Pilgrim sandwichThe Larder
Suzanne Goin along with partner Caroline Styne are opening a take-out-centric operation called The Larder in the Beverly Hills “industrial district” serving breakfast $3-$14 & lunch $5-$15. (look for an opening around early November)
image credit: The Writers RoomThe Writers Room Bar
Located in the alleyway/parking lot in the rear of Musso & Frank Restaurant, 6685 Hollywood Blvd.
Tel. 323-491-4148
Opening Hours: Thursday-Saturday, 9pm-2am
The Writers Room bar and lounge was at one time frequented by various well-known writers who threw them back in what was at that time the “back room” of Musso & Frank, today they are in no way affiliated with M&F. This small bar has no cover, but it could be difficult to enter if they don’t know you or do not like the cut of your jib, as it is subject to guest lists and private events. Dress to impress and name dropping might help! The bar has been put together by Nur Khan, who owns a few similar venues in NYC, along with involvement from actors Jason Segel and Jack Huston (John’s grandson) providing assistance with PR. It also boasts an antique 1920s Parisian-style elevator turned into a curtained-off, private booth.
OTHER LINKS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
The Hamlet located on the western edge of the Sunset Strip
Another old landmark restaurant, Hamburger Hamlet on Sunset Boulevard has bitten the dust, and it will close at the end of December due to a lease hike (owners have raised the rent to attract a new genre of restaurant).
IDG (Innovative Dining Group) are taking over, although it is unknown what kind of venue they might open, they currently operate Sushi Roku, BOA and Delphine.
Tavern Tipples. . . Prince Harry visited several San Diego nightspots, which included McP’s Irish Bar and Grill in Coronado, owned by a former Navy SEAL.
He also visited the rooftop restaurant/bar of the Andaz hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp District.
McP’s is a block from the Hotel del Coronado where local legend holds that Edward, Prince of Wales, met Wallis Simpson, who was then married to a Navy officer, during an official visit in 1920. Their romance caused Edward to renounce the crown in 1936 for “the woman I love.”
Amy Pressman has passed away on September 30, 2011 just before the scheduled opening of Short Order, a Gourmet Burger project she was a partner in with Nancy Silverton, opening in October at the Farmer’s Market. Link to our recent post on Short Order
In July of 2012, California will ban the sale and production of foie gras. The selling of the velvety delicacy after July 2012 could result in a $1,000 fine. California should think twice before implementing this law. Remember how Chicago lifted the two-year ban on foie gras which, Mayor Richard Daly had said was the “silliest ordinance” the city council had ever passed and made Chicago “the laughingstock of the nation”.
Where will this stop? Restaurant owners worry that lobster, veal, and even eggs might not be too far behind on the “to be banned” list.
OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST:
Ludo Lefebvre, a forty-year-old tattooed, Burgundian chef known for his construction, operation & deconstruction of pop-up restaurants is partnering with Animal’s Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo to fight for the right to party with foie gras. The two festive dinners are to be held at Animal Restaurant on Fairfax on October 14 and 15, (the price for the eight-course dinner is $175 per person). Reservations are accessible by phone only by calling: (323) 782-9225. Be forewarned that the tel. line may be engaged, and Animal Activist group PETA with all certainty will hold a disruptive rally in front of the restaurant’s entrance.
Culinary Tidbits . . . Philippe Chow on Melrose Avenue is reportedly on the market for under half a million dollars. The owner however, denies that it is.
This was the former location of the Art Nouveau restaurant Le Chardonnay with its mirrored walls, ornate tile work and dark wood owned by Chef Claude Alrivy and his partner Robert Bigonnet. It was one of the most beautifully decorated restaurants in Los Angeles. Then designer Dodd Mitchell got a hold of the property and utterly destroyed it.
Houston’s took over Langan’s Brasserie’s, Century City space (pictured above) in the early 1990′s
Houston’s in Century City at the Westfield Mall is closing after more than twenty years after a lease dispute with the mall owners. Houston’s originally took over the site, especially built for Langan’s Brasserie of London, who eventually also terminated due to a lease dispute with the mall owners, the major shareholders of which, were a union pension fund at the time.
Image credit: racquetclubgardenvillas.blogspot.comAfter retiring as a popular Hollywood leading man of late silents and early talkies, Charlie Farrell became a resident and one of the early founders of the desert city of Palm Springs, California. Shortly after, he opened the well known and sought-after Palm Springs Racquet Club in the city with another actor, Ralph Bellamy. When he was owner and proprietor of Charlie Farrell’s Racquet Club in Palm Springs, California he became a major force in the prosperity of Palm Springs in the 1950s, Farrell was elected mayor of the community in 1953, a position that he held for seven years. During this era and going forward, the Chi Chi Club was in vogue as was The Doll House, where the bar stools were equipped with seat belts. Farrell was best known for his work with Janet Gaynor in 12 screen romances between 1927 and 1934. He retired from films in the early 1940′s, but returned to do a television series in the 1950′s where he appeared as Gale Storm’s widowed father in the popular “My Little Margie” (1952). He passed away in 1990 at 89 years of age.
