dbuckho's Profile
Waterloo and City: Luscious First Night
We went to Waterloo and City Friday night. Did not realize it was the official opening night. I drive by it going to work everyday, needed a restaurant for dinner with friends, so asked my wife to make a reservation. There were a few bumps on their first busy night, but the manager stepped in right away when our mains were taking a while, and the food itself was really really good.
Had the same halibut and sausage dish along with a side of chile broccoli. My friend had a mushroom pizza which while a bit heavy was also heavenly. Our wives ordered two different steaks - both awesome. Appetizers included scallops, shrimp, and fries - all good. Desserts including two chocolate things and two tarts were nice as well (forget exactly what they were - check the menu).
Overall I was surprised at how good it was and cannot wait to go back since this is very close to my work.
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Waterloo and City
12517 W Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90066
Amazing Christmas desserts on Westside?
Not sure if cream puffs from Beard Papa's (Sawtelle, just north of Olympic) qualifies as Christmas dessert? But the Beard Papa guy has a white beard just like Santa!
Ideas for wedding rehearsal dinner in Santa Monica
Reasonable and on/near the water will be hard to pull off in Santa Monica. I arrange a number of group dinners in Santa Monica for work each year and even looked at doing my own wedding here a couple years ago. Plenty of great places to choose from, but for work we rarely have a budget constraint. Catch is great and has a really nice private room if you ever have need for a smaller dinner (10-15 people). The Lobster also has great views, but will still end up being pretty expensive per person (not as expensive as Catch or One Pico, but still pricey). Whist at the Viceroy and Wilshire both have really cool patios, but also both will be pricey and Wilshire is inland.
I ended up having my wedding elsewhere, but had actually settled on Bob Morris' Paradise Cove Beach Café in Malibu for the out of towners' dinner if it had been here. It would have been more of a beach BBQ than upsacle dinner, but felt that was perfect for my family. And how can you beat being right on the beach around sunset?
If you want to stay in Santa Monica, I will throw out one more suggestion (at the risk of being booed off the board!). Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. I know it is a cheezy chain, but chain restaurants are better setup to handle a large group of 60. We do not have that many chain restaurants in Santa Monica in general - and Bubba Gump is the only one I can think of with an ocean view since it is right on the pier. And after you get over the movie theme, the food is not half bad. If you go to their website, click on events then social events - there is a link to their group menu. I think this is the most reasonable group menu with ocean views you can find here.
Dinners in LA / Santa Monica
Jiraffe is my favorite restaurant here in Santa Monica. Wilshire, Josie, and Melisse are also good. Joe's in Venice is another place I often take folks from out of town. Going there for lunch/brunch is very reasonable.
Musha is my favorite Japanese place, Before I moved here, Tengu in Westwood was a place my friends always took me - Asian-fushion plus sort of an LA experience with music playing in the background. There is a Tengu in Santa Monica now, though my experience there was not as good as the original. You might want to consider Nobu in Malibu as well for one of your nicer meals (combines the nice + exciting/experimental).
Stuck in a hotel with no car... Four Points Sheraton LAX
There are several restaurants at the Howard Hughes Promenade. You could probably get a free ride there on the Radisson Culver City hotel shuttle and then walk over from there.
http://www.hhpromenade.com/
Also, if you are up for a walk or can get a shuttle to drop you off, the Proud Bird is 1.4 miles away. Would let you really continue the airport living theme as you eat and watch planes land.
http://www.theproudbird.com/index.html
Need reservations in Santa Monica?
Second for Fritto Misto - one of our favorite places here in Santa Monica. We really like Jiraffe too - right downtown - though that would be more expensive and would need a reservation.
L.A.'s #1 Travel Destination- Las Vegas [moved from LA board]
I stayed at the Venetian last time and enjoyed my breakfast at Bouchon. I think my favorite large casino breakfast over the past 10 years is Le Village Buffet at Paris.
For dinner, you have so many choices these days as it seems any top restaurant/chef from any major US city (and several International cities) now has a branch in Vegas too. Some of the best meals I have had - Aureole at Mandalay Bay, most of the Venetian restaurants, Emeril's Fish House at MGM, and Drais at Barberry Coast,.
It comes down to what type of experience you want? Assuming you have been to Valentino or Spago here in LA, you probably want to try something new in Vegas. But if you travel to San Francisco, New York, and Miami a lot too, you may have already been to most of the best Vegas places (i.e. Le Cirque, China Grill, Postrio, etc).
Good clam chowder somewhere between Venice & Redondo beach? hopefully with an ocean view
I had a good bowl of clam chowder in Manhattan Beach not too long ago. I think it was at Rock 'N Fish? I also eat at Shanghai Red's in the Marina pretty often - I like their clam chowder too - nice outside area to sit on the water too (though it is the Marina, not the ocean).
Fairmont, Miramar - Santa Monica
Have not been to a wedding at the Fairmont, but have attended several conference events there which have included breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The food is generally good. Not the best hotel hotel catering around town, but decent enough and I remember some really good desserts. One of the meetings my work paid for... the comment from our coordinator was she thought the food was a little overpriced for what it was (comparing to other hotels like the Ritz in the Marina or Le Merigot), but we were also paying for a lot of rooms and meeting facilities, and those were more reasonable than the other places, so we were satisfied.
The Fairmont is one of the places I put my out of town guests (easy access to 3rd St., etc). I really like it as an event location too. Generally the customer service has been good. Have had one or two little issues, but they are usually resolved by the front desk manager. Only real debacle I have seen is when they run out of parking (which happens more than it should) and they start turning away cars. To their credit, the hotel reimburses folks who have to park elsewhere, but it is a pain in the ass for those who are unfamiliar with the area to go looking for parking in downtown Santa Monica.
I think it would make a fine wedding location (unless blowing away your guests with the food is goal #1 - then I would look elsewhere). The grounds are very nice.
Suggestions please for unique,local dessert
Went to a party not too long ago where the caterer served mini-milkshakes. Thought it was pretty cool and the display looked very upscale with all the small glasses on each tray, Sounds like the hot chocolate from CB would be similar.
Suggestions please for unique,local dessert
How about setting up your own Diddy Reise operation? You could go to Westwood - buy enough cookies from them - and then serve it with ice cream at your house.
Only other desserts unique to LA that come to mind are various organic things around town like the cakes you can get from Ghalia. But not sure your guests will really be happy about that.
One other suggestion - you can't go wrong with Pizookie from BJ's Brewhouse. Have yet to meet anyone who does not like Pizookie. Not an LA original, though the first BJ's was in Santa Ana.
Dog Friendly in LA/Pasadena Area
Try checking our dogfriendly.com. If you navigate down to California>Los Angeles> then either Hollywood-West LA, LA Beach Area, or Pasadena-East LA, they have a list of restaurants that allow dogs along with pet-friendly hotels and attractions in that area. I have taken my dogs to the Lazy Daisy and Zabies here in Santa Monica (allowed at the outdoor tables).
Early morning breakfast near LAX
If coming from the south, the Mariposas Restaurant at the Hacienda hotel is also open 24/7.
Link to their menu: http://www.haciendahotel.com/images/Mariposas_Restaurant_Menu.pdf
As mentioned, the closest good breakfast places (i.e. Dinah's or Roll n Rye) are not open until 6 AM. The Kettle was already mentioned. There are IHOPs both north and south of the airport; Denny's south and east.
Midnight around LAX/Westside?
I live around the corner from Cinco de Mayo and Johnny's Pastrami. There is not much else open late in those couple blocks of Sepulveda, and the 405 is right there - so the area feels like it should be sketchy - but in reality it is pretty quiet most times. Midnight should be fine.
where can i get fresh bulk crabmeat (for crabcakes)?
A second concur. My mother in-law from Maryland makes awesome crabcakes. She buys the cans from Costco or Trader Joes. She was actually just in town - have two large cans of Phillips crab meat still in the refrigerator.
Midnight around LAX/Westside?
A few more westside standards not mentioned yet (all very doable from LAX heading back to downtown): Jerry's Deli in the Marina, Swingers in Santa Monica, Johnnie's Pastrami (Sepulveda just north of Washington), Gaby's Mediterranean (just a few more minutes on Venice near Motor), The Kettle if you want to dip south to Manhattan Beach.
Also, Fraiche just opened in Culver City and claims they will keep the kitchen open until at least midnight and perhaps as late as 2 PM (read it in an LA Times article)
