The Divine Dish

LA Food & Wine Festival Kicks Off

Posted on Aug 22, 2013 under Archives, Los Angeles | No Comment

Over 120 chefs and 200 wineries will converge beginning tonight for four days and nights for the third annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival taking place along Grand Avenue, in Santa Monica and in Beverly Hills.  Tastings, seminars, cooking demos and live music are all part of the city’s largest epicurean gathering.

The festivities kicked off tonight with Giada’s Festa Italiana. Hosted by the Food Network star along the cultural hub of LA on Downtown’s Grand Ave., guests enjoyed the flavors of Italy by some of the city’s most renowned chefs including Gino Angelini (Rivabella), Fabio Viviani (Café Firenze), and Ori Menashe (Bestia), and vintners that include Barrymore Wines, while serenaded by a pop-up performance from the Los Angeles Opera’s Josh Guerrero.

Members of the press (that’s me) got to enter a half hour early.  Here is what I sampled and saw:

Most of the wine booths were down the middle of the red carpet with the food booths on the side.

Wolfgang Puck even had a wine.  And that’s Chef Gino Angelini (Rivabella) hanging out before the crowds came in.

Along with lots of wine, there was plenty of great Italian food.

Sponsors The Cosmopolitan and Jenn Air had a lounge and a big booth.

And lots of chefs, restaurants and food.

Chef Justin Smillie from Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria brought some fresh tomatoes.

The Bouchon booth was very crowded and Chef Thomas Keller did not want to take a pic by himself, so he obliged me and jumped up next to one of his chefs.

Chef Conant was amongst the crowd.

Looking forward to trying the new Bucato in Century City.

Tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday there are many more events for foodies to enjoy lots of great food.  To see the schedule and buy tickets, go to www.lafw.com,

Dinner at D.O.C.G, Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

Posted on Aug 11, 2013 under Archives, Las Vegas | No Comment

Located in the hip Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Scott Conant’s D.O.C.G. is a casual rustic alternative to the chef’s other restaurant and next door neighbor Scarpetta.

The marble tables, exposed wood beams, hardwood floors and brick walls provide a cozy comforting ambiance. D.O.C.G. stands for the Denominazione di Origine Controliata e Garantita, the highest wine classification in Italy. It also denotes the restaurant’s dedication to offering plenty of exceptional wines. Scarpetta and D.O.C.G. share a 3,000 bottle wine cellar with over 500 selections.

The food is just as varied and satisfying as the wine and a lot less expensive then dining at Scarpetta. The only problem we had was choosing between the many pizzas, pastas, salads, antipastas, grilled items and main courses.

Restaurant manager Noe Alarcon was our charming host and knew the wine list inside and out.  He started us off with two drinks, a Roman Goddess with St. Germain, Hendricks, lemon and mint and a Pragola with muddled strawberries, Citron and mint. Both delicious.  Next came a very long series of excellent dishes.  Here is what Sheila and I sampled:

The grilled filone came out first.   A duck egg surrounded by fonduta cheese sauce that when broken and mixed results in an exceptionally creamy and rich place to deep huge perfectly grilled pieces of bread.  A great way to start the meal.

The arancini with calabiran chile aioli was soft and warm inside with a crunchy outside coating.

The lardo wrapped prawns provided a lovely combination of buttery prawn wrapped around salty bacon over rosemary lentils.  Lovely.

Every pasta is hand made daily. All are outstanding, especially the pici, a short thick pasta with braised duck sauce and black truffles.  We were fortunate enough to have the chef prepare three pastas for us.  All outstanding.

Cavetelli was served with a sausage and porcini mushroom sauce.  Warm and satisfying.

The Scialatielli also delicious with lobster and shrimp.

Pizzas are cooked in a large wood fired oven. Diners can choose from traditional, a lovely simple Margherita with fresh mozzarella and basil to the extravagant, the D.O.C.G. pizza with fonduta, egg and truffle.  Chef sent out the Margherita for us which had a nice thin crunchy crust.

There are also plenty of items from the grill including steaks, veal and pork chops and lamb as well as traditional main courses such as roast chicken and braised short ribs. The chef sent us out a nice trio of samples – the salmon with eggplant fregola, the braised short rib with parmigiano mash and vegetables, and the diver scallop with corn, pancetta and fresno chiles.  Yum.

Desserts are also delicious, especially the caramel budino, a sweet and salty concoction with caramel, vanilla cream, toffee and whipped cream.  We also got to try the decadent chocolate tiramisu.  Both great.

D.O.C.G. is a perfect casual alternative to Scarpetta for dinner with a casual ambiance and rustic exceptional Italian fare.  Reservations highly recommended, located at The Cosmopolitan, 3rd Floor, 3708 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109, (702) 698-7920.

A Visit To Nobu Las Vegas

Posted on Aug 04, 2013 under Archives, Las Vegas | No Comment

Last time I was in Las Vegas I got very lucky.  I was fortunate enough to stay at the new Nobu hotel.

Nobu Hotel is the first celebrity chef branded resort in Las Vegas. Opened earlier this year, the 181-room boutique hotel inside Caesar’s Palace is one of several nationwide Nobu properties planned to open by partners Robert DeNiro and Chef Nobu Matsuhisa.

The hotel takes the place of Caesar’s old Centurion Tower and offers lots of high-end features for guests. Check in takes seconds via staff’s ipad’s and automated elevators.  You just swipe your room card and the elevator automatically knows which floor and directs you to your elevator.  Very cool.  This was the fastest check-in for me in five years of writing about Las Vegas.

Guest rooms feature origami-inspired décor, teak fittings, multiple shower heads, huge egg-shaped basin sinks and the most comfortable beds on the Strip.  We especially loved the low ultra comfy bed, huge shower and really deep sink.

The spa also offers a “Nagomi Ritual” with herb and food enhanced treatments including a honey foot scrub, massage with lavender aroma oil and a CO2 facial.  If you are a guest at the hotel a visit to the spa for this treatment is a great add-on to your stay.

The biggest draw for us besides the comfy beds were the luxury amenities for food lovers. Shortly after check-in, room service delivers complimentary Japanese tea and rice crackers to each room. The mini-bar stocks Japanese beer, Nobu branded sakes and chocolate covered Pocky pretzels.

Downstairs, guests have private access to and guaranteed seating in the largest Nobu restaurant in the world (12,775 square feet and 327 seats). Designed by David Rockwell, it is the first Nobu in the U.S. with teppanyaki tables where chefs cook on three flat top grills in front of diners. The menu features signature items including black cod miso, shrimp and lobster with spicy lemon, salmon skin salad, bento dessert box with flourless chocolate cake and green tea ice cream and a huge variety of tobanyaki, sushi, kushiyaki and tempura options. Additionally, diners who want to experience a tasting menu have a variety of price ranges to choose from – $90 to $190 for seven courses and $280 for eight courses.  Here is what Sheila and I sampled when we dined at Nobu Las Vegas:

Our waiter talked us into ordering this one, as neither of us are spinach salad lovers.  It was one of the best things we had all weekend – a lovely fresh spinach salad with dry miso.  This was so good we could have eaten a dozen of these.

The lobster and tuna tacos were fresh and tiny.  Next came the signature Black Cod Miso, which was delicious.

We also sampled a great sushi mini platter and some very fresh sashimi.

We also ordered the shrimp and Maine lobster with spicy lemon which was a nice mix of a small amount of heat with buttery shellfish.

We knew the appetizers and main courses would be amazing but we were surprised at how good the desserts were as well.  If your budget doesn’t allow for more than a few pieces of sushi or sashimi at Nobu (let’s face it, it is a bit pricey) make sure to add on one of their desserts.  The ones we tasted were amazing.

The bento box came with a flourless chocolate cake, white chocolate sauce, shiso syrup and the best green tea we have ever had.  Best.  Ever.

We also had the suntory whisky cappuccino with a coffee almond crumble on the bottom, coffee cream, milk ice cream and a whisky foam.  Beautiful.  Our waiter again suggested we try another dessert, we hesitated but he insisted that since we loved the ones we already tried that the third one would be just as tasty so we submitted.  We were served the heavenly toasted rice cake which was equally amazing.  A butter mocha cake with citrus creme fraiche, lemon gelee, almond crumble and a fresh guava sorbet.  Best desserts on the Strip.

Another huge lure for food-lovers is the unique in-room dining menu. Highlights include the High Roller Bento Box featuring lobster wasabi and Wagyu steak, rock shrimp buns, and a takami burger with foie gras and truffle oil. The one-of-a-kind breakfast menu items include blueberry and yuzu soba pancakes, scrambled eggs donburi with salmon nori and rice and green tea waffles with braised short ribs.

Here is what we sampled for our in-room breakfast:

Whether you choose to dine in or enjoy the large trendy restaurant, eating and staying at Nobu Las Vegas is a sure win.  Located at 3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South, inside Caesar’s Palace on Nobu Way.  702.785.6677 for reservations.

DineLA Summer Restaurant Week Launch

Posted on Jul 09, 2013 under Archives, Food and Travel News | No Comment

Tonight The LA Tourism & Convention Board and American Express hosted travel and food writers to a preview of their upcoming summer DineLA restaurant week.  Over 330 restaurants, from Southeast Asian fare to traditional steak house, rustic farm-to-table to white table cloth, will celebrate Los Angeles’ diverse dining options with prix-fixe deals from July 15 to 26.

Simon from Bouchon mixed writers drinks while appetizers were passed at Scarpetta.

The passed appetizers that we tasted will be featured as first plates for Scarpetta’s DineLA menu.  We sampled puree of Brentwood corn soup with mushrooms sotto’olio.

We also sampled a lovely pork terrine with porcini mustard, arugula and pickled cherries.  Yum.  We snuck in the Scarpetta kitchen to check out the action.

After we sat down, Scarpetta Chef Freddy Vargas spoke to the crowd and talked a bit about Scarpetta’s DineLA restaurant week menu.

We loved the variety of breads and sampled a nice braised veal and bone marrow agnolotti with fava beans, thumbelina carrots and gremolata breadcrumbs.

After a sampling of DineLA menu items at Scarpetta, we crossed the street and headed upstairs to Bouchon’s main dining room.

We sampled some refreshing daiquiris before heading into the kitchen.  General manager Stephen Cook shared some info about Bouchon and their DineLA menu before posing for a quick photo with pr folks Ty Brentsen from the Brandman Agency and Stacey Sun, DineLA Director.

We headed to the very clean streamlined kitchen where Chef David Hands met us and discussed appetizer items on the Bouchon DineLA menu.

In the kitchen we sampled a nice variety of appetizers on the DineLA menu including chicken rillettes with pickled grapes, mustard and grilled pain de campagne, Scottish salmon tartare with hard boiled hen eggs, red onions, capers, and creme fraiche on toasted croutons and truffle soup.  We also sampled a nice toasted wheat-berry, purslane, English cucumber, green grapes and Marcona almonds salad with buttermilk dressing.

We walked through the kitchen and got a quick look at some yummy fries.

I also got up and personal with a very delicious looking fresh crab in the fish walk-in fridge.

Chef Hands let us to the oyster bar where we tasted some very fresh yummy oysters.

We then sat down in the dining room and sampled a variety of dishes included in the DineLA menu, including market fish with potatoes, roasted peppers, mesclun salad with young market greens and shaved vegetables, braised fennel in a shellfish sauce, hand rolled cavatelli pasta with yellow corn, mushrooms, spinach and corn pudding, and steak frites.

We headed out to the garden area for a nice dessert, olive oil infused ice cream with shaved melons, provided by Chef Charles Olalia of Patina.

All of the writers received a great gift bag with desserts from Bouchon and a $100 dining card from Patina!

Thanks to all of the folks at Scarpetta, Bouchon, Patina, the LA Tourism and Convention Board, The Brandman Agency, The Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau and BluPrint PR.

DineLA Lunch menus will have  $15/$20/$25 price options,  dinner menus will have  $25/$35/$45 price options.

To make reservations and to view a complete list of participating restaurants visit www.discoverLosAngeles.com/dineLA.