Issue 15 — VIP Treatment, Places to Go When It's Hot🔥, Savory Parfaits 🍑🥬 + other Fairy Food
Did ya miss me?
Oops, took an unintentional sabbatical this month— went to a wedding up north, then was in Maui for a bit… I came back to a sweaty sticky Los Angeles and it feels like so much has changed. I put ice in my water now (just one cube) and everything I eat is in a lettuce cup for some reason. It’s hot out.
New Bites —
Here are the LA Michelin Restaurants of 2023. 🌟 (It’s a lot of sushi including my personal fave, Morihiro)
Brightland Pizza Oil is back in stock 🍕 Get it or regret it.
Nomadica added an Orange to their canned wine line up. Perfect for picnics or if you live alone.
Belle’s Bagels is set to open this November — bagels, schemer, matzo balls, smoked fish, Jewish inspired cocktails…. 🥯
Currently trending on my side of the internet: Girl Dinner, Sidewalk Service, Bread as Centerpiece, Wine Baths, Affogatos, Tomatoes, Fairy Food, Butter Sculptures, Yuzu Everything, Newspaper, martini glasses as snack bowls / serverware.🍅 🍋 🧈 🥬 🍷 🍸 Catch up!
All Day Baby started a weekly Restaurant Trivia series on Wednesdays. Annie and I played last week. We lost. Lien came up with great questions — they were so hard! I was humbled. 📝
At age 24, Flynn is closing New York restaurant Gem — He shares his thoughts on the changing landscape of fine dining, and how he plans to pivot in this Grub Street article. Gem Wine will move into that space, and sometime in the not-so-distant future, a new Gem will be born. Woops… missed my chance…
Cookbook Larchmont is happening and it looks big! Thanks @pieceofclass for sharing this pic with me last week.
Madhappy collab’d with Courage Bagels. You missed the pop-up, but they still have merch. This mini tote was made for me.
Speaking of Courage Bagels, Eater says Courage changed the bagel industry, paving the way for places like Layla’s and Hot Water. They’re calling it, ‘The Courage Effect’.
Recipe: Savory Summer Parfait
I have to credit Annie for inspiring me with this flavor pairing — she demo’d her Nour x Yuzu Co Za’atar dressing this way at a Less Is More Market, with stone fruit, dill + mint… Here’s my spin.
I’m not a big dairy girl, so I grabbed a cashew based yogurt by Forager — I salted one big juicy tomate from Beylik Family Farms, cut up 2 apricots, and topped with shiso, @Chloecooks___’s pistachio dukkah, chive blossoms, Acid League Garden Heat + Nour x Yuzu Co. Dressing. Flavors are unmatched.
Perks of being the Restaurant Regular —
🎧 Recently on Taste podcast, Matt sat down with Ben Leventhal (co-founder of Resy + Eater) to talk about his new Restaurant Loyalty platform, Blackbird. Not sure how I feel about the platform quite yet, but the conversation alone was interesting. (skip to 13:00)
They talk about what kind of special treatment makes them feel seen at a restaurant — from being greeted by name, to someone remembering their dietary preferences, squeezing them in at the bar on short notice… The reason we frequent restaurants of course isn’t just about the food, it’s about the community. It’s about feeling welcomed and wanted — feeling seen. Anyway, it got me thinking…
P.S. Taste puts out great podcasts multiple times a week. Just in the last month, Matt’s had on Andrea from Snaxshot, Rachel Karten of Link In Bio, Cal Peternell from Chez Panisse, Courtney Storer, Ayo Adebiri + Lionel Boyce from The Bear) 🎧
Recent Bites —
Little Fish Bridgetown Roti Collab: The fried fish sandwich never fails me. Don’t split it, get your own. They just wrapped their July residency at Bar Bandini. Follow along for their next pop-up.
Queen St: Hush puppies with butter and trout roe. A literal perfect bite.
Sol Food: My hometown fave — the Vegetariano with pink beans + garlic plantains. (just a 6 hr drive north of LA)
Justine’s Wine Bar: A vegan’s favorite food is sauce, and Justine gets it. The Moroccan cigars come with a herby yogurty sauce, the fried ricotta stuffed squash blossoms come with a spicy pimento nacho’esque dip. I want to buy tubs of both.
I went to another brunch put on by vitamin brand, GEM — this time featuring a spread by @domenicadinnete. The melon salad…the borek! Chef’s kiss!
Grilled Mushrooms at Danielle + Jesse’s — I decided I’m going to learn how to grill this summer — seems like a hot skill to have up my sleeve. 😏🔥
Challadad’s 3 foot masterpiece: at Whimsy + Row’s home linen launch / potluck party. I’m telling you, if you’re ever concerned people won’t bring food to your party, make it a competition with a prize. They’ll bring stuff.
Lettuce cups with crispy salmon, pickled beet rice, kumquats and chili crisp. Everything looks better and tastes better in Danielle’s back yard, I’m convinced.
I had alll the wines from Good Boy’s Natty Wine + Food Fest at Tee Gee’s — went with my friend (+ local celeb) Mady from Camber and I looved being her sole entourage. $40 bucks for never ending wine tastings? YES. 10/10 will be returning next year. See the recap on her TT.
Every Mai Tai on Maui: The strongest was Tommy Bahama’s hands down. The Four Seasons signature cherry float was a special touch… but I think Mama’s Fish House takes the cake. Haven’t had a MT in LA that quite does the trick. DM me if you know a spot. Coconut shrimp is a bonus.
It’s HOT af 🔥 Here’s my Summer Hit List
Note, you will not catch me on a rooftop, I’m more of a Capri rat. I love a little sidewalk hang and a mist machine.
Tropical Juice LA - any juice combo you want. (*ask for no dairy)
Playita Mariscos - anything. all of it. fire the menu
Bodega Park - avocado sandwich
Joy- cold case sides + a shaken aloe tea
Figaro - fries + people watching
Marco Polo - cucumber avocado salad
Capri Club - ice cold dirty martini + polenta fries. (or current @bay.brat special)
Cafe Triste - chilled red + your neighbor’s cig
Barra Santos - CRUDO
Bar Flores - marg
Walt’s Bar - natty wine + a glizzy
Loreto - anything from the conchas menu + spicy marg
Queen St. - oysters on oysters
Night Market - crispy rice+ papaya salads all day
Damian - tostadas + yuzu cocktails
H-Mart - soak up the AC, grab a kimbap for the road
Coco’s to Go-Go - Italian Ice
Poolside Delivery: Kismet Rot (their party packs are great for groups), Sweetgreen, Homestate — or just go hang at Silver Lake Pool + Inn.
West-Side: Bay Cities, Gjusta, Broad St. Oyster Co, American Beauty / The Window, Le Great Outdoor, Endless Color, Cobis…
Haven’t been yet, but I hear good things about: Ruby Fruit, Ceviche Project, Simon, Red Room.
Stay cool out there. x
🔗 Last Week’s Most Clicked Link
Sweetgreen x Susan Alexandra’s $355 Salad Tote sold out in one day and already feels like old news. (okay, now this really is old news…)
worth the wait on this write up
I’m starving now