ShopEatSleep

I’ve been into Oaxacan Mexican food lately, so when I was invited to dinner at Guelaguetza with owner Bricia Lopez, who also owns the uber-tasty Cemitas y Clayudas Pal Cabron, I jumped at the chance. I had been to Guelaguetza once before, and mostly what I remembered was the awesome band that played that night in the restaurant. So I was glad to have someone who knew her way around the menu to guide me through dinner.

Oaxacan-style Mexican food is different from the kind of Mexican food most people are used to, i.e., tacos and burritos served with salsa and refried beans. Oaxacan food is all about the mole, that thick sauce made from chilis, bread, chocolate and all kinds of other good stuff, and Guelaguetza serves all kinds. My favorite was a lighter one made with almonds (sorry, didn’t catch the name).

There are three locations of the restaurant, the original on 8th Street in Koreatown, one on Olympic Boulevard also in K-Town and one in Lynwood. We ate at the one on Olympic, which is a large space complete with larder area up front, a fountain in the middle and two areas for live music. Your meals here start with an appetizer of tortilla chips topped with mole and queso fresco.

Keep Reading

Sonic 410 for women

New Balance has a new collection of what they’re saying are environmentally friendly sneakers called the Sonic 574 for men and the Sonic 410 for women. These shoes are made using heat and pressure applied to the seams of the pattern pieces, which fuses the shoe together and cuts out waste while making the shoe airtight and watertight. This process is used in place of sewing or gluing.

Intrigued? Head over to Fred Segal Santa Monica Thursday, May 13, and check out the new collection. There will be a special wall build out inspired by the collection, as well as a DJ, cocktails and appetizers. You’ll have to RSVP, though (see below).

Fred Segal Santa Monica
500 Broadway
Santa Monica, CA

May 13, 2010
7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

RSVP: Cara@RedLightPR.com

The second installment of Michel Dozois’ Nights with Névé pop-up cocktail series, featuring the ice cubes of his company, Névé Luxury Ice, was held at Osteria La Buca. If you’re not in-the-know, Névé makes ice cubes that are much larger than what most people are used to seeing because the greater surface area of the cube allows the ice to melt much slower, making a better and much-less-diluted drink overall. And they look cool.

There were four tasty cocktails presented this night, two from Dozois and two from Steve Livigni of La Descarga. Even though I liked Livigni’s The Eloper, made with Dimmi (an herbal and fruit flower liqueur), vodka, lemon juice, cantaloupe puree, prosecco and a prosciutto garnish, my favorites of the night were the other Livigni creation, The Silenzio Dolce, and one of Dozois’ drinks, the Italian Stallion.

The Eloper

The Silenzio Dolce is made from Zaya rum, Averna Amaro (an herbal liqueur), blood orange juice and Nocello walnut liqueur with a sugar rim and blood orange rind garnish. The drink was sweet but not overly so, making it a nice after-dinner drink. Dozois’ I Luv Lucy made with Carpano Antica sweet vermouth, whiskey, lemon juice and egg whites was another sweet drink, but egg whites aren’t really my thing (at least not in my cocktails).

The Silenzio Dolce, nearly finished

The Italian Stallion made with scotch, Carpano Antica and Cynar, Italian bitters made from 13 herbs and plants. This drink had an earthy flavor from the Cynar, which I liked a lot. I would tell you about the Osteria La Buca appetizers that were passed around, such as the squash blossom pizza, but I had a lot to drink that night and can’t remember what else we ate. Hoo-ah!

Read more about the event at Thirsty In L.A., Eating L.A., Food GPS and Caroline on Crack.

Junior Drake: The warehouse sale is back (did it ever go away?) starting today, May 6, through Saturday, May 8, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. I would expect many of the bags that didn’t sell the last time, though the handbag powers that be say there will be new merchandise for sale. And once again, if you spend at least $150, you’ll get to spin a wheel for a chance at prizes, though last time I spent $115 and got to spin the wheel (I won a coin purse).

740 E. 60th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90001

Carla Amorim: Brazilian jewelry designer Carla Amorim is holding a trunk show featuring new pieces from the spring 2010 collection at Broken English in Santa Monica from May 7 to May 9 during the store’s regular business hours. A special opening night party for the sale will take place Friday, May 7, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with an open bar, DJ and gift bags.

Broken English
225 26th St. #17
Santa Monica, CA 90402

This is the eating part of my trip to Atlanta. Read about the sleeping, or hotel review, part of my trip, too.

While I got to try only two restaurants while in Atlanta, I was impressed with the quality of the food I had. One of the eateries was Apres Diem, which is located in a strip mall along with a Trader Joe’s and a Landmark Cinema (which was where the Atlanta Film Festival was held). I had the veggie melt with sauteed red peppers, yellow squash, portobello mushrooms, red onion, provolone cheese, avocado and h honey dijon mustard on a crusty baguette ($8.95). Maybe it was because I was famished having just gotten off an airplane, but this sandwich was pretty darn satisfying.

Veggie melt

Keep Reading

Nights With Neve at Osteria La Buca. From Caroline on Crack.

A year ago, having just lost my job as a reporter for the Los Angeles Business Journal, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with myself. But within days, I started this blog, building on the reporting I had done as a retail, dining and hospitality journalist, and I have never been happier. This blog is a labor of love for me, and I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive responses I’ve received. To celebrate my first year online (the exact date was actually April 22), I would like to thank my readers — because without you, I’d just be talking to myself. To show my appreciation, I’m giving away a grab bag chock full of awesome stuff I’ve generously been given over the last year but could never go through on my own (and why should I? That’s just greedy!). I’m going to keep this shrouded in a bit of mystery, but expect full-size cosmetics, accessories and anything else I can get my hands on before the entry deadline. All you need to do to enter this giveaway is:

1. Leave a comment on this post (if you’re reading this on Facebook then please go to the blog URL — do NOT comment via Facebook, or else your entry may not be counted) explaining what you like most about ShopEatSleep and/or what kind of coverage you’d like to see more/less of on the blog. I always strive to do better, you know.

2. Follow me on Twitter and/or “like” ShopEatSleep on Facebook (the Facebook page is brand new, so you’ll have to search for it until I can get enough fans to qualify for a username) and tweet or post on the Facebook wall “I entered to win a grab bag of goodies from @shopeatsleep to celebrate its 1-year blogiversary! You can enter here: http://ht.ly/1Govf”

That’s it! The deadline to enter is May 12 at 11:59 p.m. PST. Once all entries have been made, I’ll pick one lucky reader at random. Good luck, and thanks again for making this blog so much fun!

**Contest is closed.**

UPDATE: Congratulations to Emily (@emilythepanda), who just won products from Trees, Hourglass, POP Beauty and more!

Mike & Chris scarf. From Chocosho.

Maven Collective: On Saturday, May 1, go to the final sample sale featuring Mike & Chris, b.son, Anzevino & Florence (current season!), Gram, Sneaky Steve and more. Everything will be priced from $5 to $50 with both cash and credit accepted.

Maven Collective sample sale
324 Flower St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Saturday May 1st 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

1642: This new Echo Park/HiFi (Historic Filipinotown) bar is holding a night of romance (or whatever floats your boat) with its Slow Dance on Saturday, May 1. Gypsy Tailwind and friends will be spinning soul, rock, country and folk starting at 9:00 p.m. Expect craft beers and boutique wines.

1642
1642 Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Whist at the Viceroy Santa Monica: The Viceroy’s restaurant, Whist, is introducing Savor Sundays starting this Sunday, May 2, with family-style prix fixe menus through June 20. This Sunday’s menu features butter lettuce wedges; buttermilk fried chicken with bacon cheddar biscuits, collard greens, grits, mashed potatoes and market slaw; and pecan pie with whisky caramel and vanilla ice cream.

1819 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401
$27/per adult, $12/per child under 12
Sundays, May 2 to June 20, 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

This runs through the center of the hotel and down into the lobby of the Georgian Terrace Hotel

First thing’s first: Congratulations to my fiance and sometime ShopEatSleep contributor Rory for a successful world premiere of “Toxic Soup” at the Atlanta Film Festival! I spent barely two days in Atlanta’s Midtown area experiencing my first film festival, Rory’s screening, and my first time to the city of Atlanta. And thanks to some great recommendations from an Atlanta resident, I had some good eats, too (more on that later — stay tuned for Part 2).

Keep Reading

The downtown location of Chaya, a Japanese-French brasserie mini chain, has recently launched a weekly beer garden menu available on its patio every Monday night throughout the summer. This is a once-a-week special menu offered in addition to its everyday happy hour menu, both of which are available all night from 5:00 p.m. to close. Not too shabby!

The beer garden menu features yakitori skewers ($2 each) grilled on the patio on new hibachis and include chicken, short rib, beef tongue, shrimp and shiitake mushrooms. I was recently invited by the restaurant to try the new skewers, and I liked the chicken the best, which shows mastery in grilling skills, I’d say. All the others were good, too, though the shiitake were a bit dry for my taste. Maybe top them with some of that teriyaki or chimichurri sauce that come on the other skewers?

Yakitori, from top: shrimp, beef tongue, shiitake, short rib and chicken

Keep Reading

Amy Kathryn Dahlia bag. The designer will be at the event.

Local shopping event Unique L.A. is back for the spring, and this time there are some new features, including food from trucks Coolhaus, Flying Pig and Fressers, and a pop-up store from Amoeba Music. And of course all kinds of vendors from clothing and jewelry to stationery and home decor. Check out some of the ones I liked from the last event.

California Market Center (110 E. 9th Street)
Saturday, April 24, and Sunday, April 25, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
$10 at the door, which includes free drinks and hosted bar (IZZE, Honest Tea, water, beer and cocktails), unlimited re-entry for both days, a collectible tote bag designed by graphic designer Keith Scharwath, free workshops and handmade activities, and more!