Commonwealth 2224 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94110 Dining date: 11/29/13 My first two visits to Commonwealth were excellent. The food was creative, well-executed and delicious within a very well-priced tasting menu ($65 at the time with $10 going directly to a local charity). Given I don’t spend as much time in San Francisco as…
David Kinch (Manresa) Rustic Canyon 1119 Wilshire Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90401 Dining date: 11/11/13 David Kinch, chef of two-star Manresa in Los Gatos, CA, is one of the most lauded chefs in the country. I’ve been to Manresa once many years ago and, quite frankly, don’t remember much about it. For some time now,…
The Church Key Sunset Towers 8730 Sunset Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069 Dining date: 10/23/13 The Church Key opened last week in West Hollywood with chef Steven Fretz (XIV, Top Round) helming the kitchen. The food is modern American small plates combining a regular menu with revolving carts, drawing upon inspiration from State Bird Provisions and dim…
Patina 141 South Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA 90012 Dining date: 10/10/13 Patina’s been a fixture in the Los Angeles fine dining scene for decades, celebrating its 10-year anniversary at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this month. To celebrate, the restaurant offered a special menu of 10 courses for $10 each on October 10th. I…
Maru 12400 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90025 Dining date: 8/15/13 Maru opened a couple months ago in Santa Monica (on the border of Brentwood), a relocation of a restaurant in Valencia. The man behind the food is chef Jason Park, who mixes the Japanese/Korean influences of his childhood into his classically trained cooking background. A wide…
ink. 8360 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, CA 90069 Dining date: 8/7/13 Michael Voltaggio’s ink. was one of the biggest restaurant openings in 2011; I visited the restaurant twice on its opening weekend but it took almost two years to make my next visit (not counting my visit for the 5×5 collaborative dinner last year). While the restaurant’s…
Timothy Hollingsworth The Strand House: Culinary Masters Series 117 Manhattan Beach Blvd Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 Dining date: 5/20/13 Considering he spent the past 12 years at The French Laundry (the last 3+ years as Chef de Cuisine), represented America in the Bocuse d’Or (placing sixth in 2009, the best American placement to date), and won the…
State Bird Provisions 1529 Fillmore St San Francisco, CA 94115 Dining date: 12/28/12 This was one of the restaurants I really wanted to try while I was in San Francisco (probably #1 on my list). Opened on the last day of 2011, it was named to numerous lists for best new restaurants of the year, including…