Posts Tagged ‘Avalon Hotel’

Do Catalina Island for free on your birthday

Catalina Island

Catalina Island

Want to do something fun for your birthday but don’t want to spend a lot of money?

Consider a staycation at Catalina Island, where you can get a bunch of free or discounted stuff on your birthday. That even includes a free trip to the island on the Catalina Express. You have to travel on your actual birthday and preregister online, but then you get to save up to $76.50 roundtrip. Score!

And once you get to Catalina, more freebies await: BOGO parasailing flights, free admission to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Garden, a free meal at Buffalo Nickel Restaurant (online reviews are mixed) and more. Take a look:

~ Rent a bike for two hours from Brown’s Bike and get the rest of the day free until 5 p.m. plus a bottle of water

~ Two-for-one climbs at the Descanso Beach Club climbing wall (open weekends and holidays only)

~ Free cup of coffee at Catalina Coffee and Cookie Co. (must show Catalina Express birthday ribbon)

~ Free scoop of ice cream, buy one pound of salt water taffy and get an extra 1/4 Pound free, and buy any iced coffee drink or smoothie and get a second of equal or lesser value 50 percent off at Lloyd’s of Avalon

~ Buy the mani-pedi special at Island Breeze Spa and Salon for $50 and receive a 50-minute Swedish massage or facial for $69 (M-Th) or $79 (Fri-Sun), or a 25-minute massage or facial for $45

If you’re staying overnight, check out these discounts at Catalina Island hotels:

The Avalon Hotel: Receive a free bottle of wine or sparkling cider.

Hotel Vista Del Mar: Get a complimentary bottle of champagne or wine, celebratory balloons, continental breakfast, and evening milk and cookies

Hotel Catalina and Courtyard Garden Suites: Get 10 percent off one night; 20 percent off two nights

Catalina Island Inn: Receive a complimentary box of Lloyd’s of Avalon chocolates plus your choice of champagne or sparkling cider

Hotel Metropole: Get 20 percent off on any room and save $50 on a couples massage at the hotel spa

26

03 2016

Viviane takes up residence at Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills

Viviane

Photo courtesy of Viviane

When I first heard that a new restaurant was taking over Oliverio at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills, I was kind of bummed. I could always find a solid meal there in a sleek setting without having to endure a “scene.”

So when I heard that local French restauranteurs Stephane Bombet and Francois Renaud were taking over the space to open Viviane, I was both excited and sad. On the one hand, Bombet and Renaud have a good track record with Terrine, and Bombet and Chef Michael Hung found success together at Faith & Flower. On the other hand, I have great memories from Oliverio, including having my bridal brunch there.

After having dinner at Viviane soon after its official opening, I’m intrigued enough to want to return. The menu focuses on contemporary takes on the classics in both food and drink. Chef Michael Hung offers seasonal, elevated versions of well-known dishes such as linguine and clams, steak tartare, and chicken and dumplings. And barman Ryan Wainwright, he of The Tasting Kitchen and Terrine fame who designed Viviane’s cocktail menu, has variations on the Manhattan, Cosmopolitan and even Long Island Iced Tea.

Keep reading

10

11 2015

‘Tis the season: Christmas dinner roundup

Georgio's Cucina. From Gilt City.

Georgio’s Cucina: From New York chef Gary Robins and Chris Heyman, restaurateur behind Table 8 and 8 oz. Burger Bar, comes a Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner at this new Studio City restaurant. The 7-course prix fixe ($65 per person, with a $45 wine pairing supplement; $15 children’s menu also available) will feature oysters on the half shell with prosecco gelée and black caviar, giant shrimp, big eye tuna, clams with pancetta, lobster risotto, roasted branzino and a selection of desserts.

Eva Restaurant: For a family-style dinner, hit up Eva’s prix fixe ($39 per person) on Christmas Eve to enjoy a prime rib roast, roasted organic chicken, creamed spinach, butterscotch pudding and more. Given the high quality of the food here, this meal looks like one of the best deals out there!

Gladstones Malibu: Looking for somewhere to nosh during the day? This SBE takeover is offering a Christmas Eve Dungeness crab feast ($70 per person; $30 for children 12 and younger) from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. You’ll also get Caesar salad, boiled new potatoes, steamed corn, asparagus and eggnog golden raisin brioche bread pudding. There’s fun for the whole family, too — new hopscotch courses and a sandbox, as well as a coloring contest for a chance to win special holiday treats.

Whist at Viceroy Hotel: Can’t decide which day to eat out? No worries because Whist is offering its Christmas menu ($75 per person) on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. You’ll start out with a smoked sturgeon salad with the option to add on foie gras torchon or raw oysters, and for the main course, choose two whole roasted meats, including a pork rack, organic turkey, prime rib and wild European turbot. There will be all kinds of sides, too, including black truffle, chestnut and pancetta risotto, and ricotta and spinach lasagna, in addition to a variety of desserts — even roasted chestnuts in a brown paper bag to go.

Oliverio at Avalon Hotel: Chef Mirko Paderno (a bit of a character, if you’ve ever met him) will be serving up some of his family’s Italian traditions on Christmas Day this year ($48 per person). These include marinated salmon in pink peppercorns with a citrus salad, a cauliflower soufflé topped with parmesan sauce, tonnarelli pasta made with crabmeat broth, and veal cheese and truffle fondue ravioli. Choose from either the roasted Mediterranean sea bass (AKA branzino) with cabbage and porcini mushrooms or the baked chicken served with artichoke and potato. Enjoy a cranberry parfait drizzled with dark chocolate sauce for dessert.

21

12 2010

Bits and pieces: Junior Drake sales, Oliverio chocolate madness and Hilton weekend discounts

Junior Drake Shina bag

Junior Drake warehouse sale: The purveyor of handbags is at it again. Seems like JD has this sale every other week, but no matter. From Dec. 17 through Dec. 19, get bags at prices as low as $14.95 and even a three pack of leather bags for $99. Can’t make it to the sample sale? Get 60 percent off online purchases plus a free leather coin purse (discount is taken at checkout).

740 E. 60th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90001
Dec. 17 and 18: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Dec. 19: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Oliverio‘s Choco-Sutra: Avalon Hotel’s tasty restaurant just got tastier: now there’s an unlimited chocolate buffet. Every Friday and Saturday, indulge in everything from triple chocolate truffle pizzettas made with Nutella, dark and milk chocolate, and topped with white chocolate shavings, to a dark chocolate, cinnamon and red chili pot de crème.

9400 W. Olympic Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
$28 per person ($17 with dinner) or $50 per couple

Hilton HHonors Any weekend, Anywhere sale: Hilton HHonors members who book stays between now and Jan. 31, 2011, at the Hilton family of hotels can save from 20 percent to 50 percent on a future weekend stay any weekend in 2011. Current HHonors members will also receive double base points on completion of their stay.

13

12 2010

Gobble, gobble, snooze: Thanksgiving meals at L.A. hotels

The Bridge. Courtesy of The Bridge at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

The Bridge at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel: This Thanksgiving meal ($49 per person, $25 per child) includes chestnut agnolotti with crispy sage, ameritti cookies and shaved parmesan; squab-roasted root vegetables and foie gras remoulade with huckleberry jus; and chocolate cake with salted caramel.

Delphine at the W Hotel Hollywood: The brasserie-inspired prix fixe menu ($45 per person) includes the run of a raw bar with a selection of oysters, prawns and ceviche; butternut squash soup; a variety of hors d’oeuvres; an entree of roasted turkey with wild mushrooms, sweet potato puree, stuffing, and haricot vert and almonds; and dessert of pumpkin pie with brown sugar bourbon ice cream or chocolate pecan pie with nutmeg pear ice cream.

Cézanne at Le Merigot Hotel: A three-course dinner ($49 per person) with choices including lobster chowder; persimmon salad with arugula, burrata and speck; braised short ribs en cassoulet; roast turkey; black pepper crusted filet mignon, duck breast and confit duck leg; rum baba; banana cream pie; pumpkin pie; pecan pie; and chocolate ganache cake.

Whist at the Viceroy Hotel: The meal ($68 per person) features a buffet including butternut squash soup topped with sage and prosciutto; a turkey and poached char carving station; and a risotto station (!).

Oliverio at the Avalon Hotel: The menu ($40 per person) features a winter pepita salad with pumpkin seeds, goat cheese and walnut dressing; roasted turkey; and apple pie topped with cinnamon ice cream.

23

11 2010

Oliverio anniversary menu

Oliverio's Budino di Polenta

Oliverio, the delightfully sleek yet comfortable restaurant at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills, is celebrating its first anniversary by offering a special prix fixe menu through Nov. 20:

  • Appetizer: Tartare di Tonno (tuna tartare, rice cake, shallots) or Tartufo pizzetta (black truffles, goat cheese)
  • First course: pumpkin agnolotti with butter and sage or Ossobucco di Vitello (braised veal osso buco, saffon risotto)
  • Second course: Branzino Acqua Pazza (sea bass, vegetables) or Pollo Alla Diavola (chicken breast and thigh, roasted potatoes, sauteed greens)
  • Dessert: Budino di Polenta con Spuma de Limone (lemon polenta pudding cake, lemon sabayon, passion fruit sauce)
  • Glass of wine, red or white
  • That’s four courses AND a glass of wine for $40 per person. This is an amazing deal, especially when you consider that the chicken dish normally goes for $24 on its own. The tuna tartare on a crispy risotto cake, the truffle pizzetta and the budino are some of my favorites. Check out my previous post on Oliverio’s happy hour menu for more dining recommendations.

    09

    11 2010

    Happy hour alert: Oliverio at Avalon Hotel

    Oliverio at Avalon Hotel. From Curbed LA.

    Oliverio, the restaurant that took over the old Blue on Blue space at the Avalon Hotel last fall, now has a twice-weekly happy hour. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Oliverio’s bar and cocktail menus are half-off, which means all cocktails are $7 instead of the regularly priced $14. The Lombardia made with bourbon, apple, cinnamon and orange sounds good to me (I love bourbon!). Food includes a goat cheese and black summer truffle pizza for $11 (normally $22) or truffle and parmesan fries for $4 (normally $8).

    Note: I haven’t been to the Avalon’s restaurant since it was Blue on Blue under Chef Scott Garrett. Now that the space is Oliverio under Chef Mirko Paderno, I’ll have to go back and check it out.

    31

    03 2010

    Urban retreat at Chamberlain hotel

    IMG_0791
    Last week, I was invited to a rooftop/poolside cocktail party hosted by the Chamberlain West Hollywood hotel. The views were awesome, and with a fire going on mid-pool (see photo), the ambiance was great. I didn’t get to see much of the hotel itself as the elevator zips you up to the roof directly from the valet parking level, so I can’t comment on the decor. I can, however, comment on the food and drink provided at the party.

    The food was pretty. The drinks were colorful. But neither impressed me much.

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    20

    05 2009

    Chef's cabana at Blue on Blue

    Poolside at the Avalon Hotel

    Poolside at the Avalon Hotel

    Avalon Hotel’s restaurant, Blue on Blue, has just introduced its version of a chef’s table – the chef’s cabana. The poolside dining experience starts with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres that lead into a four-course family-style dinner. There’s a special menu that includes ingredients from local farmers markets and herbs and greens from the hotel’s rooftop garden. I had a chance to experience the cabana menu last week (along with e*starla, Pocket Lint and Ritz Bites), and some of the standout dishes were the smoked trout crostini, golden beat tartare, quinoa and hericot vert salad, and spiced pork tenderloin. The Elixir martini, made with house-infused cucumber-dill vodka (made with rooftop dill that’s infused with the vodka for six days), sweetened lime and white cranberry, is excellent (this martini is available on blue on blue’s regular drinks menu, too).

    More, with photos

    13

    05 2009

    News from Avalon Hotel

    The pool at the Avalon Hotel

    The pool at the Avalon Hotel

    Avalon Hotel – that little boutique hotel almost hidden at the weird intersection of Beverly Drive and Olympic Boulevard – has recently introduced some new menus at its restaurant, blue on blue. In addition to Executive Chef Scott Garrett’s new chef’s cabana experience (more on that later – sooner rather than later, I promise), blue on blue has introduced a DJ-spun poolside weekday happy hour and a similar weekend event.

    • Groove on Blue: Every Thursday night from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., blue on blue hosts a poolside happy hour with DJ Grand Marquee providing mood music in the form of indie and electro. Small plates and drink specials, including mini bacon cheeseburgers with garlic aioli and punch made from house-infused alcohol, are $8.
    • Detox/Retox: DJ Grand Marquee will also spin poolside every Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. when guests can choose from a “Detox” hangover-cure menu and a “Retox” party-going menu. Some of the items on the Detox menu are peanut soba salad, shrimp and watermelon gazpacho, and sparkling pomegranate lemonade. The Retox menu includes fish tacos, scallop carpaccio and a bloody mary, among others. All food and drink items are $8.

    And for the ultimate Avalon poolside experience, you can rent a 10-person cabana for $150, which doesn’t include the $500 food and beverage minimum. I’d stick with the $8 specials, which won’t break the bank, especially since valet parking is free for blue on blue guests. In Los Angeles, that really is special.

    Related Posts with Thumbnails

    11

    05 2009