Javier Plascencia & Tim Hollingsworth with Petty Cash Taqueria Petty Cash Taqueria 712 S Santa Fe Ave Los Angeles, CA 90012 Dining date: 8/12/15 I’ve never been to mid-city’s Petty Cash, a modernized taqueria from chef Walter Manzke and restaurateur Bill Chait. The restaurant has been pretty popular since opening two years ago spawning this second…
Bouchon Beverly Hills 238 N Canon Dr Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Dining date: 5/30/11 Thomas Keller’s fried chicken is one of the most memorable dishes I’ve ever eaten. I had carefully planned a trip to Ad Hoc and came in with very high expectations. The crispy crust and juicy, flavorful bird did not disappoint at…
Ibaraki, Japan Benefit Dinner Breadbar Century City 10250 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90067 Dining date: 5/16/11 This was one of my most anticipated meals in recent memory. Urasawa. Cimarusti. Manzke. Three of my favorite chefs in one place?! No way! Breadbar and Comme Ça teamed up to feature two benefit dinners with 100%…
Bistronomics 2.0 Breadbar 8718 West 3rd Street Los Angeles, CA 90048 Dining date: 4/17/11 This is the second iteration of the Bistronomics pop-up (the first occurred in March) featuring Jet Tila (Wazuzu) and Alex Ageneau (The Royce) preparing seasonal, modern bistro fare. For this meal, Ageneau was the main driver behind the food, while Tila…
Gavin Kaysen & Cafe Boulud Animal 435 N Fairfax Ave Los Angeles, CA 90048 Dining date: 4/18/11 I had dinner at Cafe Boulud the last time I was in New York. I found the food to be quite good; the core concept is traditional French technique, but with modern American touches. Don’t pay too much…
Magnum Pal Cabron 3337 1/2 W 8th St Los Angeles, CA 90005 Dining date: 2/16/11 The Magnum pop-up is the brainchild of David Haskell and Joseph Mahon. Haskell is one of the city’s more notable wine personalities and handles the alcohol pairings, while Mahon (who handles the food) is a chef with a fine dining…
Test Kitchen: Haru Kishi 9575 West Pico Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90035 Haru Kishi is the new Executive Chef of the Beverly Hills location of Chaya Brasserie. What I find far more interesting is his culinary background. He was a part of the Joel Robuchon empire before coming to LA to be the head chef…
Test Kitchen: Alain Giraud 9575 West Pico Boulevard Los Angeles 90035 Alain Giraud has been around the LA dining scene for a while, most notably cooking at Citrus in the early ’90s and being the opening chef of Bastide in 2002; both of these were critically acclaimed. He left Bastide just as I had moved…