Dining Tip

There's a great breakfast place in downtown LA called The Nickel Diner. It would be worth mentioned for the bacon donuts alone. Yes ... I said bacon donuts.

Foodie Info

There was lots of talk of food the other day so I thought I should give out the link to the 99 essential restaurants of LA,  as provided by Jonathan Gold, food critic for LA Weekly. If you look to the top of that page, the hidden links under Restaurants will take you to other useful reviews and guides by Gold, who is the city's best food critic in my opinion.

Our night out with David Scott Milton

Anne, Tina, Emily and I are having dinner with writer David Scott Milton at Taylor's Steakhouse this Tuesday, meeting at 7:00. Valet park as I don't want you walking around this particular neighborhood.

Here's what you need to know about David. Wikipedia says: "David Scott Milton (born September 15, 1934) is an American author, playwright, screenwriter, and actor. His plays are known for their theatricality, wild humor, and poetic realism, while his novels and films are darker and more naturalistic. As a novelist, he has been compared to Graham Greene, John Steinbeck, and Nelson Algren. Ben Gazzara’s performance in Milton’s play, Duet, received a Tony nomination. Another play, Skin, won the Neil Simon Playwrights Award. His theater piece, Murderers Are My Life, was nominated as best one-man show by the Valley Theater League of Los Angeles. His second novel, Paradise Road, was given the Mark Twain Journal award "for significant contribution to American literature."
I would also suggest reading his interview here.

Here's what you need to know about Taylors Steakhouse:
3361 W 8th St
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 382-8449
Read the LA Times review here. The steak pictured is a culotte -- their specialty.

LA Seafood

The subject of seafood restaurants came up today. Here's my thoughts:
1). Overall, I think the best seafood restaurant in LA is downtown at the Water Grill. In 2001 it received a one star rating from Michelin (That's a good thing). It's expensive, but a very good place to go with parents or working siblings.
2). On the west side, and a little more of a scene, there's The Lobster by the Santa Monica Pier. The fish is very good there -- ironically, I'd stay away from the lobster -- stick with the fish.
3). As mush as I love the Water Grill, the single best piece of fish is actually in Brentwood, at Vincenti (the dover sole roasted in the fire burning oven) -- also pricey but a lovely Italian restaurant. Read a recent review here.
4). If you actually want a "lobster night," and you're in Los Angeles, I think you have to go to The Palm. West Hollywood original location or across from The Staples Center.
5). You could also drive up the coast past Malibu to biker hangout Neptune's Net. Cold beer, good clam chowder and clams, etc. (If you want fried fish though, skip Neptune Net and go to Malibu Seafood instead) Affordable.

And finally, I haven't been here yet, but I hear that the Hungry Cat in Hollywood is good -- and looking at the website, this might be a good bet for what you're looking for.

Now that covers restaurants, but let me just add that Santa Monica Seafood is by far the best seafood market in the city, if you want to cook at home. (They have good stuff at the counter as well). You should go there just to see the place.

On the subject of hamburgers ...

Chain wise, both Fatburger and In-and-Out are much better than standard fast food fare, especially In-and-Out (You can find the closest one by going to the website and putting in your zip code) Considered by some experts to be one of the 25 best burgers in the country!Burger joint wise, I'm partial to The Apple Pan -- great Hickory Burger, but also great Tuna, great pie and an amazing cup of coffee. Read about it here and here. Everyone should go at least once -- in fact, I'm leaning toward taking you on Friday. For the Park La Brea people, another option for a historically great burger is

Irv's Burgers 8289 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046-5925

Other popular choices would be the Counter in Santa Monica (Read a review here) and Pie 'n Burger in Pasadena.

On the more gourmet burger front, the popular consensus winner is the burger at Father's Office in Santa Monica and Father's Office II in Culver City. (A patty of fine dry-aged beef is topped with caramelized onions, Gruyère and Maytag blue cheeses, applewood-smoked bacon compote and arugula served on a soft roll.) Read the review. A runner up is 25 Degrees in the Roosevelt Hotel in Holllywood. The burger's great, the location even better. (Review here)

There's other spots as well, but the point is that one never needs to eat at McDonald's -- there's better burgers all over the city. For those interested in even more burger info, click here.

DINNER TONIGHT AT 5:00 PM

Le Petit Bistro restaurant

French Bistro cuisine
631 N. La Cienega Blvd.,
West Hollywood CA 90069

The website is here.

I know Alicia is not coming because she has friends in town. Dave is out of town. At last count, everyone else is coming. Let me know if that isn't accurate. See you tonight -- the food is great.

Sunday Dinner before the show

Dinner on Sunday: Let's meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Memphis Soul Cafe. It is located at 2920 Bristol Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Allow over an hour travel time.

To get there, get on the I-405 S, go a little less than 50 miles, take the BRISTOL ST exit.
go 0.3 miles, Keep RIGHT at the fork to go on BRISTOL ST.
go 0.6 miles, End at 2920 Bristol St.

Note: This is not in South Coast Plaza. However, I encourage all of you to go earlier in the day to South Coast Plaza and explore. It's website is http://www.southcoastplaza.com/
At almost 3 million square feet of enclosed space, and covering some 128 acres in all, it is one of the largest shopping centers in the world. It's also the most profitable mall in the country (with nearly $1 billion in sales), and it attracts more shoppers than any other mall in America - over 20 million a year. Some tour groups from Japan plan their entire vacation trips around a visit to South Coast Plaza. It is not simply a shopping mall. Rather, South Coast Plaza is a vast shopping, dining, & entertainment complex, featuring two separate enclosed malls, and several distinctive outdoor areas. It sprawls over a vast property which includes luxury hotels, dozens of restaurants, banks, fountains, art gardens and theatres. It's virtually a small city in its own right. The western wing, the "Jewel Court" (between Nordstrom & Saks Fifth Avenue) is a virtual indoor Rodeo Drive, containing such exclusive stores as Gucci, Versace. Georgio Armani, Saks Fifth Avenue, Christian Dior, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Tiffany, Hermès, Bvlgari, Burberry, Fendi, Yves Saint Laurent, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jimmy Choo, Bottega Veneta, Donna Karan New York, Sergio Rossi, Louis Vuitton, Celine and Cartier.