Apr 2013

Weekend Brunch at Sunny Spot – Los Angeles (Venice)

Weekend Brunch at Sunny Spot - Venice

If you’re anything like me, then you’re probably emailing or texting your friends at this very moment to firm up weekend brunching plans.  If you haven’t yet figured out the “where” variable in your dining equation, allow me to make the case for Venice’s Sunny Spot.

Weekend Brunch at Sunny Spot - Venice

After a winter-long hiatus, Chef Roy Choi is reintroducing brunch in brilliant fashion. He’s jammed the new menu with big, bold flavors, as well as portions large enough to share—hallmarks of his style of cooking and feeding.

Weekend Brunch at Sunny Spot - Venice

Natural light pours into Sunny Spot’s main dining room and patio, while rap music, particularly of the West Coast variety, blares from the speakers. This space was made for hosting laid back  daytime fetes.

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Apr 2013

Beachwood Cafe – Los Angeles (Hollywood)

Beachwood Cafe - Hollywood

The residents of Beachwood Canyon are incredibly lucky to have a place like Beachwood Cafe to drop into for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The space couldn’t be any more adorable, while the cooking  is thoughtful and satisfying.

Owner Patti Peck took over the former Village Coffee Shop last March and, along with Chef Minh Phan, converted the one-time greasy spoon into a cozy neighborhood spot serving farm-to-table fare. The Astronomer and I, along with a gaggle of girlfriends, dined at Beachwood Cafe on an uncharacteristically rainy Friday night. The damp weather demanded just the sort of hearty fare that Chef Minh executes superbly well.

Beachwood Cafe - Hollywood

Previously, Chef Minh (left) attended Le Cordon Bleu, served as the Pastry Chef at Axe in Venice, and spent time in the kitchens of Gotham Tavern in Portland and the Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga Canyon. That’s our friend-in-common Diep Tran on the right.

Beachwood Cafe - Hollywood

To start, we sipped sparking wine cocktails accented with pink peppercorns and star anise.

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Apr 2013

{Instabites} March 2013

{Instabites} March 2013

{taro swirlz up in my bunz, peanut butter & banana cake by hourie, the juiciest lucy ever, orange powder mac n cheese craving (it happens), l.a.’s best rice pudding, to live and dine in l.a., a formidable army of breakfast burritos, banh canh for breakfast with ong & ba ngoai, snoutz, springtime crostata from proof, creamsicle whoopie pie a la tom douglas, serious biscuit. seriously, #TwoDaysInSeattle home base, top pot: a must stop, hot fudge sundae at the sunniest spot, they call ’em big beautiful muffins (i call ’em lemon poppy), t-boz. left eye. chilli., n’tasha’s bun rieu}