Raku 5030 Spring Mountain Rd Las Vegas, NV 89146 Dining date: 5/10/12 One of my (and my family’s) favorites in Las Vegas is Raku. It’s an off-strip spot located in a Chinatown plaza which was probably a hidden gem for some time. Not anymore though; it’s become very well-known for its homey, comforting Japanese food and robata…
Mo-Chica 514 W. 7th Street Los Angeles, 90014 Dining date: 5/27/12 Mo-Chica was chef Ricardo Zarate’s first restaurant in 2009, located in the Mercado la Paloma near USC. A lot has changed since then with Zarate being named a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2011 and having one of the bigger restaurant openings…
rm seafood Mandalay Bay 3930 Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas, NV 89119 Dining date: 5/11/12 When my family was looking for the ideal lunch spot before the Vegas Uncork’d Grand Tasting, rm seafood seemed to fit the bill. None of us had been before (harder than it sounds), and the seafood-centric menu promised some lighter fare ahead of…
Baco Mercat 408 S Main St Los Angeles, CA 90013 Dining date: 5/6/12 I first visited Baco Mercat a few months ago and left underwhelmed. It may have been partly due to the hype surrounding the restaurant and its namesake baco sandwiches, but I just didn’t understand what was so special about them. I’ve returned a few…
C.H.E.F.S. Benefit The Royce The Langham Hotel 1401 S Oak Knoll Ave Pasadena, CA 91106 Dining date: 5/14/12 Foie gras dinners seem to be all the rage in California right now. For the most part, it seems restaurants want to celebrate (and serve) the ingredient while they still can, while bringing awareness to the ban…
Black Hogg 2852 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026 Dining date: 5/4/12 Black Hogg opened in March and has quickly become a popular destination in Silver Lake. Early reviews I’ve read note long waits for the no-reservation tables and bold, flavorful cooking. The food is very much gastropub-like, composed of mostly small plates meant…
Sunny Spot 822 Washington Blvd Venice, CA 90292 Dining date: 4/15/12 Sunny Spot, to me, is an unexpected concept from Korean chef Roy Choi, a Venice “roadside cookshop” serving full-flavored Caribbean grub. Choi (whom I just met for the first time last week) is most famous for bringing the Kogi truck to the streets, as…
5×5 Chefs Collaborative Dinner Series Melisse 1104 Wilshire Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90401 Dining date: 4/29/12 The 5×5 dinner series has been around a number of years now, but this is the first (certainly not the last) one that I’ve been to. I don’t know why it took so long. The concept is thus: 5…