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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.

Eggplant caviar and smoked trout rillettes

Culver City just got a little cooler: Chef Benjamin Bailly, formerly of Petrossian in West Hollywood, has taken over the helm at Fraiche. And he has revamped the menu to blend French (he’s from France, natch) and Italian influences. Perhaps the best part, at least for me, is the reasonable prices for the high quality food: nothing is priced more than $28 on the dinner menu, with most items coming in under $20.

I recently had the pleasure of experiencing the dinner menu myself — along with Caroline of Caroline on Crack — at the invitation of Chef Bailly. Herewith, some of my favorites.

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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:

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.

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.

To celebrate Halloween and the coming of fall, Valerie Confections is holding an open house all this week with free goodies for anyone who drops by its store. There are different sweets featured each day from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

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