Little Bear LA wharehouse across from early Nabisco building

1855 E. Industrial street sits a beer and food joint worth finding...sort of an LA Dumbo or LIC.

we didn't eat here at Ambrosia but this Middle Eastern
was so kind that when pregnant kim said she smelled lasagna but had eaten he gave her a to go portion because he said that in his country a pregnant woman with a taste must receive the object of her olefactory desire or else...nice man. next time.

across from Little Bear, very stylish restaurant 

At Last at At Last Cafe LONG BEACH...204 Orange Street

Four years ago based on a diners and drive-in and dives show we mailed a certificate for At Last...I have always wanted to go my self and this time we did reach the perfect gourmet road house. Surf and turf split for dad and daughtah and salads and ...

                                                                                      

Michaels Pizza in Long Beach is new

And right next store to Beachwood...Kim and Pats favorite bbq and beer joint.

Kims friend Anna had the Lasagne

Show star was excellent but an affectation about not cutting the pizza unless asked to preserve the crispness was odd

PAPPY AND HARRIETS Pioneer Town CA

http://www.pappyandharriets.com/

Joshua Tree National Park is about 16 miles from Pioneer Town ,home of the wonderfully funky Pappy and Harriet's bbq and music barn. Here the smoked chicken and ribs and margaritas in jelly glasses and sweet music and whole families dancing can bring the fun to the fun and sun game.

TIM AND GRUB

new music in the old west

twenty cathedral view of the st andreas fault

This made the Palm Springs stop worth it

Maureen and Tim and the eponymous trees

Seen this movie?

Simmzy's of Long Beach CA

Azul looks lab-ish and she sits on the other side of the rail while pregnant Kim and Patrick the hockey-beer king-clinician and JR and I eat the perfect CA lunch.

Pat (blue)might prefer the ice but he is at home on roller blades

apre hockey pork chili burrito with egg whites

chickpea fritter piadini with pillowy pita

Grilled salmon

Azul (found lost on the blue line but via adoption achieved permanency

JUNIOR IRON CHEF ...Cornell U Coop Extension of Suffolk County and Whole Foods and Chefs of the future

Margaret had an Eve Arden quality(anyone remember
OUR MISS BROOKS?)

Another way to celebrate St Pats

And a live broadcast

The crowds at the rail watching the race

Can't decide which i liked more : the middle school students and the High Schoolers competing or my fellow judges who love good food,children, and good food for children. This event encouraged new kitchen skills for healthier lives, seasonal and local foods and foods adaptable to improved school menus using USDA and other products. The joy of cooking isn't a book it is the faces of these kids...and us judges. Local radio covered it and crowds of friends and families gave it community and celebrity. JUdges included Margaret McGlone-Gurlides Asst director of nutrition at Plainview Hospital and Arlene Leggio Head Cook Manager at Islip Schools(and Chopped tv star)Dianne Houlihan(also Chopped),cook manager Oswegatchie Elementary School, Rhonda DeLoatch Head Chef Common Ground HS(Chopped as well)...Vito Minei ED Cornell Extension Suffolk and Jim Fogarty Culinary Ed,Suffolk Community College.
    Student teams arrived with a sister chef leader or a 4H group or a culinary HS link. But they all worked and team worked and pleased the judges with Parmesan Zucchini, Mole Burgers..fajitas and a largely vegetarian option array designed to be absorbed with applause into school lunches. Not an easy mission but accomplished by every participant to some degree at least. Some of the entries are strong candidates for field testing. Bravo, future chefs...and a toast to healthier school lunches.

DO OR DINE...Bedford Ave near Quincy

In Cognito on 18street...a cloud burst of excellent eats.

 Larry picked this one. And what a pick it was!
The chef chose and while that can be dangerous, in this case the three of us got to enjoy every bit of the excess . The only food photographed was this amazing antipasto(beef carpacio ,duck liver, bufala mozzarella caponata)plate...each of us had one. The ravioli (marzapone?)was x rated so no photos...and the desert platters were as complex and satisfying as the antipasto but comprised of cakes and creams and ..oh.. all mankind's best deserts. with a wonderful muscat sweet wine. And it was gone in a nano second ...so no photos.


As much as i loved the food and my friends, i love my new friend, Chef Paolo Montana...does he make everyone feel that way?
Don't misunderstand ...as funny and sincere and likable as he is, this man has inner creative furies...he has a mind that performs and entertains itself. I just met him, but I swear he is as much about empathy as he is about grit and focus and creativity. And he I suspect boils.  I liked him...You will feel as though it is as important to go back to visit,as much as it is to eat.

Can't you tell?

BENARES Indian comfort at 45 Murray St.

Konkani shrimp.

kolhapuri misal

The seating and food are comfortable and roomy in this vast downtown edition of a restaurant best known for its west 56th st location. The Konkani shrimp pictured above swim in a tomato sauce flavored with cumin and cinnamon. fresh and perfectly cooked. The dish on the right is a spicy chili and bean dish served with crisps and a yogurt chaser. I also recommend the Harabhara salad with

a guacamole tribute to Mexico and nicely diced vegies.