Alta CA 1420 Market St San Francisco, CA 94102 Dining date: 11/28/14 Alta CA opened late last year, the latest from chef-restaurateur Daniel Patterson (Coi, Plum, Haven). The restaurant is one of the more notable SF openings in the past 12 months and has generally garnered praise for its Californian cuisine. My parents had dined…
The Walrus and the Carpenter 4743 Ballard Ave NW Seattle, WA 98107 Dining date: 11/6/14 I had one free evening on a quick business trip to Seattle, my first time to the city. Seattle’s got a ton of interesting restaurants and it was a difficult decision narrowing down to one. In the end, we decided…
Barrel & Ashes 11801 Ventura Blvd Studio City, CA 91604 Dining date: 11/22/14 One of the hottest restaurants in LA right now has to be this place, Barrel & Ashes. It’s the latest from prolific restaurateur Bill Chait, teaming up this time with two Thomas Keller vets Tim Hollingsworth (The French Laundry) and Rory Herrmann…
Maude 212 S Beverly Dr Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Dining date: 4/12/14 Opened in February, Curtis Stone’s Maude was one of the most anticipated restaurant openings of the year. It’s still one of the most popular restaurants in the city, packing tables for its seasonal, monthly tasting menus. The concept is rather unique; each month,…
Faith & Flower 705 W 9th St Los Angeles, CA 90015 Dining date: 4/3/14 Faith & Flower is one of the bigger downtown restaurant openings lately, brought to us by a powerful partnership between Coastal Luxury Management (Pebble Beach Food & Wine, Los Angeles Food & Wine) and Stephane Bombet (Picca). It’s the first LA…
Studio 30801 Coast Hwy Laguna Beach, CA 92651 Dining date: 3/29/14 I’ve known about Studio for a while and always figured it to be a good option if I was ever in need of a nicer restaurant in the southern part of Orange County. Just recently I found myself on a weekend trip to OC…
Fifty Seven 712 S Santa Fe Ave Los Angeles, CA 90021 Dining date: 3/28/14 Located in between popular daytime options Bread Lounge and Stumptown Coffee and just around the corner from always-popular Bestia, Fifty Seven is the latest restaurant opening in the red hot Arts District. The restaurant, which opened this past week, is to me one…
Melisse 1104 Wilshire Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90401 Dining date: 1/24/14 Melisse, like the restaurant of my last post Providence, is oft-considered one of the best restaurants in the city for its French-Californian cuisine. It’s truly one of the few refined fine dining destinations that has survived through all the food trends Los Angeles has…