kotter's Profile
Cool places to celebrate graduation with drinks
Bar * Food on Wilshire is pretty good. Cheap drinks. All food under $10.
http://foodwoolf.com/2009/03/los-angeles-barfood-review.html
Private party for 100 in Dana Point
Does anyone have any ideas for places to have a good corporate event for 100 people somewhere in Dana Point (or within 10 miles)? It can either be sit-down or buffet-style. I have already checked out Salt Creek Grille and Cannons, but they cannot make it work for various reasons. The budget is about $35-40 per person. Thanks.
Where to buy frog legs?
Is the oyster house any good? It looks a bit . . . unsavory.
Brined turkey
I agree. I bought it 2 years ago and they didn't have it again until this year. It really is good. I bought a kosher brined one last year, which was not nearly as good and not completely de-feathered (yuck!). I was removing feathers for 2 hours with eyebrow tweezers. By the way, you stole my name. I am dkotler. I had to use a fake one.
Melrose Bar & Grill?
Went last week. It was quite tasty. I think they do serve brunch.
Rehearsal dinner in Southbay, MDR, Venice
Cafe del Rey in MDR has delicious food and I've been there for the prix fixe dinner, which is about $40/person. I am sure they could accommodate you and the view of the marina is nice.
Melrose Bar & Grill?
I am contemplating trying this place tomorrow night. It's at Robertson and Melrose. What was there before? Their website is not completed yet, so I am not sure what's on the menu. Has anyone been recently?
Former NYer in NYC for a week
I have not been back to NY in 6 years, so I am sure that most of the places that I used to frequent are gone. Some of the places, I simply don't remeber the names. Anyway, I want to hit all the must-haves. Location does not matter as long as it's within 45 min of midtown. Specifically, we are looking for the following:
Casual Indian (region irrelevant as long as it's authentic and good)
Hole in the wall but amazing quality sushi (I used to go to one off Houston, possibly on thompson)
Soup dumplings
Italian (used to like Babbo but have heard it's not so good anymore)
Greek (just not in Astoria - that's a little too far)
Middle Eastern
Any other delicious, non-touristy places would be appreciated.
Where to buy steak tartare (weho/wla/sm area)
Try whole foods, harvey guss on olympic or the butcher in the 3rd st farmer's market
Casual dinner place in W. LA/ Bev Hills?
Caffe Bella Roma on Robertson south of Pico. Yummy homemade food and BYOB ($4 corkage).
Moroccan Cuisine - Recommendations
I absolutely agree with your assessment. We used to go to Tagine when it first opened, but then it seemed to change.
I have never been to Koutoubia but the menu looks good. Any thoughts?
Bella Roma SPQR - Review
We recently went for a late breakfast. Really good. Big portions of tastiness. The potatoes that they serve with the breakfast (sort of au gratin) are awesome. This place is such a find. I only wish the weather would cool off a bit, so that we can sit outside.
LA chowhound seeks multitude of tastes
I will be in Chicago for a conference for 5 days. I've been there once before and enjoyed all the food. I can't remember the name of a single place I went last time, but I did have a memorable meal at a restaurant that specialized in game dishes in the middle of the park. Anyway, my husband and I are both relatively adventurous eaters and would like to try everything from very casual pub food to steakhouse to high-end restaurant. I would love one of the choices to be a seafood place that's casual but with really good fresh fish and possibly an oyster bar. We're staying at the Tremont Hotel right off Michigan Ave, so places not too far away would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Bella Roma SPQR - Review
My husband and I finally went to Bella Roma SPQR on Robertson near Pico. We live in the area and were looking for a non-pretentious place to have a decent meal on a night when I didn’t feel like cooking. So I looked at Bella Roma’s menu online and determined that this would be our next venture to find our “regular” corner joint. I had called ahead to find out whether they had a beer and wine license and was informed that they were still in the process but that we could bring our own wine. I was also informed that the corkage fee was a whopping $4. . . So, Wednesday night, after a long day at work, we made the short trip to Bella Roma. As luck would have it, there was even a parking space directly in front of the restaurant.
The place is small but cozy. I believe that there are more tables on the outdoor pation than inside. The patio is comfortable and dark (but not in a bad way). The only problem here is the proximity to Robertson. Cars tend to speed by to and from the 10 freeway, and there is the occasional deafening siren from the fire trucks coming from the station down the block. However, all this can be easily overlooked given the warm reception from the owners and the simple and simply delicious food.
This place is not serving cutting edge dishes with complex sauces and flourishes. What is surprisingly cutting edge and new about Bella Roma is that it does not pretend to be anything it is not. They simply offer delicious food. We were told that Chef Roberto is from Rome and is trying to recreate the simple dishes served in casual restaurants in Italy. Add to the mix the chef’s personable and friendly American wife and you have a perfect casual dinner. They make you feel like you’ve just arrived for dinner at a friend’s house.
We brought our own wine – 2000 Mondavi Cab Reserve (at this point I did not think I’d be having fish). The waiter opened the wine and Lisa, the aforementioned wife, brought our menus. After we thought that we had made up our minds, Lisa indicated that they had some additional specials. I ended up ordering the antipasto misto from the menu and the branzino special. My husband ordered the special crab cocktail and the spaghetti carbonara. While we waited for the appetizers, we had some warm bread with olive tapenade. My antipasto was good, consisting of grilled vegetables, prosciutto, mortadella, olives and mozzarella. This is a dish that is hard to screw up, but alos generally does not stand out. My husband’s crab cocktail was delicious. It was served in a small goblet. It consisted of chucks of fresh crab (they didn’t skimp on this) and fresh cantaloupe along with lemon and some other spices that I could not decipher from the 2 small bites my husband was willing to share with me. He was ready to lick the goblet when it was all gone. While we waited for the entrees, Lisa brought out a small plate of Ubriaco (?) cheese, which is parmesan soaked for 90 days in merlot, for us to try. YUM. It was earthy and delicious with the wine.
Next, I got the branzino baked in salt (I think), which was served with sauteed spinach, potato puree, grilled polenta and a lemon-caper sauce. Roberto brought out the fish and de-boned it tableside. The fish was perfectly cooked, moist and fresh. There is nothing worse than paying $25 for branzino and having it smell fishy. The same could be said for the crab appetizer, which was also supremely fresh. The lemon-caper sauce was not over-powering and a good complement to the fish. I could have done without the grilled polenta with the fish, but my husband enjoyed it. His carbonara was also quite tasty, but whether intentional or accidental, it was missing peas. But even without the peas, it was very tasty and even light (odd to say about carbonara, but true).
Although we had no business ordering dessert, we did. We got the tiramisu and the spaghetti freddi. The dessert spaghetti is ribbons of vanilla gelato with raspberry sauce imitating marinara and white chocolate shavings standing in for parmesan. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a gimmick. It looked cool and tasted as one would expect. The tiramisu was good without too much mascarpone.
Overall, we both enjoyed our meals and will definitely be back. This may just become our new “regular”. Hopefully, we’ll still be able to get a table.
Great Italian for 6 tomorrow evening
Yup, going tonight. They apparently don't have their liquor license yet, but the corkage is a whopping $4. Will post a review tomorrow.
La Cieniga and Olympic - Local Eats
il buco on robertson and wilshire has pretty good, homey italian
Great Italian for 6 tomorrow evening
I think I may try it tomorrow night since I live in the area and have been looking for a new place to eat.
Mexican in/near West Hollywood (with tot)
uggh, Lares is awful. Try Gardens of Taxco in West Hollywood (I think near Sweetzer and Santa Monica Blvd.). The food at Taxco is not spectacular but it's a memorable experience and a tot would be fine.
Casual, outdoor BYOW
Westside, Beverly Hills, Mid-Wilshire, West Hollywood. Price does not matter, but we don't want anything fancy.
Casual, outdoor BYOW
Having trouble thinking of a place to go for a good, casual dinner tomorrow (Saturday) night. We'd like to sit outside and bring some nice wine with us. Any suggestions?
Russian Deli
Just drive through the Russian ghetto that is Santa Monica Blvd. between Crescent Heights and La Brea. There are probably 30 different Russian markets. I'm Russian and the ones I love are all in NY (Brighton Beach). The delis in LA are not as good.
Chow Near Cornet Theater on La Cienega?
If you want something within walking distance, there are not that many options (not good ones anyway). Sona is right across the street - people rave about it, but I thought it was decent and overpriced. There's another place across the street that seems to change names and/or ownership every few months. Last time I drove by, it was a Thai restaurant. If you're willing to drive, there are plenty of options on Beverly Blvd (about a mile away) - BLD, Hatfield's, Grace.
Pinkberry coming to Old Town Pasadena (?)
I went to Pinkberry a couple of years ago when it first opened on Huntley in West Hollywood (my husband and I lived a block away and happened to be walking by). We both thought the stuff was a little odd-tasting, certainly not phenomenal or even particularly good. In fact, we thought the place would go out of business in a couple of months given it's location at the beginning of a residential street with permit parking. Boy, were we wrong!
So, since the PInkberry invasion of every major neighborhood, we decided to give it another shot. We went to the one on Beverly Dr. last week. Blechhh. What do people see in this stuff? It's vile. Chalky. The fresh fruit was the only thing that saved it. Even so, my husband and I could not finish the small cup we got to share. BTW, the green tea flavor is even more vomitous.
Takeout for a company meeting in Downtown LA
Cafe Prezzo has great pasta and sandwiches in the Union Bank Bldg. Also, Corner Bakery has a nice selection on 8th & Fig. Koo Koo Roo and La Salsa are also decent for takeout.
Steak Tartare...the real thing...
There used to be a good version at Moustache Cafe (which is now Chocolat(?)) on Melrose near Crescent Heights, but I haven't been there in years.
Recommendation for La Serenata de Garibaldi
Everyone seems to rave about this place, but I thought the food was barely decent. I ordered a fish with some type of parsley sauce that was so salty as to be inedible. SO ordered a pork dish that was equally over-salted. Chips and salsa were ok.
Catch in Casa del Mar Hotel?
I did a search and only one comment re: Catch. Because it is a relatively new place, there are no other comments. I usually check before posting, but thanks.
Catch in Casa del Mar Hotel?
Has anyone been to this relatively new restaurant in the Casa del Mar on Ocean in Santa Monica? The menu looks good, but I'm always a little wary of goint to dinner at a hotel restaurant. Any thoughts?
Update on the Village Idiot??
Has anyone been here recently? I've only heard some not so great things about it.
