Balabusta catering!

they did an amazing job at my wedding for 275 people
fabulous and abundant appetizers!
nice plated meal

the worst part of the kosher wedding is the cakes, but at least they can make them look good
(oh, Paula and balabusta did NOT do the cake)

I have actually heard that rumor about the old Islands Encino too!!!!

Providence is fancier,
Mozza has more diverse choices on the menu,
Your family will be happy with either

\and PASS on Red Medicine- was just there: loud, poorly paced service, some courses were exceptional, but a couple just seemed weird to be weird (I felt like the sashimi was an entry on "Chopped"- make something with amberjack, red seaweed, buttermilk, and tapioca pearls....)

wow-
sounds great,
and my birthday IS coming up....
what was the bill like?

and they have a sandwich special price late in the afternoon, like 3pm- 5pm or something.

The Six
on Pico just east of Overland

we also like Frida
on South Beverly Drive

Il pastaio
on North Beverly Drive (very LA scene-y)

did Gordon Ramsey Dine LA last year- not impressed.

went there for tea last month(not my choice)- REALLY NOT IMPRESSED.

for dine LA- we are going to Fogo and Craft- already have reservations
maybe Sotto if we get a last minute urge
FYI- Craft does the DineLA menu on Saturday nights also!

Had a delicious
Comte (a gruyere-style, I think)

went back and bought 2 more

La Buca on Robertson or Il Pastaiao on Beverly Drive (same owner)
great lasagna- very meaty, not cheesy at all!

what about one of the family style theme dinner nights at Mozza?
They are Thursday, Friday and Saturdays only, but they put out place cards, so your party of 5 could sit around a corner and be able to chat. go to the Mozza2go website and look under events calender

anyone been by yet? still set for the 19th?
anyone going this weekend?

Providence FOR SURE!!!!

I have been searching LA and the valley and have not found any-
I brought a bottle to my office and offered a prize to anyone who found it!!!

I have resorted to ordering it off the internet
I think saucestore dot com was the best deal with shipping

we did our 7th at Providence largest tasting menu- WOW, and I heard they have lowered their tasting menu prices!
our 8th we did at Mozza Mangiara in Famiglia- WOW and fun with nice strangers!

LA Chowhound going to be at the Palace hotel for a convention next week-

are any of these walking distance?

any other suggestions?

I thought this was a photo-shopped JOKE!

Had Providence BIG tasting menu (14 courses) for my anniversary 6 months ago- I still remember most of the dishes, can't imagine that I could eat FOUR desserts, had great service, pacing, tour of the kitchen...........

I would do it again in a HEARTBEAT- please give the hint to my husband.

I went on a week day for lunch and the restaurant filled up by 1 pm.
we had an All Ameican burger that was on special for $6- I believe it is 6 ounces instead of 8- it was delicious and juicy and I loved the brioche bun. Also tried the turkey burger which was nice a flavorful.
I think the restaurant is kind of pricy for what it offers- I am not usually going out for PREMIUM burgers......, but I DID like the burger

Windy Ridge has only dwarf trees and we have been going since my toddler was 2 and she can pick right off the trees! It is a fun kid day- go early, bring water!!!!!
http://www.pickcherries.com/#cherry_u...

they are not opening until the 19th, but we like them the best!

my mother remembers a bakery somewhere downtown-ish to buy petit fours-
we are looking for some for a baby shower-
preferably cute and not too pricey.

any ideas?

Il Buco on Robertson is owned by the same Drago as Il Pastaio,
has the same delicious Bolognese,
is 1 mile closed to the EAST side, and makes great thin pizza to boot!
http://www.giacominodrago.com/buco.htm

eh- pretty good but expensive for what it is.

I had the mushroom and spelt soup- did not like it
DH had the grilled octopus- Mozza's was much better
2 pastas- one with eggplant was good, one with meat sauce was great
DH had the Tbone steak- done perfectly, pretty tasty
has a nice bottle of cheap red italian wine ($38)
way too loud inside- had to be asked to move to the patio
nice service from the wine steward, OK waiter

no value though- it was MUCH more expensive than Il Pastaio, and not any better

well,
Animal was a mixed review for us a couple of weeks ago-
good food, nothing I was thinking about the next day, and DH didn't care for his DRY pork chop, but SOOOO NOISY

Comme Ca had very tasty food, mediocre service, and again, SOOOO NOISY

Mozza would be my pick- I have had delicious food each time (I am sitting here thinking of the orchiette and ALL the cheese apps), excellent service, but SOOOO NOISY

maybe you should just get rid of criterion #2 if these are your 3 choices

so I finally tried Foxtail-
the reservation policy is baffling- we called that day and they would only give us 6:30 or 10:30-
but, at 8:30 the tables were only half filled?

the room is beautiful- art deco/art nouveau, dark wood, comfy but SHORT leather chairs and settees. too loud music- got louder as it got later.

GREAT service- a pretty new waiter, but so friendly and un-pretentious.
delish drinks (at $15 per cocktail, they had better be) we had a pomegranate/cucumber refreshing drink, the Uva Bella- which tasted like the freshest gin-drink ever, and a blackberry- cognac drink which I would have saved for dessert.
they come around with a wine cart and will give you tastes of some of the bottles

starter- well, Chef Antonia sent out some amuse bouches
a fried kumamoto oyster that was fresh and light
a demitasse of french onion soup that was tasty, but may have been too rich for a full order

then we had the mussels- may be my new favorite- buttery and fresh herby and tarragony, maybe TOO big a portion- 50 mussels? I kept waiting for DH to finish more mussels so I could dip my bread into the broth.
oh, the bread- they bring you this fresh from the oven sourdough chapeau- yes a little roll with a "cap"- yum yum yum, but when you ask for another- it took 10 minutes because I think they really were baking them up to order.
OK, our other app was the tuna tartar which was fresh, but forgettable. go for the mussels!

then we split a pasta- we originally wanted to try the papardelle with lamb ragout, but were swayed to a special fettucine with summer truffles. Too heavy, and I guess I just don't appreciate truffles......

so for mains, we had the lamb loin with sunchoke puree, brussels sprouts and bacon- the lamb was tasty, the puree tasted like potato, and the brussel sprouts and bacon were outstanding.
we also had the sea bass with saffron cauliflower puree, romesco and beet greens. I thought the sea bass was too salty, but the sides were good.

for dessert we had the mixed berry cobbler with ice cream (fromage blanc maybe- I closed the menu page I was referring to) and the chocolate bread pudding.
cobbler- very good and full of fruit, ice cream was delish
bread pudding- a little loose for me, and not enough chocolate.

damage was about $250? including 3 cocktails and a $25 glass of wine
hope that was helpful-
I will be going back for my birthday next month
hope Chef Antonia keeps doing well on Top Chef

Underwood is great for kids- they have activities (bouncer, pony rides, petting farm)
PLUS pick your own-
May- we picked strawberries, then all the lettuce, snap peas, salad veggies- my 3 1/2 year old LOVES it

all the kosher markets sell them- Pico Glatt on Pico and Elm, Elat Market on Pico and robertson. They are all closed on Saturday

anyone? anyone?

we wanna try it out........

Arnie Mortons- chocolate or raspberry!!!

Spark woodfire grill on Pico used to have a super crispy thin crust pizza- haven't been in about a year

do you mean wishire blvd and beverly blvd as the north/south limits and lacienega and fairfax as the east/west?
b/c that doesn't include much of beverly hills....

if you are talking about Wilshire Blvd and Beverly Drive- smack in the business district of BH-
Urth Cafe on South Beverly Drive
Il Pastaiao on North Canon
The Grill
Barney Greengrass at Barney's on Wilshire