Saturday, July 21st was a great day that ended on a very sad note. Karen and I had a wonderful time at the latest incarnation of The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure in Santa Monica and followed that with an early dinner at one of our new favorite restaurants, Lunetta, also in Santa Monica. By the…
Join us for a luncheon at Napa Valley Grille with vintners Larry Gilman and Donna Mills to learn about and taste Mandeville Vineyards Wine. Larry grows grapes in Mandeville Canyon in Brentwood. He produces two wines, a Malbec/Cabernet Blend and a reserve… So you want to make wines in the hillside of your backyard, in…
It’s funny sometimes how things play out. We were first exposed to Raphael Lunetta’s skills as a chef when Karen and I attended the Buick Discovery Tour at the Four Seasons Hotels in Westlake Village over five years ago. At the time Chef Lunetta was helming his restaurant JiRaffe in Santa Monica. After meeting him…
Dinner at Opolo Vineyards after our first day learning and tasting at the Paso Robles Cab Collective Cabs of Distinction was a special treat booked for us by the public relations company marketing the event, Parker Sanpei. Starting with an after hours tasting in their tasting room – their Zin and Sangio stood out uppermost…
In 2016, reporting on the Los Angeles edition of the Garagiste Festival, I singled out Rhythm Wines as a “winery to watch”, especially enjoying the 2015 Tannat from the local Alonso Family Vineyard. Then, I lost track of them. Then, in early 2017 by my recollection, the manager of the short-lived and greatly missed Maré…
Nine judges in total, one Executive Director, a local restaurant sommelier, professional photographer and attentive servers = our first meeting in Cohiba Room three at the Tropicana Las Vegas, while avoiding rooms one and two as they held all of the wine that we were very anxious to judge…blind. Welcome to the inaugural Global Wine…
Restaurants are faced with a new reality that consumers clearly are on to corkage – beyond the BYOB backyard BBQ! Corkage is a critical component of a restaurant’s beverage program, its ROI and hospitality. From CorkageOnline Founder, Judi Laing Welcome to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly Corkage panel! – Judi Laing, founder of CorkageOnline.com,…
Lucques, arguably one of Los Angeles’s most beloved and critically acclaimed restaurants, commemorates its 20th birthday milestone with a four-month series of thoughtfully-planned dinners. This iconic restaurant, with its cozy brick decor, wood beams and elegant garden was originally the rustic carriage house of the Harold Lloyd Estate. On September 25, 1998, the doors opened…
Venice, CA – After four centuries in Japan and almost four decades in the United States, CHAYA continues to transcend convention between Japanese and American dining, inviting guests to discover innovative Japanese-Californian cuisine along with an unprecedented new beverage program as the CHAYA Restaurant Group officially transitioned the 28-year-old Chaya Venice into CHAYA Modern Izakaya…