Wolfgang Puck Moves out, Adolfo Suaya’s Gastro Pub Moves In

April 29, 2011

Hollywood and Highland is not exactly known as a gastronomic destination, but that’s changing with the addition of the new Rolling Stone restaurant and bar, and now, Boho, which just made the move over from its previous location next to the ArcLight on Sunset.

 

For those who remember Wolfgang Puck’s Vert, that’s the spot that Boho now occupies, right next to the Daily Grill on the fourth floor. One of my peeves with the center is there is very poor line of sight in finding your location, and this is exactly what will happen if you’ve not been to the spot before.

But you’ll find it, and you’ll be rewarded with woodfired pizzas as good as Puck used to make– as well as an extensive menu of pub food, including sliders, salads, sandwiches and sides – for lunch and dinner.

 

We sampled some of the house specialties at a jam-packed opening party, were impressed with the warm, woody ambience and look forward to going back for real meal from executive chef Wes Pumphrey, formerly of SLS’s The Bazaar. Boho, by the way, is derived from combining the words bohemian and Hollywood, and nice alternative to the cookie-cutter sameness of many of the chain stores in the mall.

 

Boho, 6811 Hollywood Blvd., #411, Hollywood (323) 465–8500, www.bohorestaurant.com

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For the Brunch Bunch, A New Venue to Dine, Drink and Relax on Sundays

April 20, 2011

Just in time for Easter, you can now add Scarpetta to the list of great places to have Sunday brunch.

Chef Scott Conant’s Beverly Hills outpost in the Montage Hotel opened last fall, but brunch service is brand new– and a don’t miss.

It’s a come-hungry and then pace-yourself-affair, because you will probably be initially overwhelmed by the cornucopia of culinary delights to tempt your taste buds set up in the spacious kitchen.

A vast array of menu items awaits, starting with a beautiful bread display that features everything from artisanal breads, bagels, muffins and pastries, which greets you as you enter the kitchen.

If you’re a fan of fresh seafood, look no further than the magnificent raw bar which features large tail on shrimp, stone crab claws, king crab legs and cold water oysters. We practically made a meal of this, piling our plate high–and then added on the signature yellowtail sashimi, plus a healthy portion of tuna as well.

Then, you can move onto the assortment of Italian meats and cheeses culled from the Beverly Hills Cheese Shop, where a beautiful plate will be prepared for you.

Head over to the omelette station where eggs of just about any style can be prepared with ingredients including mushrooms, bacon and fresh vegetables.

Scarpetta’s signature spaghetti with tomato and basil is available along with raviolini and lasagna. The carving station includes sirloin, lamb and roasted branzino. Side dishes include grilled asparagus, caramelized cauliflower, Tuscan bean salad and caprese salad.

Enough? Not quite. There’s still the waffle, French toast and pancake station– with scrumptious, heated orange Campari syrup and fresh fruit jams to give them an extra kick. If your sweet tooth isn’t satisfied, make your way over to the bar where a beautiful dessert buffet temps with assorted pastries, fruit tarts, chocolates and mini parfaits.

There’s a special kids section with mac and cheese, hamburgers and french fries– but there’s no barring adults from partaking.

On Easter Sunday, all guests can partake of activities in the adjacent Canon Gardens, including Easter egg decorating, face painting and naturally, an Easter egg hunt.

Sitting inside or out in the gardens, service is top-notch with beverages of your choice brought to your table and plates cleared as necessary.

The tariff for all this: $88 per person on Easter Sunday, $68 otherwise and $35 for kids under 12. Look at it this way. You won’t need to eat dinner that night.

Sunday brunch hours: 11 AM until 3 PM.

Scarpetta Beverly Hills, 225 North Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, (310) 860-7970

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What’s Cooking At Blue Stove? A Lot of Little Plates That Add Up to a Great Recipe

April 7, 2011

Department store restaurants in Los Angeles, with the exception of Barney Greengrass, are generally not known for their culinary prowess, much less their desirability of a place to hang out.

That all changes with Blue Stove, on the third/top floor of the new Nordstrom at Santa Monica Place, just steps from the Dining Deck and a great alternative to the large theme-y (but good) restaurants there.

Blue Stove is dark and clubby, with deep-toned woods and cushy booths perfect for private conversations. If you don’t look closely, you don’t realize that the bar is only stocked with beer and wine, as it gives off the impression of a fully array of adult beverages.

The concept is tapas/small plates that you are urged to share, but if that’s not your style, it still works out.

To start off, the menu features an array of six salads, including a delish crispy parmesan polenta and arugula arrangement, all ranging between $6-$8.

Then there are the main dishes like cilantro lime chicken tacos, lump crab cakes, spicy dark cherry glazed beef and side dishes including a yummy seared wild mushroom and grilled asparagus plate—an item that we would go back for in a flash.

The portions were adequately sized and not tiny, as our server implied by saying each person needed three or four—for lunch. That was simply not the case.

Desserts will have to wait for our next visit, but we’re already hunkering for the warm Valrhona chocolate raspberry cake.

Menu items top out at about $12, so go to town, or rather to the mall. Blue Stove is open during store hours, which on Friday and Saturday run until 10 pm.

Blue Stove Nordstrom at Santa Monica Place, 226 Broadway, (310) 752-2701

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Worth the Wait: Blue Plate Oysterette

March 30, 2011

The lively scene at BPO

Because we are loathe to wait very long for a table, we have now missed out on a year and a half of great meals at Blue Plate Oysterette– and now we’ve got to make up for it– especially with the weather warming up and our appetite for seafood escalating along with the temps.

 

Yes, it’s shocking, but our first meal at what we are now fondly going to call BPO was just recently, a lunch on one of those rainy, chilly days. Still the place was mobbed, and that’s what had been keeping us away.  Driving by many times past its splendid location, across from Palisades Park in Santa Monica, there was always a crowd outside– and apparently no convenient place to park.

But here’s a little secret.  You can call the restaurant about a half an hour to an hour before you plan to arrive and put your name on the waiting list. Because the policy is still, a year and a half after opening,  absolutely no reservations. Damn.

But you’ll forget about all that after diving into a splendid raw bar platter with a massive serving of some of the best ceviche ever and lined with a cavalcade of shrimp, clams and oysters.

There are plenty of salads to choose from, and great sandwiches like a New England-style lobster roll and an ahi tuna. But the headliners are always the house specialty, which is oysters and their brethren from the sea.

For libations, BPO only has beer, wine and sake, but what better to go with the menu?

And now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to call them get put on the waiting list.

 1355 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, (310) 576-3474

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First Taste of Fig & Olive

March 3, 2011

Fig & Olive makes its high-profile LA debut

With fond memories of its former inhabitant, Republic, and its two-story wine fairy wall dancing about, we have high hopes for the new Fig & Olive, which is just  opening its doors in Los Angeles.  It’s a total redo from what was there before, starting from moving those doors from their former location on La Cienega Blvd. around the corner to the more exclusive address on Melrose Place.

In fact, the official name of the New York-based restaurant is Fig & Olive Melrose Place.

It is in the midst of throwing a series of opening parties before actual diners walk through the door and take their seats.  They’ve lined up a series of sponsors, including Fendi and Lamborghini  for the Italian-themed opening night and Frederic Fekkai and Chloe for the French night for the private events

The menu concept is specialty dishes that introduce the refined flavors of the French Riviera and coastal regions of the Mediterranean—almost a surefire hit in California. The cuisine is designed by Executive Chef Pascal Lorange along with Michelin-star chefs from France’s Le Moulin de Mougins and Le Mas Candille.

Guests at the first opening night event drank up the allotted amount of Moet  & Chandon (about 100 bottles, we hear) within about an hour, but the well-staffed bar did its best to keep everyone lubricated.  Tray-passed hors d’oeuvres were snapped up the second they came out of the kitchen and models wearing Fendi from head to toe posed on platforms in the main dining room.

Yummy.

Fig & Olive Melrose Place, 8490 Melrose Pl. (corner La Cienega Blvd), West Hollywood, 310.360.9100, www.figandolive.com

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Foodies in the House

February 18, 2011

If you don’t know Bruce Marder, you know his restaurants, which include Capo and Brentwood, and the recently departed Broadway Deli. If you go way back, you’ll also remember Rebecca’s and West Beach Café in Venice.

Marder has moved east with House Café, bringing casual cuisine and an even more casual vibe to a sweet little spot (the former site of Pastis) near Crescent Heights on Beverly Blvd. You might miss it if you’re driving by, like we did—for, gulp, more than a year.

We’ll definitely be going back next time we’re in the neighborhood, which is home to many high profile places (can you say Red O, to name just one?) that far overshadow this one. Hot, trendy atmosphere it isn’t—but the food and drink quality rivals nearby establishments, especially if you’re not up for a scene.

House Café features an all day/all night menu morphing from breakfast to lunch and dinner of California/American cuisine with touches of Italian and Mexican thrown in.

Certain friends of mine are crazy for the rigatoni, tender and sauced up perfectly. The filet mignon sandwich was actually sliced beef, not a steak, but on rustic bread with a little horseradish sauce, pretty amazing. The Caesar salad is a standout, and the fries were some of the best we’ve had recently—although we made the mistake of grabbing them right away and burning our little fingers. No, not too badly.

A glass of prosecco for $7? That’s about right, but many places are charging nearly double that.  A large wine list where you get 45% off if you buy bottles to go, putting the price in line with what you’d pay at a retailer. Veal chop is the most expensive entrée at $29, but most of the pasta dishes are in the $18 range.

Service was friendly and efficient, and the little patio at front looked enticing, if it hadn’t been such a chilly night.

Open until 11 p.m. nightly.

House, 8114 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles (323) 655-5553, www.housecafe.com

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Revisiting The Den

February 11, 2011

It’s Sunset on a budget, from the $5 valet parking (price subject to change–you know how that is) to the $8 drinks. The Den of Hollywood, directly across from the exclusive and pricey Chateau Marmont and down the street from XIV, is still the place for a fun night out when your wallet is a little on the light side.  But since last time we checked, the menu has also shrunk, so if you’re not into burgers–turkey, beef or pulled pork, you’ll have a hard time finding anything else substantial on the menu.

Not to say there aren’t a lot of great appetizers, like the grilled artichoke and the ahi tuna–and nothing on either side of the menu tops $14.  It’s just the selection is rather limited, cut back from the more ambitious culinary offerings available when the place opened last spring.

It’s been a party on the patio ever since. Come early, and find a table right by the firepit. Come late, and squeeze into the SRO crowd. Or cozy up inside…and don’t worry about breaking the bank when the check comes.

The Den of Hollywood, 8226 W. Sunset Blvd. WeHo, (323) 656-0336, www.thedenofhollywood.com 

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A New Reason to Go to Westwood

January 12, 2011

Glendon Bar and KitchenSure, there’s Palomino and Napa Valley Grille, but just up the street is a new kid on the block–bringing a more casual and very lively scene to the Village. It’s Glendon Bar and Kitchen, housed in a 1930s-era building with arching high ceilings, exposed brick, a copper bar—and crystal chandeliers.

Long-time Angelenos may remember the spot as the old Moustache Café, but back in the day, way, way back, it was a neighborhood grocery store.

Some eighty years later, one thing hasn’t changed. The focus is still on food. In addition to lunch, dinner and an early and late happy hour, the kitchen is now cooking up a new tapas menu, with some of our favorites being black bean hummus, fried asparagus and the Glendon’s savory calamari. Also on the small stuff menu: delicious baked brie on fig toast, caprese “tar tar” (looks like tuna tartare, but vegetarian–and delicious–through and through), Korean pork belly tacos and whiskey barbecue meatballs. An eclectic wines-by-the-glass list, broken down into categories called First Date, Second Date and Third Date–Lucky You, pairs perfectly with the small plates, and features labels including Piper Sonoma, Vitiano, Evil (try their Cabernet Sauvignon), Louis Jadot, Hook & Ladder, Napa Cellars and 7 Deadly Zins. Yes, that’s just by the glass. The full wine list offers an even wider, more diverse selection.

With its full-service menus for lunch and dinner, where none of the entrees exceeds $26, the Glendon’s bar scene rivals its culinary offerings. Meaning, you can just pop in for drinks without having to plan for a sit-down meal.  The bar itself is gorgeous, pure copper, and the bar staff highly attentive. On Saturday nights, live jazz fills the room from the upstairs mezzanine. At other times, the upstairs perch is a chill place to lounge and enjoy the unique atmosphere.

1071 Glendon Ave., Westwood (310) 208-2023 www.theglendonla.com

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Short Pours at the Pen

January 5, 2011

Peninsula Hotel Beverly HillsOne of our pet peeves about dining and drinking out is the insanely short pours served at some restaurants, especially when you’re paying a pretty penny for a glass of wine.  This latest example was especially egregious.  It happened at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills on New Year’s night. And what else were we drinking, but champagne? 

The first clue that something was amiss were the flutes set down at the lobby bar table.  They looked like something you might buy at Wal-Mart, glassware certainly not befitting of a hotel on the level of the Pen.  The waitress poured about two thirds of a glass of some expensive bubbly into the excuse for a flute.  We called over the hostess and asked for the manager, but instead the same waitress came back and said that’s how they did it there–and walked away. 

Looking at each other with puzzlement, and realizing how easy it would have been to simply fill up the glass from a customer service standpoint, we went on with our celebration.  One glass later, apparently with a new dose of common sense, the server came back and filled the glasses nearly up to the top, where they should have been the first time around.  So we continued with our night of merrymaking, cheap glasses in hand, and later left without further complaint.

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Chow Bella, Scarpetta

January 1, 2011

Chef Scott Conant  brings his take on Italian cuisine to a beautiful space in Beverly Hills’ Montage Hotel with Scarpetta. If you haven’t been to the locations in New York or Miami, opened in 2008, you’re in for a treat from this talented maestro. Specialties prepared with the finest seasonal ingredients are served in a Mediterranean atmosphere that also evokes Hollywood glamour. Custom cabinetry showcases the extensive wine list.  You know things are off to a great start when the bread basket arrives with just-out-of-the-oven foccacia and ciabatta with three dipping options, including olive oil, mascarpone butter, and an eggplant mixture.  The house specialty is spaghetti, but for those not into carbo-loading as a main course, the filet mignon is absolutely divine, as are the braised short ribs. But back to the carbs, the polenta appetizer is also not to be missed—a creamy concoction served with the mushroom ragout.  If you still have room for dessert, try the amaretto flan or the panna cotta. Scarpetta is an Italian expression meaning “little shoe.” You will be dancing with delight in yours.  The 44-seat bar is also a great place to have a cocktail and sample some of the cuisine. The outdoor patio is a lovely place to have lunch or dinner on a warm night. While Conant splits his time amongst his burgeoning restaurant empire–and the staff faithfully renders his creations– when he is in town, you’ll spot him in the open kitchen with a chef’s table, or out schmoozing the crowd.

 

Scarpetta, 225. N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills (310) 860-7970

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