As a devoteé of all things wine, I am on the constant lookout for
events that allow me to expand my palate without hurting my pocketbook.
It's rare to find me at large "Grand Tastings" because I find it
difficult even with pouring/spitting to get my $50-$100 worth and still
be able to function or remember what I drank. Living in Los Angeles,
"bang for the buck" wine-centered evenings are few and far between so
when I heard about the Tavern's bi-weekly Wine and Cheese Club, I made a
reservation immediately. The Larder, where the tasting takes place, is
the casual cafe attached to Tavern, which is Suzanne Goin's latest
restaurant venture. Even though I've never been to her reknowned wine
bar A.O.C. – it's horrifying I know, I'll get there, I promise – I knew
this was going to be good. It's what she does. Plus, four wines paired
with cheese and nibbles for $29? There's nothing wrong with that
equation. Except the drive, which thankfully for us was against traffic.
The evening is very casual, though there is some "education" about the wine region being featured, the backstory behind each wine and why it was selected, as well as what they hoped to accomplish with each pairing. It was probably 5 minutes of information before each course, leaving you plenty of time to socialize with your dining companions while savoring the pairings. Questions are encouraged, but not necessary to the enjoyment of the evening.
I try really hard to be a health-conscious dancer. I go to the health food markets and buy spinach and avocados and turkey breast and trail mix. But the truth is, I am a carb monster. "C stands for cookie. That's good enough for me." But for me, the real C stands for croissant, and I just couldn't find the perfect one. Until one day I was walking around the neighborhood and saw it. Tarte Tatin. In that little mini-mall on Olympic and Oakhurst. Yep; the one with the frozen yogurt place and the nail salon.
Longtime Santa Monica Pier staple, SM Pier Seafood, has officially re-launched as The Albright. After 35 years, the family-owned and operated restaurant has passed down from mother to daughter and has undergone a complete revamp - including an updated menu that reflects the new owner's commitment to using fresh, locally sourced food - and the addition of an extensive craft beer & California wine program. The restaurant is now run by Yunnie Kim Morena, whose parents opened the original location in 1977 upon emigrating to the U.S. from Korea.
We
had planned to spend New Year's Eve with friends and family but the flu
and changes in schedules left us on our own. The New Year deserves to
be celebrated, so we organized a dinner the first week of January at Il
Fornaio in Santa Monica.
When I originally conceived of taking a self-led tour of the LA food
trucks with some friends it was to see who was trying to capitalize on
the success of Kogi BBQ, the crossover Mexican-Korean taco truck, and
their use of Twitter to let people know their current
location. Supposedly Kogi is the originator of the hip and cool LA
food truck and, as some have told me, has the best food of all the taco
trucks. My plan was to find trucks that had just rolled out, are newly
popular, or ones that I know nothing about and see if Kogi would hold
up against the rest.
