Milo & Olive 2723 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90403 Dining date: 4/10/12 Milo & Olive is the newest restaurant (opened in November) in Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan’s quickly expanding empire in Santa Monica that already includes Sweet Rose, Rustic Canyon and Huckleberry. I’ve been to both Sweet Rose and Rustic Canyon and enjoyed…
Tar & Roses 602 Santa Monica Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90401 Dining date: 2/16/12 Tar & Roses opened late last month, one of the bigger restaurant openings so far this year. Andrew Kirschner is the chef behind Tar & Roses, formerly the executive chef of nearby Wilshire Restaurant. He brings with him food that’s been…
LudoBites 8.0 Lemon Moon 12200 W Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064 Dining date: 2/15/12 My first trip to LudoBites 8.0 was a pretty good meal, and a very promising start to this iteration. While much attention has been spent on the reservation system and the scarcity of a seat, I didn’t think it was…
Mario Batali at the Beach Coast Restaurant Shutters on the Beach 1 Pico Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90405 Dining date: 1/28/12 Mario Batali needs no introduction. As one of the most famous chefs in the country, I’m sure he draws crowds whenever he’s doing a food event. When I heard he would be hosting a…
LudoBites 8.0 Lemon Moon 12200 W Olympic Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90064 Dining date: 1/18/12 With every successive LudoBites, it seems to get more popular. The story is very familiar now: chef with fine dining background starts casual pop-up restaurant; pop-up becomes incredibly successful, garnering critical acclaim nationwide and spawning TV show; demand for reservations…
Drago Ristorante 2628 Wilshire Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90403 Dining date: 11/30/11 Downtown’s Drago Centro serves some of my favorite Italian food in the city. I’ve been there a number of times, but never to sister restaurant Drago in Santa Monica (one of chef-owner Celestino Drago’s first restaurants). The upscale Italian menu is fairly similar…