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Dinner on the Stage

With a recent $31 million transformation, the Loews Hollywood Hotel, located at the Hollywood & Highland complex where the Academy Awards ceremony is held, offers a breath of fresh air compared to its former incarnation as the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. Now the Loews is sleek and modern, befitting any celebrity — or anyone who wants to feel like one.

To that end, Loews Hollywood offers a unique Dinner on the Stage experience — private meals made by Wolfgang Puck Catering served on the Dolby Theater stage complete with decor and live entertainment. This is really designed for large groups (the stage is big!) and will run you at least $50,000. I had the opportunity to experience this, and it really is a cool thing to do. How can you beat having dinner on the same stage where so many Oscar winners stood? The Dolby is a looker, too. Not a bad backdrop.

While Dinner on the Stage will cost you a pretty penny, another unique Loews Hollywood experience is much more affordable. The Top of the World experience, which can include private receptions, marriage proposals and photo shoots, take place on the hotel’s rooftop helipad with 360-degree views of Los Angeles. The best part? You can take an open-air yoga class here once a month during the summer for $45. Just don’t get blown away doing that warrior pose, OK? (Actually, I’ve been up there, and it’s not as windy as you’d think.)

Note: The Dinner on the Stage meal was complimentary. 

Some of my favorite #TerraneaMemories

Terranea hotel and resort in Rancho Palos Verdes is celebrating its 5th anniversary this year, and to kick things off, it has announced a monthly photo and video contest that runs through May 31, 2015. The best part? Terranea is giving away some swank prizes to the winners!

The Terranea Memories 5th Anniversary Contest is asking visitors to highlight their favorite memories from the past five years at the resort. Each month will feature a theme tied to Terranea’s 5th anniversary pillars: community, wellness, discovery, epicurean and celebration. The monthly themes and prize packages will be announced in advance each month on the resort’s blog and event calendar.

June’s theme is community. To enter, submit a photograph or video and personal story of a sunrise or sunset you captured while at the resort or in the surrounding area. And remember to share using #TerraneaMemories.

This month’s prize package sounds awesome! It’s an overnight stay in the Shearwater Suite with the Terranea Lexus Drive Series Adventure Escape, which includes:

* Overnight stay in Terranea’s 1,800 sq. ft. Shearwater Suites
* Unlimited complimentary use of a Lexus vehicle during your stay
* A GPS-guided tour highlighting scenic points of interest, including the Point Vicente Interpretive Center to watch the whale migration and Portuguese Bend for hiking and wildlife spotting
* Choose either an aqua or terra activity from Pointe Discovery, such as a coastal hike, falconry, tide pooling, paddleboarding or kayorkling
* A picnic basket lunch from Sea Beans, complete with energy bars and water bottle
* A pair of binoculars for watching marine life off the coast — dolphins, sea lions and whales can be spotted along the shore on a regular basis

This month’s deadline is June 25. If you’ve been to Terranea or anywhere in the peninsula area, or have a chance to do so before the end of the month, then I’d suggest you get on this. I had the fortunate chance to stay here once, and it was amazing. It’s one of the best staycation spots for Angelenos.

BLD doughnut. Photo courtesy of BLD restaurant.

Chef Neal Fraser’s BLD is celebrating National Doughnut Day this Friday, June 6, with a special doughnut and bourbon pairing event. I’m not sure anything could sound better.

Pastry Chef Mariah Swan’s doughnuts are amazing, so to add my favorite spirit, bourbon, to the mix is almost too much to handle. But handle it you shall, if you want what promises to be an epic National Doughnut Day experience.

Here’s the menu:

Rocky Road Doughnut: salted caramel glaze, toasted almonds, cinnamon marshmallows, chocolate sauce
Bourbon Pairing: Elijah Craig 12 Year

Spiced Orange Caramel Doughnut: cinnamon and ginger spiced orange caramel, braised farmers market cherry
Bourbon Pairing: Basil Hayden’s

Coffee Cardamom Doughnut: chicory coffee cardamom custard filling
Bourbon Pairing: Crater Lake Rye

Honeyed Chocolate Doughnut: chocolate honey glaze, candied grapefruit peel
Bourbon Pairing: Bernheim Original Kentucky Wheat Whiskey

Butterscotch Toffee Doughnut: muscovado butterscotch custard, chopped toffee
Bourbon Pairing: Evan Williams Single Barrel

One doughnut: $3/$6 with bourbon
Three doughnuts: $9/$18 with bourbon
Five doughnuts: $15/$24 with bourbon

BLD restaurant
7450 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.930.9744
Doughnuts and bourbon available 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on June 6

Beverly Hills Hotel Golden Age suite. Photo by Peter Vitale and Beverly Hills Hotel.

Beverly Hills turns 100 years old this year, and to celebrate, the city has teamed up with some of its most luxurious hotels to offer special experiences.

Through the Suite 100 program, five hotels — the Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hilton, Peninsula Beverly Hills, L’Ermitage Beverly Hills and Montage Beverly Hills — have each redesigned a suite to reflect a moment in time from the past 100 years. The 1940s through the 1990s are represented (the 1980s conveniently have been left out, which is probably for the best), with homages to 1940s film noir and 1970s Studio 54 included. My favorites include the Beverly Hills Hotel’s 1950s Golden Age suite (pictured above) and the Peninsula’s 1990s Birth of Modern Glamour suite.

Even if you can’t afford to stay in one of these suites, you can experience a little of this nostalgia with special throwback menus at the hotel restaurants. From June 1 to Sept. 30, try the lobster thermidor at the Montage’s Parq Bar, the truffle mac and cheese at the Peninsula’s Club Bar, or the Tahitian vanilla and sour cream cheesecake at the Beverly Hilton’s Lobby Lounge and Circa 55.

Beverly Hilton cheesecake

There are other ways to celebrate Beverly Hills’ centennial that include shopping, too. Check out Love Beverly Hills for more information.

Note: The menu tasting was hosted.

The Ballerina at The Daily Dose

The Daily Dose cafe in downtown Los Angeles’ Arts District is tucked away in an alley with pleasant outdoor seating. What’s even more pleasant is its food.

A hearty breakfast of The Margot, a sandwich made with two scrambled eggs, feta cheese, chives, serrano chili and avocado — watch out, it’s spicy! — or The Ballerina (pictured above), with a duck egg fried in olive oil and thyme on ciabatta with butter, apricot jam and a slice of toma cheese served open-faced with arugula salad and purple potato, will set you straight.

The Margot

Get a sandwich with a Nutella Mocha or Dirty Chai (chai tea latte with espresso), and you’ll have yourself a proper morning meal.

Dirty Chai

Daily Dose also serves lunch menu for most of the day.

Note: This meal was hosted.

Further reading:

Daily Dose by hoopLA

#cornbreadpudding

Internationally inspired barbecue isn’t what one might expect to find attached to a comedy club, but that’s exactly what’s being served up at Roadhouse LA. Helmed by Chef Kyle Schutte, who has taken over for opening chef Robbie Richter, the Improv-adjacent restaurant offers grown-up cocktails from Dave Fernie (Harvard & Stone, Pour Vous) in addition to what’s being called “modernist global BBQ,” which means reinvented dishes such as root beer-cured bacon, Punjabi Poutine and Creme Brulee Mac and Cheese.

Schutte (Vu, The Corner Door) may be best known as the guy who tried out for The Taste with Chicken Fried Watermelon, intrigued judges Anthony Bourdain, Ludo Lefebvre, Nigella Lawson and Brian Malarkey, was not chosen to be on a team but was actually really good, and Lefebvre kicked himself for not picking him. And while he laments not being able to get away from the Chicken Fried Watermelon dish, I appreciated seeing it on Roadhouse’s menu. I had first tasted it when Schutte was at Vu, and it makes sense here.

The chef, on the other hand, is focused on the future, retooling the Roadhouse menu and adding his own dessert menu to debut later this month (look out for innovative dishes such as a brown sugar and thyme biscuit served with candied preserved orange, tallow ice cream (!) and verbena meringue).

One of my favorites from Schutte’s menu is the #cornbreadpudding (yes, that is its actual menu name) with roasted jalapeno butter, citrus charcoal, and tequila and cilantro jelly. It’s almost like a dessert, but it’s savory enough to be a great starter. The lamb, served with cucumber risotto croquettes (like arancini), ras el hanout spice and mango yogurt, is some of the best lamb I’ve ever tasted — and I’m not a big fan of lamb. Schutte said he uses Colorado lamb, which is less gamey than other varieties. The Wilted Beet Greens, made with ginger beer and served with dried blueberries, pickled beets and crystalized rose petals, was a good accompaniment. The smoked avocado with burrata, mache, pickled raspberries and sweet drop peppers is another interesting flavor combination of smokey and sweet.

Lamb with cucumber risotto croquettes

Wilted beet greens

Smoked avocado

Unfortunately, the brisket wasn’t available when I visited. Schutte said it takes days to prepare to get it just right. While I don’t doubt this, I would suggest making the brisket a weekly special instead of a regular menu item so people aren’t disappointed on off days. I will be happy to go back on a day the brisket is ready, even if it’s just to have it with Schutte’s squid ink and black garlic BBQ sauce!

As for the drinks, there’s a respectable list of beer and wine, as well as some house-made nonalcholic drinks, including root beer with vanilla, cinnamon, Chinese 5 spice, lime extract, sugar and Balinese long peppercorn. The cocktails are also nice, with the Jimmy Dalton (chrysanthemum bourbon, hickory applejack, sherry, bitters and citrus oils) and There Can Only Be One (Bank Note scotch, Smith & Cross rum, vermouth, maple syrup and smoked saline) as standouts. Mixologist Fernie is celebrating moonshine all this month, with $12 specialty drinks and $8 shots of Old Smokey available through June 5. The Apple Bottom James, with Ole Smokey Apple Pie, Jameson Irish whiskey, lime, honey and thyme, sounds pretty good!

Jimmy Dalton

There Can Only Be One

Note: This meal was hosted.

Julian Serrano restroom. Photo by Caroline on Crack.

When you’re out and about shopping and eating, finding a decent restroom is crucial. And when you find one that’s actually really nice, it can be a pleasant surprise, right?

Then why not nominate that business for having Cintas’ America’s Best Restroom?

Cintas’ survey editor recently reached out to me to help spread the word about the contest and get nominations for America’s Best Restroom (Canada’s Best Restroom will also be named). A couple of my personal favorites are the public restroom at The Grove shopping mall in Los Angeles with its marble floors and countertops, real towels and plush seating areas, and the restroom at Julian Serrano restaurant in the Aria hotel in Las Vegas, where Spanish language lessons are piped in. Nothing like tapas with a side of education, right?

Here’s the contest info:

Any restroom in the United States that is open to the public is eligible (previous winners will be eligible for reconsideration after one year). All nominations are accepted online through the nomination page. Nominated restrooms are considered by a selection committee based on eligibility, style, comments from the nomination and cooperation with the process. Up to 10 finalists will be announced in September, at which time the public will be asked to cast its votes. The winner will be announced in late fall.

Last year’s winner was the restroom at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. I’m not a big fan of unisex restrooms, but this one looks pretty cool. I especially like the foot-pedal-as-faucet-control idea. Take a look:

Superba pastries

Venice just got another great place to eat. And it’s not on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

The recently opened Superba Food & Bread on Lincoln Boulevard is what proprietor Paul Hibler, of Pitfire Pizza and East Borough fame, called the good sibling of Superba Snack Bar. Indeed, Superba Food & Bread’s menu is lighter, but the baked goods more than make up for any differences in calories. And what tasty calories they are!

The brioche sticky bun and pretzel croissant are two of my favorites. Both have great texture and balanced flavors — not too sweet or salty. But the porchetta di testa croissant is a revelation. Porchetta di testa, made from marinated and braised pig’s head, is sliced paper-thin and layered into a pretzel croissant. Savory and sweet at its finest. Thank you, Pastry Chef Lincoln Carson, for bringing this into my life.

Brioche sticky buns

Pretzel croissants

Porchetta di testa croissant

And Executive Chef Jason Travi, formerly of Fraiche and concurrently of Littlefork, should be thanked for his concoctions, too.

The pain au levain toasts are a great way to start a meal. For something sweet, go for the kaya version with coconut jam, pickled fresno and cilantro, and for something savory, go with the burrata, muhammara (walnuts and roasted peppers), pickled radish and parsley combination.

Kaya toast

Burrata toast

When it comes to sides, the roasted and raw sunchokes with green goddess sauce, as well as the crispy cauliflower, are standouts.

Sunchokes

While I didn’t favor the vadouvan leg of lamb (I rarely like lamb, so this is a personal preference), I did enjoy the seared arctic char served with snap peas, rhubarb and mint. Execution is definitely not an issue here.

Arctic char

While two of the dessert options, a strawberry basil pavlova and vanilla caramel custard with orange, were too floral for my taste, the Superba “candy bar” with marcona almonds, chocolate and sea salt was on point for me. It’s rich, sweet, salty, smooth and crunchy — basically, everything you could ask for. You can also savor some Stumptown coffee while you enjoy your dessert or pastry.

Candy bar

I can’t wait to go back!

Note: This meal was hosted.

Further reading:

First Taste: Superba Food + Bread in Venice Opens Tomorrow by estarLA

Superba Food & Bread Testa Croissant (Food of the Week) by Food GPS

Short rib grilled cheese by Govind Armstrong. From Epicurious.

April is National Grilled Cheese Month, and Los Angeles has lots to offer in this department. We’re not just about vegan-gluten-free-macrobiotic juice cleanses, OK? We like to eat, too, and that includes gooey melted cheese on perfectly toasted bread.

The grilled cheese that really changed the way I look at this particular sandwich was Chef Govind Armstrong’s short rib grilled cheese with red onion marmalade. The first time I bit into this ingenious concoction was at the now-shuttered 8 oz. Burger Bar on Melrose Avenue, and I loved every flavor-packed bite, making me realize that the lowly grilled cheese could be anything you want it to be — which in this case meant stuffed with slow-cooked meat and onions. You can still get it at Armstrong’s Post & Beam, thankfully.

Then the Grilled Cheese Truck came along, with its Cheesy Mac and Rib carb-on-carb sandwich (short rib, caramelized onions, and macaroni and cheese) and delightful dessert grilled cheeses. There’s a reason why the lines for this truck are so long. And the brick-and-mortar/truck combo The Melt has a good spicy version in The Mission made with pepper jack and jalapeno on sourdough.

And while we wait for Chef Eric Greenspan’s temple to this comforting sammy (simply called Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese) to open, which is slated for April 11, and lament the end of the Grilled Cheese Invitational on April 12, we can visit BLVD 16 at the Hotel Palomar through Sunday, April 13, for specials, including a prosciutto, truffle pecorino and arugula pesto grilled cheese.

Or, we can make some of our own interesting combinations, courtesy of Loews Santa Monica Beach and Loews Hollywood hotels.

You may recall the pastrami doughnut sandwiches I sampled at the Loews Hollywood recently. Now a similar version called Mister Crunchy will be offered all month at the hotel’s H2 lobby bar. And Loews Santa Monica’s Fireside Lounge will have its Fiesta Grilled Cheese, appealing to our Californian tastes. If you want to try your hand at making these yourself, check out the recipes:

Mister Crunchy

– 1 “Telera Style” yeast/raised doughnut roll
– 3 oz. thinly sliced Virginia Smoked Ham
– 1.5 oz. thin-sliced Wisconsin Cheddar
– 1 oz. thin-sliced Monterey Pepper Jack

Split the doughnut roll. In a Teflon pan, over low/medium heat, lightly brown the cut side of the roll until crisp. Turn roll sides over to lightly brown the outer sides of the roll. Preheat the top broiler in the oven to 500 degrees. As this is taking place, layer the ham and cheddar slices on each side. Cover pan. After the cheese begins to glisten, place the 2 halves together to form the sandwich. Top the sandwich with the Pepper Jack cheese, and glaze under the top broiler. Cut and serve.

Fiesta Grilled Cheese

– 3 oz. jalapeno pepper jack cheese
– ½ avocado
– 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
– ½ lime juice
– ½ teaspoon lime zest
– 2 slices sourdough bread
– 1 tablespoon butter

Coat grill with butter and heat. Spread butter on both sides of sourdough bread slices and place on grill. Add cheese to both slices of bread and let melt. Add ½ of avocado sliced along with lime juice and lime zest. Remove from grill. Sprinkle roughly chopped fresh cilantro on top of the avocado. Put two slices of bread together and slice.

Mary’s chicken tacos at Stocking Frame

The Stocking Frame in downtown Los Angeles is a great go-to no fuss, no muss restaurant and bar. It’s just trendy enough to please modern palates, but it’s not so trendy that it’s a turn-off. The space is large, so there’s plenty of room to enjoy food and drink with friends, too.

I’ve been here a couple of times, and so far I like the food better than the cocktails, which are fine but nothing special. A recent seasonal menu included a nice concoction of Bulleit rye, Nux walnut, Cynar and sea salt, as well as a fun mix of a spiced mezcal punch with lime and mint. The bourbon, Apple Jack and winter spice drink, which I thought I would like, was a bit too sweet for me.

From left: rye, bourbon and mezcal drinks

During happy hour (Stocking Frame refers to this as “Mid Day”) from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, you can choose from an abbreviated menu that includes the most delicious chicken tacos (two for $4) topped with a spicy mole sauce (pictured above). These are my favorite food offering here, so too bad they’re available only in the middle of the day.

My second-favorite item that I’ve had here so far is the Pig & Egg BLT with maple pork belly and chipotle mayo. It’s available only on the lunch menu.

The SF Pie with sopressata, wild mushroom and jalapeno is a decent pizza, though I wouldn’t say it’s a standout. I had this at lunch, but it looks like Stocking Frame has been tinkering with its menus because now it seems to be available only at dinner. And the beer cheese with crispy chicken skin, which was on the dinner menu last time I visited, is tasty, though it might be a bit on the salty side for some. I wish the pieces of toast that come with this were bigger, too.

Beer cheese with crispy chicken skin

Stocking Frame seems to be still finding its footing, with menu change-ups and a back room space whose purpose was still to be determined at last visit. Hopefully it figures out its identity soon, as it’s one of the better options abutting the South Park area.