ShopEatSleep

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.

Drago Centro's celery root panna cotta

The 24th Annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles event at CBS Studio Center in Studio City was good times. The “Go Green, Go Organic” event benefited the National Kidney Foundation through a fancy-schmancy auction that was too rich for my blood. Good thing I had tasty food to keep me occupied. While there were some repeat participants from last year’s event, I managed to find some new favorites this time ’round.

Drago Centro‘s Sommelier and Beverage Director Michael Shearin served up mini Smitten With Britain cocktails of Tanqueray gin, fever tree tonic, and fresh chives and lime. The drink was nice and light yet had a nice kick. Chef de Cuisine Ian Gresik served up an interesting celery root panna cotta topped with pancetta and a basil crouton. I’ve never had a savory panna cotta before, so this was definitely intriguing.

Drago Centro's Smitten With Britain cocktail

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Splendid Thermal Stitch Long Sleeve Cuff Sweater

Sassy City Chicks, a seasonal fashion and beauty event, is holding its fall get-together this Thursday, Nov. 4, with discounts on designer labels, beauty demonstrations and Chevrolet ride-and-drives. The shopping will feature deeply discounted designer styles from Splendid, Paige denim, Hudson and Current/Elliot, among others, at 30 percent to 80 percent off retail prices.

Also, the Chevrolet Lounge will spotlight two of Sassy City Chicks’ favorite designers and will offer the opportunity for all attendees to participate in the Chevrolet and Buick test drives or ride-alongs before and during the event. If you sign up ahead of time, you’ll have access to Chevy’s newest vehicles from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., as well as pre-event mini spa treatments, extra swag, and early entry to shop the event before doors open to the public. If you can’t make it that early, Chevrolet and Buick will also offer chauffeured rides to and from a local restaurant in either a Chevy Camaro, Traverse, Cruze or Malibu, or the Buick Regal or Buick LaCrosse.

There are two levels of entry for the event: a $25 Tote Ticket will get you entry, a gift bag, complimentary spa services and complimentary cocktails, and a $10 ticket gets you general admission without all the goodies. You know you want the goodies, right? Since you’re such a devoted ShopEatSleep reader, you can get a FREE Tote Ticket by going to the ticketing page, choosing a Tote Ticket and entering the code CHEVROLET at checkout. But hurry — only the first 50 people will get one!

Petersen Automotive Museum
6060 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

What kind of food and wine event makes you say, “Camels, zebras and buffalo, oh my!” upon pulling up to its venue? Los Angeles magazine’s The Food Event, that’s what kind. No, these animals weren’t on the menu but were residents on Saddlerock Ranch, home to Malibu Family Wines, where the eating and drinking festival was held.

This was my first time at The Food Event, which I thought was ambitiously named but pretty much lived up to it. The venue — nestled in the Malibu hills among vineyards — was beautiful, even on that gray and rainy day, and the food and drink were excellent. It wasn’t too crowded, either, which made the experience much more enjoyable (the weather may have had something to do with it).

Here were my favorite tastes and moments from that day.

Sweetsalt Food Shop‘s duck confit slider with lavender butter. Yes, yes and yes.

Sweetsalt Food Shop's duck confit with lavender butter

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Bakelab goodies. From Bakelab.

Artisanal L.A.: This weekend-long shopping, tasting and educational event comes from those who brought you the L.A. Street Food Fest and Unique L.A., so you know it’ll be fun. Artisanal L.A. will showcase the city’s finest local, sustainable and handmade edibles, including treats from Bakelab, Cake Monkey Bakery, Bonadea Drinks, Scoops and The Oaks Gourmet, among many others. For $10 (advance purchase; $15 at the door), you’ll get unlimited entry for two days to enjoy all this plus local craft beer and spirits tastings, a one-of-a-kind tote bag for the first 1,000 attendees, arts and crafts workshops, speakers and chef demonstrations, giveaways, Pitchfork’s Mud Baron giving out seedlings, and gift wrap hosted by Uncouth Gourmands benefiting the LA Regional Food Bank. Partial proceeds will benefit Los Angeles Unified School District’s Edible School Gardens.

The Cooper Building
860 S. Los Angeles St., 11th Floor Penthouse
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Oct. 23 and Oct. 24
11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The Barkley Pet Hotel & Day Spa: Billed as the Ritz-Carlton of pet hotels, The Barkley is opening up this weekend in Westlake. While there are other shi-shi pet hotels, including D Pet Hotels, what makes this place unique is its inclusion of birds and exotics in its description of “pets.” Now you can house your dog, cat, bird and snake all at the same place! There are overnight accommodations, grooming and spa services, day camp, obedience training, and pick-up and delivery service. The full-service day spa services include baths, body massages, mud-masks and “pawdicures.” Prices start at $45 per night. Not too shabby, huh? If you’d like to check it out, there will be sneak preview tours this weekend with entertainment, auctions, raffles and food with all proceeds benefiting local pet charities. Advance tickets are free with registration.

The Barkley Pet Hotel & Day Spa
31166 Via Colinas
Westlake Village, CA 91362

Preview tours Oct. 23 and Oct. 24
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Grand opening Oct. 25

The Food Event: Los Angeles magazine’s annual event will also be celebrating the magazine’s 50th anniversary and its November “Mexican Food Lovers Guide” issue. The day will feature chefs, culinary experts and sommeliers with lots of unlimited food, wine and other treats, including the Top Chef Masters panel in the Conversation Lounge. Some of the luminaries scheduled to appear are Susan Feniger of Street and Border Grill, Mark Gold of Eva Restaurant, Laurent Quenioux of Bistro LQ, Ian Blackburn of LearnAboutWine and more. On top of all that is the location of the event, Saddlerock Ranch in the Malibu hills, home to Semler and Saddlerock wines. Nice!

Saddlerock Ranch
31727 Mulholland Highway
Malibu, CA 90265

Oct. 24
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
$95 in advance (for $5 more get a one-year subscription to Los Angeles magazine, too); $110 at the door

Emily the Strange. From SlashFilm.

Emily the Strange at Royal/T: Starting today through Nov. 11, Emily theStrange — the ever-moody black-haired cutie cartoon — will be at the center of a pop-up shop and exhibit at Culver City’s Lolita-inspired Royal/T cafe space. During the exclusive retail engagement, books, artwork and one-of-a-kind collectibles will be on sale. Proceeds from the Emily the Strange pop-up shop will support the brand’s altruistic efforts — encouraging teens to be empowered individuals. When it’s time to take a break from shopping, you can order up a Strange Brew Chocolate Pangea Tea and Emily the Strange-themed black kitty cupcakes by Hot Cakes Bakes. The official opening party will take place on Friday, Oct. 26.

Royal/T
8910 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232

Macy’s Shop for a Cause: On Oct. 16, donate $5 to charity online or in-store and get a shopping pass that gives you 10 percent to 20 percent off items you purchase that day. You can also use the in-store shopping pass for 25 percent off one regular, sale or clearance item in men’s, women’s or kids’ apparel or accessories (some exclusions apply). In any case, you’ll save. Sounds good to me!

Junior Drake Warehouse Sample Sale: Clutches for $40? Bags for $60? Yes, please! Head down to the South L.A. warehouse this weekend for a cornucopia of bags, wallets and even belts. Make any purchase on Friday or Saturday, and get an additional 10 percent off to spend on Sunday. You can enter a raffle to win a free handbag, and if you spend at least $150 you’ll get a free canvas tote. Munch of free hot dogs, cookies and drinks, too.

Friday, Oct. 15, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 16, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 17, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Junior Drake Warehouse
740 E. 60th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90001

From S/V Rapture

The Marina del Rey Convention & Visitors Bureau is holding a digital photo scavenger hunt called Hit Me With Your Best Shot. Cute, huh?

Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know much about MDR other than it’s a beach town, so I think doing a scavenger hunt would be a good way to explore and learn more about the area. And the visitors bureau is giving away some great prizes to the winners, too.

To participate, you’ll have to take photos of yourself in front of or next to the “iconic, unique and quirky” items listed in certain categories representative of the MDR community — family, foodie and wedding. You’ll need to collect at least five photos to qualify for prizes; if you collect all 10 photos in a category, you’ll be entered to win grand-level prizes.

Each category has prizes with values up to $2,200, including:

To enter, upload photos either to Facebook, Twitter or by email to marinadelreycvb@gmail.com. The deadline to submit all photos is Oct. 27, 2010. The grand prize and runner up winners will be announced via Facebook, Twitter and the Visit Marina del Rey Blog on Nov. 10, 2010.

The Blogger Prom Committee all dressed up! Photo by Heather Kincaid.

The Hollywood Confidential Blogger Prom, the second incarnation of last year’s Blogger Prom, took place at the elegantly historic Yamashiro Restaurant last week, and boy, was it a party! With guests decked out in their best Hollywood glamour — every decade from the 1920s to the 1950s were represented — along with classic tunes and abundant food and drink, Blogger Prom was a hit. Just check out these stories in the Los Angeles Times and Brand X!

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Blogger Prom: This year’s Blogger Prom, dubbed Hollywood Confidential, is taking place this Wednesday, Sept. 22, at Yamashiro restaurant. Since I’m on the planning committee, I haven’t been posting on ShopEatSleep as often as I usually do — an event as big as Blogger Prom takes a lot of work! There’s going to be all kinds of fun stuff, including good eats from Chef Brock at Yamashiro, tastings from Barrie Lynn The Cheese Impresario, Coolhaus, Crumbs Bake Shop and other yummy and generous sponsors. There will be giveaways and gift bags galore, so if you’ve received an invitation and haven’t responded yet (this is an invite-only event!), do it now! You won’t want to miss this.

Pinkberry: The ever-present purveyor of tart frozen yogurt is now offering a take-home container that holds the equivalent of five small servings (prices range from $9.95 to $10.95, depending on the store). You can also purchase toppings to go for $1.95 per container, too. I’m not too sure how the froyo would hold up if placed in a home freezer, but I guess it could work if you were having a party and were planning on eating it soon. The fruit bowl is also a new offering; from the description, it sounds like a reverse cup of froyo, with mostly fruit topped with what Pinkberry is calling Swirly Whip, which is made from the Original tart flavor.

Eat, Breathe, Shop at FIG, Fred Segal Couture and Exhale: Spend more than $500 at Fred Segal Couture and get a complimentary week at Exhale Spa in the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows as well as a complimentary FIG Fit breakfast at the hotel’s FIG Restaurant. The FIG Fit menu features health-conscious items such as scarlet quinoa with diced apples, and house-made power bars blended from dates, acai, gogi, pomegranate and hemp seeds. Exhale combines fitness and movement with spa and healing therapies, and if you sign up for one of Exhale’s memberships, you’ll get a $100 credit to Fred Segal Couture. It’s a pretty nice cycle.

Official L.A. Fashion's Night Out shirt designed by FIDM student Marc Blaskovits. From Transmopolis.

There are like a gazillion events happening tomorrow, Sept. 10, for Fashion’s Night Out, and you can find a great list at Mondette. Here are some others that are taking place in Santa Monica, for those of you on the Westside:

Fluxus: The Santa Monica Place store will have a guest DJ, complimentary cupcakes and champagne, an exclusive preview of the Fluxus fall/winter 2010 collection, and a Buy 2, Get 1 Free discount.

395 Santa Monica Place
Santa Monica, CA 90401
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Fred Segal Santa Monica: While the Melrose location does its thing (see the Mondette post), this store will be hosting giveaways and gifts-with-purchase from JET, Sharon Segal, ICON and Line & Dot. There will also be personal styling by Kahi Lee, a debut wall installation by KSwiss, art by ICON, music by DJ OMG and cocktails.

Fred Segal Santa Monica
420 Broadway St.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

There’s also a bunch of stuff happening at The Grove, which Kelsi of Dedicated Follower of Fashion and Two Point Oh! L.A. has explained. There’s so much going on, I don’t know where to go!