.

The fourth Golden Shield went to Nate ‘N Al’s Delicatessen, situated within Beverly Hills’ Golden Triangle on 414 North Beverly Drive. First opened in 1945, it is the third oldest Jewish deli in the Los Angeles area, following Greenblatt’s in Hollywood (1926), and Canter’s in the Fairfax District (established 1931). “The deli expanded over many years and was a popular gathering place for local residents and luminaries in the entertainment industry,” Mark Odell, the city’s Urban Designer, said at the March 2 meeting. “The delicatessen also represents the rise of the Jewish population in Los Angeles in the 1940’s and rapidly became a gathering place for the Jewish community.” The Deli has served as a longstanding neighborhood hub, regarded as an iconic Beverly Hills institution. 

The fifth Golden Shield nomination went to the Gearys Beverly Hills flagship boutique located on North Beverly Drive. Gearys first opened its doors in 1930 at 357 North Beverly Drive in a Spanish Colonial Revival style structure designed by architect Harry E. Werner. H.L. Geary founded the shop and operated as a small neighborhood specialty store formerly called the H.L. Geary Art & Gift Shop, offering picture framing services, art supplies, fine dinnerware and tableware, as well as unique gifts for the home. By the late 1930’s, the store had been rebranded as Gearys, and expanded into the building next door, at 351 North Beverly Drive, where it is still located today. The plaque would be placed on the sidewalk of the entry to Gearys. 

The sixth Golden Shield went to the former George and Ira Gershwin Residence at 1019 North Roxbury Drive. The home was built in 1928 in the Spanish Colonial revival architectural style by architect Don Uhl. “The home was built for silent movie picture star, Monte Blue, and later rented to composer and lyricist brothers, George and Ira Gershwin,” Odell said. “While living in the north Roxbury drive house, the Gershwin’s wrote many iconic American songs. The house was later occupied by famous singer Rosemary Clooney in 1953 until her passing.” While the home was demolished in 2005 and a new residence was built on the site, the Gershwin Residence is thought by city officials to be worthy of honor as a culturally significant site where significant achievements were made in American musical history.

“I love, love, love this program,” Councilmember Lili Bosse said. “I think the Golden Shield program is just magnificent. The three that we’re looking at today are very exciting because I see them as icons and truly like the heart and soul of our community. And really why we love our city is for reasons like Gearys Beverly Hills, you know, a family business, beloved, who’s been in our community for over 70 years.”

Bosse added: “I think this is very exciting, and I wholeheartedly support it and I thank the Cultural Heritage Commission for such a fantastic vision, and I am very thrilled to support it.”

To learn more about the Cultural Heritage Commission, visit http://www.beverlyhills.org/departments/communitydevelopment/planning/commissions/culturalheritagecommission/. 

The next Cultural Heritage Commission meeting is scheduled for April 14. 

The post Three Beverly Hills Locations Recognized with Golden Shield appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

During a busy Thursday of alfresco dining at Il Pastaio, three men descended on Shai Belhassen during one of his thrice weekly meals at the Beverly Hills institution. “I just saw them walking down, then running towards me with a gun,” Belhassen told the Courier. One of the three men, who he described as young, Black, and wearing sweatsuits, put a gun to his head while another began to take off his watch, a Richard Mille that Belhassen valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Belhassen says that he then “grabbed the gun” from the suspect and “fought him to the ground.” They continued to wrestle on the ground when another patron, Drew Handcock, approached to intervene.

“I saw the guys wrestling. I thought it was just a drunken fight between friends or something. So I stood up, because I’m 6′ 4″ and a giant, and I was walking over there to settle it down and then I hear one shot ring out,” he told the Courier. “I immediately turn and then three more shots ring out as I’m grabbing my girlfriend and our friend and throwing them inside the door and diving in.”

But even with his quick action, his girlfriend, Amanda Shawshan, was injured in the volley. Handcock noticed the blood once inside the restaurant. “She was bleeding…on the back of her calf,” he said. Emergency services took Shawshan to Cedars-Sinai, where she was treated for the injury. Handcock said that Shawshan only needed a single stitch and was doing well. 

The commotion from the shooting rippled down Canon Drive, with diners at other restaurants fleeing inside for shelter. Just moments before the gun fire, a man running north on Canon yelled out, “He has a gun, run,” according to Ashley, who works at a restaurant down the street. Almost immediately, the shots rang out from Il Pastaio. “Everyone from our restaurant ran inside and I think everyone was worried that there might be more coming.” She says the police arrived almost instantly.

Belhassen said that he continued to fight with one of the suspects for over a minute after the gun fired, at which point he wrested the gun away. “They realized that I had the gun [and] they ran away,” he said. “I could have pointed and shot at them, but I didn’t want to. For some reason, I don’t know why.”

According to BHPD, one other victim suffered physical injury during the incident, but was treated at the scene. 

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According to Assistant Director of Community Development, Ryan Gohlich, about 100 restaurants in the city have Open Air Dining Permits. The city charges restaurants operating with that permit a monthly fee of $1.50 per square foot of open-air dining area, if there is a railing or barrier, and $1.04 per square foot for an open-air dining without a railing or barrier. The fees are collected on an annual basis, and the permits are approved for a five-year term. Alternatively, restaurants with outdoor dining permits that have been approved through OpenBH–a program that allows businesses to temporarily expand their services to adjacent areas such as parking lots and the public right of way by acquiring a Special Event Permit–are not subject to sidewalk fees and may be renewed each month. 

“I’m supporting this 1000 percent,” Councilmember Lili Bosse said. “When we have thriving restaurants, it helps the retail, it helps the offices. You know people who are working or shopping, they often go to our restaurants and it creates the vibrancy and the walkability that we want to see in our city. As we have learned, we actually have 100 of these permits and 140 last I counted of the OpenBH permits, so I definitely think we want to bring this into equal standing.” Bosse noted the overwhelming support from the community in favor of the OpenBH program as well as outdoor dining options generally.

Each year, the city collects approximately $140,000 from sidewalk lease fees associated with outdoor dining permits. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city suspended the collection of sidewalk lease fees to provide relief to struggling restaurants whose operations have been disrupted or halted due to Public Health Orders. 

“It’s not a ton of money,” Councilman Julian Gold said. “I really do believe that for fairness, we should suspend the collection of these fees, certainly for a year and perhaps longer. I’m 110 percent in favor of suspending this, at least to the end of the restrictions and to apply a free year.”

Since restaurants have only recently been permitted to resume in-person outdoor operations, the city has not yet resumed collecting lease fees. Therefore, the loss of revenue to the city resulting from the waiver of these fees is already reflected in the most recent budget.

“It’s my hope that both for OpenBH and the open-air dining that the restauranteurs do improve that space and make it look really nice, which will really encourage us as a council to continue this program,” Mayor Lester Friedman said. “I think that reinvestment in those spaces is critical. I do understand the cash constraints right now in terms of operating a business, but I think there’s also safety concerns that we need to be aware of.”

Staff will return with a resolution for the Council to vote on memorializing its direction at a future date. 

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Despite the current restrictions, there have been crowds on Canon Drive and customers waiting online at many of the popular standbys. It’s clear that people want to be out experiencing a change of scenery and mingling a little with the community. Here are some options, from casual outings to date night dressy. 

Opened This Week

On Feb. 8 celebrity Chef Curtis Stone and pastry Chef Amy Taylor opened The Pie Room by Gwen in the Maude space on South Beverly Drive. The savory and sweet offerings range from a trio of sizes, including English cottage pies and traditional American caramel-apple with picture-perfect flaky crusts. Tarts and steamed puddings are also in the mix, along with house-made condiments. Within the coming week, they will add side dishes, frozen offerings and a special Valentine’s Day assortment. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. gwentogo.com

Patios, Parklets and Rooftops 

The Rooftop by JG at the Waldorf Astoria is accepting reservations along with the ground floor fine-dining Jean-Georges signature patio restaurant and the newer Waldorf Café by La Colombe. Next door at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, a special Valentine’s Day dinner can be booked poolside at MERCATO. If you want to make a weekend out of it, special packages (rates from $494) include the newly renovated cabana poolrooms with dinner and Champagne on your own private terrace while a classic film is projected on the outdoor media wall. www.beverlyhilton.com

Culina Ristorante at the Four Seasons on Doheny is welcoming guests back to the front and back patios, along with a special multi-course Italian themed menu offering from Feb. 12 – 14. culinarestaurant.com

Heritage Fine Wine on Canon Drive has reopened with a secret garden rooftop overlooking City Hall. The Paris Tokyo concept is accessible through the Visitor Center building off Canon Drive Thursday through Sunday evenings. Expect rosé Champagne flowing and premium custom sushi boats (with 80 to 160 pieces) from Azai Sushi in a romantic setting with day beds and table seating under the stars. Book via Instagram @paristokyo_bh.

The Palm Restaurant has partnered with Garrison Brothers Distillery and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson on Feb. 14 to create a five-course meal, paired with handcrafted bourbon cocktails and wine from Woodson’s Intercept Wines. Dinners are $350 for two but virtual options with home delivery are also available. thepalm.com

New in West Hollywood 

The Fairfax district is booming with a trio of new options: Madre (madrerestaurants.com) is a Oaxacan-themed eatery with chicken mole and well-balanced cocktails from their 400-plus bottle collection, the largest in the country. Grain Traders (graintraders.com) is a healthy Singaporean transplant with grain-based dishes, baked goods and coffee options under a side patio. The long-awaited plant-based Taco Vega from Chef Jared Simons and Jared Meisler has a back patio space for sipping horchata and snacking on potato taquitos, cauliflower tacos and Ironman bowls.  tacovega.com

Theia is a contemporary Greek restaurant-lounge in Beverly Grove with an open-air patio serving flaming halloumi with ouzo and lavender crème brulee that’s perfect for a weekend brunch date. theia-la.com

The 1933 Group’s historic Formosa Café in the shadow of The Lot Studios is finally utilizing the upstairs patio to its full potential with Taiwanese-American fare served daily from 5-9 p.m. And, just a few blocks away, Chef Nicholas Peter from the currently closed The Little Door can be found at Harlowe serving a French-Moroccan menu on the two patio options.  1933group.com

For old favorites, Craig’s on Melrose has added another parklet-patio to the front of the restaurant, to help with overflow from the back alfresco option, just in time for the long weekend dinning demand. (craigs.la) And, Olivetta is back for their “on holiday” residency at Kimpton La Peer just around the corner with rooftop and poolside dining options. olivetta.la

Latest in Culver City and Westside

STK Steakhouse has moved poolside at the W Hotel in Westwood and will be offering Valentine’s Day specials throughout the weekend including a seafood platter for two ($69) and love potion cocktails, along with bottomless brunch options. stksteakhouse.com

Citizen Public Market is open in Culver City with upstairs and downstairs patios for dining on Good Boy Bob’s duck confit with goat cheese chapatis, links and burgers from the Weho Sausage Company and pizza from Nancy Silverton of Mozza. citizenpublicmarket.com

Jordan Kahn, of  Vespertine and Destroyer fame is offering a Valentine’s Day Picnic Box ($55) that includes artisanal cheeses and house-made delicacies such as foie gras parfait with green sage plum and pink peppercorn.  Pick-up or delivery is available Feb. 12 – 14, or you can also dine on the patio and admire the Haden Tract area architecture.  destroyer.la

Kahn is also offering a special five-course Valentine’s Day version of its “Vespertine at-home” sensory experience menu for $165 per person with a 15-hour slow-smoked prime beef rib for two with esthetic serving vessels. vespertine.la

Chef David Myers, who earned a Michelin star at his former flagship restaurant Sona, and was last seen in this country opening Hinoki + the Bird in Century City, has opened an excellent pop-up burger patio in Venice on Abbot Kinney. The surprise here is not the return of a modern version of the beloved Comme Ça gourmet burger from his former West Hollywood haunt (that The New York Times crowned the best burger), but the inventive milkshakes such as green matcha and white chocolate. adriftburgerla.com 

Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica is slowly opening patio dining but don’t overlook Interstellar – a new low-key daytime coffee shop with a small patio offering an ocean view, and a menu spanning Korean galbi bowls to lobster rolls and a surprising sake selection. interstellarla.com 

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As of Feb. 4, Public Health has identified 1,129,503 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 17,308 deaths. Additionally, a third case of COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the variant discovered in the United Kingdom (U.K.), has been identified. Presence of the B.1.1.7 variant in L.A. County means virus transmission can happen more easily, and residents and businesses must be more diligent at implementing and following all standard public health safety measures, including face coverings, distancing, and handwashing, put in place to prevent additional cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Along with the majority of the state, L A. County is in the most restrictive purple tier in the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. In order to move into the red tier and have additional opportunities for reopenings, L.A. County’s daily case rate must be at or below seven new cases per 100,00 people and the County’s test positivity rate must be at or below eight percent.  As of Jan.  23, L.A. County’s adjusted case rate is 38.7 new cases per 100,000 people and the test positivity rate is 11.3 percent.

Public Health notes that residents have a long way to go before transmission in the county is considered no longer widespread. By following all the rules, progress can be made toward a less restrictive tier.

“We share our deepest condolences to everyone who is mourning the loss of a family member, a loved one or a friend. Our prayers are with you always,” said Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., ME.d., Director of Public Health. “Super Bowl parties have the power to derail our recovery and given the likelihood that there are more infectious variants circulating in our community, let’s not take chances with our own health and the health of others by creating easy opportunities for the virus to spread.  This weekend, we ask that you not share with others your respiratory droplets, which are more easily spread when we raise our voices, cheer, sing, and chant. The serious consequences of gathering indoors with people outside of your household to watch the Super Bowl is just not worth it.”

Public Health also indicates that it is constantly aligning vaccine strategies to reach the most vulnerable. “As a reminder, we are prioritizing vaccinating individuals 65 years and older, while working with our partners and the state to further plan for vaccinating additional workers in the prioritized groups. Given the limited weekly shipments, a limited vaccine supply requires balancing priorities. While the state is updating its distribution plans, the County must also look at how best to protect the most vulnerable with the goal of reducing mortality.  We ask for patience until we receive all the vaccine we need to get to everyone who wants to get vaccinated,” said a statement.

At this time, COVID-19 vaccine remains very limited. Public Health’s www.VaccinateLACounty.com connects residents eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations to appointment registration links and much more. For those without access to a computer or the internet or with disabilities, a call center is open to help schedule appointments at 833-540-0473 daily from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

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“This is a perfect example of our community working together,” said Councilmember Lili Bosse, a liaison for the Rodeo Drive, Special Events and Holiday Program Committee. “It really is something that we should all be very proud of. When we had our liaison meeting, there were a few loose ends that needed to be tied, and the direction that we had given was to reach out to neighboring businesses, to work with MTA, to make sure that the traffic control plan had no significant impacts, and to maintain the U-turn and the valet. With all of that being said, they accomplished all that and more. So, we as the liaison wholeheartedly supported this and feel very excited about having this in our city. We feel very strongly that we need to continue to partner with our restaurants and help them.”

In addition to the baseline request of installing a temporary outdoor dining tent at both 176 and 184 North Canon with the closure of the street in front of the restaurants, the City Council is being asked to consider the waiver of applicable fees, including the street closure fee and meter revenue, and that the city absorb costs related to traffic circle equipment and staff time.

The Council also considered whether to condition approval of the building permits with prior approval by the L.A. County Department of Public Health (Public Health). However, in this, Nusr-Et requested that they be granted the ability to install the tent without Public Health approval at the same time as Spago.

“Nusr-Et is in somewhat of a catch-22 situation in that they cannot get approval for their temporary structure until they have Health Department approval for their brick-and-mortar actual physical structure,” Laura Biery, marketing and economic sustainability manager, said. “So in order to not disrupt the street and the traffic flow, and have additional impacts due to construction twice, they would like to have the ability to construct their temporary tent at the same time as this temporary tent is constructed, full well knowing they are accepting the risk that they may or may not receive Health Department approval, and that they will not be able to receive their OpenBH permit or inhabit the tent or do any type of outdoor dining until that Health Department approval has been granted.”

The fourth and final item presented for consideration was that the project be reviewed with the applicants and Council liaisons roughly six months from the installation of the tent. “Applicants have requested that these projects be up for the full duration of any pandemic restrictions,” Biery said. “That’s any type of percentage restrictions or spacing restrictions on outdoor or indoor dining to allow them to get the full return on investment of these temporary tent structures.” At the meeting, representatives from both restaurants were there to answer questions from council.

Neighboring businesses called in during public comment to express support.

The tent proposed by Spago can accommodate over 100 guests, and the temporary structure will be the closest to the Canon mural wall, directly in front of the restaurant’s existing brick and mortar building. The proposal was first presented during a Jan. 6 Beverly Hills City Council Liaison Meeting for the Rodeo Drive Special Events Holiday Program Committee. “Guests will be spaced safely, with an overhead blue tent to allow for circulation ventilation and airflow that is recommended by health experts,” Magdalena Davis, Special Event and Filming Coordinator, said. “There’s also indoor electrical heating from a power system inside the restaurant. Two non-connecting walls are now allowed by state and county health departments, and the final plans turned into staff will reflect that.”

The California State Health Department has released updated guidelines, stating that two walls and a roof may be constructed for outdoor dining tent structures, as long as the walls be non-contiguous. While city staff have submitted both the proposed tent plans to Public Health for review, the agency has not yet provided their approval, but have confirmed they are in the process.

While the launch date for Nusr-Et has been pushed back, the steakhouse hopes to open temporarily in an outdoor fashion so as not to delay the entire opening of the restaurant. The tent proposed by Nusr-Et can seat up to 60 guests and would also be situated in front of their brick-and-mortar location. “The seating capacities that you see before you for both tents are based on health department approval,” Davis said. “It’s worth noting that the Nusr-Et group is working to obtain a health permit sign off for their actual brick-and-mortar restaurant location so that they may then receive review and approval for this temporary expansion.”

The fiscal impact for the proposal is approximately $12,000. Costs associated with traffic control measures, including signage, safety equipment, and Metro mitigation fees will be absorbed by both restaurants.

When asked by Councilmember Julian Gold how Spago would handle crowd control, the general manager, Steve Scott Springer, responded.

“There’s a two-layer check-in system where you get checked into the front, and then a station where your temperature is taken, and we ensure that you have a mask before you enter the space. And then there are dots on the ground where we separate each of the parties together. And then we also control very carefully the amount of covers that we take and that the arrivals are staggering. We’ve become pretty skilled at crowd control and keeping everybody safe. That’s a big priority for us, as I’ve said many times here. This is our method of getting back to normal, so we embrace these requirements. I want to keep everybody safe and employed.”

“There is unanimity in terms of the request for the tents,” Mayor Lester Friedman said. “In terms of the waiver of the fees, I think there’s unanimity on that issue. The condition that the health department issue the permit for Spago prior to the building permit, and not the same for Nusr-Et because of the pickle that they’re in. I think we’re in agreement with that. Obviously, the opening will be dependent upon the Department of Public Health issuing the permit.”

Mayor Friedman added: “I think that in good conscience, it will be up for at least six months, plus whatever other period of time is necessary.”

The post Canon Drive Restaurants Try To Expand appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“Frankly, especially for restaurants, it’s going to take years to dig out of this debt,” Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Johnson told the Courier. “I would encourage people, if you feel safe enough, to get out and go eat and support our local businesses who have been just truly hanging by a thread, if that. Get some fresh air, start thinking that life is going to be back to normal again. We’re starting to move in the right direction and the glass is definitely half full.”

Beginning in mid-March of 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, restaurants were ordered to close and pivot to only take-out and delivery. On May 29, following the county’s directive, indoor and outdoor dining operations resumed under new guidelines, including face masks, social distancing and limited capacity. On July 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the immediate closure of all indoor dining in Los Angeles. For the over 70 establishments in Beverly Hills already offering outdoor seating and dining, moving all operations outside in line with the Governor’s newest order was relatively easy. For others without the luxury of outdoor dining space, the City’s OpenBH initiative allowed businesses to temporarily expand their services to adjacent areas such as parking lots and the public right of way. On Nov. 25, in an effort to curb the county’s surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) announced another round of dining restrictions, prohibiting all in-person dining out at restaurants, breweries, wineries and bars.

The most recent closures were met with resistance, prompting local officials, legislators and businessowners to speak out. Legal action was attempted in the hopes of repealing the ban, citing hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake and a lack of scientific evidence to support and justify the move. The Beverly Hills City Council went as far as exploring the possibility of creating a City Public Health Department.

The new County-wide Health Officer Order is expected to contain requirements similar to the previous one, with occupancy limits and masking mandates for all staff and patrons. “This won’t be the end all and the save all, but it’s sure a heck of a lot more than what they’ve been getting now. So, it’s a step in the right direction,” said Johnson. Public Health has also rescinded the hours of operation restrictions for non-essential businesses.

“We are, of course, ecstatic,” Barbara Lazaroff, Co-Owner and Co-Founder of SPAGO Beverly Hills told the Courier. “I think after being restrained for so long, the public is excited to dine out again. Since our phone lines opened up on Wednesday, they’ve been ringing non-stop. We’re completely booked. We turned away a lot of requests for reservations because we are starting a little bit slower than we normally would have. We’re starting up again and we’re bringing in staff and we want to make sure the kitchen is geared up. Because we don’t want to overwhelm the kitchen, we actually turned away a couple of hundred reservations.” When ordered to close in November, SPAGO had to let go of over 160 staff.

Lazaroff underscored that caring for the health and safety of the public is more than a priority, it’s “engrained in the DNA of all hospitality workers.”

“Another reason we’re waiting till Saturday to open is because everybody was tested for COVID-19,” Lazaroff said. “We are continuing our practice of testing every single employee, from people answering the phone to the valets, to people washing the dishes, the frontline, the waitstaff, the bus boys.”

“We are cautiously optimistic, as any restaurant owner would be, in this uncertain time,” Adam Rubin, co-owner of Croft Alley on Brighton Way, told the Courier. “I know many restaurant owners are frustrated given the ups and downs but, ultimately, we just couldn’t be more excited to serve the community that has supported us throughout this entire year. Our patio is here to stay, and we hope everyone enjoys it.”

Since the launch of OpenBH, the City has allowed restaurants to expand their outdoor operations via parklets. Johnson is recommending that the City extend the permits for these parklets to at least the end of the year, if not permanently. The matter is expected to go before the City Council next month.

“I believe that these outside parklets are going to be here for some time,” Johnson told the Courier. “Everyone that lives in California pays that one big weather tax because we have the best weather, and we should be taking advantage of this. And we’ve always been trying to get nightlife into our city, and I think this will bring that. With more outdoor dining, the streets will be packed and that’d be great.”

With the promise of more vaccines on the horizon, restauranters are optimistic. “I think by shutting down restaurants two months ago, it certainly didn’t stop or slow down the pandemic,” Johnson said. “If anything, that increased it. I don’t think at this point these guys are worried thinking, ‘Oh, we’re going to be shut down again,’ because I think we’re in a different state than we were 30 or 60 days ago.”

“The whole hospitality industry, we’re a family,” Lazaroff told the Courier. “So as a whole group, we worked together to try to reopen outdoor dining, we are in this together and now we’re in together with combined joy.”

On Jan. 28, the City Council approved a proposal from SPAGO to construct a temporary outdoor dining tent in the cul-de-sac area on North Canon Drive. The tent would be at the roundabout, located in the intersection itself of Canon Drive and Clifton Way.

“The City Council has been so gracious and extraordinary with meeting the needs of businesses and the residents,” Lazaroff told the Courier. “Before moving forward, we are of course first reviewing this with the stakeholders, and we want to be respectful of everyone in the neighborhood. There are still some contingencies to work out, but we are tentatively moving forward.”

The proposal was first presented during a Jan. 6 Beverly Hills City Council Liaison Meeting for the Rodeo Drive Special Events Holiday Program Committee.

The post Outdoor Dining Resumes in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“This is not going to happen like this,” Chair Peter Ostroff said. “This is just so far off of anything that we could really seriously consider that you need to go back to the drawing board.”

The denial marks yet another roadblock in the project’s history. Westland first proposed the development in 2016, and over the years, the company has revised its plans multiple times. At different points, the project has ranged from seven to nine stories, between 169 to 247 guest rooms, and between 164,645 and 287,384 square feet. But, as with the most recent iteration, the city has expressed concerns with the earlier proposals over their scale. On Aug. 19, the project came up for review by the Planning Commission liaisons, where the liaisons reiterated the city’s concern and indicated that it would not receive support.

In its latest version, the plans called for a 109-foot-tall structure accommodating 216 rooms with a total area of approximately 161,298 square feet. The first floor was to include commercial spaces, such as a restaurant, café, retail space, and a food market. The second floor would provide more conventional hotel amenities, like a bar, gym and sauna, business center, and a 5,259-square-foot terrace lounge. Above that: 216 hotel rooms with a pool and dining area on the roof. The plans include a 5-level underground parking lot with 358 spaces.

This version would require multiple amendments to city code, including the establishment of a new overlay zone and an amendment to the General Plan. Existing building requirements limit developments on the property to three stories, or 45 feet, well below the proposed 109 feet.

The project also rankled neighbors who live directly adjacent to the project site. The plans submitted by the developer show that parts of the ground floor would come right up against seven single-family residences with no setback and no ally as a buffer. The city’s existing regulations prohibit hotels by single-family residential zones. At the Jan. 14 meeting, the Commission heard from multiple concerned residents, including a few of the homeowners who live by the proposed development.

“When we bought our home in 2016, we were aware we were buying in a busy and developing neighborhood, but we expected the city of Beverly Hills to uphold existing building and code regulations,” one resident who lives by the site wrote to the commission. “We have young children and intend to remain in this neighborhood for decades to come, but we will be forced to reconsider our plans if this development, or anything higher than what current regulations allow, goes forward.”

Abraham Assil, the applicant for the project, defended the plans to the commission. He said the project represented an opportunity to put southeast Beverly Hills on the map, especially with a subway portal slated for construction just down the street. He characterized the disagreement with neighbors as a conflict between a fear of change and progress.

“I am well aware of the concern by some members of the community, particularly the elderly segment, for fear of change. These members of the community want to keep things as they are. I understand them. Change is difficult, but most often necessary, especially for progress,” Assil said. The vocal opposition to the proposal eclipsed a “silent majority,” he said. “Those with loans, families, all of whom are not outspoken or engaged, busy making a living, unable to take an active role and voice their preferences, but I believe they do wish for, they do desire, for a part of our south east to become a worthy destination, and not merely necessarily the subway portal.”

The commissioners were unmoved by Assil’s arguments. “It just seems like a nonstarter to me,” Commissioner Andy Licht said. “It just seems too big, too massive, too tall for the area to me.”

Instead, some commissioners indicated support for other kinds of developments on the site. “I think you should be thinking in terms of what the city needs at this point. One of the things we need is housing and we need affordable housing,” Commissioner Thomas Hudnut said.

With the Commission’s no-go, Westland has expressed interest in submitting an alternative proposal for a 10-story, 270-unit mixed use apartment complex, according to the staff report compiled for the hearing.

The post Stinking Rose Project Runs Afoul of Planning Commission appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Nate ‘n Al’s, the iconic Beverly Hills delicatessen, made the announcement of its closure Jan. 4 in an Instagram post, saying that it would reopen on Jan. 12.

“We have made the decision to voluntarily close Nate N Al’s due to four of our employees testing positive for COVID over the weekend,” Nate ‘n Al’s owner Shelli Azoff said in a statement. “Out of caution and for the utmost safety of our staff and guests, we felt it was best to close temporarily. We are taking every necessary precaution, and after testing all of our employees, we will safely re-open on Tuesday, Jan. 12th.”

According to Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) guidelines, workplaces must disclose clusters to the county, with clusters defined as “three (3) or more cases of COVID-19 within the workplace within a span of 14 days.” As of Jan. 5, Nate ‘n Al’s was not listed in a County database of outbreaks. A spokesperson for Nate ‘n Al’s confirmed that the cases had been reported to Public Health.

“If a cluster is identified at a worksite, the Department of Public Health will initiate a cluster response which includes providing infection control guidance and recommendations, technical support and site-specific control measures,” Public Health guidelines state. “A public health case manager will be assigned to the cluster investigation to help guide the facility response. The Department of Public Health will need the facility’s immediate cooperation to determine whether the cluster of cases constitutes an outbreak of COVID-19.”

While county rules do not require restaurants to close following discovery of a cluster, they do mandate that anyone who came into contact with an infected individual isolate.

“We look forward to serving the Beverly Hills community again soon and we thank them as always for the continued support,” Azoff said.

This is not the first obstacle the Jewish deli has faced during the pandemic. On March 28, Nate ‘n Al’s similarly announced it would temporarily close as a result of COVID-19, though it did not provide a potential re-open date.

“Approximately one month ago the world as we knew it changed,” the restaurant posted on Instagram, alongside a black and white photo of the storefront. “We had hoped that we could continue our takeout and delivery service so that we could provide the community with the food that has been a part of our lives for years. However, our number one priority is to keep our customers and our staff safe and secure during this time of uncertainty.”

But less than a month later, on May 15, Nate ‘n Al’s took to social media to make a much happier announcement. “Guess what?! WE’RE BACK!”

Earlier, another Beverly Hills haunt broke the news of its temporary shuttering. Factor’s Famous Deli, which has served Beverly Hills for 72 years, posted on Instagram on Dec. 21, “We are closed until further notice for the safety of our staff and the community. We wish you a happy holiday season and we hope to see you soon.” The post did not include a potential reopening date and Factor’s did not respond to a request for comment.

Back in October, just down the road from Factor’s, Label’s Table had bleaker news for the community. “After 46 [years] serving Los Angeles, Label’s Table Deli will be closing January 31, 2021. It’s been a pleasure serving this community for almost five decades. We want to thank our customers from the bottom of our hearts for supporting us so sweetly for 46 years!” The deli did not respond to a request for comment.

But on Jan. 5, Label’s wrote on Facebook that Dec. 31 had in fact been its last day in operation. “Due to a family emergency, Label’s Table is closing its doors forever a bit earlier than expected. It’s been an amazing 46 years and we want to thank you for all your business and friendship over that time.”

The post was met with an outpouring of appreciation by members of the community. “Thank you so much for…all the meals, memories, and care you have given our family,” Tevia Oskin wrote on Facebook. “Label’s was our ‘go to’ for all occasions. The four generations of our family members that you served will be forever grateful.”

The post Delis in Beverly Hills Take a Hit appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Laura Biery, the city’s marketing and economic sustainability manager, unveiled renderings for the proposed temporary outdoor dining tent to be constructed in the cul-de-sac area where Spago is located on N. Canon Drive.

“As you know, in the state of California and in the Southern California region, currently in-person dining outdoors or indoors is not allowed,” Biery said. “But the current plans before you are being presented for when outdoor dining can resume in person at a future date in 2021.”

The structure will take a minimum of two weeks to build, according to officials. The temporary outdoor dining tent, as currently designed, would cover survey monuments installed by Metro for the Purple Line Extension project. Metro has been monitoring these points since the beginning of excavation and to continue to monitor to ensure the safety of the community. Spago is currently working with Metro on options to resolve this issue. “I realize as we all speak about this, we’re in unprecedented times with COVID numbers where they are now,” Barbara Lazaroff, founder and co-owner of Spago and Cut restaurants said. “To get enough people vaccinated it will take time. And as I said, at our previous meetings, I still feel that restaurants seem to be the low hanging fruit on this totem pole.”

Lazaroff added: “We’ve been the poster child for safe outdoor dining, adhering to every mandate and most likely exceeding all those mandates. We’ve been very careful because of our guests and because of our staff, testing them every day, assessing them every week and testing them midweek. We’ve done all of those things. So, we were very disappointed obviously when dining closed. We had to pivot, but we’ve pivoted a number of times before. Open, close, open, close. It’s very difficult for a restaurant. Our profit margin is very small. Now speaking about the grandeur of the tent, it is a bold city and we wanted to make a bold statement. We want what we build to not only represent our brand but the brand of Beverly Hills.”

According to Spago, the tent can seat up to 125 people adhering to social distance regulations put in place by the Health Department.

“In order for this to move forward, we need to hear from the other blocks and also make sure with the traffic division that we can provide for this to work in way that we are not creating more impacts,” Bosse said. “We just want to make sure that we can assure the neighboring residents and neighboring businesses that it’s not going to create gridlock or have any impacts that will affect the neighborhood. I think that once we get that support, then I think it would be ready for prime time. But based on today, I think that there’s still a little bit more work to do, but I do believe it’s doable.”

The matter will be placed again before the City Council during the Jan. 26 Study Session.

Also on the agenda was a proposed plan by LVMH to install a Louis Vuitton branded pop-up menswear store in the currently vacant space at 468 N. Rodeo Drive. The “Rodeo Drive Mens Pop-Up” is scheduled to be in place from February through March of 2021. Exact dates are still unknown.

Currently, indoor retail is permitted to a 20 percent maximum capacity, inclusive of both staff and customers. The space will be open to the public and require reservations to help maintain social distancing protocols and allow for time to sanitize. Mayor Lester Friedman and Councilmember Lili Bosse, both present during the meeting, expressed support for the project, and the item will be presented during the next Regular City Council Meeting on Jan. 12.

The post New Concepts Discussed for Spago and Louis Vuitton in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“We have made the decision to voluntary [sic] close Nate N Al’s due to four of our employees testing positive for COVID over the weekend,” Nate ‘n Al’s owner Shelli Azoff said in a statement. “Out of caution and for the utmost safety of our staff and guests, we felt it was best to close temporarily. We are taking every necessary precaution, and after testing all of our employees, we will safely re-open on Tuesday, Jan. 12th.”

According to Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) guidelines, workplaces must disclose clusters to the county, with clusters defined as “three (3) or more cases of COVID-19 within the workplace within a span of 14 days.” As of Jan. 5, Nate ‘n Al’s was not listed in a County database of outbreaks.

“If a cluster is identified at a worksite, the Department of Public Health will initiate a cluster response which includes providing infection control guidance and recommendations, technical support and site-specific control measures,” Public Health guidelines state. “A public health case manager will be assigned to the cluster investigation to help guide the facility response. The Department of Public Health will need the facility’s immediate cooperation to determine whether the cluster of cases constitutes an outbreak of COVID-19.”

A spokesperson for the restaurant did not immediately respond to whether the county had been informed of the cluster.

While county rules do not require restaurants to close following discovery of a cluster, they do mandate that anyone who came into contact with an infected individual isolate.

This is not the first obstacle the Jewish deli has faced during the pandemic. On March 28, Nate ‘n Al’s similarly announced it would temporarily close as a result of COVID-19, though it did not provide a potential re-open date.

“Approximately one month ago the world as we knew it changed,” the restaurant posted on Instagram, alongside a black and white photo of the storefront. “We had hoped that we could continue our take out and delivery service so that we could provide the community with the food that has been a part of our lives for years. However, our number one priority is to keep our customers and our staff safe and secure during this time of uncertainty.”

But less than a month later, on May 15, Nate ‘n Als took to social media to make a much happier announcement. “Guess what?! WE’RE BACK!”

“We look forward to serving the Beverly Hills community again soon and we thank them as always, for the continued support,” Azoff said.

The post Nate ‘n Al’s Temporarily Closes Due to COVID appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

While restaurants have faced restrictions since the first days of the pandemic, for months, officials allowed them to offer outside dining. But amidst the most recent third wave of the pandemic, which has filled ICUs to capacity and forced hospitals to ration care, state and county officials reacted with more stringent guidelines. On Nov. 25, after logging a five-day average of more than 4,000 new cases a day, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) instituted new rules that banned outdoor dining.

“The persistent high number of cases requires additional safety measures that limit mixing in settings where people are not wearing masks,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “We hope individuals continue to support restaurants, breweries and wineries by ordering for take-out or delivery.”

The rules quickly came under fire by critics for lacking a specific scientific backing. Multiple cities, including Beverly Hills, bristled against the restrictions and floated the idea of starting their own health departments. The California Restaurant Association soon challenged the ban in court. But even when a judge ruled in favor of ending the ban, finding that the county had acted “arbitrarily” and without sufficient justification, the victory was short lived. On Dec. 5, after ICU capacity in Southern California fell below 15 percent, a new Regional Stay At Home Order went into effect that also prohibited outdoor dining.

On Dec. 29, the California Department of Public Health released the latest set of numbers for ICU capacity across the state, which showed Southern California at zero percent capacity. Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of California Health and Human Services Agency, announced an extension to the restrictions at a press briefing on Dec. 29. He did not provide a timetable about when the state would ease the restrictions.

“Regions must remain under the order for at least three weeks and shall continue in that order until the ICU projections are above or equal to 15 percent,” Ghaly said.

While the majority of dining establishments appear to be complying with the state guidelines, restaurants across the county have started to go their own way, including in places like Venice, Malibu, and Huntington Beach. In Beverly Hills, local Italian eatery La Scala was caught planning a tentative New Years Eve dinner. Customers who ordered delivery found a note included in their order advertising a “Speak Easy” event.

“We are considering taking reservations for New Year’s Eve Dinner. Inside,” the note read. “Please keep this discreet, but tell your friends.”

Images of the note soon found their way on social media and in the inbox of city officials.

“The City has made direct contact with representatives of La Scala (on Dec 24) to confirm the conditions of the County’s Health Order,” Beverly Hills Spokesperson Keith Sterling said in a statement. “We understand this is an incredibly difficult time for all of our businesses, however the County Order does currently prohibit indoor and outdoor dining, including in the City of Beverly Hills.”

La Scala released a statement on Dec. 28 that the invitation meant to read “outside,” not “inside.”

“Unfortunately, the person that wrote it tried to add some levity and said inside instead of outside,” the statement said. Under the Regional Stay At Home Orders, outside dining is also prohibited. “We do want to offer our sincerest apologies and our hearts go out to everyone that has lost a loved one to COVID-19, whether it is from the actual disease, suicide, alcohol, domestic violence, drug overdoses or cancer deaths due to lack of treatment.”

The statement also took aim at Sterling, saying, “For the Public Information Officer of the City of Beverly Hills to release statements without talking to Management is shameful.”

In response, Sterling pointed out that he was doing his job.

“The City received multiple inquiries last week regarding this issue,” he told the Courier. “We have a responsibility to respond with what actions were taken.”

Condemnation of the plan has rippled across social media and among former diners at La Scala. In a letter to the Courier, Leif Wellington Haase, who has patronized La Scala and works in the healthcare field, felt personally offended by the New Year’s Eve plans. “As someone who has lost five friends to Covid-19, all of them in agonizing and lonely fashion, your apparent decision to flout public health rules and to plan an indoor meal amidst the worst phase of a pandemic appalls me,” he wrote, addressing the restaurant directly.

But according to restaurateur Giacomino Drago, chef and owner of Beverly Hills restaurants Il Pastaio, Via Alloro, Piccolo Paradiso, and Il Buco, the cycle of outrage over La Scala and others distracts from the real issue.

“We’ve been in the middle of the ocean for quite a while now,” he told the Courier, describing the extended restrictions as the latest wave in a series of waves. Even in the best circumstances, he said that it is difficult to run a profitable restaurant. During the pandemic, with traffic decimated, his restaurants still pay rent and other expenses. By his own estimates, without additional aid, he warns that a large number of restaurants will begin closing. “A restaurant, it’s not only a business. It’s also a community asset.”

“We understand the problem and the difficulty with ICUs,” he said. “There isn’t an ICU for restaurants.”

The post With No End In Sight, Restaurants Flout COVID Restrictions appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

It’s been a challenging year and with stores open at only 20 percent capacity, shopping could also be tricky this holiday season as well. If you missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday, here are some inventive gift box ideas for everyone on your list.

For the Travel Connoisseur:

Assouline Publishing is known for producing stand-out volumes. This holiday season, they are packaging a colorful set of coffee table travel books ($95 each) featuring scenes from Comporta to Capri. In addition, “Travel by Design” was just released this fall with images of more than 100 locations in 60 countries, from exotic islands to global cityscapes, ancient civilizations, luxurious resorts, and more. You can find them in Beverly Hills at Gearys, Neiman Marcus or Assouline.com.

For the Art Aficionado:

MoMA Museum has teamed up with celebrity favorite cool-kicks brand Vans for a one-of-a-kind sneaker collaboration with artistic motifs from its collection starting at $80. The shoes have become canvases with Pollock, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Monet and more. The gift boxes can be ordered with a matching sweatshirt for the full casual-cool lounging look which have all embraced this year. Vans.com

For Dark Chocolate Lover:

The owners of popular Porch Gallery in Ojai have launched Beato Chocolates. The artisanal 72 percent dark chocolates with fleur de sel feature the artwork of world-renowned sculptor Beatrice Wood who made Ojai’s Happy Valley her home and studio. You can also buy the large assorted bars (four for $48) inspired by Wood’s Dadaist work with unique combinations of roasted marcona almonds and smoked paprika, and a bar that also pays homage to the town’s famed pixie tangerines with artistic packaging. beatochocolates.com

For the Gluten-free Baker:

Many of us have taken up bread baking during the pandemic. Newly-opened Breadblok of Santa Monica will do the heavy lifting for you by producing gluten-free loaves of chestnuts sourdough bread available for nationwide delivery. They are packaging this along with other carbs in a holiday box for $149.99 that includes Provencal olive oil and fig jam. breadblok.com

For the Coffee Addict:

Beverly Hills mainstay coffee shop Alfred’s is always adding interesting merchandise to the mix, including this season’s make-your-own vanilla latte DIY kit. The package includes espresso beans, oat milk, vanilla syrup, stainless steel straws, a to-go tumbler and tote bag for $70 that will make 20 drinks.  Available at Alfredla.com. And, for a gift of coffee for a good cause, the Southern California-based Special Needz Coffee provides opportunities for adults with special needs and/or mental illnesses to work in the community. Their medium and espresso roast whole bean and ground coffees can be included in gift baskets along with customized mugs, face masks, T-shirts and other merchandise that supports the work of the organization. www.specialneedzcoffee.com.

For the Tequila and Rosé fan:

Everyone’s favorite sugar-gummy store, Sugarfina in Beverly Hills, has a new Candy Bento Box collaboration featuring Codigo 1530 signature Rosa tequila (aged in French oak barrels) with Tequila Grapefruit Sours and Top Shelf Rosé Roses candy. The box retails for $35, and because this is the first time, they have combined alcohol and candy in the same package, it’s being sold on ReserveBar.com.

For the Foodie:

Goldbelly is a national gourmet food service that will box up and ship your favorite meals to your door. If your significant other is missing mushroom lasagna from Gramercy Tavern in New York, Commander’s Palace turtle soup from New Orleans, or your kids are craving Hattie B’s fried chicken in Nashville or Pike Place chowder from Seattle, surprise them with a holiday delivery. The company also offers live Zoom cooking classes with top chef partners. Prices start at $45. Goldbelly.com

For the Beginner Home Cook:

For something hyper local and vegan-veggie friendly, CropSwap is offering a Golden State Papayas Pizza Party Box for $40 that includes fruits and vegetables from local farmers, the pizza dough, Drake’s Family Farm goat cheese and a jar from The Count of Monte Pesto. These new experimental subscription boxes also include a breakfast kit and pantry staples. cropswap.com

For the Fun Wellness Guru:

There is a plethora of CBD products on the market but this is a sparkling hemp-based CBD-infused craft cocktail pack featuring limited edition original artwork from Collective Project, which supports the global art community. Available starting at $17.99, flavors include Raspberry-Hibiscus Rooibos, Cucumber, Lemon-Lime and Mango, Pineapple-Coconut that will all mix well with your favorite at-home spirits. collectiveproject.com

For the Fitness Expert:

Since we can’t frequent the Shape House in West Hollywood right now to rid our bodies of all those toxins (who couldn’t use a pre-or-post-holiday detox?), while running into local celebs, MiHigh is a portable infrared sauna blanket packaged in a black gift box. This magic blanket claims to burn up to 600 calories in a 30-minute session while elevating your heart rate and calming the mind.  And, you can do this while lying on the sofa watching Netflix for $499. Mihigh.com

For the Fashionista:

Local celebrity stylist and designer Rachel Zoe has launched a seasonal bespoke subscription box of upscale fashion and lifestyle accessories. The collections features jewelry, scarves, handbags, sunglasses, home and beauty products. CURATEUR memberships start at $349 per year or $99 per box. curateur.com

For the Hair Care Fanatic:

Pureology has undergone a renovation with new formulas that are 100 percent vegan, and is now offering them in gift boxes at Sephora.com or in the Beverly Hills store. Known for helping hair color last far beyond the salon, (and with salons being closed, we all need that right now), Pureology Holiday Kits for men and women are $70 and include brightening, strengthening, volumizing, and smoothing themes.

For the Eco Beauty Buff:

With at-home pampering in high-demand, LOVEGOODLY is a new LA-based bi-monthly box that delivers 100 percent toxin-free and cruelty-free, products. Expect clean mascara by EVIO, vegan collagen night cream from London-based Professor Herb, a nourishing eye serum packed with cranberry seed oil for an antioxidant fix, and an orange and tea tree hand sanitizer that also fits in your handbag. Each purchase (starting at $40.00) also gives back to animal welfare non-profit, Farm Sanctuary. lovegoodly.com

For “High Maintenance” Skin Care:

For a more intense approach, West Hollywood’s luxury beauty hub Violet Grey, owned by Cassandra Grey, has just released a Violet gift box of “best sellers” including 111 Skin Y Theorem Bio-Cellulose Mask, U Beauty Resurfacing Compound and Westman-Atelier Lip Suede Les Rouges. The box contains over 13 products valued at over $1,000 for $425. Violetgrey.com

For Ringing Out 2020:

Petrossian caviar on Robertson is crafting special gift boxes this year that include varieties of products for picnics and at-home celebrations such as blinis and crème fraiche with mother of pearl spoons. You can also add Champagne, chocolates and appetizers from the $300 to $700 dollar range. Petrossian.com

The post The Gifting Scene in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

NEW ON THE SCENE

When you need a break but can’t leave town, these debut dining ventures all evoke a strong sense of place and a much-needed dose of escapism.

Damian, Arts District DTLA

Mexico City Michelin-starred Chef Enrique Olvera has opened his long-awaited restaurant across the street from Bestia in the Arts District. The industrial chic patio with abundant foliage is perfect for social distancing and any intimate gathering. Order the grilled lobster, uni tostada and tamal de elote with a range of over 40 agave spirits. They are closed on major holidays and booking is about one month out, but opt for a waitlist if you can be flexible on the date.

https://www.damiandtla.com/

Cara, Los Feliz

Dean McKillen of Ysabel and Laurel Hardware restaurant fame has gone into the boutique hotel business. High-end hospitality is in his blood. His family owns and operates the U.K.-based Maybourne Hotel Group, which recently opened its first U.S. property in Beverly Hills. For Cara, McKillen has chosen Los Feliz and a Mediterranean vibe, with three different dining patios. The  menu by Chef Michael Patria includes a whole roasted branzino and lemon fettucine. Book one of the 60 chic white guestrooms if you drink too much from the stellar wine or cocktails list. Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

https://www.carahotel.com/

The Barish and Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Mozza-plex queen, Nancy Silverton, has opened a romantic Italian steakhouse at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The palm tree-lined patio serves lamb chops, Creekstone Farms New York Strip, grilled abalone mushrooms with porcini butter, pizzetta and even a rolled “lasagna” all cooked over an open flame. Make a night of it and enjoy a fruity poolside cocktail while playing a game of Mad Libs, before or after dinner at the newly reconfigured The Spare Room and you will feel like you’re on vacation.

www.thehollywoodroosevelt.com/

Fellow and The Galerie, Westwood

The brick walls of this Westside spot located in a historic 1935 building are lined with an exhibition of rock-n-roll greats in collaboration with Mr. Musichead Gallery. Now serving on a new sidewalk patio, the tasting menu by Executive Chef Mazen Mustafa (who worked with three-Michelin-star Chef Michel Troisgros, Daniel Boulud and David Chang) includes salmon with sorrel and cream sauce, smoked oat milk panna cotta with eggplant and grilled avocado with pistachio and coconut. The wine list is from Sommelier Scott Lester from Eleven Madison Park and The French Laundry. A  special New Year’s Eve menu is planned.

www.fellow.la

Lucky Steakhouse, Malibu

This famed Montecito classic steak spot has come to the Malibu Country Mart (opening Dec. 1) just in time to celebrate Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in style. Best known for USDA prime steaks, don’t overlook the shrimp cocktail or other fresh seafood dishes helmed by Executive Chef Michael Rosen, and the extensive wine list by Larry Nobles is strong on Bordeaux going back to 1929.

https://www.luckysmalibu.com/

OSPI Venice

Celebrated Chef Jackson Kalb has taken over the old Canal Club space near the Venice Boardwalk. With a pedigree from Melisse and Joel Robuchon, you will want to order every pasta on the menu. For the first time, Kalb is also making fully fermented breads for sandwiches and wafer-thin pizzas to-go, or to dine on the temporary sidewalk space, and you can stroll along Venice beach after your meal.  A special holiday menu will be available with Mary’s Turkey (to-go only).

https://www.ospivenice.com/

NUEVA, Venice/Marina del Rey Border

Take a trip to Baja on two expansive patios with food by famed Chefs Vartan Abgaryan and Mesraim Llanez. Try the chicken tinga burrito, shakshuka ranchos or the smokey Caesar at brunch and the unique range of tacos from falafel to Mediterranean octopus, tempura sea bass or pork belly chicharron at dinner.

https://nuevavenice.com/

BACK ON THE SCENE IN BEVERLY HILLS

Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura

This intimate second story patio above the Rodeo Drive store will be serving on Christmas Eve only for the holiday season, but the original menu with the famed tortellini with Parmigiano Reggiano cream executed by Chef Mattia Agazzi is still available any other day or night.

www.gucci.com/us 

Il Pastaio

One of the most buzzworthy corners in town will only be open for the holiday of Christmas Eve day, so book your patio or parklet spot soon if you’re craving the pasta dishes.

www.ilpastaiobeverlyhills.com

Mastros

Thankfully, Mastros is always open for every holiday and that has not changed this year. So, decide how you want your steak cooked on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas or New Year’s Eve and save room for the seasonal butter cake.

www.mastrosrestaurants.com

Mr. Chow

For Christmas Eve, Mr. Chow is serving its regular Chinese menu, so you can indulge in the chicken satay, Beijing duck and noodles. New Year’s Eve will bring a set menu and late seating with a band or a DJ.

www.mrchow.com   

The Palm

Expect a traditional turkey dinner for Thanksgiving and prime rib for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with white tablecloth sidewalk seating.

www.thepalm.com

Porta Via

Open outdoors for breakfast, lunch and dinner on Canon Drive apart from Thanksgiving and Christmas. Seasonal items to get you in the mood include pumpkin cauliflower lasagna.

https://portaviarestaurants.com/beverly-hills/

Ocean Prime

This longstanding surf and turf hang-out will be celebrating the end of 2020 on their enclosed patio for New Year’s Eve this year so check back for more details on seating times.

www.ocean-prime.com

Mirame

Sip mezcal on the patio or parklet while owner-chef Josh Gil prepares a pre-Hispanic feast for Thanksgiving that includes kamote sweet-potato and cocoa corn flan. While you’re there, grab some holiday gifts including rare coffee and artisan pottery from Oaxaca.

https://mirame.la/

Wally’s

The wines are exceptional and perfect for any holiday gifting and the patio on Canon Drive is one of the hottest tables in town. Wally’s is also offering special menu items for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve for dine in, to-go, or delivery.

https://www.wallywine.com/

Lawry’s The Prime Rib

Leave the cooking and silver carving cart service, to this La Cienega family-style favorite this year on Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve in their new outdoor patio space.

www.lawrysonline.com

TRIED AND TRUE HOTEL SCENE

Beverly Hills Hotel

The beloved pink-hued patio of the Polo Lounge with be open for a three-course Thanksgiving brunch this year. Christmas Eve brings a four-course dinner followed by a Christmas Day brunch. You can ring in the New Year as well during a three-course New Year’s Eve menu, and it’s never too early to order an eggnog souffle.

www.dorchestercollection.com

Hotel Bel-Air

There are plenty of celebratory options this year on the cozy patio of Wolfgang Puck’s signature restaurant including a three-course Thanksgiving dinner. Christmas Eve features a four-course menu with a beignet holiday confection tree and a three-course family-style Christmas day meal. New Year’s Eve features an a la carte menu for the first seating and a five-course menu with champagne and party favors.

www.dorchestercollection.com 

Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills

Jean-Georges Beverly Hills terrace is back offering one of the most elegant eight-course tasting menus including caviar, King crab risotto and a ribeye cap with wine pairings. A traditional family-style turkey dinner awaits on Thanksgiving, and curbside pickup is available on Nov. 26. Look for a new Latin-fusion themed brunch menu on Sundays and a Waldorf Cafe by La Colombe pop-up.

https://waldorfastoria3.hilton.com /

The Beverly Hilton Hotel

This year, the iconic hotel is offering Thanksgiving dinners to-go that feature roasted whole turkey breast with citrus brine and herb butter, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole, butternut squash and brussels sprout hash, kale Caesar salad, and petite pumpkin pie or pecan pie. You can dine poolside year-round at their new casual café MERCATO.

www.hilton.com/

The Peninsula

Le Petit Belvedere and Chef David Codney are whipping up a special Thanksgiving menu with a French flare, including veal cheek bourguignon, that will also be available to-go (orders must be placed by Nov. 22). With any luck, guests will also be able to enjoy the Christmas and New Year’s Eve menu partially indoors this year.

www.peninsula.com

The Maybourne

The Terrace restaurant at the City’s newest hotel offers a special three-course European meets California coastal menu with hors d’oeuvres by longtime Beverly Hills Executive Chef Kaleo Adams. Available for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

www.maybourne.com/

West Hollywood and Westside Scene

Sunset Tower will be open on Thanksgiving Day for lunch and dinner with a special turkey dinner menu that starts with roasted butternut squash soup and ends with pumpkin pie a la mode. And, you can enjoy jazz on the terrace any Tuesday through Saturday night.

www.sunsettowerhotel.com

The London’s signature restaurant Boxwood will be serving Thanksgiving dinner on their beautiful outdoor marble terrace, but with a twist. Yes, you can order a free-range turkey dinner with sage stuffing, but also butter-poached Maine lobster rolls, New England crab bisque, and in keeping with their British roots, beef Wellington and sticky toffee pudding.

www.thelondonwesthollywood.com

The Edition West Hollywood hotel by Ian Schrager has reopened just in time for the holidays with a revamped rooftop and spectacular West Hollywood city views. Here you can dine on a Peruvian inspired menu featuring sweet potato taquitos with red mole or lomo saltado with beef tenderloin. Open at 5 p.m. every day until the end of the year.

www.editionhotels.com/weho/

Olivetta at Kimpton La Peer holds the best hotel residency to ever hit town with Italian specialties by Chef Michael Fiorelli that can be enjoyed poolside or on the rooftop overlooking the hills. So far, they are planning a big bash for New Year’s Eve.

www.lapeerhotel.com

A.O.C. Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne’s Mediterranean eatery is still going strong on the original patio, with more outdoor space added by the front entrance for sipping wine, eating charcuterie and Spanish fried chicken. Holiday booking options include Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

www.aocwinebar.com

Melisse x Citrin Michelin-starred Chef Josiah Citrin has morphed his landmark Santa Monica restaurant into an outdoor dining experience and they will be serving a full Thanksgiving dinner this year with to-go options as well for other holidays.

www.citrinandmelisse.com 

TO-GO SCENE

Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel 

While the hotel dining venues are currently closed to the public, they are doing a traditional Thanksgiving-to-Go this year. To place your order, call 310.275.5200.

Nate ‘n Al’s

This historic deli is still standing on Beverly Drive after a roller-coaster year. A new outdoor patio with acrylic dividers will hold up to 60 people just in time for holiday shopping and lunching in the area. Christmas and New Year’s Day brunch specials are being finalized, but they will also be open every day for take-out, including holidays.

www.natenals.com

Ludobab

Michelin-star Chef Ludo Lefebvre has recently flipped his fine-dining location in Hollywood into a delicious wood-grilled kebab take-out format perfect for a home feast just before or after the holidays.

https://www.ludobab.com/ 

Craig’s

While you can’t have a martini at the bar, you can sit in the newly constructed back patio on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve this year, or better yet, order the popular honey truffle fried chicken to-go.

https://craigs.la/

Republique

The weekly Monday night suppers to-go by owner-chef Walter Manzke have a cult following and you can also sit on the newly reconfigured patio for a cappuccino from morning to night while you wait.

www.republiquela.com

Capital Seafood

Located on La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills, this is probably the best dim sum on this side of the San Gabriel Valley. They will be open every single day for the rest of 2020.

www.capitalseafoodca.com

Xi’an Beverly Hills

This Canon Drive staple for Chinese food for the past several decades will be open for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner, plus New Year’s Eve.

https://xian90210.com

Daughters Deli

If you want the same quality of pastrami from legendary Langer’s, this is your Westside spot (and, yes, this is the owner’s daughter). Cater any holiday gathering with three to four days’ notice since they will be closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

www.daughtersdeli.com

Eataly

For something a little different this Thanksgiving or Christmas, preorder platters of salumi, cheese, pasta and Italian wine. You can also buy a precooked apple cider-braised heirloom organic turkey with focaccia stuffing. Must order by Nov. 20 for pick up on Nov. 23-25.

la-guestrelations@eataly.com

Baltaire

Thanksgiving dinner packages to-go by Chef Travis Strickland include a 10-pound Mary’s free-range turkey along with other special orders such as black truffle mac-and-cheese, caviar supplement and Bourbon croissant pudding. E-mail hello@baltaire.com for pick up on Nov. 25.

The post Holiday Dining Scene – Who is Open, What’s on the Menu and How to Book appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The Beverly Hills Courier is excited to share the first in a series of videos meant to show all that Beverly Hills has to offer. The series, #ExperienceBH begins with a tour of all Wally’s has to offer, in wine and food. Join Erika and Christian in checking out all that’s available at Wally’s. For a chance to experience the best available at Wally’s, enter now to win a VIP experience!

Check in with Erika @ErikaCostell and @WallysOfficial on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube!

#ExperienceBH Wally’s VIP Experiece Giveaway!

The post #ExperienceBH: Beverly Hills Institution Wally’s with Erika and Christian appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

One development keeping foot traffic alive is the parklet concept. Currently, there are 18 parklets built in the City with several more to be installed in the next few weeks. According to Laura Biery, Marketing & Economic Sustainability Manager for the City of Beverly Hills, “The program has been very well received by the business community and is a part of our OpenBH initiative, which has assisted over 91 businesses with moving services outside during this time on the sidewalk, in parking lots, or in a parklet.”

One popular business that took advantage of the lifeline was Urth Caffé on South Beverly Drive. “We have a lot of demand but we are still hurting,” owner Shallom Berkman told the Courier. “We only have a few tables and chairs, 14 rather than our usual 100, due to social distancing,” he said. “But the good news, the City is so very responsive and has agreed to let us do a parklet.”

If you see people standing and waiting for up to one hour for certified organic coffee during peak hours or at lunchtime, the parklet should be up in a few weeks to help alleviate the problem.

Berkman and his team also launched a pre-order and delivery site that has become a major part of the business and source of revenue since March. “I’m very proud,” he said. “When this is over and done, this will make us stronger as a company.”

For 25 years, Tutto Bene on Crescent Drive has been a go-to spot for lunch with a loyal local following that included commuters into the City.

“Many of our customers are not in their offices right now,” owner Robert Zenga told the Courier. “Law firms, real estate agencies and surrounding business buildings in the area are not working or have reduced staff. This was our customer clientele and it hurt us a little bit. We have stayed open our full hours but just have fewer customers,” he said.

Zenga also feels that the next tier of reopening indoor dining at 25 percent occupancy would not affect the business too much in terms of an uptick. “We have a very nice patio. My personal feeling is I don’t like inside dining too much right now as it would be a danger to us and our customers. The older clientele is scared. It’s safer outside and I don’t want people to come back inside too soon,” said Zenga. On a positive note, they are seeing more locals who live in the area stopping by. “This makes us very happy,” he said.

But what about longstanding businesses that don’t have ample outdoor space in which to expand for customers? Brighton Coffee Shop has been a corner mainstay since 1938 but is currently only seeing 30 percent of sales since COVID-19 restrictions.

“We are trying to survive but we only have room for seven tables outside,” owner Saeyoung (aka Sara) told the Courier.

The coffee shop, known for omelets during breakfast service and burgers at lunch, has also reduced operating hours to Monday through Friday only and is now closed on weekends. “There is no more tourist business,” she added. “We are mostly serving locals now.” This includes to-go orders such as salads and deli-style sandwiches.

Alessandro Jacchia, owner of new-comer Fatamorgana Gelato on Beverly Drive, has seen 30 places for lease since March just on the stretch of South Beverly Drive, from Wilshire Boulevard down to Olympic Boulevard. This includes retail, restaurants, coffee-shops and cafes.

“This has been an exceptionally hard season for us with the extreme loss of tourism,” said Jacchia. “What has not been fully analyzed yet, is the double-whammy of the nearby empty high-end offices for agents, banks, doctors and lawyers,” he added.

Since opening last year, the café has been steadily serving the community over 66 flavors of gelato (including 24 vegan options) all made from scratch with real ingredients. Jacchia and his team have been fortunate as one of the few businesses on this stretch of town that has never closed, except for a few days during the riots. This has resulted in being discovered by a large number of locals, even if they can only allow a few at a time into the shop. “We look at this with gratitude and something positive that came out of this disaster. We will make it and tourists will come back,” he concluded.

Until then, Jacchia is already eyeing expansion and also operates several cloud kitchens serving K-Town, DTLA and Hollywood which he sees as the wave of the future. “There has been a tremendous shift in public habits. You can still go out for dinner but why spend $300 to have dinner at Spago and sit on the sidewalk? It can be fun once but it can’t substitute the experience of a nice restaurant. Delivery apps and take-out are not going to change so quickly [even when we go back to indoor dining] they are here to stay.”

One newcomer to town has shifted to take-out for a majority of their lifeline. Xenia is a fast-casual Mediterranean pop-up operating inside of Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill on North Beverly Drive and is somewhat of an insider secret.

Ample plates with kebabs, rice pilaf and salad have been such big hits, not to mention the freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies, that they are already looking to expand operating hours from just weekends after 5:30 p.m. to mid-week and also lunch.

Other establishments have become more creative with servicing longstanding customers such as award-winning chocolatier and confections Edelweiss on Canon Drive.

Thanks to the City of Beverly Hills and support from council member Lili Bosse, the shop which has been an integral part of the local community since 1942, was deemed an essential business and allowed to remain open during the early pandemic closures.

“It’s comforting and people want chocolate in a crisis,” said current owner Madelyn Zahir. “Local customers have been supporting us and we are so glad.”

Known for assorted flavors of marshmallow filled confections and chocolate covered pretzels, they have shifted from curbside pick-up only to allowing two customers at a time into the store with a red velvet rope.

In preparation for increased holiday demand, they are installing a take-away window in front and a mobile office in the back-parking lot to help facilitate on-site orders. They will also messenger members of the community or ship over 90 different chocolate selections.

And, Halloween is not canceled at Edelweiss. “We have doubled our Halloween sales so far, which is an indication of how people are wanting to celebrate,” said creative director Danny Zahir whose family has owned the confectionery for the past two decades. He has been working in the shop alongside his mother and sister on and off since high school.

Another longstanding family-owned business, Mickey Fine Café, has had to find new ways to increase traffic. Owner Jeff Gross and his family have operated the space, formerly a Schwab’s Pharmacy counter, since 1995.

The combination coffee shop and dinner are still fully functioning, but hours have been reduced. Since the diner is hidden inside the pharmacy, they have moved a few tables outside to lure customers strolling by and are still offering to-go and delivery orders. According to Gross, “People are not going to their doctors as much right now. They are not having elective procedures or getting allergy medicines before trips.”

Gross has also noticed an increase in problems with cognitive functions due to lack of exercise, disruptive sleep, diet and stress, which leads to people being more forgetful. So the next time you want one of their famous malted- chocolate milkshakes, you can also get a cognitive functioning test at the pharmacy with a new service they are just starting to roll out.

“At the end of the day, we need the local support to help the local businesses, otherwise you’ll miss us when we are gone,” said Gross.

Other independently owned businesses who have had to pivot out of the City include the temporary space for beloved Italian eatery Madeo on Camden. The owners had recently put up two outdoor spaces in front and back and had to suddenly close a few weeks ago due to a landlord dispute.

While the ground floor business remains open, Heritage Fine Wine had to close their recent rooftop expansion on Canon Drive due to City regulations and have moved to a larger location in downtown L.A.

The post Beverly Hills Small Businesses Are Resilient appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The childhood haunt is a Mecca on All Hallows Eve, with its storybook features and sloping roof reminiscent of a drooping witch’s hat. However, current owner Michael Libow said during a Sept. 29 special Health and Safety Commission meeting that he is looking into an alternative livestreamed event/tour from his home that night.

During the Sept. 29 meeting, the Commission discussed the possibility of imposing restrictions on Halloween trick-or-treating and “trunk-or-treating” due to COVID-19 health concerns. The City’s Medical Advisory Task Force–comprised of a group of leading experts in their respective medical fields formed in March as part of the City’s proactive efforts to flatten the curve–attended and weighed in on the matter.

As the holiday approaches, the Commission voted unanimously in favor of recommending the City impose more stringent guidelines than the county and ban trick-or-treating and trunk-or-treating the evening of Oct. 31. The Commission’s recommendation will be considered by the City Council during its the Oct. 13 meeting.

“I am a firm believer that we should not have trick-or-treating,” David B. Agus, M.D. said. “And I am a supporter of banning trick- or- treating because it really is a statement that this virus is not gone.

Much of Beverly Hills has forgotten about the virus, but the virus hasn’t forgotten about us.”

“While I recognize and deeply sympathize with the sacrifice that children and young people have made during this pandemic, if we’re all in agreement that there’s no risk-free situation, I would not want them to delay or lose completely their ability to go to school because something happened on Halloween,” Kirk Y. Chang, MD said. “I don’t think it’s going to be an ideal or fear-free or risk-free experience. I’m in favor of a straight ban, and I would encourage residents to turn their porch lights off this year.”

On Sep. 8, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) issued the first official Halloween Guidance document listing the following activities as not permitted: Halloween gatherings, events or parties with non-household members, even if they are conducted outdoors; carnivals, festivals, live entertainment, and haunted house attractions; door to door trick-or-treating; and “trunk-or-treating,” which is where people go from car to car instead of door to door to receive Halloween candy. However, Public Health revised the document on Sep. 10, moving door to door trick-or-treating and trunk-or-treating from “not permitted” to “not recommended.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also issued Halloween Safety Guidance, discouraging gatherings of any kind outside of one’s immediate household, including Halloween activities.

Activities that meet safety guidelines include online parties/contests, car parades that comply with public health guidance, Halloween movie nights at drive in theaters, Halloween themed dinners at outdoor restaurants, Halloween themed art installations at outdoor museums and decorating homes and yards with Halloween themed ornaments.

Halloween festivities should be limited, as social distance may be difficult to maintain when passing out candy and walking from door to door. Health officials fear the potential spreading of the virus from people who may be asymptomatic or symptomatic.

To learn more about the Halloween guidance issued by Public Health, visit http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/docs/community/GuidanceHalloween.pdf.

To learn more about the Halloween Safety Guidance issued by the CDC, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html.

The post Commission Recommends a Ban on Trick-or-Treating in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

When the initial Nate ‘n Al’s building was sold and the lease on N. Beverly Drive ended, Nate ‘n Al’s owners, Shelli and Irving Azoff, hoped to move to a new space on North Canon Drive owned by the City. However, after review, the owners and City officials concluded that the new facility would not 

be able to meet the needs of the restaurant and Nate ‘n Al’s will not be moving forward with the move. 

“While we are certainly disappointed the space on Canon was not a fit, we are hopeful the legendary Nate ‘n Al’s will continue to call Beverly Hills home for generations to come,” said Mayor Lester Friedman. 

Shelli Azoff of Nate ‘n Al’s said, “The new owner of the 414 N. Beverly Dr. building has graciously allowed us to remain at the current location for now. Our plan is to stay at our current location on Beverly Drive until we have some clarity and evaluate what our location choices are moving forward. The City has supported us throughout this process, and we know they will help us in the future. It is our hope to remain in Beverly Hills where the Mendelsons started their journey in 1945 and have provided us with the best deli around! We continue to offer delivery and curbside service during the pandemic and don’t be surprised if you see a few new items on the menu!” 

The post Nate ‘n Al’s Continues Operations on North Beverly Drive appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

There have been positive changes at the Kimpton La Peer Hotel that include Olivetta restaurant on Melrose. Thanks to “Olivetta on Holiday” you can now dive into Executive Chef Michael Fiorelli’s signature pasta dishes poolside at the hotel and wood-fired pizzas, along with specialty cocktails from Melina Meza on the private rooftop. The residency will run Monday through Saturday from 6 p.m. until midnight until at least the end of October.

Teaming up with the neighboring hotel seems the right move for the brand until indoor dining is back on track in L.A. “Our Olivetta site on Melrose Avenue, unfortunately, doesn’t allow for ample outdoor dining, which is what L.A. restaurant operation guidelines require for right now,” co-owner Marissa Hermer told the Courier. “We wanted to offer our loyal guests a respite from the world – if only for cocktails and dinner–and have a responsibility to keep our restaurant family employed.”

The team was also able to transport and recycle all of the indoor furniture designed by Tom Parker at sister restaurant The Draycott and the original Olivetta, and reuse it outside at the hotel. As you lounge on one of Parker’s mid-century inspired sofas, savor a dirty bleu martini with Grey Goose vodka and bleu cheese infused dry vermouth; a yuzu G&T or the healthy tinged tequila and rainbow carrots with Casamigos. Pizza options include a simple tomato pie with Sicilian oregano; shishito peppers with rosemary ham or the exotic duck egg with pancetta potatoes. Don’t skip the olive oil, chocolate chunk cookies with sea salt before you take the elevator back down to the lobby.

Héritage Fine Wines on Canon Drive might not be hosting fetes with John Legend playing his piano in the main lounge anytime soon but owner Jordan Andrieu has opened a new Mediterranean restaurant-lounge on the roof.  Here you will find a view of City Hall along with comfortable sofas and small tables evoking a St. Bart’s beach vibe serving cheese, charcuterie and mezze with silver buckets of rosé wine and Champagne. “Members” opened in August and has been word-of-mouth so far but this “secret” spot is already so popular, you need to book two weeks in advance. If this sounds like your kind of scene, DM their Instagram page (@members_bh) for a reservation and hope for the best.

French bistro Avec Nous, on the ground floor of the Viceroy L’Ermitage on Burton Way has opened an annex on the rooftop just steps from the pool area. The al fresco restaurant is open from Wednesday through Sunday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now you can enjoy your eggs Benedict or caviar service with panoramic views of Beverly Hills, Hollywood and downtown L.A., and you might just catch a micro-wedding terrace celebration on your way to dine.

If smokey mezcal margaritas are on your mind, and you like the idea of cocktails that give back, Madre Oaxacan & Mezcaleria (with three locations in L.A., including West Hollywood), will be in residence at Terra every Thursday in September.  The rooftop lounge at Eataly Westfield Century City, is serving three of Madre’s most popular cocktails to go along with the restaurant’s Italian fare from 5-9 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from each drink sold will be donated to Restaurants Care, which provides financial relief to restaurant workers all across California.

“Mezcal is one of the finest spirits in the world and people should be introduced to it in the right way with the correct selection,” Madre owner Ivan Vasquez told the Courier. “I have made it my responsibility and passion to do this because I care about the culture and history behind the spirit. With this pop-up, we are reaching a new demographic and the more people that learn about mezcal and develop an appreciation for it, the better.”

Up on Sunset Boulevard, Harriet’s Rooftop of the 1 Hotel West Hollywood reopened a few weeks ago with a new menu for light bites and cocktails at sunset, dinner and weekend brunch from executive chef and Bravo “Top Chef” contestant Chris Crary. Expanded items include California and spicy tuna rolls, selections from the grille with Mediterranean chicken skewers, and Mahi Mahi fish tacos.

The h.wood Group owned and operated venue still preserves the values of an old-fashioned cocktail lounge designed by John Sofio of Built, Inc., (The Nice Guy and Delilah) and draws inspiration from the decadence of the 1920s, with white tassel lamps, striped booths and marble accents.

“Our new outdoor dining options paired with the unparalleled panoramic views of the Los Angeles skyline is an ideal setting for both hotel guests and locals alike,” Crary told the Courier. “We welcome reservations, which are required, and have recently seen a lot of bookings come through Angelenos enjoying a staycation at the hotel.”

If your rooftop fantasy includes a morning view of the beach, Èlephante in Santa Monica is now open daily at 9 a.m. for brunch seven days a week. Some new menu items curated for this special occasion are ricotta hotcakes, banana bread and even a breakfast pizza. Since this new menu continues to 3 p.m. they have added canestri pasta with vodka sauce and a juicy burger.

Owner Nick Mathers, also of The Eveleigh restaurant on Sunset, took over the 2nd Street rooftop over the Laemmle Cinema in Santa Monica in 2018 and it’s been a top westside nightlife and dinner spot ever since. The restaurant was named after the Arco dell’Elefante, a beautiful elephant-shaped rock structure just off the coast of Pantelleria–the island off the coast of Southern Italy and Tunisia which served as the inspiration for the food and décor. Relax on the deck made of Brazilian tiger-wood any time of day for a true ocean view and dreamy escape during these times.

The post On the Roof in Beverly Hills and Beyond appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

This year, due to COVID-19, dineL.A. menus are available for takeout and delivery, as well as onsite dining. Participating restaurants in Beverly Hills include: Avec Nous, Caffe Roma Restaurante & Lounge, Creme De La Crepe Beverly Hills, Crustacean Beverly Hills, Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse Beverly Hills, Gourmando, Gyu-Kaku Beverly Hills, Il Cielo Restaurant, Jean-Georges Beverly Hills, Ladurée Beverly Hills, Lawry’s The Prime Rib, Lucques Catering, Mercato at The Beverly Hilton, Nerano, Seabutter, SUGARFISH by Sushi Nozawa Beverly Hills, Summer Fish & Rice, The Farm of Beverly Hills and Tutt’a Post Trattoria.

The Courier spoke with Pasquale Vericella, whose restaurant, Il Cielo, is celebrating its 34th year in Beverly Hills.

“We have always had a very good turnout for dineL.A. We really like it. We have a special menu for dineL.A. and a special menu on top of that one,” said Vericella.

He added, “We opened up a new section of the restaurant called ‘The Secret Garden’ last week. It’s a new addition in the courtyard next door that is open on Friday and Saturdays. Right now, we’ve been very blessed since we were able to reopen on June 10. We’re still doing small events, which is what we were known for. Some people are still really afraid to go out because of COVID-19. Some people are very skeptical and I can understand that. But, all of the restaurants are doing so much to welcome guests in the safest way possible. You won’t believe the extra measures that we’ve put in place. We’re getting couples who tell us that they haven’t been out in months, but they decided to come back to see us. That kind of thing really keeps you going.”

To learn more about the restaurants in Beverly Hills and the greater Los Angeles area taking part in dineL.A. visit discoverlosangeles.com/dineLA.

The post Beverly Hills Eateries Participate in dineL.A. Restaurant Week appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

While many of the area’s top restaurants are not blessed with outdoor patios, some have expanded onto the street, in alleys and parking lots. In early June, the City was already discussing the option of utilizing the public parking meter spaces in front of the sidewalks to build parklets, offering restaurants more outdoor dining space for customers.

As part of the OpenBH program, businesses are allowed to apply for special event permits with the City,  which include expanding to the parklet. It’s a 30-day permit with no fee. After this trial period, businesses can extend as long as the parklet is moved up to the sidewalk. Greek restaurant Avra was one of the first to try the extension at the street level and it has been so successful, they are planning to move up to the curb level as early as next week.

Now Canon Drive resembles a grand European boulevard with pop-up dining spaces holding tables and chairs enshrouded in greenery including newcomer MÍRAME, who is doing a brisk business with its new wooden parklet enclosure. “We ultimately decided to move forward after seeing the success of our neighbors like Il Pastaio and Porta Via utilizing the extra seating,” co-founder Matt Egan told the Courier. “We are grateful to the City for streaming the permitting process as we have seen a notable increase not only in revenue, but also visibility, which is important as a new restaurant,” he added.

Even though there might be less parking, the initiative is helping restaurants bring back customers. “It’s a positive thing because it adds seating for us and reduces the wait time,” said Il Pastaio Manager Nina Chua. “Saturday night is the busiest time and the wait could be two hours before the parklet,” she added. As for business, Chua feels they are back to about 60 percent capacity now prior to the March shutdown. “The community seems to be really enjoying it, and our neighbors are doing it too.”

Popular breakfast and lunch spot, Croft Alley, has expanded onto the sidewalk on Brighton Way. It also has big plans brewing for the space in the next few weeks. Adam Rubin, co-owner of the crowded café, has applied for a parklet permit with the City. The extra 14 seats will house their debut dinner menu and expanded hours launching on Sept 10. “The City has been amazing,” he told the Courier. “Over the top accommodating and doing anything they can to help.”  The new menu will feature a peri-peri South African chicken dish, plus beer and wine for the first time.

Il Fornaio was one of the first to add a booming sidewalk scene with verdant pods safely separated by plexiglass, but they also felt the need to expand even farther to a parklet on the Dayton Way side of the building. Now they can seat an additional 32 people, which brings them to operating at a little over 25 percent capacity which is a boost to the bottom line.

Beverly Hills celebrity institution Mr. Chow has never offered patio dining of any kind until restaurants were ordered to close indoor dining for the second time a few months ago. Now the sidewalk in front of the space has bushes to conceal the famous clientele, special lighting, music and even heaters for when the weather turns chilly in the evening. Plastic glass separates the tables for extra safety. According to manager Ricardo Amorim, the locals are fully supportive of the outdoor shift. “People love it!” he told the Courier. ‘The customers are telling me when we reopen in indoors, we should keep it like this, it feels like Europe.”

Neighboring Madeo is still occupying a temporary space in town until their original Beverly Blvd. space in West Hollywood reopens late this year or in early 2021. The first area of expansion was the front of the restaurant with tables and outdoor seating which has expanded down Camden Drive and they have plans for a parklet already in the works. “We enjoy working with the City to come up with creative ways to stay open and be safe in these unusual times,” co-owner Gianni Vietina told the Courier. It seems that plenty of long-time local regulars still wanted to join them for a meal, especially on the converted parking lot patio in the back. It’s exclusive and intimate with handmade rugs, colorful umbrellas for shade and it’s blocked off with walls of greenery for privacy.  “People are looking for comfort, security and some type of normalcy,” said in-house representative Ash Castro. “They can see familiar faces, some of the staff has worked here for 30 years. It’s like seeing family again, even in a parking lot at six feet away.”

Other local restaurants who will be revealing parklet spaces in the coming weeks include The Cheesecake Factory, e.baldi, Cantina Frida and Caffé Roma who will be sharing the space with next door neighbor Xi’an.

Hotels Accommodating Weary Home Workers

On the hotel front, The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills has hatched a new plan for home workers who can’t escape to their usual private club and need a change of scenery.

“Offices at The London West Hollywood” is a new concept in remote working. This new offering is the brainchild of Greg Velasquez, director of sales and marketing at the property, who anticipated a demand for an office alternative with so many people working from home now. “We have seen an uptick in long term stay requests for business travelers. We try to anticipate our guests’ needs and we think that temporary, controlled office environments might be the next area of demand,” he told the Courier.

The concept is broader than simply hanging out by the pool with your laptop or ordering a room service “working lunch” in your suite. The beds are actually removed from the rooms. What remains is a large desk, chair, furniture and wall-mounted television.

This service will also accommodate businesses who are unable to open their L.A. offices or are not fully prepared to accommodate social distancing requirements. Individuals and companies can lease the hotel’s spacious, secure guest rooms on a monthly basis without the hassle of an annual lease agreement and deposit required by most commercial spaces. It beats working at the kitchen table.

It’s also cost-effective for the hotel. “Because these rooms are converted hotel rooms, the additional staffing required is minimal. The beds are removed from the offices and periodic janitorial and cleaning service is provided by our existing staff,” Velasquez told the Courier.

The rents start at $242 per day or $5,000 per month for a 725 square foot guest room that has been converted to a fully usable office space. “Because each of our rooms also has a private bathroom and a private balcony, we consider this a very competitive and attractive rate,” said Velasquez. Additionally, The London’s Executive Chef Anthony Keene has created a special culinary menu for guests who have an office at the hotel, called “The Commissary Menu.”

The hotel sees this as a stepping-stone solution. “We certainly hope that we can all return to more ‘normal’ operations sooner rather than later, but if the need for this service remains, we are here to provide it,” added Velasquez.

Other local properties such as Hotel Bel-Air and Beverly Hills Hotel have also opened up some of their guest rooms for a new “Work from Hotel” alternative accommodations. Amenities include an on-call IT concierge for any tech issues, complimentary snacks from the mini-bar, plus the ability to order from any of the restaurants as well as use the pool facilities.

The rooms or suites have ample space to meet clients or host video conferences with desks, stationary supplies, high-speed Wi-Fi and discounted parking. The rooms are available at both iconic properties from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, starting at $875.

The Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills also offers a special “office” day rate that is considered on a case-by-case basis. It includes access to the pool and private fitness suite with a Peloton bike and other equipment that is now replacing the gym. For provisions, the patio at Vinoteca is back open seven days a week.

The post Beverly Hills Pivots to Parklets and Hotel Offices appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The bucolic grounds of the Hotel Bel-Air, with swans floating by the entrance bridge, has always been an ideal spot for an escape. The property is offering a new staycation experience with a relaxed check-in and check-out time based on guests’ schedules. “We have seen a large increase in reservations from drive markets and many are booking our staycation offer, which allows guests to check-in and check-out at their preferred times,” General Manager Denise Flaunders told the Courier.

According to Flaunders, guests like to maximize their time on the property lounging poolside or relaxing on their private patios with landscaped gardens. To add to the specialized experience, visitors can now order a bespoke picnic basket, have a romantic candlelight dinner in their room and even order ingredients to leisurely mix up their favorite cocktails. The staff will also arrange in-room wellness amenities with a bubble bath experience, yoga instructor on the patio or an aromatherapy treatment. “Our guests do not have to travel far to feel like they are truly getting away for a much-needed vacation,” added Flaunders.  Of course, the Wolfgang Puck-helmed patio restaurant is available anytime to outside guests as well.

Former CEO of GBK Productions, Gavin Keilly, who produced VIP/celebrity gifting suites every awards season, has channeled his talents into GBK Brand Bar at the Kimpton La Peer. The shop features everything from bathing suits to CBD sundries, doggie-duds by Chanel and Badgley Mischka, to designer masks from Gucci and Prada.

While you’re shopping, sip wines by the glass or selections from the coffee bar. Food options include caviar, vegan cheese and rosé all-day on the first Saturday of the month. Taco Thursdays bring $2 tacos and complimentary drinks with a street party scene.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Brian Ogawa, the former executive chef from Nobu, makes sushi which you can take to go or eat in on the back-patio of the hotel.

If you’re craving a more urban atmosphere, missed during your annual culture trip to New York, downtown L.A. has new skyline offerings.

While many downtown hotels are temporarily closed, the London and Williamsburg, Brooklyn import, The Hoxton, reopened in late July on Broadway. The Pilot rooftop restaurant is a cozy spot for an all-day menu featuring black truffle pasta, wood-fired Neapolitan pizza or Spanish paella for two (weekends only). After 5 p.m., order the Olive Oil Gin martini with grappa and St. Germain. Should you have one too many, a staycation is not a problem. If you’d like to have a small gathering with close friends, colleagues or family, “the apartment” on the second floor is also available for rent with a private kitchen and conference-screening room.

Another mid-century modern newcomer drawing an artsy, eclectic crowd, The Wayfarer opened in early August on Flower Street with an enviable skyline view from The Rooftop bar and lounge that specializes in Tiki cocktails. Currently, they are open for dinner Thursday through Sunday and brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For a little more culture wrapped up in a historic building, the Hotel Figueroa is celebrating 94-years on Aug. 14. The hotel was originally opened as a safe haven for women travelers in 1926, and today is continuing its ongoing Featured Artist Series?partnership?with Society6, showcasing the works of local, independent female artists.

For complete seclusion, Nobu Ryokan Malibu is accepting reservations for only eight of the 16 luxury ocean view accommodations, complete with deep teak soaking tubs and indoor-outdoor fireplaces, to allow for full social distancing. You can also have Nobu sushi and sake delivered in-room from the famous restaurant thanks to a special menu for guests.

There is no need to leave your personal space or the soothing waves unless you feel like taking a sunset walk along the shore.

The post Getaway for a Day, Close to Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

One such example is the Peninsula Hotel, which has reimagined its ground floor flagship Mediterranean restaurant into Le Petit Belvedere.

Taking advantage of a spacious patio off the former Belvedere dining room, the new eatery features classic French fare by Executive Chef David Codney. “I did Paris fashion week two years ago in a partnership with the Peninsula Paris and we wanted to bring some of that back home, since people can’t really travel right now,” Codney told the Courier.

While the signature charred Caesar remains on the menu, new standouts include chicken crepes with wild mushrooms, steak au poivre, crab croquette salad and a fluffy souffle for dessert. This type of cuisine has been sorely missed in this neighborhood since Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro closed on Canon several years ago. “I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel,” said Codney, “I just want good simple food. People need to get out of the house and have something to look forward to right now. You realize what a small community it is.”

Le Petit Belvedere has also embarked on a Champagne partnership with Laurent-Perrier where every evening at 8 p.m. the diners will engage in a complimentary toast to make up for some of the lost celebratory moments since the COVID-19 shutdown.

Currently, the entrance to the new restaurant is through the lobby but the team is installing a walk-through art gallery in the old Belvedere dining room so guests can enter while viewing museum-quality works. The LOVE sculpture, the hotel’s second piece by Robert Indiana, was just installed on the terrace this week, which should go well with the piped-in retro-French 60’s music. “Why didn’t we do this four years ago?” quipped Codney.

The Beverly Hills Hotel has also recently engaged in a new alfresco collaboration with fine art photographer Gray Malin. Cabana One has been redesigned by Malin in a partnership with Serena & Lily to revamp the poolside space with a pink and white striped canopy, coastal California furnishings and a nod to the iconic design and history of the hotel with CW Stockwell’s signature Martinique banana leaf wallpaper, first installed in 1949.

In collaboration with Nocking Point Wines, Malin also launched Getaway Rosé on Aug. 1, an all-day wine for summer picnics, relaxing poolside, or simply dreaming of your next getaway. This Provence-style blend of mourvedre and syrah is not on offer at the hotel yet, but hopefully in the near future.

Il Fornaio is celebrating 40 years on Beverly Drive this year. The local favorite has added cool foliage lined plexiglass pods outside of the restaurant, creating a European sidewalk dining experience with the same great food and service.

Manager Maria D’Auria, who hails from Rome, has worked at this location for 20 years. “We thought of safety first but we can seat almost the same number of people as before. Everyone loves it because they feel safe and protected,” she told the Courier.

The Sugar Factory is blessed with ample patio seating designed by Gulla Jónsdóttir (who also designed the Kimpton Le Peer) on the top floor of Westfield Century City. This Vegas and San Diego hot spot was scheduled to open in March and was sidelined after the COVID-19 shut-down. While you can order grilled lobster tails and steak, stick with the fun finger foods such as mini-rainbow bun burgers and the outrageous spiked milkshakes after an afternoon of shopping.

On the same floor of the outdoor mall, Eataly has launched a “build your own gin & tonic” on their rooftop Terra restaurant. For the summer menu, you pick the gin from a classic style or contemporary botanical flair, and the tonic with unique flavors such as yuzu, elderflower, and grapefruit. Then choose from fresh herb garnishes like rosemary, sage, and thyme along with seasonal fruit or cucumber for a customized creation. Their mixologists suggest pairing your cocktail with wood-grilled dishes like the pesche e burrata or a shareable Wagyu Tomahawk Ribeye aged 45 days from Snake River Farms.

On La Cienega, The Silver Cart Terrace at Lawry’s debuted on Aug. 4, offering an outdoor dining experience for the first time in its history. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 4:30 to 9:00 p.m. and takeaway continues on those same days from 3 to 7 p.m.

The Sofitel is reopening its newly designed Cattle & Claw patio on Aug. 13. The alfresco eatery is now cash and contact-free with the famous 10 oz. burger, lobster roll and vegetarian options. Aidan Demarest is back in action with Riviera 31 cocktails starting at $8 with DIY decoration kits. “We will add bands and DJs the minute the Governor says we can,” said Demarest.

Until then, private cabana packages for groups up to six can and spend the afternoon with crafted picnic baskets, wine, cheese and charcuterie platters to share.

Just a few blocks away, E.P. & L.P. has taken a new section of their open-air rooftop space (originally intended for an outdoor movie theater) and opened Las Palmas featuring food and drinks inspired by Tulum. The Yucatan flair includes lobster quesadillas, carne asada skewers and aguachile.

Changes are also in the works at a Westside institution, The Brentwood. Owner Bruce Marder is flipping the concept into an upscale Mexican eatery, Baja Norte.  Marder made his mark decades ago with a similar style of cuisine at Rebecca’s in Venice and the West Beach Café before Capo in Santa Monica became a mainstay.

If you’re missing Chef Michael Fiorelli’s cooking at Olivetta on Melrose, just take a drive down Sunset towards the Palisades to The Draycott, Marissa and Matt Hermer’s California brasserie. Fiorelli is now culinary director of the restaurant and has added new dishes on the dinner and brunch menus from Weiser Farm’s toybox melon and prosciutto to seared Diver scallops atop creamless creamed corn which can be ordered on the outdoor terrace, on the Palisades Green or for curbside pick-up.

Melina Mezaf from ink. and Broken Shaker has been appointed as the beverage director. She oversees the cocktail program, which includes the weekend Lawn Libations stand with made-to-order mason jar cocktails or a bottle of wine to consume on the Green between brunch and dinner, 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

The post New Outdoor Dining Concepts in Beverly Hills and Beyond appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

If you plan to head west, a beach picnic is a natural choice. While the beaches are open, some nearby parks, such as Will Rogers, are closed for picnics. Palisades Park along Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica is walking distance from many great food options and provides a view without venturing down to the sand. There are even some picnic tables on the north end past the rose garden.

If a drive up the coast sounds more appealing, the dog-friendly Leo Carrillo State Park in Malibu near the county line is about 28 miles from Santa Monica. The area is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is first-come, first served unless you make a reservation for a campground spot.

Heading south, the often-overlooked Marina Beach is a manmade sandy spot built in 2018 with a view of the Marina del Rey harbor boats. The half-mile area near Admiralty Way and Via Marina allows for kayaking and windsurfing plus picnics near the shoreline.

As for the right food to accompany your outing, year-old Lanea on Broadway in Santa Monica is making beach or park picnics for National Tequila Day on July 24, and throughout the weekend. The Fiesta Meal Picnic Pack includes tacos, chips, pico de gallo, handmade small-batch cocktails that are canned in-house with Jaja Tequila and Cazadores Tequila, a Mexican serape blanket along with a deck of UNO game cards or a party piñata.

On 7th street in Santa Monica, Esters Wine Shop & Bar offers a variety of beautiful meat and cheese platters in different sizes that come on bamboo plates that are placed inside a box, with a sticker on the inside of the lid that explains the content origins. All the orders include accoutrements such as crostini, cornichons, corn nuts, olives, chutney and honey. They have a huge selection of wine to pair with your order and a variety of curated canned wine packs created for quarantine, such as the “Tastes Like Summer” with rosé.

Esters Co-Owner and Rustic Canyon Family Wine Director Kathryn Coker makes no excuses for the canned wine. “There are so many canned wines out there right now and it’s so great to have an alternative to beer for a casual occasion,” she told the Courier. “Unfortunately, great packaging doesn’t always equal great wine inside, but in this case, it does. I’m obsessed with the packaging and the quality of the product behind all the cans in this pack.  Plus, they’re all from chemical-free vineyards – so you can feel so good about what you’re drinking.”

For an alfresco dessert party, Sweet Rose Creamery in Brentwood is now offering an Ice Cream Sundae Party Pack that includes six pints, a jar of hot fudge, two toppings, spoons, cups, napkins and a dry ice-filled freezer bag. It’s portable, picnic-friendly and available for curbside pickup, takeout or delivery if you’d rather just enjoy an ice cream social in your own home garden.

If the hills are more appealing for your jaunt and you are missing the summer concert series at The Hollywood Bowl, you don’t have to miss out on the excellent food and day-drinking wine selections from Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne. Order a full three-course meal, such as the famous Spanish fried chicken (from A.O.C. and Tavern), which comes with a salad and dessert, or a BBQ meal for two, among other fish and meat menu favorites. Pick-up is available through lot A and picnicking is still offered  on-site, just north of the Bowl in designated areas, or you can take it on the road.   

Not too far away, Griffith Park is another great picnic location. The Vermont gate is open from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and picnic options include the Old Zoo on Crystal Springs and Amir’s Garden, which is a hike from the Mineral Wells area.

If you’re already in Hollywood, and a last-minute planner, head to the Franklin Village Oaks Gourmet Market and café. This spot at the bottom of the hills is known for charcuterie platters, burgers, sandwiches, and picnic baskets that include bottled water and wine, along with glasses and a corkscrew, so you have everything you need in one spot.

Heading East to Pasadena, the Arlington Gardens is a botanical oasis in the middle of the city where you can roam with your dog (on a leash) and picnic with social distancing from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Chado Tea Room in Old Town has become an L.A. institution and they are now offering an afternoon tea experience to-go, specifically created for picnics with friends or family. Choose from over 300 global teas, along with finger sandwiches, salads and pastries in pretty boxes tied with a bow for your excursion.

Also, in the Old Town area, Chef  Tachibe (formerly of CHAYA) can be found at Osawa in Pasadena creating bento boxes with miso-marinated grilled salmon and soy-glazed black cod, plus eight-piece sushi combos for outings–and don’t forget their sparkling sake. If you’re craving a meat feast, Gus’s BBQ on Fair Oaks will whip up a southern-style picnic platter with a mix-and-match selection from ribs to fried chicken, along with sides, salads and beer.

Closer to Beverly Hills, grab a signature comfort food picnic from Joan’s on Third. The box includes everything from homemade soup, mac and cheese, granola, chicken enchiladas, potato chips and Nutella loaf bread, and you can add a bottle of red, white or pink wine to your order. Beef up your pre-order with fried chicken or baby-back ribs, but be sure to check the daily menu for specials before you order.

For a casual lunch, Clementine in Century City is a great bakery and coffee pit-stop, but they also offer an off-menu item called “Clementine in a box” that was created specifically for events and picnics. This includes their popular smoked turkey and avocado or tuna salad with watercress sandwich, a Caesar or green salad, and the famous chocolate-chip cookie. Add their house-specialty, ginger lime-aide or tropical iced-tea drinks to your order. They will need one day’s notice and beware they are closed on Sundays.

If you want to enjoy the outdoors but don’t want to venture too far, Coldwater Canyon Park is open and you can picnic on the grass. (Picnic tables are taped off for now.) The Franklin Canyon Park trails are also open, but you need to reserve a table and picnicking requires a permit, so you just might want to recreate the scene with one of these gourmet outdoor meals in your own backyard.

The post Picnicking in Beverly Hills and Beyond appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Probiotic Labs, Inc. launched VitaBowl and VitaJuice on July 1. The pre-made nutritional meals are designed to nourish and heal on a cellular level, taking calories, sodium, salt and sugar into consideration for each dish.

Co-Founder, CCO and Chef Christopher Arellanes hails from the kitchens of Eleven Madison Park and Per Se in New York.

The specialized menu is available online www.vitabowl.com/ and on-demand with dietary restrictions and personal needs from diabetes to high blood pressure, post-chemo and other conditions taken into account.

“It’s a lifestyle and quality of product in a plant based-style that no one has really seen before,” Arellanes told the Courier. “We are not just another salad bowl.”

The menu spans ingredients from India, Korea, California, Mexico and the Mediterranean while utilizing global superfoods such as moringa leaf, matcha powder, jackfruit and monk fruit sugar that doesn’t fall on the glycemic index level.  Other antioxidant ingredients are used to reduce inflammation in the body, promote a healthy gut, and boost both mood and immune systems.

“We use the whole plants with no waste,” he said. And, while COVID-19 might have slowed them down a bit, the team is in the process of securing other superfoods from around the world for future recipes. And, they are not stopping there but planning to grow the business to reach schools, gyms, grocery stores and hospitals.

“Our ultimate goal is to be backed by health insurance and we are beginning clinical studies,” Arellanes told the Courier. The team of scientists, doctors, nutritionists and tech gurus – one of the founders is Silicon Valley entrepreneur Charles Michael Yim who invented the Breathometer, which measures alcohol content on your smartphone – to integrate this meal plan into hospitals and assisted living facilities.

Equally important to the group is the non-profit arm they are developing for people suffering financial hardships due to the pandemic and can’t get affordable and nutritious meals, especially children.

Look for soups, snacks, VitaBaby and VitaKids coming soon to the menu offerings.

“People like to cook at home but during this pandemic, people just want to keep it easy and have healthy food come to them,” said Arellanes.

Another local brand getting into the game is sbe Entertainment Group, which has added Plant Nation to their recent ghost delivery-only concepts under the C3 (Creating Culinary Communities) subsidiary of the company.

The menu is centered around plant-based cuisine, but they have also created alternative options with vegetarian dishes using cheese and dairy products. Selections include not only healthy salads and grains, but also pizza and a vegan version of Sam’s Crispy Chicken sandwich.

“Vegetarian and vegan food has gone mainstream – we developed Plant Nation to show our guests how we use modern culinary techniques to create a memorable and seemingly indulgent experience for our guests,” said Chef Heierling. “We love sharing Plant Nation’s inventive dishes and innovative partners with our community – whether they’re plant-based, or not.”

Plant Nation is available for order on delivery platforms such as UberEats, Postmates, DoorDash, GrubHub, and Caviar.

The healthy meal box delivery trend has even crept into corporate America. Chef and founder of California based Nybll, Kristen Thibeault, created a corporate catering company that specializes in home delivery for groups hosting virtual meetings and conferences along with Fortune 500 companies from BuzzFeed to Netflix and championship sports teams.

Nybll Connect will deliver the same dinner or special care package for groups or families who want to dine together while apart. Specializing in business meetings, brainstorm sessions or special events, the 24 rotating menu options range from plant-forward, super-charged power breakfasts, mid-day wellness breaks with superfood snacks and even individual quarantini’s for happy hour. The menu offerings are shipped overnight and broken down by length of meeting from under three hours to an all-day collaboration that includes stretch break bands and pick-me-up bites.

Additionally, with every purchase, Nybll gives back, supporting those who are food insecure through its charitable arm, The Patra Project. For more information, visit https://www.nybll.com/virtual-catering/.

If you would rather drink your nutrition but find juicing too sweet, Bonafide Provisions is a new California company making bone broths, soups and keto broths that are a comforting solution. CEO and Clinical Nutritionist Sharon Brown created flavors from organic beef, chicken and turkey that help support immunity, brain function and joints, along with nourishing hair, skin and nails.

“Bone broth provides collagen and amino acids which support the gut lining and immune system. Up to 85 percent of your immune system is in your gut and bone broth supports the immune system by feeding these cells,” Brown told the Courier.

She cautions to steer clear of some juices that are loaded with fruit sugar. “Sugar in any form can shut down the immune system for up to three hours, so when trying to build immunity, sugar should be avoided at all costs.  Instead of adding fruit sugar to smoothies, add a ½ cup of bone broth. You won’t be able to taste the broth, and you will reap the benefit of the immune-boosting, no-sugar properties it offers,” she said. You can find the broths at Whole Foods and Bristol Farms and also for delivery from www.bonafideprovisions.com/.

For a drink with a kick that also keeps sugar content in mind, Owl’s Brew is a new line of craft cocktail mixers made from fine tea and botanicals for healthy summer cocktails. The goal here is not deprivation, but how to enjoy drinks with less sugar.

The founders, Jennie Ripps and Maria Littlefield, are tea experts. Ripps is a tea sommelier who has worked on beverages programs for Momofuku and Soho House to name a few. Their concoctions are not just mixers but ready to drink cocktails made with 100 percent real ingredients.

Ripps and Littlefield believe that, “Liquor is a Trojan Horse for sugar and chemicals.” Their latest creation, Boozy Matcha is blended with real pineapple and chamomile, is gluten-free and vegan with no added sugar and only 110 calories.

According to Ripps and Littlefield, “Matcha contains 127-times more antioxidants than green tea and is known to boost metabolism and increase energy. Antioxidant-rich, it has anti-aging properties and is excellent for the skin and can now be enjoyed at happy hour too.” More details available at https://www.theowlsbrew.com/home.

The post The Health Scene: Nourishing Meal Delivery Services appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

While L.A. County beaches will reopen on July 6 at 5 a.m., Newsom said the indoor closures would continue for at least the next three weeks, devastating news for many Beverly Hills businesses. 

“This will be the nail in the coffin for more businesses than we’d like to think,” Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Johnson told the Courier. “I had a lot of restaurants who called and said they may close. I think a lot of restaurants were on the edge, and this could be what puts them over the edge.” 

While patio dine-in, delivery and curbside pick-up is still permitted with County Health guidelines and safety protocols in place, just over 70 establishments in Beverly Hills offer outdoor seating and dining according to Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager Laura Biery. 

“It was obviously a very sudden announcement,” Biery told the Courier, underscoring how restaurants had been reopened for just a month for indoor dining before Gov. Newsom ordered their closure again this week. “It’s obviously very, very challenging.” 

Héritage Fine Wines over Jordane Andrieu, who opened his French bistro and wine bar at the corner of Little Santa Monica and Canon six years ago, told the Courier he was considering closing again as a result of the latest mandate. Andrieu had initially closed Héritage in March and only recently reopened following the county’s directive that inside dining could resume on May 29. However, with just five tables outside, he didn’t believe it would be sufficient to justify remaining open. 

“Everyone is very frustrated and overwhelmed,” he told the Courier, underscoring how challenging it was for his staff to work in these conditions of uncertainty. “It’s frustrating for everyone to see how the decisions are taken with immediate action.” 

As a small business owner, Andrieu expressed sympathy with his fellow restaurateurs with much bigger operations who had been exponentially impacted by the immediate shutdown order. 

In an effort to help restaurants adapt to operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City recently launched the OpenBH program (www.BeverlyHills.org/OpenBH), which helps retailers and businesses access additional outdoor space. According to Biery, the City has issued nine OpenBH permits and received applications for an additional eight locations. 

Johnson said that many restaurants had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to transform their facilities to a level that’s acceptable and safe for customers and staff. 

“We were expecting another round, but we really thought it was going to be in the fall or the winter,” he said. 

While there is no way to yet know just how long Gov. Newsom will extend this renewed closure, Johnson predicted that it would depend on the number of COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks. In two weeks, the County will likely see the impacts of just how people choose to behave during the Fourth of July weekend. 

And while the renewed closures will assuredly negatively impact Beverly Hills businesses and City revenue, at the moment, there is nothing the City can do to get around the rules, even with all the precautions in place. 

“It’s obviously a big setback, but peoples’ safety is the number one priority,” Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau CEO Julie Wagner told the Courier. “We have to do what we have to do. It’s unfortunate for the restaurants because we have a huge amount of restaurants and people were really ramped up.” 

The post Indoor Dining Ceases in Beverly Hills, Again appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Both matters came up at the Council’s June 16 Study Session, as modifications to the Urgency Ordinance enacted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The issue of health order enforcement as it pertains to dining establishments is widespread. On May 30, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) issued guidelines for restaurants to reopen in-room dining. Those protocols include maintaining a distance of six feet between tables; permitting a maximum of 60 percent capacity for indoor dining rooms; allowing no more than six people per table; requiring face masks and shields for all employees and wait staff, as well as for customers, when not eating. As set forth in a 10-page document issued by LACDPH, outdoor seating and curbside pickup should be prioritized. And, outdoor dining areas (with six feet between tables) should be expanded wherever possible. 

As indicated by County Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer, those guidelines are not generally being followed. In a press conference on June 15, Ferrer stated: 

“We did have our teams out this weekend. They visited 2,000 restaurants. They found that 50 percent of the restaurants were still not in compliance. They’ll be revisiting all of the restaurants that were not in compliance and issuing them an order to come into compliance.” 

The Courier reached out to the LACDPH for clarification about the compliance orders, but no response has been received as of press time. In Beverly Hills, officials have recognized the challenges the new guidelines pose. 

“We want to get back to business, we want it to be safe,” said Councilman John Mirisch. “We want to be a model of safety for everybody, and we’ve seen the reports in the L.A. Times and elsewhere that about 50 percent of restaurants now, not necessarily in Beverly Hills, are not following the rules. We really need to figure out a way, not only to expedite and help the restaurants, but to ensure they are protecting the safety of all of the employees and of the guests.” 

The newly adopted amendments to the Urgency Ordinance will give the City the option of enforcing the County health orders through the use of infractions or administrative citations for minor violations. The City staff believe that to ensure compliance, citing violations with an infraction or issuing an administrative citation will prove more effective than citing as a misdemeanor, which carries a criminal penalty. 

The City is focusing on creative measures to ensure compliance with the County rules, while helping business owners. They’ve begun exploring the use of public and private parking lots, joint use of sidewalks and parklets – a sidewalk extension – to create additional dining capacity. The survival of many local restaurants may depend on it. 

A new initiative called Open Beverly Hills will facilitate the temporary increase in total restaurant capacity. The program 

enables restaurants to apply for a special event permit to use the public right of way for additional outdoor dining. To help businesses get back on their feet, the City voted to waive the $800 special event permit fee and eliminate the requirement to apply 10 days before the special event. “The goal is to try and help these businesses open up quickly to provide for their outdoor seating, as opposed to a process taking months and months,” said Councilwoman Lili Bosse. 

Once permit requests are filed, City staff will review them as well as layout plans to ensure adherence to social distance protocols. 

“Our team looks at it very quickly,” said City manager George Chavez during the Study Session. “We collaborate with the fire department and building and safety and make sure that there’s a proper exiting, fire extinguishers and things of that nature. And the turnaround is typically within a couple of days. Our goal is to get people back to up and running this process.” 

Chavez is currently working with the Japanese restaurant Matsuhisa, located on North La Cienega, on diagrams that will expand the dining area into their adjacent parking lot. The City has already approved a request to use of the sidewalk portion of the cul-de-sac on Canon Drive for Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, to accommodate more temporary outdoor dining. 

The Council’s COVID-19 Business Recovery and Assistance Task Force is also on hand to help business. The City’s Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager, Laura Biery, said at the June 16 Study Session, “I have had the opportunity to go out and personally visit with many of our most popular restaurants that we have in town. We’ve been through a lot of educational visits with them and the other businesses that have been able to open at this time due to the COVID-19 restrictions slowly fading out.” Biery said one way to successfully enforce the new COVID-19 guidelines is to have a greeter and offer complimentary face masks. Customers who do not comply will be denied entry. “If you do see any restaurants or any other businesses that don’t happen to be compliance with the protocol, we’re happy to make those individual visits and help educate them and provide that outreach,” she said. 

The Council also adopted an ordinance to cap fees charged by food delivery services at 15 percent of the purchase price for delivery fees and five percent of the purchase price for all other fees and costs. The ordinance restricts delivery services from charging the restaurant an otherwise 30 to 40 percent fee for 90 days after restaurants are able to receive dine-in customers. The Council has structured the ordinance so that it can be extended beyond its present August 31 expiration. 

For more information on Open Beverly Hills, visit:

http://www.beverlyhills.org/citymanager/filmingspecialevents/covid19protocols/?NFR=1 

The post City Council Votes on Measures to Ensure Safe Restaurant Reopenings appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Bodvar’s great-great-grandfather started Hafströms of Sweden, one of the largest hand- rolled premium cigar brands. The family also founded the legendary Grönstedts Cognac in 1846. Bodvar continued his family’s legacy by launching the Bodvár House of Rosés collection featuring three versions from sparkling to dry and fruity, which are all available in the U.S. 

The popularity of this versatile drink dubbed “summer water” has grown exponentially over the past decade. Celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Drew Barrymore and John Legend have all launched wine labels that celebrate rosé. 

Whether you choose to enjoy summer’s favorite drink at a virtual event, or with close family and friends at a barbecue this weekend, the Courier has asked a few local experts for their top picks while rounding-up the latest rosé brands to hit the market. 

“Even though in Beverly Hills rosé is a steady, big commodity, we are noticing larger than usual sales with up to a 30 percent increase from historical norms,” said Christian Navarro, president and principal of Wally’s Wine & Spirits. “The reason it could be a big factor, is that people are staying home instead of going to the rosé meccas of St. Tropez, The Hamptons, and Mykonos.” 

For this summer, Navarro recommends the 2018 Rumors Rose at $35. “Emanating from the heart of Provence, Rumors is the most exciting new rosé that we have tasted this year,” he told the Courier. “And, the perfect pick for any warm-weather celebration.” 

The Marciano Estate, owned by brothers Maurice and Paul Marciano – who are co-owners of and Wally’s Wine and the GUESS retail empire –have just released a lovely pink-hued 2019 rosé produced in Napa Valley for $45 per bottle. 

Top fashion house Dolce & Gabbana, has released “Rosa” in a collaboration with Donnafugata Sicilian wines. The pale-pink 2019 vintage combines Sicilian grapes Nerello Masacalese and Nocera. The fruity wine pairs well with charcuterie and crudo, so you’ll want the designer label bottle, $45, in your wine cellar or fridge this season. 

Grammy-nominated, multiplatinum recording artist Post Malone has created a new French rosé, Maison No. 9, in partnership with entrepreneur James Morrissey of Global Brand Equities, and Dre London, music manager and Founder of London Entertainment. Made in Provence, the wine is available online and in stores this June with exclusive distribution from E. & J. Gallo Winery. Maison No. 9 will be available in three sizes with a price range from $21.99 to $89.99. 

Closer to home, West Hollywood restaurant Fig & Olive has created a grenache, cinsault and syrah blend from a winemaking region near Saint-Tropez. The versatile, beautiful pink wine compliments everything from savory appetizers to sushi and desserts, and you can pick it up at their onsite shop for $68. 

World-renowned Italian winery Santa Margherita, who made pinot grigio a staple in the U.S., has just released a bubbly Sparkling Rosé. It combines the best of Northwest Italy, with chardonnay from the Alto Adige region, glera (used in prosecco) and malbec from the Veneto region for richness and pale pink color. This wine pairs well with everything from seafood paella to East Asian curry dishes and retails for $29.99 or a mini 375ml bottle for $17.99. 

Another top pick from Jordane Andrieu, owner of Héritage Fine Wines on Canon Drive, is the certified organic La Bernarde, Cotes de Provence Rosé Les Hauts du Luc, 2019 at just under $20. “La Bernarde is a historic property in the village of Luc in the Côtes de Provence that has been restored by the owners of Commanderie de Peyrassol, utilizing the same winemaking team,” said Andrieu. “The limestone hillside produces what many consider to be the noblest rosé in Provence.” 

The post National Rosé Day, What to Drink in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

BH SUMMER MARTINI

2 oz. Favorite Gin 2-3 pieces of basil 

2 slices of cucumber .75 oz. Lime juice

.5 oz. Agave syrup .25 oz. Orange liquor Garnish: Basil leaf 

In a mixing tin, muddle the cucumbers. Hold two basil leaves and your hand and clap them together (spanking the basil :). Add Gin, lime juice, agave syrup and orange liquor. Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 10 seconds. Strain cocktail into a chilled Martini glass and serve 

BH WHISKEY TIKI

2 oz. Bourbon

.75 oz. Lemon juice

.5 oz. Orgeat syrup

.5 oz. squeeze fresh orange juice

.5 oz. pineapple juice

3 oz. Ginger beer

2 dashes of bitters

Garnish: pineapple and cherry

In a mixing tin, muddle 2 chunks of fresh pineapple. If you don’t have fresh pineapple, use .5 oz. of pineapple juice. Add Bourbon, lemon juice, Orgeat syrup, Orange juice (if not fresh, just use from concetrate) and add bitters. Add ice and shake for 10 seconds, then strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. 

PERFECT BLOODY MARY

Drink expert Eric “ET” Tecosky, former bar manager at Jones Hollywood, has an interesting hack for making the perfect Bloody Mary. While you might think that olive juice is only for making a ‘dirty martini,’ it actually works well for everyone’s favorite brunch cocktail as well. 

“At Jones, we’ve been using [L.A. based] Dirty Sue Premium Olive Juice for years and it’s become kind of a ‘secret weapon’ for bartenders across the country for Bloody Marys. It provides an umami that enhances all the flavors of all the other ingredients. For people who like a squeeze of citrus in their Bloody, it cuts the astringency of the citrus without taking away any of the flavor.” 

THE DIRTY SUE BLOODY MARY

Home Recipe created by Eric “ET” Tecosky 

1 1/2 oz quality Vodka

1/2 oz Dirty Sue Premium Olive Juice

4 oz High Quality Tomato Juice

3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1/2 oz Hot Prepared Horse Radish

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon Celery salt

1/8 teaspoon Season Salt

3 dashes Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or your favorite.

Preparation instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a Collins glass*

2. Fill with ice

3. Pour into an empty pint glass

4. Pour back into Collins glass

5. Top with a couple ice cubes Garnish: 1 lemon wedge, 1 lime wedge and whatever is calling your name – cucumber spear, Dirty Sue Jalapeno Stuffed Olive, thick cut slice of bacon – treat yourself! 

*Glass – optional. Run the lemon wedge around the rim of the glass and roll into some Old Bay Seasoning. 

The post Memorial Day Cocktails appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“We are thrilled to reopen Nate ‘n Al’s again,” said Shelli Azoff, owner of The Azoff Restaurant Group (ARG), which purchased the deli in 2019. “It was always our goal to keep the tradition alive, and our temporary pause in operations was to ensure the safety and well-being of our staff and our customers – which will always come first. We can’t wait to get back to serving our classic and delicious comfort foods at a time when we need it most!” 

A few weeks into the Stay at Home order, news circulated that the beloved deli was closing on March 29. With the lease term ending and negotiations for a replacement spot in the old Wolfgang’s Steakhouse on Canon Drive at a standstill, it looked as though the Beverly Hills landmark would close for good. Loyal–and brokenhearted – customers flocked to Beverly Drive to pick up orders of matzo ball soup, pastrami on rye and other specialties that beckoned celebrities and regular folk alike for decades. 

Nate ‘n Al’s will return with a pared-down menu that includes classic favorites, along with new family-style items, reduced hours and a smaller team, in order to ensure safety and social distancing among the kitchen and front-of-house order staff. 

According to an ARG representative, “The team is thrilled to open their doors to their beloved customers. Nate’s has been overwhelmed with the love and support shown during this very difficult time.” 

Cloobeck, too, says the desire to help the community was a big inspiration for him to sit down with ARG.

“Their lease was up so I sat down and talked to my oldest son Jake and he said, ‘Let’s do something for the community, Dad.'” 

He added, “I love Beverly Hills”. Everyone at The City is fantastic. 

The Cloobeck family has just purchased Kirk Kerkorian’s old estate at Roxbury Drive and Benedict, where Jake 22, who is an entrepreneur who owns Script Haven –a web-portal that connects young screenwriters with producers –will be living. “I’ve always dreamed of having a home in Beverly Hills,” said Cloobeck, who is originally from Encino, “And it’s nice to be part of the community. It’s a second home for us and the first home for my son.” 

And, former Nate ‘n Al’s employees are anxious to get back to work amidst the family environment at the restaurant. Gloria Leon, the 40 plus-year veteran waitress, is returning. She will be taking phone orders for now. Angela Patterson, who worked as a hostess for two decades, told the Courier that she misses her job. But her position has not reopened, because there is no in-house dining as of yet. 

“These are interesting times, and everyone just has to help out one another and do the right thing,” said Cloobeck. 

Take-out and delivery at Nate ‘n Al’s will be facilitated in-house, in order to employ back as many team members as possible. Minimum orders are $25, with a $10 delivery charge. 

www.natenals.com 

The post Nate ‘n Al’s is Back in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

SEARED SALMON WITH PROVENÇALE VINAIGRETTE (Serves 4) 

Provençale Vinaigrette
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1?2 cup fresh parsley
1?4 cup fresh oregano
1?2 teaspoon lavender
4 teaspoons tarragon
3 tablespoons cabernet vinegar 2 teaspoons kosher salt 

11?4 cup olive oil
High-heat oil, such as avocado, sea algae or organic grapeseed oil
4 (6-ounce) filets salmon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. For the Provençale Vinaigrette: In a food processor or blender, process garlic, herbs, vinegar, and salt until evenly minced. Pour oil, 1?4 cup at a time in a steady stream, until fully incorporated. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. 

2. Preheat a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add a slick of oil and swirl to coat the pan. 

3. Dry the salmon filets well and season with salt and pepper. Place the skin sides of the filets down into the pan, making sure they are fully coated in oil. Allow to cook for 1 1?2 minutes until they lift easily from the pan and have formed a golden crust. Flip and continue cooking to desired doneness. If filets are thick, continue cooking in a 350F oven for 5 minutes (medium) to 10 minutes (well). 

4. Transfer the salmon to serving plates and drizzle with the Vinaigrette. 

VIOLET RICE (Serves 4-6) 

1 cup Thai purple rice 1 cup brown rice
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt 

2 tablespoon currants, soaked in cognac 1?4 cup confit onions
Sherry vinegar
Chopped chives 

1. Cook the rice in a steamer or over the stove until fluffy. 

2. Stir in the cognac-soaked currants, cooked onions, salt and vinegar to taste. Garnish with chopped chives. 

LEMON SOUFFLE (Makes 8 Souffles)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for ramekins
1?2 cup granulated sugar, divided, plus more for the ramekins
8 large egg yolks
10 large egg whites
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1?4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons lemon zest, finely grated 1 cup whole milk 

Powdered sugar for dusting 

1. Preheat oven to 375oF. Butter eight (8-ounce ramekins), then dust with granulated sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yolks, flour, zest and 1?4 cup granulated sugar. 

2. In a small saucepot, bring milk to a boil. Slowly pour milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent the yolks from cooking. Return the mixture to the pot, and whisk until thick like a pudding, 1-2 minutes. Strain through a sieve and whisk in the butter and lemon juice. 

3. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining 1?4 cup granulated sugar; beat until stiff glossy peaks form. Stir in a third of the whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture. Gently fold in the remaining whites using a rubber spatula. 

4. Fill each prepared ramekin to the top with the souffle batter, smooth out top with an offset spatula. Run your thumb around the edges to remove the batter from the rims. 

5. Bake until souffles rise and are golden brown, about 12-15 minutes, or until the tops are firm when gently touched. Dust tops withpowdered sugar. Serve immediately with Raspberry Sauce. 

The post Recipes from Dana Slatkin of Violet Bistro appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Yes, we are all trying to cope, but some of us are concerned about packing on the pounds so you might want to cut back on the calories to avoid the “Corona-15” but still placate yourself through this rocky time. The Courier has asked Matt Biancaniello for some cocktail recipes that will not make us feel guilty for indulging during this stressful time. 

Biancaniello is the acclaimed bar chef and the author of “Eat your Drink,” who created a legacy at the Library Bar in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel over a decade ago where he was a founding member of the cool cocktail craze. 

After being told by a fan that his weight did not match his brand, he cut back on carbs and dairy. Biancaniello lost 30 pounds and gained more energy and stamina. He is currently focusing on the wellness concoctions that include super-foods such as mushrooms, herbs, cucumbers, stinging nettles, which are anti-inflammatory and lemons with electrolytes plus organic spirits. “People are inspired by this and they are into the drinks, but they are also good for you with vibrant, healthy ingredients,” said Biancaniello. 

For spring, Biancaniello shares his recipe for “Never Let Me Go,” which he describes as a “very rich, juicy and citrus-forward version of a Negroni.” As for the mezcal and aquavit-based “Health Kick’, he adds, “I love the way the flavors of these two spirits sing so well together, and combine beautifully with the freshness savory notes of the celery juice to create a delicious, layered drink that feels like it’s doing you good!” The final cocktail is more of a home-wellness project as it is a vodka infusion that needs to steep for 10 days and uses anti-inflammatory ingredients. His products are also available in bottled form delivered to your door. http://www.matthewbiancaniello.com/bottled-cocktails/ 

Recipe for Never Let Me Go 

makes 1
2 oz. blood orange juice
2 oz. Cynar
1/2 oz. creme de cassis
dehydrated or fresh blood orange slice In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake the juice, Cynar, and crème de cassis. Strain into rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with the blood orange slice. 

The Health Kick 

1 oz Acre Espadin Mezcal
1 oz Krogstad Festlig Aquavit
3/4 oz Fresh Lime Juice
3/4 oz Agave Syrup
1 oz Fresh Celery Juice
Pinch Himalayan Sea Salt
Nasturtium blossoms and wild mustard flowers to garnish.

In a shaker filled with ice, combine the mezcal, aquavit, lime juice, agave, green juice, and salt. shake, then double strain into a Collins glass. Submerge the nasturtium flowers in the drink and garnish with the wild mustard flowers. 

Agave Syrup
Makes 2 Cups
In a bowl, combine 1 cup agave nectar and 1 cup water. Stir until the agave hasdissolved and the mixture is well combined. The agave syrup will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. 

Recipe for Anti-inflammatory Wellness Drink 

2 oz. Stinging Nettle infused Roku Gin 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
3/4 oz. agave syrup (1:1 ratio of agave nectar to water) 

1 oz. fresh blood orange or pomegranate juice
Garnish: White borage flowers Glassware- Coup 

Place everything in a shaker with ice and shake and double strain into a coup and garnish with white borage flowers on top. 

Stinging Nettle Infusion: 

Place 2 pounds of Stinging nettles into a large infusion jar and cover with 6 bottles of Roku Gin and let it steep for 10 days and strain back into the bottle. Shelf life is about 6 months. 

Borage flowers are a natural diuretic. Stinging nettle is a superfood and has more protein than kale and is excellent for reducing inflammation in the body. 

Note: If you can’t find stinging nettles, substitute with arugula or wild bay leaves.  

The post Mastering a Few Healthy Cocktails with Superfoods appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“We had to close for safety and merged to keep one place in Beverly Hills and Bel Air for the community,” Drago told the Courier. 

During the forced downtime, the family is making improvements to the restaurants and working on recipes. Three classics are found below. 

“This has been life-changing, but those beautiful days will come out again,” Drago told the Courier. 

Spaghetti al Pomodoro Basilico 

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil (1 tablespoon of salt for every 2 quarts of water). 

2. When the water boils, add the spaghetti pasta in a strainer and into the boiled water until the pasta is al dente. 

3. While the water is heating, in a heated pan add the tomato sauce and basil. Heat for 2-3 minutes.

4. Then, add a touch of butter and continuously mix. 

5. When the spaghetti is ready, add it into the pan.

6. After, add some parmesan cheese and butter, and mix. 

7. Finally, serve the pasta on a plate. 

• celery, small diced 1 Stalk 

• yellow onion, small diced 1?2 pc 

• tomatoes, drained and crushed 14.5 ounces

• rosemary 1 sprig

• bay leaf 1 pc

• parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish 4 flat 

• lemon zest, for garnish 1 tbp 

Panzanella Salad 

Diced Tomato
Diced Cucumber
Sliced Red Onions Squared Ciabatta Bread Red Wine Vinegar 1 Ounce Virgin Olive Oil
Iodized Salt
Ground Pepper 

• garlic, roughly chopped

• tomato paste

• dry red wine 

(such as Chianti)
• veal stock
• whole peeled plum 

Procedure: 

1 cloves 3 ounces 

1?2 cup 6 cups 

1. Mix all ingredients together in a clean stainless bowl.
2. Put it on a deep white bowl.
3. Ready to serve. 

Ossobuco
Ingredients:
• veal shanks
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper • all-purpose flour
• extra virgin olive oil
• carrots, peeled and 

small diced 

2 pcs – 12 ounces 

1?2 cup 1?2 cup 

2 pcs 

2 Ounces
1 1/2 Ounces 1 Ounce
2 Ounces 

2 Ounces 1 Pinch
1 Pinch 

• Preheat the oven to 350 . Tie each veal shank once around the circumference so that it holds the bone and meat in the center. Season the veal shanks with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl, dredge the veal shanks in flour, and pat off the excess. 

• Heat the extra virgin olive oil until shimmering in a large enameled cast-iron casserole dish over medium. Add the veal shanks, and cook until well browned, about 5 minutes per side, adjusting the heat as needed to avoid burning the flour. Remove the shanks from casserole, and set aside. 

• Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the same casserole, and cook over medium-high, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, and cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze the casserole with the red wine. Bring to a boil, and cook until the wine is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in the veal stock and add the crushed tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaf, and parsley.

• Return the veal shanks to casserole, and bring to a boil over high. Once the liquid boils, cover, transfer to the oven, and cook for 2 hours to 2 hours and 30 minutes, until the meat is fork-tender and falling off the bones. • Remove the herbs from the braising liquid and discard. Using a skimmer or large spoon, skim off any grease or foam that rises to the surface. Season with salt and pepper. 

• To serve, cut and discard the twine from each shank. Transfer veal shanks to individual serving bowls, and ladle about 3?4 cup of sauce and vegetables over each shank. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped parsley. You may serve it with polenta, risotto, or pasta prepared with only oil, butter and parmesan cheese. 

The post Three Italian Recipes You Can Master by Giacomino Drago appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Maude 

Don’t worry if you never had the chance to experience celebrity chef Curtis Stone’s popular wine and food tasting menus. For now, Maude has morphed into a new marketplace with baked goods, prepared soups, salads and daily specials, along with pantry items such as milk, butter, eggs, fresh seasonal veggies, dried pasta and butcher shop selections from sister restaurant Gwen. The new marketplace is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. 

Crustacean 

The beloved An family offers the new AN THE GO menu, featuring Crustacean’s signature dishes for the first time ever, such as their world famous AN’s Garlic Noodles and Garlic Roasted Dungeness Crab for takeout along with a chic “black glove” delivery and curbside pick-up service where staff don black rubber gloves to ensure the safety of employees and its patrons. The service is available daily from 12 noon to 8 p.m. Call 424-303-8108. 

Mastros 

Devotees of the famous lobster mashed potatoes, prime steaks and chops plus the signature warm butter cake can bring them home for a 10 percent discount. Curbside service and take-out are now available. Orders can be placed by calling 310-888-8782 between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. daily. 

Madeo 

The celebrity hang-out has launched a new take-out option offering its full menu of popular pasta dishes. The team is also planning to roll out delivery and family-sized dinners. It’s so much easier than trying to book a table on Saturday night. Call 310-859- 4903 Tue. to Sat. from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Craig’s 

Speaking of hard tables to come by, the legendary VIP hangout on Melrose, Craig’s, is now offering delivery. Customers can also send in their suggestions for weekly specials by following the restaurant’s Instagram account @craigsla. Call 310-276-1900. 

Lawry’s The Prime Rib 

Curbside pickup and delivery is available within three miles of the restaurant for jumbo shrimp cocktail, the famous original spinning bowl salad, Lawry’s classic prime rib dinner, crispy roasted Jidori chicken and family-style feasts serving 6-8 or 12-15. Orders can be placed between 4:30-8 p.m. by calling 310-360-6281. 

The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel

To ensure that no one has to live without favorites such as McCarthy salads, The Red Carpet pickup menu is available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. To order, call 310-887-2170. Breakfast is available from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Lunch/dinner from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air 

For the first time, Mediterranean loup de mer, Colorado lamp chops with harissa aioli and other favorites are available from the all-day take-away menu, offered from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Call 310-887-2580. 

Jean-Georges at Waldorf Astoria 

Jean-Georges Beverly Hills at Waldorf Astoria is offering to-go dining options with pick-up available from the valet from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. To place an order for a truffle cheeseburger, peppercorn-crusted Wagyu beef tenderloin or a warm cookie box, call 310-860-6717. 

Avec Nousat Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills 

For Southern French fare, Avec Nous is offering a select menu for pick-up, plus grocery staples such as milk, eggs, juice and fresh produce. Additionally, its extensive wine list is available at 50 percent off for pick-up orders. Call 310-860-8660 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. 

Heritage Fine Wines 

John Legend is known to pop and play a few tunes at this popular local wine shop, café and piano bar. Now, three delivery options (Postmates, Doordash and Caviar) are available to bring bubbles, top shelf vino and charcuterie to your door. 

Sprinkles Cupcake Bakery 

Who couldn’t use something sweet right now? Thankfully, the Sprinkles Santa Monica Boulevard cupcake ATM is still open. The bakery itself has moved to pre-order only. All orders should be placed online at sprinkles.com, by calling 888-220-2210, or on the Sprinkles App for delivery or pick-up. 

The post Beverly Hills Take-Out and Delivery: New Additions appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

In an effort to continue supporting local restaurants and small businesses, here is a list of where you can still acquire your favorite meals in Beverly Hills and surrounding areas. And, the City will accommodate parking in front of restaurants to allow for easier access for “to-go” or curbside dining.

Curbside Pick-up is the New Drive-Through 

Peninsula Hotel 

The hotel is currently offering valet pick up for take-out meals. So, you can order your favorite charred Brussels sprout Caesar (with chicken or salmon) over the phone and pick it up at the valet by just driving through without parking or waiting. Other signature favorites to 

go include flatbreads, Mary’s roast chicken, and breakfast from acai bowls to green juices. The hotel has even set up entire catering orders for dinner parties that also includes valet pick up. 

Spago 

While you might be missing your weekly Friday lunch at Spago, no need to miss the classic smoked salmon pizza and other iconic favorites. For the first time in the history of Wolfgang Puck’s famous eatery, Spago will be servicing curb-side pick-ups. 

Il Pastaio 

This neighborhood staple will be offering a reduced take-out menu with favorite Drago family dishes all week from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Take-out is also available from Piccolo Paradiso Ristorante and others in their portfolio. 

Porta Via 

This Canon Drive mainstay remains open for take-out, curbside included, and delivery through Postmates and Uber Eats. Additionally, the staff is able to make deliveries in the neighborhood. 

Olivetta 

You can still have Michael Fiorelli’s best pasta dishes delivered right to your car from 5:30 p.m. to midnight. Just preorder then give them a call on 310-307-3932 when you are outside. 

Tesse 

This Sunset Boulevard French café stunner has transformed into a marketplace where you can buy fresh fruits and veggies, bread, cheese and other treats from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, plus they have a wine shop and are even selling toilet paper. Bravo!

Free and Discounted Delivery 

edo by Eduardo Baldi 

The restaurant is offering free delivery at their Beverly Hills and Palisades locations daily. That includes favorite lunch and dinner items from e.baldi Beverly Hills and sandwiches and salads from the cafés. 

Nerano 

While they will be operating on a limited menu, you can still order plenty of pasta, pizza, anti-pasta, salads and dessert to go or for delivery with a 15 percent discount. They are working with Postmates and Grubhub so you don’t have to miss out on the beloved Mediterranean branzino filet or the spaghetti and meatballs. 

Sam’s Crispy Chicken 

As in Sam Nazarian, fried chicken dominates the menu at sbe Entertainment Group’s first delivery-only concept, which just launched on March 13. Expect Nashville Hot, Chicken & Waffles, Buffalo Fried Chicken and dipping sauces such as a kimchi mayo and miso-honey mustard.

Discounts and delivery options include: 

Postmates ($3 off $15), UberEats (free chicken tender bites), Doordash (free delivery), GrubHub (free chicken tender bite and free delivery) and Caviar (free delivery). 

The Nice Guy 

This West Hollywood favorite hot spot is offering delivery and pick-up of their standouts including cacio e pepe and rigatoni bolognese paired with roasted Brussels sprouts in a Caesar vinaigrette. 

Available for free delivery or pick-up on Postmates and 30 percent off pizzas everyday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. 

No contact delivery from DoorDash: 

The popular delivery app is testing enhanced drop-off options for customers, including no contact delivery. If you prefer this method, or need to request one for health reasons, you can do so starting this week in the delivery instructions. Dashers can reach out to you through a call or text message when you place an order to request a no-contact delivery as well. 

Log on to BHcourier.com for updates on more delivery options rolling out in the area. 

The post Curbside Pick-Up and Delivery in Beverly Hills and Environs appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Ocean Prime Beverly Hills 

This seafood-centric restaurant has an elevated lounge menu near the outdoor patio from Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. with $5 off all small plates, sushi and raw bar offerings. Be sure to order the lime and coconut milk marinated white fish ceviche tossed with pineapple, onions, peppers and cilantro served with crispy tortilla chips. Handcrafted cocktails and house spirits will be available for $8, beer for $5 and $8 featured wines. 

Beverly Hills 

Porta Via 

This decades long beloved open-air California bistro on Canon Drive owned by Peter Garland is known for celebrity sightings and calamari. They also have The Bar Room with an extended happy hour from 5-8 p.m. daily. The house red and white wine is just $6 with well spirits for $7 and select beer for $4. And, you can order that popular calamari for just $7, the meatballs or a kale and quinoa salad for the same price if you are working on your summer body already. 

Yojisan Sushi 

You might not know that the Drago brothers clan – famous for Italian staples Via Alloro and Drago Ristorante, also own a mouthwatering sushi restaurant. Even better news, they have a happy hour Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with many best-selling dishes for $7.50 such as hamachi Jalapeno, salmon sashimi and crispy spicy tuna. The drink menu includes cocktails, beer, wine and sake for $7.50 as well. 

Via Alloro 

Speaking of Via Alloro, we just had to give a nod to it’s happy hour which runs from 12 p.m. (noon) to 7 p.m. every day, Sunday to Monday in the bar area. This unheard-of all-day deal features appetizers such as prosciutto and burrata focaccia, diver scallop carpaccio and a mushroom soufflé for $8.50 each, cocktails, house wine and beer for $8.50. 

West Hollywood

N.10 Recently Launched Spritz Hour 

A gem on Third Street, designed by Christopher Keith, N.10 was launched to pay homage to owner Italian soccer star Alessandro Del Piero with a minimalist concept and a wood burning pizza oven. The recently launched Spritz Hour from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday brings $12 gourmet pizza to the forefront along with six different $9 spritz cocktails created by superstar mixologist Matthew Biancaniello. If you’re lucky, he just might be behind the bar making the ‘Rabarbaro’ with prosecco, rhubarb and infused Saint Germain. 

40 Love for Sports 

Designed by John Sofio for the h.wood Group, the country club setting with a lovely front garden patio, is perfect for an afternoon negroni but also for watching a game on one of the large screen televisions inside. Happy Hour is Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. where all specialty cocktails are $10; draft beer is $4 and wine is only $5. The menu features just what you want when you’re watching a game: chicken wings, Western bacon burgers and brownie sundaes all for $6 and under. 

Gracias Madre West Hollywood 

Weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., this standby on Melrose Avenue has one of the best day drinking patios in town. Stick with tequila from the well-stocked bar and try the hand-crafted cocktails, like the Purista Margarita available on the happy hour menu 

for under $10. Nibbles include a vegan twist on classic dishes such as the Al Pastor taco, with oyster mushrooms, grilled cinnamon pineapple and cilantro, or their beer-battered Portobello tacos, with mushrooms, paprika aioli, napa cabbage slaw and salsa. 

Tipsy Chef in Santa Monica 

An all American-style café and bar just opened at the historic Edgemar Center for the Arts on Main Street with the tag line “where cuisine and cocktails meet community.” This is a place to have fun and not take yourself too seriously. ‘Tipsy Time’ is 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the week and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekend, where the well drinks and wine are just $6. Yes, you can find curly fries and Cracker Jacks for $6, but there are a number of $12 salads too. 

Downtown 

M. Georgina 

Recently opened at the Row in the Arts District, M. Georgina by Michelin Starred- chef Melissa Perello–best known for her restaurants Frances and Octavia in San Francisco–created a special happy hour menu for those looking to have an early drink with amazing bites from the approachable, yet refined, seasonal food that has earned critical and popular acclaim. From 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, guests can nibble on marinated olives and feta for $5 or chicharrónes with kraut powder for $6 and sip on an old fashioned for $8. There is also a special Sunday happy hour from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., which provides a wonderful ending to the weekend. 

Red Herring 

Previously located in Eagle Rock, the new downtown location next to Whole Foods features a stunning art deco inspired design by Marisa Zajack. They also have a great happy hour Monday through Friday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Beer is Booneville Gold Lager Honest Abe Cider for $7; red, white and rosé wines are $8; Old Fashioned and The Hot Neighbor Vesper cocktails are $10. The elevated fare includes shaved Brussels sprout salad with kumquat, parm, basil and breadcrumbs or smoked eggplant dip with tahini, herbs and grilled bread are both $8. 

Westside 

Tavern in Brentwood 

This westside staple features one of the most extensive cocktail hours by James Beard winning Chef Susan Goin and Wine Director Caroline Styne. The bounty includes an array of tacos from shrimp to brisket for $8, organic turkey burgers with tomato confit and a charcuterie board for $15. The best-selling menu staples of bacon- wrapped dates stuffed with Parmesan for $11 and Spanish fried chicken with romesco aioli is on the list for $18. Even better, the cocktail hour lasts from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week in the Blue Room with $11 cocktails and $9 wines by the glass. 

Charcoal Venice 

You might be familiar with Michelin Star- chef and avid surfer Josiah Citrin’s happy hour at the newly revamped Citron in Santa Monica where Melisse once stood, but he also owns a restaurant specializing in meats cooked on an open flame and cocktails in Venice where they offer The Evening Glass Off menu from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The entire menu is a steal and under $10 from the house Charcoal burger to the smokey grilled chicken wings, skewers of grilled meats and veggies plus smoked lamb ribs under $5 and oysters under $3. Cocktails are also under $10, and one not to miss is the midnight margarita with El Charro tequila, charcoal and lime. 

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As the latest upscale culinary opening at the reimaged space, this brings more options for meat lovers and Westside residents who don’t want to trek to Koreatown for an authentic experience. 

“It was time for me to open in L.A. it’s been my dream for a long time,” said Back who owns 14 restaurants located from Asia to Dubai, Toronto, Dallas, San Francisco, San Diego and Las Vegas. 

Two drawbacks of most Korean BBQ eateries are that your clothes tend to smell like smoke afterwards and dining companions are distracted by cooking their own food. Both issues are resolved seamlessly with prime cuts of beef cooked by a server on a smokeless grill, right at your table.

Back’s Operations Manager, Yoshikawa Tsuyoshi, has worked with the chef for more than 12 years. He has relocated to L.A. to run the restaurant and “Top Chef” star Brian Huskey is holding down the kitchen while Back is on the road splitting his time between the Far East and Sin City. “I met him a long time ago and told him when I’m ready for L.A. I will contact you,” Back told the Courier. “He’s a badass.”

Even though a dry-aging room is featured, “ABSteak is more than just meat,” Back confirmed. “I wanted to have fun and give a vegan lover a steak, so the watermelon was perfect with Bulgogi sauce.” 

Chef Huskey also wanted to give local vegan and vegetarian eaters more than just a salad as a meat alternative but this is not just a melon thrown on the grill either. “First, I brine [the watermelon] then vacuum pack it and let it sit for six hours to infuse the brine into it,” Huskey told the Courier. “Then I dehydrate it overnight at 180 degrees for about 12 hours. I vacuum pack it again, so it doesn’t dry out, then I brush it with simple syrup and let it sit in the walk-in cooler before it gets cooked.” 

If you do want something meaty, the menu has many different options from Black Angus and New York to Wagyu from Tasmania with amazing marbling. You can splurge on a 60-day whiskey aged prime bone-in ribeye for $160 or keep it low-key with a $23 Flannery Holstein ribeye. 

As for the veggies, the eggplant cubes are seared off with potato starch to provide crispiness, with miso for a savory-sweet flavor profile, then finished with pickled Fresno and chives and served with mini- rice crackers. 

Other standouts on the menu include pressed spinach with a creamy sesame chili oil dressing, house-fried Kimchi rice and a trio of mushrooms with Yuja soy butter. 

More Sizzle on the Steakhouse Horizon in 90210 

A new 14,000 square foot, high-end steak and seafood restaurant is currently in development at Wilshire and Roxbury by brothers and former Mastro’s owners, Jeff and Mike Mastro. 

Eater Houston and other publications report that Tilman Fertitta – who owns the Houston Rockets, is looking to expand his steakhouse portfolio that already includes Mastro’s, Morton’s and Del Frisco’s – among others, by acquiring The Palm steakhouse business. 

Lastly, the Courier will have more news to share soon on a popular sushi staple that is also planning to open a steakhouse in the area. 

The post Carnivores Dream: ABSteak Opens at Beverly Center and More Meaty News for Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Around the corner, it’s like a little slice of Europe at the brand’s casual café spin-off, edo. Here you can find a walk-up counter and bar with only a few tables where you can nip in for a coffee or a quick sandwich during the day. Mind you, there is also a long line with a wait by about 12pm.” 

“Every day the same people come and it’s always busy,” said longtime employee Enrique Sosa who worked at the Beverly Hills flagship before setting off to help with the current expansion. 

This Italian staple has spread further west in 2018 with edo little bites at Palisades Village in Pacific Palisades owned by Caruso. Renowned chef and celebrated restauranteur Edoardo Baldi recently entered into his second venture with Caruso to open edo by edoardo baldi at The Grove in late December of 2019. 

“It is a dream come true to have a restaurant at The Grove,” said Edoardo Baldi. “We have a location at another Caruso property, Palisades Village, which has been a tremendous success for us and I am looking forward to replicating that success here at The Grove.” 

The popular and endlessly crowded outdoor mall offers plenty of foot traffic for seated service akin to the Canon Drive restaurant but also grab-and-go options including a walk-up espresso and pastry counter all under one roof. Menu highlights include the edo croissant, e. baldi’s famous chicken salad, and fusilli Al Pacino. 

Located down a charming cobble-stone path on Bow Street with twinkling lights next to See’s Candies, the new location embodies Edoardo’s signature culinary excellence while combining the beautiful balance of his Tuscan-style Beverly Hills fine dining establishment with his more playful cafés. 

Born in Tuscany, Edoardo Baldi grew up learning how to cook true Italian food from his mother and grandmothers. At the age of ten, he moved to Los Angeles with his family, where his father opened Il Ristorante di Giorgio Baldi, which quickly became and remains one of the city’s most coveted and exclusive fine dining establishments located in Santa Monica. Today, Baldi continues to celebrate and share the passion of his culinary heritage, rooted in Italian cuisine using simple ingredients. Or as Baldi describes it, “Tuscan food with an accent of Emilia-Romanga.” 

Even with the other cafe locations, the pizza dough and pastas are still prepared every day at ebaldi on Canon Drive to keep the same quality that has made this eatery a landmark in 90210 for decades. 

Back at The Grove, they are building on the energy of the café that complements Caruso’s experience-driven mission. “We have been so pleased with the incredible success of edo little bites at Palisades Village, so bringing Edoardo Baldi’s newest creation to The Grove was a natural next step for us,” said Julie Jauregui, Senior Vice President, Retail Operations and Leasing at Caruso. “We’re excited to offer our guests a place to enjoy some of Baldi’s famous Italian staples as they relax on Bow Street, or grab coffee and pastries as they explore and shop at The Grove.” 

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, edo by edoardo baldi offers a relaxing respite from a hectic lifestyle anytime of the day or night with Italian favorites from the original menu plus a curated selection of wines and specialty cocktails such as the Limoncello, lemon sorbetto and prosecco, which could also double as a dessert. 

This sleek location was also personally designed by Baldi. The restaurant’s interiors encompass a stylish modern lounge, furnished by Ligne Roset, while outdoor seating spills onto the street where diners can people watch The Grove customers. AO served as the official architect for the space and are also partnering with Baldi for the edo little bites location coming to Manhattan Village in Manhattan Beach this year. 

“The Grove was a natural fit for our next café. It’s a magical place, that goes so much beyond just shopping and I love watching the guests here make memories together with friends and family. We are now beginning construction on our next location in Manhattan Village, and are in discussion to bring the edo line of cafes to the San Fernando Valley,” confirmed Baldi. edolittlebites.com. 

The post Beloved Beverly Hills Restaurant edo by edoardo baldi Expands appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Perhaps the biggest restaurant opening of the year, three Michelin star Chef Massimo Bottura, will finally be serving a mix of his Italian fare blended with California flair on the roof of the Gucci’s Beverly Hills store. 

Guests at the intimate opening event included Beck, Gia Coppola, Brad Falchuk, Jacqui Getty, Liz Goldwyn, Salma Hayek Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ariana Papademetropoulos, Saoirse Ronan and Dita Von Teese. 

Officially opening on Feb. 17, Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura Beverly Hills is a continuation of the celebrated chef ‘s collaboration with Gucci, which began in 2018 with Gucci Osteria at the Gucci Garden in Florence, which has recently been awarded one Michelin star. 

Coming full circle with their first U.S. partnership, Bottura grew up in Modena, Italy (where he also owns his three-Michelin-star restaurant Osteria Francescana) with Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri. The first female Mexican chef to receive a Michelin star and the chef de cuisine at Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura in Florence, Karime López, worked alongside Mattia Agazzi for Gucci Osteria Beverly Hills. 

The 50-seat patio will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week where lucky diners can view the City while basking in the sun at the outdoor bar and terrace amid Italian marble mosaic flooring and Gucci Décor from wallpaper, antique mirrors, red marble tables and wicker chairs reminiscent of the Florence location. Unique to L.A. are the herringbone wood floors and cherry red velvet banquettes. 

Further establishing our city as a place of culinary innovation, you will now be able to have chef Massimo’s famed tortellini with Parmigiano Reggiano cream and the legendary Emilia burger, without flying to Italy. 

https://www.gucci.com/us/en/store/osteria-bottura
Photos by Marc Patrick/BFA.com 

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Owners Andy and Carlo Brandon-Gordon (who also own long-standing industry staple Toscana in Brentwood), are not resting on those accolades. Opened on Jan. 23, the duo has added a semi-private restaurant upstairs in the former bar-lounge area. The intimate space features revolving contemporary art from Marc Selwyn Gallery across the street, but is otherwise, pure old-school Italian. 

Even the entrance has a “Good Fellas” sensibility. Past the red neon “cocktails” sign with an arrow, visible from the street. Head back along the side of Nerano’s outdoor lounge area to a red-illuminated gate. Marc Rios advised on the rear landscaping camouflaging the alley as you follow the black-carpet walkway to the canopied stairway. A looming bodyguard stands watch as you ring the doorbell and enter behind a curtain. The drama hints of a private club out of a Scorsese film but it’s actually open to the public for those “in the know.” 

Once inside, red leather chairs line the bar and tables set for 30 people. Tim Clarke designed the furnishings which encompass golden cocktail tables and custom red dining chairs with two banquettes flanking the east and west walls of the room. The designer gathered inspiration for the interiors from sexy and extravagant cars produced in the 50s and 60s such as Lamborghini, Maserati and Ferrari red with saddle leather. 

According to Clarke, “In the 50s and 60s, Italy became the mecca for the new generation of international designers. Serving as the trendsetter, Italy produced the likes of Gio Ponti, Franco Albini, Achille Castiglioni, Ettore Sottsass and Carlo Mollina. It was the work of Mollina at the nightclub ‘Lutario’ in Torino that first inspired the interiors at BG. While a highly competent engineer, he designed race cars and planes to feed his own speed-demon ways, Mollina’s work ripples with biomorphic sensual energy. This energy is reflected at BG with curvy sofas, and sculptural bar seats that sit on narrow tapered legs.” 

As for the food, Executive Chef Michele Lisi is flipping the switch on his light, fish-forward Mediterranean fare and going with a hearty Italian-American “red-sauce” based menu. Think chicken parmigiana, fettuccini alfredo, spaghetti with meatballs and arancini as part of the comforting offerings. “I have a good meatball recipe from my Grandma,” chef Lisi who hails from Puglia, told the Courier. “I like to use fresh ingredients, seafood and work with healthy, simple, modern Italian cuisine.” Now the wood-burning oven downstairs will be used for heavier food, including steaks and pizza. For dessert, expect fresh gelato and a New York cheesecake supplied by Doan’s Bakery. 

The menu is paired with wines by BG Sommelier, Davide Matarazzo, who zeros in on indigenous grapes and blends from volcanic, ashy Mount Vesuvius to inky varietals from Old World regions such as Trimonte, which only yields about 10 producers. 

Perfect for late night, the concept is also more commercial and less expensive. “A lot of people request this kind of Italian food but we don’t do it downstairs,” general manager Giovanni Marazzi told the Courier. “We want to give our customers what they want.” This also includes a younger audience which they are hoping to attract for the after-hours when they will play 70s soul music. 

According to co-owner Carlo, “I found that when Andy and I have been traveling for work in places like New York or San Francisco, we often times end up in “red sauce” Italian restaurants. This is where friends are taking us, to these Mom-and-Pop family-run kind of places. There seems to be one or two in almost every town.” 

“I was always saying to our chef ‘I want chicken parm,’ but he would not make it,” co-owner Andy told the Courier. “Think Old Hollywood if you were to do Dan Tana’s in Beverly Hills today, what you would do?” 

In addition to the table tops, the space holds seven bar seats, and in the spirit of giving back to the community, Sunday’s are dedicated to “industry nights” where other professionals in the hospitality industry can take advance of 50 percent off all food and drink from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. 

“If you can get industry people to fall in love with your spot, the rest will follow,” said mixologist Dorian De Tappan, who helped instill this special night. 

De Tappan who is not a typical “star-tender” hails from Philadelphia and also worked with the Palihotel in Culver City. “I’m all about love and generosity not about making you or the staff suffer.” 

“It’s an Italian spot so it would be a betrayal to the space to not have Italian influences in everything,” De Tappan told the Courier. “Every cocktail will have that along with an interactive or transformative nature like fun presentations with fire.” 

For the roll-out meu, there is a picture-perfect version of a Spanish gin and tonic served with a clear ice sphere made from a liquid with cold-brew tea, thyme and pink peppercorn. Mandoline-sliced cucumbers line the base of the glass and the gin goes into the drink, but the sage and tonic are served on the side. The Woodinville Bourbon based “Spaghetti Western” is served with a cinnamon stick “cigar” that is lit. “I like the theatre of drink making.” 

One of the most theatrical – and surely set to be the most Instagramable, is the Copa d’Oro. Fire blistered yellow bell pepper are caramelized to make a puree with red pepper flake, black pepper and honey. Served with a mezcal or tequila along with a dehydrated celery and black volcanic salt rim. For the finale, dehydrated lemons in extract are set in flames to float atop the drink. 

De Tappan actually gathers inspiration for his dramatic concoctions from a cookbook: “The Flavor Matrix.” “I like unusual or uncommon pairings that just work. Somewhat familiar and recognizable but with a curve-ball.”

neranobh.com 

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The Hermer’s once again enlisted the talents of Tom Parker from Fettle (who also designed the Palisades eatery and the Hammer museum café), for the interiors spanning over four distinct areas. The front patio has been enclosed – but can still slide open to the street during warmer months, enshrouded with greenery and rotating art from Hauser & Wirth in the Arts District. There is a cozy front bar near the hostess station and a main dining area with cozy corner banquettes and another bar-lounge area. 

“When we moved to Los Angeles three years ago, we missed our favorite London haunts where there was a heartbeat to the room, with luxurious interiors, excellent service, incredible food and cocktails – where we would bump into friends and meet new ones,” Marissa Hermer told the Courier. “We wanted to create a glamorous comfortable home for us and our friends to meet for early evening cocktails, dinners, late night secrets and shenanigans.”

Celebrated chef Michael Fiorelli, last seen at Love & Salt in Manhattan Beach, is back with a pan-Mediterranean menu that encompasses flavors from Italy, Spain, Greece, France and California coastal classics. The rye macaroni and fennel salad with shaved parmesan have been crowd pleasers and personal favorites of the chef. 

Signature dishes include grilled Spanish octopus with salsa verde, Dungeness crab toast with avocado, and Cote du Boeuf 35-day aged Flannery beef “Jorge” rib steak. As for the house favorite so far, “The sourdough bread is a surprise runaway favorite,” said Fiorelli. “Nothing goes on our menu without us putting our signature on it. If I absolutely had to choose [a signature dish] I would say the bolognese, branzino and whole roasted chicken.” 

As vegetable forward menus remain a strong draw for new restaurants, there is a buzz around the roasted baby carrots, but Fiorelli carries a profounder mythology surrounding the dish. “We cook these in the style of the Sicilian lifeguard. As the lore goes, lifeguards in Sicily love to party so they’re known to pass out in the chair the next day leaving their body to be completely sun burned on one side. We actually only cook the carrots on one side. Intentionally charring them and allowing the other side to steam as they cook so you get two different textures of carrot in each bite. They are served on a purée of pistachio, feta and dill.” 

“Our menu speaks to our favorite Coastal Mediterranean classics with California sensibility,” said Hermer. “Michael Fiorelli’s philosophy of simple food done well shows in our bread, green salad, bolognese, roast chicken and branzino.” 

The interiors of Olivetta evoke the spirit of this cuisine that you might encounter on a luxe European holiday, with custom furnishings from London and whimsical lamps made in Mexico with fringy shades supported by brass duck legs, blending elegance with 

West Hollywood flare. Other standouts include French Riviera- inspired canopied fabric ceilings, illuminated by layered soft back-lit LED lighing that according to Parker, “change color with the music and were one of the most challenging elements to install,” and custom Adam Ellis-designed wallpaper featuring de Gournay elegance, and iconic California palms. 

“It’s hard to pick one favorite design element – every detail has been chosen with love and intention and is so unique and different than anything that is in Los Angeles,” said Hermer. “From the turquoise mohair walls to our fringe covered everything, our Olivetta design mantra of ‘more is more’ has come together in the most fabulous way.” 

“I grew up in Newport Beach, so I’m a born and bred California girl,” said Hermer. “I spent 20 years away in New York and London, so coming back was both a mix of familiarity as well as culture shock. Los Angeles is going through a renaissance now – across tech, media, art, and of course food – and it is incredibly inspiring to be in the mix.” 

So, if you happen to be out in the mix late in the evening looking for a festive and sophisticated atmosphere for cocktails, this is the spot. Olivetta also offers the crave-worthy, comfort-food full menu until closing and they plan to stay open late night until 2 a.m. Thursday-Sunday, while turning the bar area into a stage with a DJ, with lunch and brunch on the way soon. 

olivetta.la 

The post Olivetta Brings Michael Fiorelli Back to the Kitchen appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

From coffee to cocktails, Socalo is an all-day Southern California canteen and Mexican pub in the Gateway hotel in Santa Monica. Yes, you can find tacos from jackfruit tinga to chicken, but also breakfast empanadas with guava cheese, potato or “impossible” chorizo and large format Baja seafood platters for dinner. And, if you are missing the talented duos green corn tamales from Border Grill, you might just be in luck at some point in the near future. 

Beverly Hills Courier: Welcome back to Santa Monica! How does it feel the second time around? 

Mary Sue Milliken: I had no idea we had this much goodwill,but after 27 years of serving food to a community, it makes sense, I just didn’t put it all together. Every table has a story about a family event, first date, [there are] constantly stories that connect us to the community which is really fun. 

Susan Feniger: It has made the long hours feel pretty exciting. So many people that we haven’t seen in years. This location feels like there is so much demand for a place to go and hang-out for coffee in the morning, sit with your computer or come in for happy hour and have a great cocktail. It feels like this is an underserved area. Over all these years, even when we opened Border Grill on 4th Street, we tend to get drawn into areas that aren’t yet developed. In this case, it seems exciting. 

Have you brought any old favorites back from Border Grill? Or is this an entirely different menu? 

SF: We have really tried to keep this menu SoCal farmer’s market current focused. Our beverage program has been very focused on tap beers from small micro-breweries in Mexico, our whole wine list has been researched from drinking down there. MSM: I have been on the spirits! Drinking the mezcals and tequilas down in Mexico. We opened our first Border Grill in 1985, and the menu has been developing and evolving ever since. It’s never standing still. I think you need to constantly be innovating and coming up with new ideas. Plenty of customers have said, ‘are you really not going to have the green corn tamales?’ and I’ve said, ‘yeah, we are really not.’ We finally got away from them.

SF: That is the one dish that I have had exactly the same response out of all the dishes which is so interesting because that has been on the menu from day one. 

MSM: Maybe we could incorporate it in another way like maybe with the cochinita pibil? 

SF: We’ve done it for events that way. We’ve opened the green corn tamale and topped it with the cochinita pibil or we could top it with the lamb birria with the mint jalapeno. Maybe for happy hour? 

MSM: This is like the 2.O – we have the freedom to incorporate more Southern California tastes. We have a poke on one of the ceviches. We really have a different take on it. 

What are some of the new favorites so far? 

MSM/SF: The cauliflower is a huge hit and the lamb birria which was very surprising. SF: Vampiro taco with steak and shrimp is a big seller. Huevos ranchero for breakfast and empanada in the morning. People come in and buy a dozen. 

It seems that Vegan dishes are on everyone’s mind lately and there are a lot of wonderful vegetable dishes on the menu – the cauliflower is addictive. Can you describe how it’s made? 

SF: We take raw cauliflower and sear it in really hot olive oil so it starts to brown almost immediately. We have a puree with roasted garlic with orange and lime juice and a little chipotle. That is all roasted and finished with fresh lime juice, then topped with little Cotija cheese. 

You were both ahead of your time with sustainable seafood practices. Can you tell us how that is utilized in your kitchens and menus today? 

MSM: We took swordfish and Chilean seabass off the menu back in the 90s because our eyes were opened by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Not only the state of the oceans, but also the impact that chefs have. Eighty- percent of seafood that is consumed in this country is outside of the home. A chef is making the decision about buying it or not buying it. We have been on that path and MBA has been an incredible partner. They have a great website and are always there if you need something. We are still very careful about using sustainable tuna in ceviche; Baja seabass and oysters with filter feeders from the ocean and sustainably caught U.S. wild shrimp. We are continuing that commitment to sustainability, and not only that but the rice and beans are organic and many of the vegetables. The meats are grown without antibiotics. Each year we try to take on another sustainable practice. 

How has the restaurant industry changed since you first hit the scene and had your first Food Network Show? 

SF: From when we started the number of farmers markets around the city compared to 38 years ago [has increased.] The availability and access to markets all over the city have made chefs more likely to visit and shop at the markets then when we started. The demand for sustainability and restaurants that are aware of the environment, gluten free, and vegetarian is way broader. Things have shifted in a dramatic way. Before you had to try and find that vegetarian restaurant. That is a clear change that has happened. 

MSM: Everything is more complex with the internet and information explosion you can find out so much more about your ingredients. It used to be you’d call your purveyor and order only one kind of chicken. Now there is free-range, organic, salted or non-salted. Its crazy the amount of ways you can buy a chicken. 

SF: No question the demand on the beverage program from when we opened CITY [in the 80’s] we put our first margarita on the menu. We were using Chinaco tequila and I called it Chinac-out. People were blown away because we were squeezing fresh lime juice. Back then it was so unusual but now you wouldn’t even think about not having it. Now every restaurant, pretty much, has a great margarita. 

MSM: Back in those days people would make margaritas, even at home, by getting frozen lime-aide at the grocery store and Jose Cuervo. It’s changed 180 degrees. 

SF: People that never drank tequila and mezcal are now sipping them similar to a great scotch. People are desiring a more varied experience and the cocktails themselves, as we know mixology, has become a huge thing from 25 years ago. 

MSM: What has really changed is chefs are rock stars. Our profession has actually become professional where it used to be the bottom of the barrel. Nobody looked upon working in the restaurant business or being a chef as being the hip, cool, thing to do, or even very respected. When I decided to become a chef, my mom said, ‘you might as well become an auto-mechanic.’ Now they have television shows and are actually leaders and having an impact. That has been an exciting part of our journey, but it’s also made the industry harder. There is a terrible lack of staff to hire. It’s hard to find the right people and good employees with the right kind of work ethic. 

What advice would you give a young restaurateur today? 

MSM: That hasn’t changed. We would tell them to go get a job in a restaurant for a couple of years. It’s a profession that chooses you. If it’s the one thing that makes you so happy that it doesn’t feel like you’re at work all day every day, and it’s the thing that you love to do most. If not, then it’s not the right profession for you. 

SF: We always encourage people to experience it from being a dishwasher on up through prep and on the line and really understand the amount of hours and pressure that it takes – and getting burned. If then you still love it and you have learned with a well-rounded experience – that is so important before you go and open your own place. Food Network has shifted that over the years. Someone gets a show and becomes hot, then they think they are ready to open their own restaurant, Its very misleading. Sometimes that can work but the business is so challenging for so many reasons, it’s not just being a good chef. It’s about being a good leader, someone who inspires and motivates people. That’s a lot for someone who doesn’t have the experience yet. 

Where do you like to go when you’re not working? Any guilty pleasures? 

MSM: We are opposite in that way. I like to stay home and cook. I hardly ever go out. Ilovetobeathome.IfIdogoout,it’sfor Asian food, but I love to stay at home and have people over. I just like to be at home and even reading the newspaper is a luxury these days. 

SF: You go to so many more places than me! I’ve had so many years of working nights. Over the years I’m used to meeting [partner] Liz at 9:30 or 10 p.m. to get a bite. Part of that is to have a drink and not spend time preparing. That has become a pattern over the years. When I’m off and can go to the market, I love to have people over. It’s mixed for me. Sometimes I just want to get home, curl up, watch Rachel Maddow and make a big bowl of popcorn at 11 p.m., that’s a perfect dinner. 

I know you are both traveling and involved in so many amazing charities and events year-round. What’s next for you ladies? 

MSM: I’m going Egypt and India for a Border Grill pop-up in Mumbai and working with school feeding programs like here [in L.A.] with Share Our Strength [No Kid Hungry]. They are starting to look at global child hunger and share best practices around feeding school programs. I don’t want to leave, I’m having so much fun at Socalo but when I booked this trip, we were going to open in June, but I know Susan can handle it. SF: BBQ Mexicana is opening up at LAX over the summer in the new mid-way terminal and it’s the second season of BBQ Mexicana in Las Vegas at the Howard Hughes baseball stadium. In March, we just started a culinary program at the LA LGBT Center. It’s a 12-week program for seniors and youth which includes an externship and [in some cases] placement in restaurants. We just launched the coffee shop at the corner of McCadden place and Santa Monica Boulevard and it’s open to the public. The kids can learn to become a Barista and we will be doing food to go. Then we have Simply Divine – our fundraiser for the LGBT Center in the spring at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. I feel like Mary Sue and I are pretty busy right now. 

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With the sleek and modern remodel of the space, you now enter right into a long 22-seat bar which just added an impressive happy hour called Evening Glass Off–a nod to the chef ‘s love of surfing. Every Tuesday through Sunday from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., the approachable menu features mini-versions of iconic dishes – think lobster Bolognese capped in a truffle froth, and new standouts such as chestnut agnolotti with date, orange, cognac, and sage. While many of the bar dishes are on the regular menu offerings, exclusive to the happy hour menu is a Melisse burger ($10) and all the cocktails (named after songs) from the main menu are just $10 with select wines by the glass at the same price point. After a few appetizers, you can venture into the dining room and start with an order of basil brioche buns before moving onto the chef ‘s classic egg caviar dish from the former incarnation which is back by popular demand. Some things should never change. 

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Golden Globe best actor winner Joaquin Phoenix admitted that he “never really eats at these award shows” and was reportedly one of the actors who was instrumental in the menu change. “I’m moved by this important statement to have plant-based food at this year’s ceremony and the rest of the award shows should do the same. It’s brave, compassionate and a bold decision by the HFPA,” he said backstage after winning his award. 

While the fate of future menus for the rest of awards season has yet to be confirmed, plant-based, vegan and vegetarian restaurants are on the mainstream rise in L.A. and have come a long way from charmless cafeteria-style eateries to full-blown sexy venues suitable for date-night. 

The restaurants are actually cool places to hang out and delicious– from new nightlife spots on Sunset Boulevard to the enduring popularity of a few pioneering concepts such as Café Gratitude and Gracias Madre. 

Both spots were actually early adopters of elevating this type of cuisine. CEO Lisa Bonbright – who co-owns both concepts, told the Courier from her flower farm in Kauai, “This is why nine years ago, on March 11, we opened Café Gratitude Larchmont. I wanted to eat plant based and I didn’t want to feel like I was being punished. That was the goal behind our concept. You couldn’t just go on a date or take a friend for lunch. I didn’t understand why that space didn’t deserve a beautiful environment. It was bad hippie-dippy, and it was almost dirty.” Now, the Gracias Madre healthy Mexican concept with a killer patio for imbibing tequila has expanded to Newport Beach and Café Gratitude can be found in Venice, the Arts District and San Diego. The Beverly Hills location on Canon Drive has a new chef, menu, and a serious cocktail program. “One of the best things here, which is really underrated, is our beverage program. We have artisanal vodka drinks and a full bar. People don’t associate Gratitude with cocktails. I get it if you want a plant-based, easy night you’re not going in for a martini.” But you should reconsider the open-patio dining room and ample bar when thinking of a local, fun night out or romantic rendezvous. Chef Mario Alberto – who has worked with Ricardo Zarate, Josef Centeno and Jeremy Fox to name a few – has come up with dishes that according to Bonbright, “People are going nuts for, like the chickpea stew with coconut.”

Bonbright is also welcoming to others in the marketplace that have followed in her footsteps. “I absolutely love it. The intention was for people to get healthy and think about the food they are putting in their body and what they are eating, and I just think it’s good for the planet. We started a category, like Starbucks started a coffee. I welcome as many plant-based restaurants coming on as possible. I think it’s great that Craig’s has a plant-based menu. If you do want to go out and somebody wants a piece of meat, you have options now.” 

But for all of the benefits, Bonbright has a confession. “I’m going to come clean. I’m not 100 percent plant based. I weave it into my diet about 80 percent. I believe everybody’s body needs everything in moderation at some level. I prefer plant-based but every once in a while, l have fresh-caught fish and my body loves it. I really believe you should weave that into your lifestyle. It’s so healthy for your body to not have processed foods that are hard work for your body. When I eat plant based, I feel skinny, clear and healthy, not lethargic. It works for me and my lifestyle.” 

As for the inspirational trips to Kauai,”I think it’s the mecca for a healthy organic lifestyle. My husband and I come for about five days every few months. When I come back [to L.A.] I’m unstoppable. I feel so good. It’s going to add years to my life.”

In the case of Nic Adler, founder of newer concepts Nic’s on Beverly and Monty’s Good Burger, the restauranteur has been plant- based for the past 20 years. The son of famed music producer and Roxy co-owner Lou Adler and actress Britt Ekland decided to give the lifestyle a try when a good friend was diagnosed with a case of gout and under doctor’s orders to go on a plant-based diet. “After two weeks he was better and headed to Pink’s hotdogs, but I felt so good, I wanted to explore further,” Adler told the Courier. People warned him of the limited options, but Adler found the opposite to be true. “Everything opened up to me. I wasn’t just eating rice but quinoa and hundreds of types of beans. I was going to the vegetable aisle or farmers markets and not just buying, carrots, celery, and onions. I love to cook and that was a huge part of it.”

Adler’s first foray into the restaurant business was back in 1994 with a Jamaican sports bar on Melrose called Creek Alley where jerk chicken was a menu staple and he was eating about two chicken breasts per day. “I didn’t make the animal connection right away, but something triggered me that it wasn’t right. I can’t be putting all of this into my body. I was not thinking, just working really hard and having kitchen staff meals – you’re just throwing it down. When I started running some numbers, it freaked me out.” 

Now Adler is not only a restauranteur of plant-based concepts, but the VP of regional festivals (which consists of overseeing and producing about 14 festivals per year), and the culinary director for the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, along with Stagecoach. “When I started at Coachella there was one vegan vendor for 80,000 people,” he recalled. “Last year over 30 percent of the vendors were plant-based. From pizza to burgers and ice-cream, we inserted it where we could. As long as it’s hot, crunchy, you have something to dip into, it works.” 

As for his Beverly Boulevard restaurant Nic’s which he opened with restauranteur Stephane Bombet who has overseen the restaurant’s other incarnations The Ponte and Terrine, Adler describes the food as “selfishly nostalgic.” Dishes were inspired from his childhood growing up in L.A. and going to family meals in all the great restaurants. 

For example, the avocado crisp rice would be a play on the Nobu dish with tuna on top. “I like to transport people with food,” said Adler. “There is so much emotion in food. I remember going out to dinner with my Dad. Food is not just taste but it’s visual and smell. To be able to recreate those moments was a big part of Nic’s. We [along with Culinary Director Steven Fretz and Executive Chef Ryan Foley] are experimenting with things that are familiar, and it makes it easier to transition.”

Other classic L.A. dishes come from a mix of the Chin-Chin chicken salad and the Chinois on Beverly salad – a riff on Wolfgang Puck’s salad from his Main Street eatery in Santa Monica. “Our gnocchetti with house made almond ricotta with nut parmesan on-top has a nice crunchy feel. That [dish] with a nice glass of wine, you’d have no reason to think other than this was beautiful food,” said Adler. 

Adler loves going to restaurants and has spent 20 years dining around the world. “There was a disconnect but what drove the food to change is that the dining experience had changed. It wasn’t acceptable just to walk up to a counter and order some fried fake food and go. We are looking to entertain,” he said. 

“This is an amazing time with the explosion of plant-based the past few years. If we want to feel healthy, we go there. If we are dining with vegans, we go there, but eventually, we should just go there,” said Adler. 

“Cal [Ronnen] at Crossroads [on Melrose] really showed that you could finally walk into a place and not know where you were,” recalls Nic. “This is where we are as a society and enough people are living their lives this way. All of them were ahead of their time. I got to see these restaurants [Café Gratitude, Gracias Madre, Sage] pave the way. I was going out and substituting for potato and salad. I just wanted to be in the dining experience. There are a lot of closet vegans now coming out – it’s almost a badge of honor. You’re thinking what effect it has on me, animals, the plant. It’s an action that we can take in something that we do every day. Switching to a plant-based diet is really in front of everybody where driving an electric car might not be.” 

Other exciting new vegan concepts in town include Fresh near buzzy Sunset Plaza. This is the first U.S. location for the Canadian plant-based restaurant by founder Ruth Tal who has partnered with Shereen Arazm, co-owner of popular staple Terroni L.A. and “Top Chef Canada” judge, to bring their concept to the west coast. It could be the location, but Fresh feels more like a bar- club but with healthy food. Popular items include the Powerhouse Bowl with avocado, chickpeas, tofu steaks, microgreens, toasted mixed nuts and spicy tahini sauce, to the onion rings with breadcrumbs and puffed quinoa. As for tipples, the Julia Caesar with Corbin Cash sweet potato vodka, vegan clamato, crispy cauliflower garnish and a wild salt rim seems to go with everything on the menu, including people watching. 

Just a few blocks away, the luxe West Hollywood, EDITION has opened their flagship restaurant Ardor with Michelin-starred chef and west coast native, John Fraser. The verdant décor offers three distinct dining experiences with indoor and outdoor spaces plus cozy nooks for privacy. Ardor shines a spotlight on vegetable forward, modern Californian cuisine in one of the top new hotels to open this past decade. 

Recognized as one of the best vegetable chefs in the world, if it was up to Fraser, the whole menu would have focused on veggies but “We are in a hotel, so you need to have more options for guests,” he told the Courier. With that being said, his light as air milk bread with beefsteak tomatoes and raw cauliflower cacio e pepe with ancient grains and pomegranate are revelations. 

The kitchen’s approach to fresh ingredients can also be found in the chef-driven cocktail offering using clarified juices and color identification such as the Amber with rye, toasted fennel, bergamot and avocado salt, perfect for sipping on the bucolic garden patio which seems a world-away from the chaos of Sunset Boulevard and the line of people waiting to get a table. 

The post Alluring, Plant Based Restaurants are on the Rise appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Surrounded by walls of top vintages, Heritage serves food such as escargot, quiche and charcuterie, and its rooftop has become one of the top spots in town for local agencies and law firms to throw parities. Heritage’s French owner Jordane Andrieu, is the consummate host, with a signature style that includes bouncy long hair and suits with a silk hankerchief for that Continental flair. 

After moving to California to break from his family winery in Burgundy over seven years ago, he told the Courier that he “wanted to export my passion about wine. I wanted to do my own thing and Los Angeles was the best option.” 

The decision was three-fold for the wine connoisseur. “It was the best of my three worlds in France which is my hometown of Paris. [L.A.] It’s like a big city here very active and social. I have a house in Provence where I like to spend time and the weather here and beach reminds me of that quality of life. The proximity of all the wines in Santa Barbara, the hills, the nature, the hikes, or biking, that is my Burgundy world.” 

“This was the best place that I could see myself for a longtime, establish my business, export my knowledge and do what I love talking about wine and doing a business where I can really convert people to fine wines,” he added. 

Andrieu was originally looking for a location in West Hollywood but was surprised by the space on Canon Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard. After meeting with the City of Beverly Hills (who owns the building), and presenting a business plan, he was in. “We are very different than what you would find in Beverly Hills,” he said. “You have classic places that have been here for ages, but clients tell me that we are like the Silver Lake of Beverly Hills. We bring a young, hipster, and friendly vibe. People come in here and end up knowing everyone in the restaurant before they leave and they keep coming back. This place is like my second, no first, home since I spend much more time here. I like having the lounge, restaurant and bar and now we are developing a veranda on the other side of the front window.” 

A year and a half ago, Andrieu entered a fruitful partnership with John Legend and French-born, Napa-based, Jean-Charles Boisset. “We created the JCB and John Legend Lounge. It’s the black area in the back of the restaurant where we have his piano. He will come to do meetings or just have fun. Sometimes he will play – and we have all his wines from Napa and Provence [in the room]. He really creates a blend, chooses the vineyard and is very involved in making a wine that represents himself. His wines are young, vibrant, round and lively. A lovely, cozy type of wine.” 

The selection at Heritage is very exclusive but has evolved from the old world into the new. “In the beginning, I was importing a lot of different wines from France and I always take biodynamic or natural wines with low sulfites. That is our selection here. No headache, guaranteed. I attach a big thing about selling a wine that is responsible. This is the mentality here. By changing the way of consuming, you encourage the producer to go organically. It’s not only a trend but it’s changing the ideas that we can make wine without using heavy chemicals that go into the soil.” 

“When you are a winemaker and you handle the vines, you understand how important it is to take care of your vines and your land as much as your children and family. It’s not just for a few years but for a lifetime. You are not going to feed them bad things full of chemicals. I’m proud that in Burgundy, it’s one of the highest rated organic wineries. It’s like a family of farmers who are so passionate about what they do.” 

Jordane’s Holiday Champagne List and Tasting Notes 

Taittinger Brut La Française $60 

This is our best seller and I always serve it. It’s important to note that Tattinger is the name of the owner and it has not changed. This is their entry level bottle. Aged for four years on lees (the dead yeast cells and other particles remaining in a wine after fermentation.) They only use the first press of the grapes (some go up to three.) Fine bubbles are a key element with great fizziness. Chardonnay driven Champagne with freshness and it’s so vibrant. It’s elegant, crisp and feminine. I really like that in a champagne. For me, there is no better Champagne. 

Jingle Bubbles by John Legend $75 

Sparkling wine not made in Champagne but it’s a really good quality [bottle] from California. Blanc de Blanc made with only chardonnay grapes. Not too sweet. Fine bubbles. 

Billecard-Salmon Rosé $90 

A classic with consistent quality for $90. Blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay made in Champagne by a family owned vineyard – not a corporation. Recognized as one of the best in the business. You will find this on all gastronomic fine tables. 

Champagne Gala 2008 $95 

Also by, JCB, this is a good representative of high-quality champagne without the high price. Great packaging and a good one to bring for a holiday celebration. 

Champagne Lallier Grand Cru 2002, Late Disgorged $120 

This is a hidden gem. The price for the quality is really good. 2002 is among the best vintages for Champagne in the past 2-3 decades. Amazing elegance and finesse. Not heavy yet complex. Vibrant and unique. The magic of this Champagne is it’s almost 55 percent pinot noir, 45 percent chardonnay. It’s been aged 60 months on lees (equal to almost 14 years/168 months). They keep the wine in the cellar to gain complexity. For the finest champagne you need to wait and be patient. They do it for the beauty of making wine. 

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2007 $175 

Aged for almost 10 years, fine bubbles, only chardonnay. One of the finest blanc de blanc you will find in Champagne. Constant quality through the vintages. Very bright, elegant and feminine. Beautiful gift box one of our best sellers – especially for the holidays. At $175. you can compare this to Dom Perignon. I have a great relationship with the family, so when I drink this, I think about the good times that I have had with Clovis [Taittinger], like going fishing. 

Heritage Storage Tips for the perfect bottle you have just been gifted: 

The biggest mistake people make when receiving a nice bottle is putting the Champagne on (or over) the fireplace chimney and it gets cooked and destroyed. Or, its left on the display shelf since it’s a beautiful bottle but it attracts the light, heat and cold. So, when you open it a year later, it doesn’t taste the same. It always needs to be stored in a dark space that has no temperature change. If you don’t have a wine cooler or cellar, store it on the bottom of your pantry on its side. 

Héritage Fine Wines 

467 N. Canon Dr. 310-888-8042

www.heritagebeverlyhills.com 

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$100 Eggs Brunch at Montage 

The Summer of Ludo and Gilles might be long-gone but Gilles remains as the chef on the main ground-floor dining room at the Montage. On your next weekend visit take the elevator up to the 9th floor to The Rooftop Grill. Not only will you have an amazing alfresco view of the Beverly Hills and the city, but they now feature a fantastic brunch on Saturday and Sunday. 

Amid the waffles, chopped salad, and impossible vegan burger, they also have a special $100 Eggs Benjamin. This is a take on a tried and true classic, Eggs Benedict, but with a decadent twist of two Veuve Champagne poached eggs with butter-poached lobster, topped with caviar, all perched atop parmesan potato hash rounds. The perfect pairing is, of course, a Veuve Clicquot mimosa. Or, add a fresh press berry juice, chia fresca or charcoal lemonade to shake up the classic brunch cocktail. 

Truffle & Caviar Martini at Mastro’s Penthouse 

Mastro’s is known for great steaks spanning over the two-floor restaurant and bar-lounge with plenty of wine bottles lining the private rooms. They now have an exclusive third floor accessible by a separate outside elevator. What you will find in this cream-colored modern oasis is another private space, aptly called the Canon Room, overlooking the famous shops and Montage hotel. Here you can have an Oscar viewing party on the large screen and also take advantage of the outdoor patio space. There is also a main dining floor with a small corner bar and a live piano player. 

A few menu items are also exclusive to this top floor including the $50 shaved black truffle and Petrossian caviar martini, “The Baller,” made with gin by JBC of Napa fame. Other dishes include charred Spanish octopus, crispy duck, charred cauliflower carbonara, squid ink pasta, and a sizzling stone delivered to the table where you can cook Japanese A5 Wagyu beef to perfection. 

Secret Caviar & French Menu at Viceroy 

It might seem obvious but Avec Nous at the Viceroy L’Ermitage is a French restaurant. However, it’s known for modern, lighter Mediterranean fare and not traditional Galic comfort food. Until now. Chef Nicholas Loncar makes caramelized onion soup smothered in gruyere cheese, Lyonnaise salad with crispy lardons, escargot swimming in garlic butter, and even a Paris Brest for dessert. If you crave more, there is also a ‘secret’ caviar pairing of 15g Regiis Ova Osetra served with 375ml bottle Ruinart Blanc de Blanc – a great price at $120, and from Thomas Keller’s caviar company no less. 

Truffle Tasting Menu at Beverly Hilton 

There is a new Executive Chef, Giovanni DeStasio, who hails from Sicily at signature CIRCA 55 by the pool of the Beverly Hilton hotel. Chef Giovanni is wasting no time in introducing a new 100 percent Italian menu, full of authentic, classic favorites made with high-quality seasonal ingredients. You can now expect everything from delicious squid-ink linguine with sea urchins and red prawns, to homemade gnocchi with bottarga and butter sauce. Also, in celebration of truffle season, there is a new white truffle menu for the remainder of the month. This will be the first of many seasonal menus which Chef Giovanni will roll out throughout the year, tapping into each season’s freshest and most covetable ingredients. 

Longevity Dish by Jean-Georges at the Waldorf 

You might know that French-born chef Jean George Vongerichten holds several Michelin honors for his illustrious international career spanning 36 restaurants. What you might not know, is the chef also spent a good part of his early career cooking in Asia and still has a passion for the flavors of the Far East. As a 23-year-old, he spent five years between Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and The Oriental hotel in Bangkok. The life-changing experience awakened the French chef’s palate and ginger became one of his favorite ingredients. 

Available only during the winter and holiday season at Jean-Georges Beverly Hills at the Waldorf Astoria, the Longevity Noodles ($64) are comprised of glazed Maine lobster, pea shoots, green chili, ginger with white or black truffle shaved over the dish. So, a little bit of indulgence with healthy ingredients. 

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BHC: What has been the most interesting experience or destination from your new show “Field Trip”? 

CURTIS STONE: I keep thinking about my visit to Cullen Wines in the Margaret River region of Australia. Winemaker Vanya Cullen runs a biodynamic winery that takes a holistic approach to winemaking involving a process of enriching the soil and closely following the lunar cycle. She meticulously makes nutrient-rich preparations (preparation 500 and preparation 501) that she puts in the soil for the grapes involving cow horns and cow manure from pregnant cows. The preparations are buried during the winter solstice and changing moon cycles facilitate growth and the development of the grapes to create extraordinarily unique wines. 

How do you decide which wine regions to visit each year for your menus at Maude, and now your show? 

For choosing regions, the team and I have an open discussion about where we want to explore. Our executive chef Chris Flint and I think about the seasonal specialties of the different regions when we’re building out our menu calendar. Traditional regions like Sonoma or Tuscany might be more familiar to people, but we always seek to highlight new and upcoming practices and producers that keep those regions innovative and compelling. On the other hand, a lot of the Australian regions are totally unfamiliar to guests, so we have an opportunity to introduce people to that corner of the globe and also a responsibility to capture the heart and spirit of the region. The possibilities, though, are endless and we hope to look to Chile, Argentina, and Rhone for inspiration in the future. 

Who and what do you always take with you on the road? 

When I’m traveling for Maude, my team always comes with me. Of course, who joins me for each trip depends on scheduling and such, but I think it’s important to have everyone’s different expertise and curiosities so we can learn the most from each region. 

Why did you decide to make this switch at Maude away from a new ingredient every month? 

As you can probably imagine, there was an inherent challenge in changing an entire menu every month. And, because you’re changing over at such a high frequency, we were always conscious that at a certain point we were going to run out of options and have to repeat ingredients. We wanted to maintain an element of surprise and innovation, which was a huge part of the switch to a regional focus. There was also a challenge in coming up with the wine pairings for each ingredient menu and keeping them compelling. The quarterly change is more manageable for the team, but it also gives us more time to invest in menu development. We can spend more time in the planning process and really connect with the region to produce a menu that captures a sense of place. Our goal is to translate the incredibly personal and educational experiences we have on our research and development trips into spectacular dishes that transport our guests to regions around the world within the confines of our tiny 24-seat restaurant. 

What was the biggest challenge in coming up with the current truffle laden Tuscan menu? 

I’m personally such a truffle fan so it’s been really exciting to work with Maude 

executive chef Chris Flint to incorporate them into our current Tuscany tasting menu. They’re in season for such a limited window, and because they are so coveted and sought after, I think it can be tempting to pile truffles on everything. We aim to harness their intense umami and fragrance in a way that allows them to shine while also enhancing the overall dish. 

Can you tell us anything about your new concept in downtown L.A.? 

We’re still finalizing plans there, but we’re very excited to be opening in the Trust Building and joining the downtown culinary scene. There’s so much happening culturally in the area and it’s cool to be part of the next era of this historic building. 

You worked at London institutions Mirabelle and Quo Vadis when you were first starting out. What was the most valuable thing you learned from legendary chef-owner Marco Pierre White? 

I was in my early 20s when I first walked in the door of Marco’s kitchen. It was a total culture shock to come into a kitchen where everyone was speaking French and working with ingredients I hadn’t worked within Australia. Marco had such high standards and it really motivated me to do more, to do better. I still carry that with me. That pursuit of excellence has been so foundational to my growth as a chef and as a person. 

How was the collaboration dinner with Thomas Keller this week at Gwen? 

The French Laundry was on my bucket list when I came to America and my mind was blown when I dined there. The restaurant is celebrating a milestone silver anniversary this year, and the food and service is just as incredible now as it was then. I became involved with Ment’or when I was invited to judge the Commis Competition and was inspired by the talent and drive of those young chefs, and I will do my part to support Team USA. Having Thomas at Gwen was an honor and surreal for our entire team. Thomas not only leads in his kitchens but in the industry, guiding a new generation of chefs to be better than we were. Our menu that evening was a hat tip to classic Paul Bocuse. I hope we did him and Thomas proud. 

What is your favorite thing to make at home with your family? 

On weekends, there’s nothing better than a slow morning making pancakes with the boys in our pajamas. 

Any favorite sweets for your children over the holidays? 

As a kid, I would always make Yorkshire fudge with my granny Maude — my restaurant’s namesake. I’ve tried to pass that on to the boys, but I think they enjoy the eating part of it more than the actual fudge-making process. 

What are some of your favorite spots in Beverly Hills when you’re not working? Chaumont Bakery and Café is located way too close to comfort to Maude and I can never turn down one of their French pastries. I’m also a huge fan of the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. In fact, the upstairs wine loft at Maude [1801] is inspired by the owner Norbert’s hidden tasting room. 

The post On the Move with Chef Curtis Stone of Maude in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

CALABRA AND ONDA AT THE PROPER HOTEL 

The Proper hotel designed by Kelly Wearstler continues its culinary roll-out that started with Palma lobby lounge and a rooftop Mediterranean stunner that is packed nightly for mezze with grilled laffa bread and sunset cocktail views. While both are certainly a draw to the area, the ground floor restaurant, Onda by local favorite Jessica Koslow of Sqril and Gabriela Cámara from Contramar in 

Mexico City was the most highly anticipated opening of the year. “We are breaking down borders,” says Koslow about the unusual pairings. To that end, expect an al pastor turkey quesadilla stuffed with mushrooms, crispy pig ear salad and “fish hiding in kelp” constructed like a fritto misto with corn masa-battered anchovies. 

PASJOLI 

James Beard and Michelin-Award-Winning chef David Beran is a veteran of Alinea in Chicago and upscale 18-seat Dialog in the unlikely promenade food court location. His latest feat was opening a stunning French restaurant on Main Street that will save you a trip to Paris. While this spot is considerably less expensive than his previous tasting menus, Beran is still full of surprises. The most talked-about dish of the year has been the tableside pressed duck ($150 for two) using a method that originated in the 1800s. We won’t spoil the surprise but this process was created to showcase the freshness of the birds after the hunt while savoring all the juices – and is not for the faint of heart. The rich meal comes with Gruyère gratin potatoes that marry well with the sliced duck breast, red-wine based sauce and confit salad (made from the legs). 

FIA 

The talents of Michelin-starred Executive Chef Brendan Collins (who was behind the stove at the former Wilshire space) are back and paired with the ‘Godfather of Cocktails,’ Vincenzo Marianella. The signature 7-day beef shank remains on the menu but other standouts include Mary’s organic parmesan chicken or grilled corn with truffled mascarpone. The patio is a great spot for a weekend brunch or a romantic candlelit dinner. 

BIRDIE G’S 

Jeremy Fox of Rustic Canyon Group has opened his latest spot near the Bergamot Station entrance and it couldn’t be more of a welcome addition to the warehouse-size art galleries. The American family-style menu ranges from Texas toast with chicken liver to matzo ball soup, noodle kugel, corned brisket, and larger format blue plate nightly specials. 

MASON 

The h.wood Group of West Hollywood hotspots The Nice Guy and Delilah, to name a few, have opened a chic little supper club in the canyon. The space is romantic from the tiny front bar to the private back room with an air of secrecy. Order “Lew’s chili” which is a riff on the classic Chasen’s version, pigs-in-a-blanket with wagyu hot dogs, and a “3 martini lunch” cocktail for a throw-back meal worthy of the Rat Pack era. If you order a steak, consult manager and wine director Alexander Weil, who worked at Bouchon in Beverly Hills. Christian Navarro at Wally’s taught him when perusing a new list that “you can’t go wrong with Central Valley or Justin Wines.” 

Coming Soon: 

SOCALO 

Beloved celebrity duo Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken (aka The Two Hot Tamales) are back after closing Border Gill on 4th street a few years ago. They moved into a corner building on Santa Monica Boulevard. and 20th that was formerly occupied by an all- day diner owned by the late-great chef Joe Miller. On this hallowed ground, expect to see their classic south of the border dishes return with a few new twists. 

Also coming soon, Michelin-starred chef Josiah Citron’s revamp of beloved fine-dining venue Melisse, to a more casual and approachable menu with a new bar. Until then, try his retro project with Hans Rockenwagner, Dear John in Culver City, for steaks, spaghetti with clams and tableside Caesar salad for two. 

CLIFF DIVER, MALIBU 

If you are captivated by the salty air and a coastal drive over the long weekend, head to the recently opened Mexican-seafood spot Cliffdiver on PCH. Here you will find fresh ceviche and octopus tostadas along with a top-shelf mezcal Negroni in a warm and cozy hacienda environment. 

The post Santa Monica is L.A.’s New Culinary Hot Spot appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Established in 1945 on Beverly Drive, the beloved Nate’n Al Delicatessen will be moving to the former Wolfgang’s Steakhouse space at 443 N. Canon Dr. and re-opening in 2020 with an added “s” in its name. 

“I finally just decided to add the ‘s’ to make it Nate’n Al’s, because it is Nate’n Al’s to everybody I know,” said Shelli Azoff, who 

together with her husband Irving bought the restaurant from the Mendelson family earlier this year. 

At the Nov. 20 meeting, the Commission approved facade modifications with an outdoor dining area, in addition to discussing the business identification sign. Azoff told the Courier she hopes to open the new Nate’n Al’s next June. Further, she is hoping to open in the new location as swiftly as possible after next year closing the original location on Beverly Drive in order for the staff to seamlessly transition. 

“While we are keeping the tradition and what it is, we’re going to also add,” she said. 

“I’m such a believer in the old school and the comfort, but we are also trying to adapt to what people want now.” 

Among those adaptations will be the addition of gluten free and vegan elements to the menu. However, don’t expect the “energetic, comfortable neighborhood feel” to go away – that’s one element the Azoffs are determined to maintain. 

The Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura plans to open in the luxury boutique at 338 N. Rodeo Dr. early next year and will be the second such restaurant for Gucci. The first Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura opened in 2018 in Florence and just received its first Michelin Star for the 2020 Italian Michelin Guide. 

The Commission stopped short of approving Gucci’s request for a revised business identification sign and construction barricade style graphic, instead giving its conditional approval pending Gucci returning to the City’s urban designer, Mark Odell, for final review and approval. 

“I’m not really comfortable with the fact that you constantly change the barricade graphics,” said Architectural Commission Chair Sharon Persovski, who estimated that Gucci had been before the Commission eight times to make a change. “Even if it’s temporary, it will still create an impact.” 

The planned construction barricade will be fuchsia-toned and spotlight the coming Osteria. 

“It’s attention grabbing,” opined Architectural Commission Vice Chair Sheri Hirschfeld. 

The post Re-established Nate’n Al’s and Gucci Osteria Edge Closer to Opening in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The L.A.-based Drago brothers are Celestino, Giacomino, Tanino, and Calogero. While they all travel to the beat of their own drum, they have one thing in common, besides an unwavering loyalty to family and each other. That is, their love of simple food with the best ingredients, which is one of the main reasons they have been so successful as a group for decades. 

Navigating the four prosperous corners of the business from Beverly Hills to Pasadena, Hollywood, and downtown, all roads seem to lead to their Beverly HIlls flagships, Via Alloro and Il Pastaio on Canon Drive and their office on Beverly Drive. “Everything is there in Beverly Hills,” says Celestino. “You have to be careful because you go to spend one hour and get sucked in until 3 or 4 p.m.” 

Another Drago hub is at the famous Petersen Automotive Museum where they have a catering facility and full-service restaurant. If you drop by to check out the Bugatti cars on the ground level, you also might catch Giacomino carrying in a bag of passion fruit from his tree at home to experiment in the kitchen or a few of the brothers having a playful rare lunch on the patio bantering over pizza. “In Sicily pizza is a cracker,” declares Giacomino while eating one of Calogero’s favorite pies with tomato, anchovy and black olive while he swipes his older brother’s phone to flip through the pictures from a recent trip home. “You don’t have to think, just eat!” chides Calogero. One thing is for certain, you will want a seat at this table. 

Growing up on a farm in Messina, Sicily with a total of eight siblings, they all learned at an early age how to grow their own produce, milk cows to make ricotta, and cook with their beloved mama, whom they have immortalized with their signature extra virgin olive oil called “Mama Drago.” 

Celestino is the oldest and caretaker of the brood and has been in Los Angeles for the longest. His namesake Drago restaurant in downtown L.A. just celebrated a 10 year anniversary, but don’t underestimate the baby of the brood, Giacomino. His tenacity and drive for the business actually landed this Italian chef two Japanese sushi restaurants – one in Beverly Glen and one in Beverly Hills. 

Tanino is a bit of a prankster with a passion for all things fungi and Calogero has a playful nature but has built a serious Sicilian wine list. They are equally hard working and talented at running parts of the family businesses. 

The Courier sat down with each of the brothers to discuss the Drago formula for success. 

Celestino:
Oldest brother
First to came to L.A. in 1979
Longest running restaurant: Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills for 26 years, followed by Celestino in Pasadena 23 years, Drago 10 years. 

How have you seen the industry change over the years? 

It’s getting harder and it’s not the way it used to be. The biggest problem in general is the employees. There is not the passion and love we don’t see that anymore. You see some individuals, but before everyone wanted to work and give the time. It was very nice to teach people and open your home. 

Now they all want to be stars overnight? 

Yes, ‘I did my two years at chef school.’ They think they will come out here and make $100,000 a year right away and it doesn’t work like that. You need passion, love and understanding it’s the hospitality business with respect to the ingredients. If you don’t have the passion or love for the food you won’t get anywhere. The drive is very important, but I don’t see it that much anymore. It’s a smaller group. 

With 12 restaurants between the brothers, the employees, we are all like a family. Some have worked with us for 25, 35 years. We have had kids in the kitchen and they really want to learn and work. Some have their own restaurants now. Arturo has been our pasta guy 35 years and he’s part of the family. 

But at least the ingredients are better now? 

I remember I used to make risotto with different rice because there was no Arborio. Radicchio? They didn’t even know what it was. I remember once we got a case and it was like gold. I also had a farmer taking the seeds to plant wide arugula, eggplant and tomatoes and basil. 

After October there was no more fresh basil. We started to dehydrate and freeze or make a pesto. We put olives inside to save it. It drove me crazy since I grew up on a farm. So, I was growing basil in my apartment in Westwood on the balcony. It was nice to see by 1983 there were over 30 different kinds of basil growing in California. I was pushing and pushing for ingredients and talked to farmers to tell them what we needed. In a short period of time we were able to get so much stuff. 

You even starting working with your own farm in Santa Barbara. What do you grow there? 

About five years ago, I started working with a farm in Santa Barbara – with a guy who makes wine in Buellton. The climate is great. We mostly grow tomato, but a little of everything. Eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini flowers. All the herbs and beets, radish, broccolini, swiss chard. From spring and summer to early fall we supply all of the restaurants. We grew up with that.

Calogero:
Second brother to come to L.A. in 1985. Fourth child of eight
22 years at Celestino in Pasadena 

Your brothers say you are the best cook. What are you most passionate about in the kitchen? 

I’m a very simple guy. I like the simple seasonal simple stuff. A nice piece of fish grilled with a touch of oil and lemon and a beautiful vegetable. I love pasta. You can make 10 different types. Traditional spaghetti, basil with garlic and olive oil. This is my type of sauce. Then it depends on the weather. Maybe a spicy arrabiata sauce. I go with the flow. I don’t make a plan for what I’m going to eat tomorrow. I go to the market and see the eggplant. What can I do? I made an eggplant soup. I never thought that people would love it. 

Tell us about your childhood: 

We are a big family with eight kids and no restaurant in town. My mom, my aunt, my grandma, we would bring stuff from the garden and the farm. I love this. 

Celestino one day told me to go to restaurant school. Simplicity is good. Use the best ingredients. Olive oil and tomato, I love it. 

Tanino:
Fourth brother to come to the U.S. in 1990.
Fifth child.
Mostly at Villa Alloro and Petersen Automotive Museum 

Tell us about your day-to-day with the busy event space? 

Doing events is different than running a restaurant. Celestino and I have been doing events and running a restaurant for 25 years but we have a structure of doing it and being in the place where we can do continental cuisine too. We have all types of food. We can do a taco station, dim sum, mac-n-cheese. I’ve cooked Italian food since I was 13 years old. I didn’t want to go to school. 

What are you most proud of? 

Coming over here and learning everything from my brother Celestino – I still do! He was one of the best things that happened to me. Seventy percent of the structure comes from mom and home and the way we grew up. The farm, the chores, the cooking. Making bread twice a day, planting the tomato. The last 15 years everyone is talking about organic, but we grew up with that. 

Giacomino:
Youngest, baby of the family.
Third brother to come over in 1989. Based at Il Pastaio (26 years) and Villa Alloro, Il Piccolino. 

Which restaurant is your favorite to spend time? 

I wing it. There is no favorite just like children. You love them all but each one has its own character and mood. You go to that place and you have to give what is needed. What works here at Petersen might not work at Villa Alloro. Beverly Hills is home for the business and me. I go to Il Pastaio, then Via Alloro and Il Piccolo Paradiso. There are four in Beverly Hills within walking distance. Then I come to Petersen but I don’t plan my day. 

Petersen has a bigger kitchen and lot more room in the dining room with a different personality. I would like to have nine restaurants that would all be like Il Pastaio. It’s like when you have a friend that’s spectacular– I want to have them all like that. 

How did the sushi restaurants come about? 

I love the Beverly Glen Center neighborhood and ran into so many guests there. I wanted to open but the landlord had a no compete – and they already had two Italian restaurants. I kept insisting. He had a Japanese restaurant opening and called to see if I wanted to do it. I hired a Japanese chef and manager and have been there for 15 years. The culture is what we offer. The food is Japanese but I added Sicilian sea salt, lemons, capers and told them to play with it. They do an uni risotto with a yuzu zest and it’s very good. The chef from there worked for nine years and then we moved him down to Beverly Hills to open Yojisan six years ago. 

The post Family Affair: The Drago Dining Dynasty appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

If you have spent any time dining in the Beverly Hills area, you will know that Crustacean has become a local institution. Founder and Chef Helene (Mama) An is often referred to as the “mother of fusion cuisine” and her signature garlic noodles are a favorite dish of everyone from George Clooney to Leonardo DiCaprio. 

The brand-new concept Da Lat Rose has actually been a passion project of the seasoned chef for quite some time but this new culinary experience is not another multi-course tasting menu. This is a gastronomic-biography of Chef An’s dramatic life events as a Vietnamese refugee to her rise in the California culinary world. 

“When I came to America, I never thought I could open a restaurant like this,” Chef An told the Courier. “For the past few years I thought a lot about future generations and my grandchildren. This is for them and to share our culture with our guests over the years. Now that I think the public is ready, I want to share my dream. My family and I want to do something that honors what we went through to get here and encourage others to tell their stories.” 

Located via a private side entrance, upon reaching the top of the stairs above her famed Crustacean restaurant, the bar area is like entering a secret drinking den off the Old Quarter in Hanoi and not off Bedford Drive. 

The bar name pays homage to Vietnam’s traditional neighborhood beer hubs called Bia Hoi. Even the chic décor was sourced in Vietnam such as the tables inspired by street food vendors with hidden drawers that hold the venue’s signature micro-brew beer and beer-based bottles cocktails. The snacks in this section feature grilled razor clams, bamboo rice and spot prawns that you dip into a candle that is actually lemongrass garlic butter with bird eye chili salt – just be careful of the burning wick. Different authentically crafted drinks are also presented such as the Limeade with a rice vodka concoction served in a plastic bag with a straw.

While Crustacean has long been held in high regard as the pinnacle of Vietnamese fusion, the chef’s beginnings were fraught with struggles after being born into an aristocratic family just outside of Hanoi. The menu and sequence of dishes starts with her birth in 1944, and course-by- course you will take a historic tour of how Vietnamese people were affected by World War II, the Rise of Communism and the Vietnam War, and ultimately ending up as refugees in America. 

While the subject matter might be serious, the environment in the lounge is social and buzzy with historic images projected in black and white just over the bar that is meant to set up the anticipation for the next stop “down the street” for dinner. 

Once the more casual portion of your evening is complete, you will be led by a host over a special air bridge to enter the elegant main dining room that seats 40. Custom built rickshaw-inspired carts are attached to dining tables and conical (Asian rice) hat is also part of the décor. 

The 12-course tasting menu features those famous garlic noodles but now they are topped with Santa Barbara sea urchin and a 24k gold leaf called “The American Dream.” Yes, the food is incredible but each dish represents a different stage of Chef An’s life and her rags to riches ascent in America. The presentation and detail in each serving vessel is extraordinary such as the hand-carved custom wood statue holding a single bite of King crab topped with Royal Keluga caviar called “The Union” which represents the chef’s marriage. 

As for Chef An’s favorite dish, “Of course the garlic noodles because it means so much to mine and my family’s survival. But on this menu, I really like the Pork Cheek Tit Kho. Tit Kho is a traditional, humbled, home celebration dish for my family so [Executive] Chef Tony and I collaborated on this to make something truly unique.” 

This is one of the most interesting and inspiring experiences happening in Los Angeles at the moment and not just for the food. For each course, your servers will honor the Vietnamese tradition of storytelling with an oral introduction on the background and inspiration for the dish. 

“This project is so personal because we crafted everything to be symbolic of the journey,” she said. “While it is my 

gastro-biography, it truly represents so much more of the life, art and culture from my homeland. It shares the stories of other people who also went through what I did and celebrates what they brought to this country. All of the elements of the restaurant from the design to the dishes to the cocktail all tell the story and we are all very excited for people to come along on this journey with us.” 

As a young girl, Helene An and her family were forced to evacuate Hanoi and lived as peasant farmers, until the French helped them back to royalty status. When she was 11-years-of-age, the Communists took over leading them to seek refuge in Saigon before eventually settling in Da Lat. This is where Helene attended finishing school and mastered French and home-entertaining etiquette; her weekends were spent living with Buddhist monks and learning their cuisine. In the mid-to-late 1950s Helene married a wealthy man and the pair had three daughters – Hannah, Elizabeth, and Monique. The family had three chefs, French, Vietnamese and Chinese, who exposed Helene to their individual cuisines. 

During the Fall of Saigon in 1975, the Ans fled the country and settled in San Francisco – all living together in a one-bedroom apartment above a deli. Within the first year, Helene quickly learned English and received her CPA and was an accountant by day and ran the deli at night. The deli eventually became Thanh Long restaurant where she began to create and perfect the famous Dungeness crab and garlic noddle dishes that would one day be lauded at Crustacean in Beverly Hills. 

Chef An’s story magnifies the plight of Vietnamese-Americans to adapt in their new land and serves as a prism through which the Vietnamese-American Diaspora can be better understood. In her 40-plus-year career, she was first to introduce Vietnamese flavors to mainstream America, forever changing their palates with cuisine that honors both cultures. 

To celebrate her culinary contributions, Chef An was recently presented with the Pioneer Award in Culinary Arts by the Smithsonian Institute in their first- ever Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center celebration. 

Four generations of An women have kept the family business running for over 40 years with Chef An at the helm and her daughter Elizabeth as CEO. With a desire to further Vietnamese traditions and heritage, as well as the Asian Diaspora as a whole as her legacy, Chef An will continue to oversee the culinary direction of the An Family projects and shift her focus to mentoring talented chefs who share her mission. Alongside her granddaughter, the family plans to create a fund to invest in chefs who celebrate ethnicity in America. 

For more information: 

If you would like to experience this incredible evening at Bar Bia Hoi and Da Lat Rose, there will be one seating on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. and two seatings at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The high-end Vietnamese tasting also encompasses an eight-seat chef counter and a private room for 18. The tasting price is $225 per person and opens to the public on Nov. 6, 2019. Longtime Crustacean Executive Chef Tony Nguyen will be taking over the concept after one year and adding his own twists. 

466 N. Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills 310-998-7919 

The post Beverly Hills Staple Crustacean Unveils Da Lat Rose appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Checking out a cannabis cafe for the food is sort of an oxymoron, a bit like reading Playboy for the articles back in the 1970s. What can’t be ignored is this new wave of fancy dispensary lifestyle shops opening in rapid speed along Melrose Avenue. According to the reps for Visit West Hollywood, another handful of these shops and cafes will be opening in the next year. The Courier decided to investigate this historic first foray into smoking weed while you dine. 

A line forms down the block on a Friday by 5 p.m. on an otherwise unremarkable strip of La Brea Boulevard. If you don’t have a reservation, don’t bother. There are plenty of serious consumers here but also a bevy of tourists and looky-loos. That is to be expected with the first legal restaurant where you can eat, drink and smoke weed freely. Even in Amsterdam, most of the historic “brown cafes” were for weed and coffee consumption only. 

This particular café is by Lowell Farms– which is a renowned farm-to-table outfit with a Cordon Blu-trained executive chef, Andrea Drummer, developing the menus, so don’t expect typical stoner food. Chef Drummer is known for pairing different strains of cannabis with flavor profiles. Fans of her hand-crafted THC and CBD infused cuisine include Wiz Khalifa, and Chelsea Handler. 

Helping to bring this experience to life are brothers Mark and Jonnie Houston of Houston Hospitality (No Vacancy, Dirty Laundry) who wanted to create a destination for everyone to openly enjoy cannabis in the community. This is a place for those who are just curious to full-blown connoisseurs looking for a fun venue with a unique atmosphere which the brothers are famous for creating around L.A. and Las Vegas. 

The site is set back behind a fence and you do have a choice of valet but plenty of Ubers are also dropping off customers. Before you even get to the hostess stand, you are stopped to show ID which is entered into the system. 

The smell of smoke is very strong before even entering the space, so keep that in mind if you’re sensitive to the aroma and think it’s all being consumed outside and you might escape it with an indoor table. Not the case. The leafy outdoor patio space is ideal but hard to score a seat. There is also an indoor restaurant and bar but the best option might be sitting along the part of the bar area that has a window partition to the outside. That way you can experience both scenes from one perch. 

Once you settle in here’s how it works: 

You will be handed a food menu by one server who will also take any drink orders (As of press time, they are still waiting for the liquor license.) A separate server will hand you the “flower menu” akin to a sommelier with a wine list but formal pairing menus are not really part of the vibe despite other reports. 

And, don’t think you’re going to save money by not ordering an expensive bottle of Cabernet. There is hash from 710 Labs that includes flavors from blueberry to “notes of strawberry mixed with diesel” and watermelon that run in the $150-180 range. If that seems excessive for a “first timer,” you can also buy a single joint starting at $18.00. There is also a reasonable “Farm Fresh” selection by the gram. 

The two different menus are not just for logistics but a legality. According to the director of the restaurant Kevin Brady (last seen at the TAO Group in Hollywood), “This is per municipal regulations.” 

Servers are extremely gracious and will also guide you through any purchases or decisions from lightweight to full blown intoxication and can go in-depth on stains, flavors and effects. You can consume the products by smoking a joint, pipe, using a bong or taking an edible gummy. 

“They do make recommendations should guests inquire per their cannabis preference and food preferences, but pairings aren’t something currently written down [on the menu],” Brady tells the Courier. 

The atmosphere does invoke camaraderie with strangers or solo visitors as people are passing joints to the next table, “Have you tried this one?” And while, consuming on the premises is the mandatory goal, who’s to stop you from taking an unused edible or unfinished joint home with you? One can imagine a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy might slip by the servers from time to time. 

But back to the food. Yes, there are some munchie items from chips and guacamole which seemed to be on every table, but the best dish from this snack section was the fried mac-n-cheese balls. Many other places serve this as a bar snack. This one was not dried out or soggy but perfectly crisp. 

You won’t find pizza under the main dishes, but there are burgers and even vegan options. The popular crispy fried chicken sandwich was worth trying since it’s trending at many other restaurants in town. There were also a range of salads. According to Brady, “The most popular dishes include vegan nachos, the smash burger, plus the vegan and non-vegan bahn mi.” 

It’s also worth a trip to the bathroom to view the collages with various scenes from movies and celebrities getting high. From a very young Mick Jagger backstage to Sean Penn in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” there were many memorable and probably hysterical images if you have been partaking. 

But what if you’re a non-smoker? There are options to keep you entertained as well. Once the bar is fully functional, there is no reason you can’t go with a mixed group – those who want to get high and the others who just want a decent bite and a glass of wine on a lovely patio setting. This begs the question: will there eventually be “non-smoking areas?” Brady told the Courier, “We will be opening a non-smoking patio later this year for patrons who want to enjoy Chef Drummer’s food without being around cannabis smoke.” 

Clearing up a few common misconceptions: 

-This is not a venue where cannabis is actually in the food you are about to consume. 

-This is not a menu paring type of place. It’s far more casual than that but the servers can make suggestions. 

-This is not a dispensary where you can pick up product to go. 

-This is not somewhere to take the kids. You must be 21 years old to enter, even if you are not smoking.

Location: 

1201 N La Brea Ave., West Hollywood 

LowellCafe.com 

The post Food & Weed: Lowell Farms is America’s first Cannabis Café Is it worth going for the food if you don’t get high? appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

It all started in 1983 when Aviva Covitz began importing chocolates from Switzerland to Beverly Hills. Decades ago, her European chocolate finds were considered exotic. Aviva introduced customers and neighbors to ganaches, gianduja, and pralines. She also added a café and this little corner shop called teuscher became a chic local hang-out. 

Her two sons Marc and Phil Covitz took over the business in 2013, but the doors didn’t open for their new concept, andSons, until 2019. 

The philosophy behind the brand along with the design, packaging, and chocolates themselves is all about bridging the gap between old and new, between a European heritage and the inspiration of a modern Los Angeles. 

andSons is now a second-generation chocolatier formed by two brothers who are proudly carrying on their mother’s tradition but with a few new twists. “This is a big change from what we are doing now with the products and experience,” Phil told the Courier. “Before we didn’t have much say in how things were made or marketed. We wanted to make new products and do collaborations.” 

One new twist and collaboration that is paying off, the best-selling chocolate is now made in-house at a facility downtown in the arts district by a former executive pastry chef from The Bazaar by Jose Andres, Kriss Harvey, who has been named one of the country’s top ten pastry chefs. 

Some of Harvey’s chef-driven chocolate recipes call for 15 or more steps which are all executed by hand with organic, all-natural ingredients sourced from local farmer’s markets to specialty providers around the world. 

Chef Harvey specializes in two chocolate lines: classic is based on a French-style of confections which feature traditional flavors such as ganaches and pralines topped with subtle decorative elements; and modern showcasing bold and inventive flavor pairings inside distinctive and colorful hand-painted shells. 

Their packaging recently won The Dieline’s prestigious packaging design award and reflects the brand’s tradition and innovation along with luxury and surprise. Their playful side can be seen in their best-selling item – a turquoise blue finely ground Speculoos cookie with Belgian chocolate which looks like something the Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street” would eat but it’s mixed with a light and elegant hazelnut praline and milk chocolate. 

Growing up, the sons learned not only an appreciation of fine chocolate but how to care for customers and the community. Today, they are proud to carry on the business by putting a new perspective on fine chocolate with their own kitchen to reimagine what they deem to be the world’s most important food group. 

The new space is still tiny but packed with lively details. “The colors are meant to be modern, bright, and cheerful,” said owner Phil under the monkey tree painted ceiling. Local Topanga based surrealist painter Maggie Washinburg added cocoa into the dark brown color used to the tree for a touch of realism. 

Superstar designer Nate Berkus collaborated with Lauren Buxbaum Gordon at Nate Berkus Associates for the bold, colorful, standout interiors, including the gold shelves, for his first retail project. 

“Working with andSons on the design of their store was a perfect fit for us because they have a 360-degree approach to what they do – from the quality and attention paid to the artisanal chocolates they create, to every detail that went into the store design,” said Berkus. “We worked hard to encompass not only the history and the invention of the brand’s modern evolution but also reflect their distinctly modern Californian approach to chocolate making. The store was a Beverly Hills institution, and we loved helping them reimagine it for this new chapter.” 

Part of that fresh chapter is signature boxes that are new this year. They look like museum pieces with modern art shapes that open from the center and can be filled with a dozen favorites from the case (starting at $37). That case is teeming with European-style ganaches and pralines alongside contemporary hand-painted molded confections all presented in foil-stamped packaging. The two layers of flavors are subtle in one small square bite. “With traditional inspired European chocolates, you can see from the outside what will be on the inside,” said Phil. 

Other modern flavors with more mysterious infusions range from yuzu verbena – which combines a white chocolate ganache with fresh lemon verbena, and a dark milk chocolate ganache with yuzu and lime, or Texas pecan praline with coffee ganache, roasted pecans and Peruvian dark chocolate infused with Counter Culture coffee. 

This is the sons first holiday cycle since they relaunched and here’s what they have concocted for the rest of the year. For Halloween, there is an adorable collection of tricks and treats ranging from pure fruit raspberry ghosts with milk-chocolate shells, white chocolate candy corn with Spanish roasted corn, and bloody bones bars, which are a riff on a long speculoos cookie with white chocolate ganache. 

Perfect for a party, the speckled dark chocolate pumpkin is a hand-painted vessel that holds chocolate covered almonds and cranberries, raspberry ghosts and salted butter chocolate caramels when you break it open and the shell is also edible. 

For Thanksgiving, they will be crafting a molded turkey with bourbon ganache and closer to Christmas they are designing a holiday box with Nate Berkus, which brings them back to full circle on the new look. 

And, if you look closely again at those painted ceiling branches, the names of Phil’s three boys were also added into the tree to resemble a carving. The hope is that they will be the third generation taking over the shop and continuing the sweet family legacy in Beverly Hills. 

371 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills 

www.and-sons.com.

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“The level of international talent that I’m seeing here is amazing,” says the newly appointed Director of Nightlife, Aidan Demarest. “The word is out among the musicians, singers, and artists to come and just jump in. It’s really cool. There might be 20 people up there. I haven’t seen music nights like this since the Knitting Factory with Joey Ramone jumping on stage. That was the last time that I was distracted from my job by the performances.” And Demarest certainly knows a thing or two about how to ignite a room. The former actor from Boston is partially responsible for launching the entire downtown nightlife and cocktail culture boom several decades ago. From opening Seven Grand, The Edison and Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt – among many other top nightlife spots around town, Demarest is a legend on the after-hours hospitality circuit. 

After dozens of consulting gigs and Brand Ambassador titles with El Silencio Mezcal and Elite by Stolichnaya to name a few, while creating drink lists for many other top bars and restaurants, Demarest has come full circle back to the Sofitel where he once worked as a bartender during his early acting days. 

While he’s still shaking up the scene, it has changed considerably in the past 20 years. “Hotel bars, in particular, are the most interesting spaces right now,” he says. I think in order to capture a younger demographic as guests, hotels got into the bar game and started providing first-rate entertainment. It’s as exciting to me as when we were doing the same thing downtown 10-15 years ago in freestanding bars. We had to get very creative and look to other cities and trends around the world at places like Seven Grand and The Edison to get people downtown. L.A., in general, is such an exciting culinary and cocktail city right now I don’t have to look far for inspiration and I love the competitive aspect of nightlife and hospitality, it’s what makes new experiences happen.” 

While Demarest created a name for himself with experiential cocktail rooms, many of those new experiences are happening right now at Riviera 31. From handcrafted mixology and entertainment from Jazz Eclectic Nights every Monday to energetic Salsa Nights each Wednesday, there is a continuous creative flow at Riviera 31. On the last Thursday of every month, there is a drag show called “Room Service,” and the first Thursdays of the month brings art and DJ’s on the patio. “It’s a mix of downtown and Coachella with about 16 performers. The show can never just be the drink,” he adds. “I have a good feeling about Beverly Hills nightlife right now,” says Demarest. “Beverly Hills was always the perfect meet in the middle point for dinner in L.A. but the possibilities in nightlife changed so much when Uber and Lyft came into the mix, coming from Hollywood or the Westside and having a few drinks, watching a show or dancing is such a great experience without the risk of driving.” 

Reflecting back on how the cocktail culture in L.A has evolved since Demarest first hit the scene, “We did what we predicted and raised the game and we made an imprint. People come here for all the reasons that you go out. But, it has become an accessible town and nightlife has gotten smarter. It used to be that you had to really find the cool places but now the expectation is that you are going to have a good bar and a band. Now I need Grammy award-winning artists on my stage and premium spirits served in the best glassware. My guests know this stuff now and you’ve got to be firing on all cylinders and L.A. is doing that now.” 

His biggest surprise today? Honestly how well-traveled and diverse the guests are here [at Sofitel]. I have worked at what I considered smart locations all over town but the patrons here have kept me on my toes in terms of cocktail trends, wine, and spirits which I love to see.” 

To that end, Demarest has added about 50 new spirits – 20 of which are agave-based, and launched a new health-focused cocktail menu with low calorie and less sugary liquor options and he is also experimenting and making syrups, apple butter, and agave nectar. “We needed to go Latin on the booze,” he adds, “We already have high-end cognac on the list. I’m more excited about mixing in the tequila, mezcal, cachaca, and pisco in a beautiful way.”

Key ingredients for that mix include kombucha, elderflower, turmeric and ginger with fresh peach, grapefruit and orange blossom with the feel of endless summer or an eternal sunset on the French Riviera. The menu was inspired by the Angeleno lifestyle surrounding all things health and wellness. The crafted “Indian Summer” cocktail collection offers both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks that are refreshing and light, the perfect guilt-free libations to take you into the holiday season and awards season. Demarest combines unique flavors with holistic ingredients that aim to engage and surprise the taste buds but also ward off hangovers or work for a cleanse. In a town where there is no shortage of gluten-free, vegan and clean-eating spots, Demarest has added cocktails to that list. 

Comprising seven drinks, such as “Tulum Bounceback” and “Yoga Deck,” visitors can work up a sweat on the dance floor and detox at the bar. “The Enlightenment” is light and tangy using vodka, pomegranate juice, lemon, and elderflower liquor topped with sparkling wine. For kombucha lovers, the menu’s reimagined Paloma, combines blanco tequila, grapefruit juice, habanero and kombucha. For those looking for an elevated mocktail, the ‘Puff Down’ intends to detox with key ingredients like turmeric ginger syrup and lemon juice. 

According to Demarest, “My intention with this new cocktail collection was to pair our mixology experience with our vibrant eclectic world music program while keeping it clean and sexy. Using fall-inspired earthly ingredients in light and fresh recipes, I created these cocktails to end the summer season and embrace late fall and early winter on a health-conscious note.” 

But for a trendsetter like Demarest, this is nothing new. “I started working with what I called “Stealth Health” cocktails years ago to offset a busy and stressful lifestyle living mostly in bars. I found if there were anti-inflammatory juices and spices my “bounce back” was quicker. With everyone in L.A. considering what they eat and drink, it makes perfect sense that non-alcoholic drinks get more attention in a well thought out cocktail bar. We have a few specifically designed cocktails without alcohol, but all of our signature drinks are complex enough to drink without spirits. I’ve added kombucha, turmeric, and ginger syrups made in-house that blend amazingly well with vodka and gin but they hold-up the flavors on they’re own. With the success of the Mind, Body & Spirit and Indian Summer List, we are keeping the good vibes rolling with our Winter list featuring many of the same healthful ingredients but adding deeper flavors with cinnamon, smoke, and spirits that make you feel like you want to sit by the fire after some turkey.” 

Other drinks high in demand include barrel-aged cocktails but also the kombucha drinks. “I’m pretty surprised at how many classics people are drinking. I guess all that hard work we did downtown paid off? In Beverly Hills and especially here at the Sofitel we have a strong international clientele so I’ve really tried to consider the beautiful flair the French have for design and culture of the space but infuse it with a very California flavor profile. We have some of the greatest produce, health-conscious products and wines in the world here but we are also an agave town. So, we may look French but we taste like California. 

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You might recognize dashing Argentine- born manager and wine connoisseur Abel Santillian who had worked with Robert DeNiro for 22 years at Ago West Hollywood and Nobu, as he greets loyal customers in his stylish signature sports coat at the reception desk. 

Santillian is trying to shake things up in the otherwise quite Golden Triangle area of Beverly Hills. “I want to bring passion and fun to the neighborhood with action, people, music,” he said over the loud brass bar backdrop. The place is packed on a Thursday night by 6 p.m. and a crowd is already forming out to the sidewalk anxiously waiting for a leather- clad booth in the large industrial-chic space. 

Santillian is trying to disrupt the otherwise early-bird dining options in the area yet bring more atmosphere than just a watering-hole to the community. “The idea has been that Beverly Hills is mostly old school,” he told the Courier. “I’m trying to bring younger people something different and bring life to the area after 9 p.m. when all the other restaurants are starting to close and most people are going to West Hollywood or downtown.” 

The vibe here might be festive but the interior evokes the old-world patio charm of colonial Mexico with reclaimed wooden tables and black olive trees, traditionally meant to be a gathering spot for friends and family. The food is derived from the art of “Mexican gastronomy,” according to CEO and founder Vincente Del Rio who started his enterprise with taquerias in Mexico City when he was still in college. 

The menu also reflects the communally shared gathering concept. “The main aspect of the menu is the family-style sharing plates, authentic of the old Cantinas in Mexico,” said Del Rio. “The ingredients are of a higher quality as to match the location and quality of the restaurant.” So far, the crowds are also loving the octopus and white fish ceviche and fajitas made with tender filet mignon steak. “We serve small plates with our perfect combination of textures, rich flavors, colorful ingredients, and culinary methods,” he told the Courier. “Our fresh tortillas are hand-crafted every day from scratch in our kitchen with the best ingredients SoCal has to offer.” 

Among the other culinary ‘art’ is table- side guacamole mixed with onions and herbs in a molcajete (Mexican mortar and pestle) that is a great order for a group and conversation starter, along with an icy salt-rimmed margarita. Ease into the next course of mix and match tacos from shrimp with Oaxacan cheese to the signature crispy black bean with poblano which can be ordered with flour, corn or lettuce wraps. But the real star is the larger format plates such as the chicken mole. “The mole is a very traditional, authentic Mexican sauce from prehistoric times. Made from over 20 ingredients, including chocolate, tortilla, bread, clove, cumin, spices, and chile,” confirmed Del Rio. Here they serve two versions: one recipe from Oaxaca and another one from Puebla which is not easy to find in the 90210 zip code. 

Opening this location in Beverly Hills has been a longtime goal for the restaurateur. “Location is the main point as to why this concept is a more elevated endeavor, just like the service is more personalized, a larger more upscale wine list, Mezcal and tequilas unique to Los Angeles.” 

Now open for lunch and dinner, Del Rio explained that the Cantina was created to bring the trendiest approach to an experience where you can enjoy distinctive cocktails and the finest mixology from different regions in Mexico. “From top-shelf mezcal to the most extraordinary hand-crafted tequilas, we wanted to bring a delightful touch to traditional Mexican cuisine in a modern dining environment to the city.” 

Santillian concludes, “There’s an amazing community here in Beverly Hills and this is not just a bar or a place to eat but a place to enjoy life.” 

Cantina Frida 

252 N. Beverly Dr. Beverly Hills

310-285-6666

www.cantinafrida.com

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Also new to the ground level, the world’s largest udon noodle brand, Marugame Udon, from downtown and Sawtelle, have now brought their amazing fast-casual line-up to this part of town. The cafeteria-style spot includes Kake Udon and the Crispy Tofu Udon Salad, with your choice of 12 tempura-fried veggies and proteins. 

Pitchoun Bakery from downtown has also joined the mall bounty by opening their second spot offering daily organic pastries and desserts (using imported butter), traditional breads, gourmet sandwiches, and salads. So, make sure to come hungry on your next shopping trip. 

EMILIA 

The former spot of The Larder in the award-winning 8500 Burton Way Caruso luxury residence building, a block from the Beverly Center, has quietly morphed into Emilia. The all-day restaurant from Chef Tancredi Deluca (Amici in Brentwood) is a welcome change not just to the occupants of the building, but the area’s foot traffic as well. 

The interior space is unrecognizable from the previous incarnation with an elegant transformation by AK Design Network with wood columns and curvilinear globe sconces that showcase the restaurant as a standout jewel in this area of town. 

While the décor now meets the Caruso standard, what sets Emilia apart from other Italian restaurants? “We’re incredibly proud of our approach to our home-made pasta which is inspired by a unique technique used in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy from where we take our name and our inspiration,” owner Deluca told the Courier. “All of our pasta, which is made in-house every day, is made using a wooden roller rather than a machine which applies pressure. This allows for a more fluffy and delicate pasta.” 

The signature Tortellini Emiliani con Crema di Parmigiano quickly became a menu favorite. Each one is filled with a mixture of 24-month aged Parmesan cheese and a 24-month aged Parma prosciutto and is hand rolled in house every day and served in a light Parmigiano- Reggiano sauce. “It’s our most commonly shared primi piati,” said Deluca. 

The menu will change seasonally for dinner, but early risers will enjoy a selection of fresh baked pastries along with more substantial dishes such as fluffy frittatas and decadent French toast. 

Angler 

The big news of late is that we have a three-Michelin-starred chef from San Francisco’s acclaimed Saison in our midst. Joshua Skenes opened his new concept, Angler, which focuses on seafood, right on the ground floor of the Beverly Center. Sure, we expect noodles and pastries in this type of setting, yet it seems an unlikely location for a chef of his caliber, but this is not a concern for Chef Skenes. He is very excited to be in this market because he has a deep love for Los Angeles and his wife’s family lives in Southern California, so he has spent a lot of time here in the past. 

The variety and quality of the produce and seafood helps to dictate the menu which features dishes specific to Angler Los Angeles. For example, the Angler Reserve Caviar is served on a banana pancake with roasted banana peel butter (only in Los Angeles) and has been one of the more popular dishes at the restaurant since opening a few months ago. 

The restaurant’s focal point is a giant wood-burning hearth, with the menu focusing on the incredible bounty of sea life, game, and produce available to Southern California channeled through the unique fire cooking methods Chef Skenes has developed over the last decade. 

The expansive wine cellar reflects a deep passion for classic regions of the world with the list featuring 22 pages of red Burgundy, to be exact, but it also gives ample space to producers from Napa and Sonoma. 

Like the food, the bar program matches the spirit of exceptional product. The list showcases curated spirits from both well- known and small-batched distillers in addition to specially sourced selections that date back several decades. 

The Kassi Club 

Completing this triangle of new heavy hospitality hitters to the area, The Kassi Club is a Mediterranean haven by Australian-born Nick Mathers and the Wish You Were Here Group. 

The earthy design with wood floors and rattan ceilings are meant to evoke a Greek Taverna and the food is also on point. From a Greek salad to traditional dips, salt and pepper calamari or the show-stopping whole salt baked branzino, the simple, authentic flavors will transport you to the islands where Mathers has been doing a lot of research over the past 15 years. 

“I love Greece and have traveled there for the better half of my life,” says Mathers. “One of my favorite parts about the Mediterranean is the way the food and drink are so simple. They have a relaxed social environment, making you feel like you’re in a family friend’s back yard with that warm and welcoming vibe.” 

“There’s something familiar about it that I love, and wanted to bring a piece of this culture to L.A. So, I created my own taverna style environment that encourages group dining in an intimate setting, just like sharing a great meal in a friend’s living room.” 

Mathers wanted to ensure that The Kassi Club menu focused on a European format of dining, with fresh produce, seafood, and salads that are light and sustainable, instead of the traditional protein heavy Greek concepts seen more commonly in the U.S. They even have a Greek rosé on the menu but also a Toki Japanese whiskey concoction with lemon and honey that might be the perfect fall- winter drink for whatever ails you. 

Mathers and his group are following up the smash success of their Santa Monica venture Elephanté that features a patio perfect for grazing on small plates while over-looking the ocean that has become quite a scene on the weekends. At The Kassi Club, the space does transform into a club of sorts with a DJ Thursday through Saturday after 10 p.m. until 1 a.m. So, maybe not exactly the laid-back living room vibe but a great time all the same. 

The post The Beverly Center Triangle appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

In tandem with television’s biggest night, Soho House opened its third west coast “house,” Soho Warehouse in the L.A. Arts District, drawing an eclectic crowd. 

Targeting the Eastside creative community, the building’s original loading dock door features a mural from DTLA-based street artist Shepard Fairey upon entering the Art Deco-meets-1970s décor of the largest Soho House in North America. Spanning seven floors with 48 rooms and suites, a gym, and three full restaurants, this 1916 warehouse was once a recording studio, among other things. 

“We’ve been wanting to open a House in downtown LA for quite some time,” said Soho House Founder and CEO Nick Jones. “There are so many creative people and businesses downtown, and that’s really the foundation for all of our Houses, the local community. L.A. is a big, sprawling city, so it’s exciting that we’re now able to appeal to creatives on the east side of L.A., who might have found West Hollywood inconvenient to incorporate into their daily lives. We want Soho Warehouse to be an extension of their own living space and part of the fabric of the neighborhood.” 

During the years of disarray, the remaining brick structure was tagged and graffiti overtook the brick walls. As with the other properties, the space is all about the building, so the tags were masterfully left intact on the main club floor and interwoven with the sleek new marble tables and velvet sofas. Guests can grab a drink at the 30-foot rainbow mosaic stone Club Bar or lounge with a coffee in the Sitting Room, see a show in the Drawing Room or dine in the main House Kitchen which serves the best of Soho House hits. This includes a creamy, butter chicken with chewy garlic naan bread from the Mumbai, India house, along with perfectly charred lamb chops. 

Along with endless dining and drinking options, artwork plays an integral role in the overall design and is curated to represent and celebrate the local art community. The team collaborated with L.A. artists and local DTLA galleries, whose works are seamlessly woven throughout the property, along with hand-cut wood floors and custom furnishings in the rooms and suites. Another first for L.A., is the Soho Active gym with a steam room, sauna and class schedule, in addition to a sprawling ground floor Mediterranean garden restaurant space for eating, drinking, meeting and socializing. 

“Our goal is to bring people together to meet, have fun and create,” said Samantha Stone, Group Director of Membership tells the Courier. “All of our Houses, no matter what city we go into, are a direct reflection of their communities. This is core to how we program the club and who our members are. That mixed group shapes and defines everything that happens in the House. At Soho Warehouse, our membership reflects the creative industries of downtown L.A. and the surrounding areas, from street art and fashion to music and design.” 

That philosophy was apparent during the opening party. Sassy swimsuit models pranced around the rooftop pool during sunset competing with the downtown skyline views while guests ate “dirty burgers” and taro chips with guacamole near the Paul Davies mural in the dining area, and lounged on day beds encased in MoonCloth hemp fabrics by artist Ethan Lipsitz. 

Fashion for the night ran the gamut from combat trousers and ripped T’s to edgy floral frocks and red PVC miniskirts plus the latest Gucci collection from neighboring Dover St. Market. 

Toward midnight, everyone crowded into the drawing room for a private concert with DJ Quest Love where he mixed Paul Simon’s “Late in the evening” with the Stones “Sympathy for the Devil.” 

Soho Warehouse opens to founding members on Sept. 30 and to all other house members and their guests on Oct. 14. 

The Firehouse Hotel 

If the Soho space is too vast for your low-key weekend, just a block away is the area’s first boutique property which opened this past spring. The large bright red double doors of the historic 1927 original Firehouse building now opens up onto Santa Fe Avenue adjacent to an industrial section of the Arts District that Bestia restaurant put on the map in 2012. 

Since then, Warner Brothers, H.D. Buttercup and Stumptown Coffee have all opened outposts on this block along with the Firehouse Hotel. Local hotelier and restaurateur Dustin Lancaster (Hotel Covell in Los Feliz), has turned the former home to L.A.’s Engine Co. No. 17 – along with architect Evan Raabe of Creative Space and designer Sally Breer of ETC.etera – into a stylish and color-coded nine-room property. Or as Lancaster summed up the hotel theme, “It’s very much about L.A. love.” 

Each of the unique accommodations is fully ensconced in the color theme from the painted walls, bathroom tiles to the furniture in a cornucopia of hues ranging from red to green and blue to black with the esthetic of a small loft or one-bedroom apartment with Smeg refrigerators. The experiment in colors was an exercise in pushing boundaries for Breer who had just gone through a beige period. “It is first and foremost about respecting the architecture,” she added. Rounding out the splashes of color, Block Shop Textiles added bolster pillows and accent fabrics over the Parachute bedding and even handbag maven Claire V. (Vivier) designed the corresponding Italian leather tassel key chains for each room making this a full L.A. collaborative effort. 

Strolling into the mid-century modern lobby, the coffee-pastry counter, sleek marble back bar and rustic-chic dining patios and outdoor fire pit are on display. There are several alfresco options for enjoying the American-Mediterranean menu by executive chef Ashley Abodeely such as the eggplant parmesan sandwich or kale Caesar with a tangy celery Negroni. 

Bon Temps

This past summer, chef Lincoln Carson (Michael Mina Group and Superba) opened Bon Temps, an all-day dining venue next door to the Firehouse hotel. A patio is expected sometime this winter. 

For this long-time pastry chef’s first independent venture, two kitchens were in order: One for savory brasserie fare with a California sensibility, and the other for baked goods such as a classic chocolate soufflé with chartreuse gelato and the famous French St. Honoré pastry. 

Not only is this neighborhood on fire, but so is the recent European pastry boom. “I think it helps that the Arts District is on a continued growth trend (as is much of DTLA), allowing for more diversity in business,” says Carson. “Additionally, the nature of the neighborhood is such that independent thought and expression are not only appreciated but sought after. This ethos is also the cornerstone of pastry and pastry chefs.” 

While it’s easy to linger over the pastries, don’t overlook the main menu. A unique selection of canapés for a sit-down meal includes uni caviar tartlettes, along with the starters of crisp pig ear Bibb lettuce salad or a stunning dish of sweet breads served with black trumpet mushrooms, celeriac, and asparagus. For a heartier palate, the two-bone, 45-day dry- aged Creekstone ribeye is served tableside with potato onion rolls. 

Designed by Arts District-based, Belgian-born Klein Agency, along with the project’s lead architect Nicole Cannon (NCA Studio Inc.), the indoor-outdoor space makes use of the former Heinz loading dock with minimalist, reclaimed elements such as the weathered cognac leather banquettes. Adding more glamour is the custom 30-foot curved Carrara marble bar top which also displays the morning pastry before transitioning into a raw bar in the late afternoon. 

The bar program celebrates French drinking culture with Avant cocktails or aperitifs such as a crudité martini; Trou Normand, drinks meant to re-engage the appetite; and digestifs for the end of the meal. The wine list highlights biodynamic, organic producers. 

Coffee Culture 

If you’re just looking for a coffee break that comes with more excellent pastries and food, head a few blocks away to The ROW DTLA. The Manufactory, Paramount Coffee Project, Go Get Em Tiger or Café Dulce is a great foursome for a long, lingering visit and all within the same complex. And, more great cups of Joe can be found Verve Roastery Del Sur on Mateo Street next to Bavel. 

Music Center Dining 

If you are going to a play or concert at the Music Center’s new Abernethy restaurant has decided to use a rotating chef every three months. Right now, beloved Chinese chef Shirley Chung is in the catbird seat. 

7th & Grand Area 

Around the corner from the Nomad hotel and ground floor bakery, the latest newcomer V DTLA takes over the old Mas Malo space, downstairs from Seven Grand Whiskey Bar, that was once the fancy Brock and Company jewelry store. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks were reportedly regular customers back in the Hollywood Golden Age. 

Billed as a “social dining hub” the dual- level space spans over 5,000 square-feet and is the U.S. flagship of the popular Stockholm, Sweden based company. According to Christian Lagerlöf, CEO and Co-Founder, “Los Angeles was a great fit for a concept like V due to the city’s proclivity to welcome and cultivate creativity and new ideas, along with simply having more real estate space to work with than other major U.S. cities.” And they specifically chose downtown as its cosmopolitan vibe is perfect for the type of hip, city dweller the brand appeals to. “In our opinion, Los Angeles is also the most exciting food city in America right now, so opening here was naturally an endeavor we were excited to embark upon.” 

V’s sister concept 18/89 (named after the year the Margherita pizza was originally invented) was recently voted the number one pizza in Stockholm. So naturally, Pizza is a must at V and pies are ready in two minutes, thanks to a custom- built oven from Genoa, Italy. One of the most popular choices already is one with red beet chips and chevre cheese. Another unique dish to try is their spin on a Caesar salad with salty pretzel pieces subbing for the traditional stale croutons. For a low-carb option, enjoy a strong white Negroni or a champagne cocktail with “edible diamonds” which are tiny sugar cubes that look like pearls giving a nod the building’s history. 

While enjoying morning pastries from Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, head up to the mezzanine level and look down at design elements that include 40-million-year- old fossilized wood tabletops or architectural gems such as the original jewelry vault. 

Also new to this neighborhood, adjacent to V, is Mediterranean concept LeGrand that focuses on modern twists on classic Greek dishes. Brothers Chefs Alex and Chris Manos collectively worked at Providence, Gwen, and Melisse, so go for seafood or steak. Also, around the corner, is another all-day global concept by way of Australia, Joey DTLA. They make their own rosé wine by the magnum so it’s worth a visit. 

Coming soon…

Another British Import, the Hoxton Hotel, will be opening on Broadway near 11th Street. It will include a stylish ground floor eatery and rooftop restaurant. Private co-working space NeueHouse from Hollywood will be opening in the Bradbury building. And, more great expansion news: one of our favorite chefs Ray Garcia of Broken Spanish returns with a new Trademark concept this fall in the Financial District with restaurateur Beau Laughlin (Atrium in Los Feliz.) 

The post Food & Drink: Downtown L.A. and The Arts District appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Billed as the “Summer of Ludo & Gilles,” they should have called it “The Summer of Amour” since their culinary residency has transported guests and locals to the South of France with a Gallic-inspired food menu and a comprehensive rosé list. For something a little more casual, Beverly Hills was also treated to a LudoBird pop-up which features Chef Ludo’s signature fried chicken sandwiches with “The Original” Buttermilk Provencal. If you know, you know. 

Over a decade ago, Chef Ludo was one of the front runners of the pop-up phenomenon when he founded LudoBites, after successful stints at more formal French eateries such as now-defunct Bastide. He surprised Los Angeles once again by opening up a tiny gastronomic multi-course venture in an old strip mall space off Highland Avenue when critics were claiming that “fine dining was dead.” A prestigious Michelin-star followed for Trois Mec in the 2019 California guide. Right next door to that lauded option is his à la carte bistro, Petit Trois, and what is arguably the most-Instagrammed food plate in local history, the perfectly simple omelet with Boursin cheese and liberal nobs of French butter. 

Joining Chef Ludo in The Restaurant’s kitchen is friend and award-winning French chef, Gilles Epié, who is making a grand debut back to Beverly Hills after a 16-year hiatus from his restaurant Citrus Ètoile – Paris Champs Elysèes, to collaborate with Chef Ludo for the pop-up concept. The two accomplished chefs met when Chef Ludo worked for Chef Gilles at Mobil Travel Guide Five Star Award-winning L’Orangerie, where Chef Gilles was named Best Chef in America of 1996 by Food & Wine Magazine. 

So, what’s the result when two powerhouse formidable French chefs bring their favorite dishes from the French Riviera to The Restaurant at the Montage Hotel? This site has flipped a few times since opening with East Coast-based chef Scott Conant’s Scarpetta to most recently, Geoffrey Zakarian’s Georgie. Fortunately, we still have a few more weeks to engage in this full sensory experience, including French music wafting out over indoor-outdoor seating overlooking the Beverly Canon Garden. We caught up with both chefs to find out how this concept was hatched, what to expect and more importantly, what to order during the last days of Ludo and Gilles. 

BHC: How did this concept begin and when did you decide to collaborate with Chef Gilles? 

Chef Ludo: I have been working with the team at Montage for a couple of years now to figure out how we could do something together. We kept discussing opportunities outside of LA and then one day the team realized that the opportunity was sitting right in front of us. I have been wanting to do a south of France concept restaurant for a very long time. So, when the Montage team approached me about doing something over the summer in Beverly Hills, it just made sense. The space is beautiful, the garden-park area is very European so why not bring the south of France to Beverly Hills? Nothing says summer in France like Côte d’Azur. My dear friend Gilles Epiéwas moving back to Los Angeles, so it was perfect timing to build this project together. 

BHC: How have guests and locals been reacting to the summer pop-up? 

Chef Gilles: When we opened the pop-up, we knew it was going to be successful. But it’s much more successful than we actually anticipated. The restaurant is always full and the guests are extremely happy. Guests are always telling us how amazing they think the pop-up is. They love the food, the atmosphere, the waiter’s outfits, and we even get compliments on our music. Seeing all these joyful guests reminds me every day of why I became a chef. It’s always an honor and a pleasure to put smiles on people’s faces. 

Chef Ludo: Guests have been so wonderful. When creating a concept, you hope that the audience understands and appreciates it. Restaurants can be really tough at times, but the guests at Summer of Ludo and Gilles have made this a truly fantastic experience. The most common thing we have heard from guests is that “this” is exactly what Beverly Hills was missing. It feels so nice to hear that something so near and dear to our hearts is exactly what the appetites of the community have been craving. 

Any favorite dishes? What have the guests been gravitating towards? 

Chef Gilles: I love everything on the menu. Ludo and I have worked very hard to maintain a high standard and these recipes are our all-time favorites. The most popular dish is the Scrambled Eggs & Caviar, which is personally my favorite. My second favorite is the Beef Provençale with Basil Mashed Potatoes, a dish that is often overlooked and isn’t very popular. I think that anyone coming for the first time should order one of these two dishes. 

Chef Ludo: The hors d’oeuvres cart which comes with 12 different salads and is accompanied by dipping breads has been really popular. Guests also really seem to be enjoying the fish soup as well. My favorite thing on the menu is the grilled prawns with garlic butter and fresh herbs. It’s very simple but so delicious! 

Would you ever consider doing another project in Beverly Hills again? Chef Gilles: I would absolutely consider it. Beverly Hills is one of the greatest places to be because the people are very friendly and the weather is fantastic. I think that Beverly Hills aligns perfectly with my vision of cuisine and quite honestly, it’s become essential to my creativity. You want to be in a beautiful, positive environment when you are creating new recipes.

Chef Ludo: The Beverly Hills audience has been really welcoming and appreciative. It has been so nice to be embraced by the community so quickly. We would absolutely do it again. 

BHC: We’ll be waiting. 

Summer of Ludo & Gilles is open Monday through Sunday for lunch and dinner, from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. LudoBird is open for lunch and quick bites Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. (or until sold out) until September 30, 2019. 225 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, Ca 90210 (310) 860-7970 www.montagehotels.com/beverlyhills.

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