I am having a party on Saturday and would like to bring in some homemade pasta. I don't need the sauce, just the pasta. If not, any suggestions for store-bought brands? Thanks!

I am a huge fan of Capriotti's. It's a Las Vegas sandwich chain that is making its way out to LA. The Beverly Hills location is the first, but I believe they are opening 3. I love the bobbie, but try the capistrami. It is really great. I've had a hard time finding good take out sandwiches in LA and this is a nice welcome.

My husband and I are going to be celebrating our 35th birthdays in Vegas. We want to treat our friends to dinner and drinks and need a fun location on or near the strip to do so. The catch is we do not have a ton of money and would like to keep the cost for each person under $40 (excluding drinks).

Firefly or Peppermill (fireside lounge) come to mind immediately, but we are looking for any other ideas. Some place where we can eat, and then party the night away nearby or at the same location.

Headed to Vegas next week with some friends. Been to many Vegas steak places but never tried CUT or Carnevino. We are going to try one of these places. Which would you recommend.

Rosemary's has been on my list for a long time. Glad to here it is good solo. Thanks for the recs!

I am an L.A. Chowhounder traveling to Vegas for 5 days alone. Any places that are particularly good for solo diners? I will be on the strip but have a car. A trip to LOS will be on the agenda.

Brent's has a great party tray option. Thanks for the rec!

I am having 7 people over tomorrow and need to provide potato pancakes/latkes. Where can I pick up good ones?

I live in Encino but am willing to drive a little bit.

Went there for the first time last night. We went to the restaurant in the front first and we were wondering where the live music was. We were told to head around the corner. The venue is great. We sat right near the band and they were great. Not too loud either.

Food was great as well. We ordered the cheese and charcuterie plate and the waiter was very helpful with suggesting decent pairings with our wine flights. The cheese plate was so huge we decided to split a kobe burger. It was also huge but excellent. They had switched out the garlic fries for sweet potato fries on the menu, but we asked for garlic fries instead. We ended up getting both. The garlic fries are really out of this world - perfectly seasoned and served crispy and piping hot. The burger had a nice smoky flavor.

Service was great, we never felt rushed and it was really a great evening. We will be back and next time we will bring our jazz loving friends.

Headed up to Solvang/Santa Ynez for a bachelorette party this coming weekend. We want to do something casual and fun on Friday night. I found Manny's Mexican and Don Jose's Restaruant online, but haven't heard whether these places are terrible or not.

I am a foodie, but for the purposes of this trip (bachelorette - 10 of us) I am willing to give up the quality for some fun. Anyone been to these places? If so which do you think would be more fun for a group of 10?

Also - do any of these places have outdoor seating? We prefer to sit outside.

Thanks!

My husband and I go there all the time. Healthy, quick and fresh. It is great for take out or dine in. Nothing fancy but great for a weeknight dinner.

Any recommendations for a nice high tea in Pasadena? The Huntington Library and Gardens where I usually go is booked solid.

I found a few choices - are any of these decent?

Rose Tree Cottage
Tea Rose Garden
Scarlet Tea Room
Tea Room at teh Ritz Carlton Pasadena

Interested in some good non-Japanese food in the valley. Any suggestions? Prefer Encino, Sherman Oaks or Studio City area.

Has anyone hit up LA's restaurant week? I've got a few reservations (Ford's Filling and Grace) but wondering if there are any "must tries" out there?

So we used the porcini's we bought at Surfas for $34.00. I was a bit nervous because there were 2 choices of porcini's and they only had 1 bag left of the cheaper kind. We made some mushroom risotto for about 10 friends and it was a hit. The porcini's were of excellent quality and went over very well. Having never been to Surfa's before, I can't wait to go back. That place is great.

We ended up going on an adventure today. Whole Foods has them for $75.00/lb, Ralphs for $60.00. Ranch 99 (which has a location in Van Nuys) does not sell them at all...but the winner is...
Surfas - $34.00!! So we are all set. Thanks for the recommendations!

Looking for some dried porcini mushrooms that will not break the bank. They are at our local Ralphs but are super expensive. Any suggestions? Perhaps ethinic grocery stores? We are in Encino, but would be willing to drive a bit to find them.

Thanks!

Yes, the 7 course menu was $79 per person. With drinks, we paid $120 per person including tax and tip.

Robuchon was $235 a person after tax and tip. So for roughly half the price we got a far superior meal.

We just finished a wonderful meal at Hatfield's. It was my birthday so we opted to go big with the tasting menu. The courses were "spontaneous." 2 of the 4 people got the same dish and the other 2 got another dish for each course. This way we could taste 14 different dishes.

Notable hilights:

Croque Madame with hamchi - We will go back to Hatfield's just for this dish. It was perfect in every way - the crusty golden bread, perfectly cooked quail egg and delicious hamachi. This was a playful and perfectly balanced dish.

Japanese Octopus- Another must have. While I tend to find octopus a bit tough and tasteless, this was wonderful - tender and moist. I was sad when I took the last bite.

Scallop - Another perfectly executed dish - tender, not overpowering and just a great few bites.

Hamchi collar - My husband loved this dish. He liked the texture and and playfulness of the colors on the plate.

Chicken breast with foie gras- I never thought chicken could taste so good. The skin was crisp while the meat was tender. Just a great dish.

Duck with foie gras - Again, perfectly cooked and texture. Beautiful presentation.

Beef rib with spatzla - Another standout. This dish had been cooked for 36 hours and it was just wonderful. Melt in your mouth good. The spatzla was a fun accompanyment. We all universally loved this dish.

I am not much of a dessert person, but the desserts made me one. The standout was the chocolate, peanut butter creation with salted caramel ice cream. It was sweet, but the balance of the saltiness of the ice cream was magnificent.

We cannot say enough wonderful things about Hatfield's. Excellent food and service. Having just done the tasting menu at L'Atalier Joel Robuchon in Vegas, the meal at Hatfield's blew each and every dish out of the water. And the service at Hatfield's was so much better. All this for a fraction of the price of Robuchon.

Having done quite a bit of research before our trip to Napa, we settled on Cindy's Backstreet in St. Helena. There were three of us who went to wine country on a girls' weekend. We are fairly open about where we eat and like restaurants that run the gamete.

Upon arriving, we were promptly seated in a nice booth in the back. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the entire meal - it was all downhill from there.

Deciding not to have wine, we settled on the cocktail menu which seemed rather nice. Since several of the drinks were "signature" drinks, I asked the question of whether one particular drink was sweet (I tend to like a bite to my drinks). Our server's response was that he "did not drink cocktails." I ended up ordering the drink which was too sweet. I guess that's what I get for ordering a cocktail in wine country.

Our waiter came to take our order and did not bother to disclose the specials (though the server behind us did so to her table). For our appetizers, we ordered the salad with candied pecans and blue cheese along with the flatbread for our appetizers. The appetizers were quickly served and were fine. The salad was perfectly dressed and was enough to share. The flatbread had fresh mushrooms and a sharp but not overpowering cheese. There was some strange curry taste to the flatbread, however that detracted from the simplicity of the mushrooms and cheese.

Unfortunately, before we were done with our appetizers and mid-fork, they tried to clear our plates. This happened a few times throughout the evening. What was worse than the service was the food. For our main courses, we ordered the goat cheese ravioli, meatloaf and duck burger for dinner. The ravioli was watery and consisted of four small pieces. The meatloaf was tough and I swear, Trader Joes turkeyloaf was far superior. The sauce must have been out of a can and not even a good can, perhaps prego. It came with some mashed potatoes that tasted like they were out of the box. This dish was something that would have been served at a wedding with really bad food. The duck burger was okay but really nothing special. It was somewhat overpowering. We were all very disappointed with the main courses, particularly after hearing good things about this restaurant before.

The dinner service continued to disappoint. My friend ordered a cocktail during the appetizers and it failed to arrive until after our main courses were cleared away. I asked for the cocktail menu prior to the main course and not once did someone come by to take my order let alone ask how the meal was. When my friend's drink finally arrived, we very kindly commented to the server that we would have liked to have it during dinner. He gave no apologies and simply, a cavalier comment that "oh the bartender was backed up."

Having had a really mediocre dinner, we opted for no dessert. Of course, only then did the waiter actually seem to take an interest in our table. Upon leaving, we spoke to the manager to let him know what a disappointing meal we had. We did not want anything taken off the bill so we waited until after we paid. He seemed apologetic and wanted to give us a gift certificate for our next meal, but since we will not be returning, we declined.

Overall, we would rate Cindy's one of the worst meals we have had in recent memory.

These are all great recommendations. We are staying in St. Helena. Having read some of the reviews on Ad Hoc, I am intrigued. Have been to French Laundry before and am curious. I like the Wappo bar and grill idea as well. Thanks!

We are headed to Napa at the end of October. We are going sans spouses and are looking for some places to go out to dinner/drinks that are age appropriate (early 30's), somewhat fun and nothing that will break the bank. I would say no more than $80-100 per person with drinks.

I've been looking around the boards and found the following places that seem interesting.

martini house - st helena
cindys backstreet
Bouchon - Yountville
Terra
Gordon's café and wine bar
Redd- yountville
Zuzu for drinks

What do we think of these? And are there any other suggestions you have?

Yes. Was there yesterday. For a lunch place it seems way overpriced compared to the already overpriced lunch places in the immediate area. That being said, the ahi tuna oriental salad was fine (though a bit heavy on the dressing). My friends had other salads which just looked ok.

But, I will probably find myself at Piknic next door as it has the same level of food with cheaper prices.

I like the steak tartare at Cafe Des Artistes. They also make it at the table and you can adjust the amount of heat you want in it. Took my mom there for her b-day and we split an order. It was great. If you go there, be sure to book the back patio.

Taking my SO out for his birthday tomorrow. Our first stop is to the Griffith Observatory. Our next stop is the Bordeaux tasting at Wally's Wine in Westwood.

Since I just found out they won't let us bring food to the Observatory my picnic lunch plans are ruined.

Any suggestions of a cute lunch place near or in between the Observatory and Wally's?

1. Sushi 4 on 6
2. Brent's Deli - Northridge location (puts Langers to shame IMHO)
3. Josie
4. Saddle Peak Lodge
5. Mastro's