ShopEatSleep

The Grove. From Worship Worthy.

This Saturday, March 13, MOD: Matters on Design, a program that emphasizes style and technology, will be hosting a car and fashion event at The Grove. There will be a test drive event from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the new Kia Sorento CUV — the crossover utility vehicle that’s featured in that Hangover-esque commercial with life-size stuffed toys. The best part is you’ll get a $20 gift card to The Grove for doing the test drive, which shouldn’t be very extensive considering it’s confined to the valet roundabout. Then, if you’re so inclined, there will be a bebe fashion show at 7:00 p.m. featuring the Kardashians capsule collection and Spring 2010 looks.

Clothing and accessories inspired by a Disney movie? I was skeptical, even though I loved “Alice in Wonderland” as a child and love that Tim Burton made an updated movie version, because you never know what rabbit hole designers will fall in to when creating pieces based on a film. But after seeing some of the Alice in Wonderland Disney Couture items at the W Hollywood hotel’s party last week, I was pleasantly surprised — impressed, even.

When I saw this statement necklace by Tom Binns, I wanted to rip it off the mannequin and wear it right then and there. Who could resist these red candy-like hearts, safety pins and crystal chains? It’s cute and edgy at the same time. I want, want, want! Too bad it costs more than $1,000…

Tom Binns All Heart necklace

Keep Reading

Allez cuisine!

That’s kind of how I pictured the special appearance of Ludovic Lefebvre at The Foundry on Melrose’s Bluesy Tuesday Southern food night last week — a battle of Iron Chefs duking it out over gourmet fried chicken, Ludo v. The Foundry’s Eric Greenspan, who was in fact a contestant on Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef. What we diners got was more of a delicious pairing of two very different styles of fried chicken that complemented each other rather than threw down against each other. Though both Ludo and Greenspan brought it, as they say…in the parlance of our times.

Keep Reading

Unfiltered Dassai 50 sake. Available only in the United States.

I love finding great hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and Sushi Central at the corner Palms Boulevard and Overland Avenue is just that: an under-the-radar sushi joint that serves good quality fish in a no-nonsense environment.

When I was invited by a sake sommelier Yuji Matsumoto to a sushi and sake pairing at a Palms sushi restaurant, I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially because I’m not normally a big fan of sake. But what we diners got was an epic meal with seven dishes and four sakes — a delicious and enlightening experience that has made me now like and appreciate sake.

Keep Reading

I’m not sure how I feel about this:

Alexander Wang Pyramid Clutch

Back of clutch

The Alexander Wang Pyramid Clutch sure is different, but I wonder how functional it is. It’s still a flat purse like a normal clutch, but how is it getting inside? Since it doesn’t zip all the way across, I wonder if it’s hard to use. There are some cool stud-like feet on the back, but I wonder if that makes it hard to carry, too.

Does anyone have first-hand knowledge of this bag? Please share!

I don’t make it down to the South Bay very often, so whenever I’m invited to a dinner in the area, I try to get over the “it’s so far” feeling that inevitably creeps up and go. This time the dinner was at Cafe Pierre in Manhattan Beach, a contemporary French eatery on Manhattan Beach Boulevard. This was a meal full of firsts for me, and I discovered I liked things I never thought I would like.

We were served a bunch of potted meats to start. This is when I tried head cheese, trotters, rillete and beef tartare for the first time, and none were as scary as I thought they would be. I actually surprised myself by really liking the hand-cut beef tartare, which came with judion beans on the side. I also had escargot and bone marrow as starters, too, both for the first time as well. While neither were as that scary, I didn’t enjoy them as much as the beef tartare, which had a fresh taste to it, contrary to what I had imagined raw beef tasting like.

I think this is head cheese, but it could have been trotters or rillete

Beef tartare

Keep Reading

This is the first post from ShopEatSleep contributor Eros David, a long-time friend and like-minded blogger. You can follow his work at Clement & Co. and on his Tumblr.

From Eileen T. on Yelp

Healthy, organic Japanese food. Buzzwords may draw a crowd to Fukada in Irvine, but the delicious taste keeps them coming back. Because it’s in the same plaza as a 24 Hour Fitness, it’s not uncommon to see the same people frequenting both locations. Tucked away in a small plaza on the outskirts of town across the street from the Verizon Amphitheater, Fukada is not really the type of place you just come across randomly; you’ll most likely have to be introduced. There is also a “2 Go” location in north Irvine, not far from the UCI campus, with a slightly different menu.

Keep Reading

Eastside favorite LAMill just announced the addition of beer, wine and sake to its menu, including two new drinks. The Tea Champagne drink is made with Imperial Palace Brut Blanc de Blancs and LAMill’s Organic White Pomegranate or Holiday in the Cup tea. The Black & Black is half Old Rasputin Imperial Russian Stout and half iced organic LAMill house coffee. That one sounds way too heavy for my palate, but if you try it, let us know what you thought of it! Expect a variety of wines, sparkling wines, beers (especially the Japanese kind) and sakes.

This past weekend will go down in L.A. food history as The Weekend That Was The Clusterf*ck Known As The L.A. Street Food Fest. Don’t get me wrong — I thought it was a great idea, and I enjoyed myself while I was there. But as is the case with so many first-time events, there were problems, though I guess things could have been worse.

Keep Reading

I’ve heard the accolades for Mark Gold’s latest, Eva Restaurant, time and again. But with so much hype, I was skeptical — Was it actually good? There was no time like Dine L.A.’s Restaurant Week to find out, so a couple of weeks ago a group of fellow food lovers and I went for dinner. And yes, it was actually that good, even for a prix fixe meal.

My fellow diners — Lindsay of LAist, Esther of e*starLA, Caroline of Caroline on Crack, H.C. of L.A. and O.C. Foodventures, and Natalie of The Liquid Muse — managed to order one of everything on the Dine L.A. menu, so none of us missed out. I had the carrot soup with candied ginger to start, and it was a great way to begin a meal. Creamy with a hint of spiciness really hit the spot. The chestnut agnolotti, or little ravioli, were buttery, and the hamachi dish was light and fresh. All winners.

Carrot soup

Keep Reading