Around Town - The Taste of Beverly Hills

So many restaurants....so little time...

The event schedule
The restaurants
The wineries

Since I tweaked my back in Mexico (don't ask) and have now had to cancel my weekly training sessions at the gym, there will be no superfluous wining and dining for me.
But for everyone else
Bon Appetit!

The View From Vegas

It is so good to finally be home after the Las Vegas show.
Like any trade show, from any industry,
it all tends to get a bit tedious after a few days. But I must admit that I did enjoy staying at the Bellagio because the view is so expansive that it was relaxing just to look out the window

especially after spending all day long looking at cases like thisand this

where you must look with a very critical eye in order to hone in on exactly what you are seeking to buy.

After studying row after row of cases holding individual items of some exquisite and not so exquisite estate jewelry...you can be visually overwhelmed.

Happily it was all worth it because Beladora.com bought some beautiful estate jewelry.

You will be wanting to check out the What's New and the Signed Designer Jewelry pages on Beladora in the next couple of weeks as we upload our new Buccellati, Chanel, Cartier, Van Cleef, David Webb, Oscar Heyman and Cathy Waterman jewelry.

Then after standing up all day and schmoozing with the dealers...and then waiting for a cab in the 110 degree heat, it was nice to get back to the Bellagio and to sit down at Petrossian for a little aperitif.

And dinner at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Prime Steakhouse, which was waaaay better than Michael Mina. I can even overlook the fact that they served almost raw foie gras, then proceeded to explain to me how foie gras was supposed to be cooked, as if I didn't know. But overall the meal was delicious and the restaurant was full, because apparently there is no recession when you are in Las Vegas.

BTW, Jean-Georges Vongerichten has a blog. That chef is busy!

After dinner it was the Fontana Patio for cognac & cigars. The Bellagio pond looks peaceful in this photo but it was actually really raucous because the famous fountain show goes off about every 10 minutes and lasts for something like 10 minutes. Still, it was so nice after being indoors all day long to sit outside and thanks to Fontana hostess Jing, we got great table every night.

(Can I just say that after staying at the Bellagio for 5 years in a row, the service is excellent. There are employees that recognize me, even though I'm only there for a few days each year, like John at Sensei. Seriously, how amazing is that with all of the thousands of people who stay at that hotel?)

Finally, after being surrounded by crowds all day long it was just so nice to get back to my room and to appreciate the view of Las Vegas but without all the people and noise.

Around Town - Slumming It At The SLS

After hearing for months about the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills
I finally got around to seeing what all the buzz is about

It was indeed way hip

and the public/private division gave it that one extra level of exclusivity

The decor was exceptional with calculated coolness by designer Philippe Starck

I had dinner in one of the private dinning rooms

which was just a little too starkly Starck for my taste

Fortunately, it was vastly improved by the color, the candlelight and the company

The food at Tres which I had heard so much about was what I would have expected,

good but not exceptional

Next time, I would like to try the main restaurant Bazaar

Or, instead of waiting in a long line for my car with the usual actors and other industry types, get to the SLS early in the evening and have dinner at Altitude on rooftop pool deck and enjoy the view.

If you haven't already tried the SLS I recommend that you do, if only just to have a drink and to bask in the vibe.

Around Town - Another Week Of Dine LA

Bad economic news, continued recession, growing unemployment
how does the restaurant business in Los Angeles deal with all of this?
Dine La restaurant week, of course.

What's the idea behind dineLA Restaurant Week?
dineLA and dineLA Restaurant Week were created with two goals in mind-driving business for our local restaurant community; and building awareness for Los Angeles as one of the premier dining cities in the world.

and

What are restaurants offering during dineLA Restaurant Week?
Participating restaurants will opt into one of three dining categories and present a specially priced three-course meal for lunch and/or dinner. Diners will be able to choose from three choices for each course including appetizer, entrée and dessert.

So last week's dine LA event, with special prices, was an opportunity for me to try two new restaurants, and so I did.
Both were full, obviously the dineLA concept was working.

Wolfgang's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills

I liked both my dinner and the ambiance at Wolfgang's steakhouse, with no nonsense food and a chi-chi Beverly Hills crowd....was that Mickey Rourke in the hat? Perhaps the best thing about Wolfgang's was the fact that it was on Canon Drive, an easy 2 block walk from my office.

Upstairs 2 in West Los Angeles

Upstairs 2, was the opposite of the platinum triangle located Wolfgang's.

A wine bar situated above a warehouse wine business, The Wine House, located in an industrial area next to the 405 freeway, it was a foodie retreat with delicious food and an incredible wine by the glass menu. It may just become my new favorite hang out.

The restaurant business is huge in Los Angeles, and it employs a lot of people...yes, many of them wanna be actors. I'm very glad to see that DineLA is having a positive influence on local business.

This city has weathered the recession fairly well in spite of the real estate meltdown and all of the economic problems with the State of California. It makes me happy to know that LA isn't going the way of Detroit.

Cuisine Francais - a la "Old School'

I have an affection for 'old school' style restaurants and I remember having, maybe not great meals but great dining experiences at places like the "21" Club and the Rainbow Room. Los Angeles is all about the new new thing when it comes to food and there are very few traditional 'old school' restaurants left. So voila, New York.



This is the second time this week that I've read about this very traditional Manhattan restaurant Le Veau d'Or. Thanks to The Trad I found this video of Anthony Bourdain enjoying an old fashioned french meal. The Epic liked it so much that he dined there several times on his holiday vacation.

Definitely it will be on the top of my list for my next trip to New York.

Do you have an 'old school' favorite?