GAYOT's Blog

 

The W Los Angeles in Westwood was abuzz with celebrities and American Cancer Society VIPs the night of May 26 in celebration of the hotel’s tenth anniversary. As “The Official Sponsor of Birthdays,” the American Cancer Society (ACS) held a special fundraising silent auction to benefit the fight against cancer and “create a world with more birthdays.” Floating luminaries were provided in exchange for donations to help raise money and as a tribute to those lost to—or still fighting—cancer.

 

The co-hosts of the event were Amber Heard of “The Rum Diary” and “30 Seconds to Mars” front man Jared Leto, who tweeted remotely for the cause due to a scheduling conflict. Also in attendance were television and movie stars such as Mariana Klaveno and Nelsan Ellis of HBO’s “True Blood,” Edi Gathegi of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and Laura Harring of “Gossip Girl.”

Continue reading “Happy Birthday to W” »

by Alexandra Rowinski

On Sunday, May 23, Mutineer magazine threw their second annual Red Carpet Tasting. The party took place at Falcon Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard, where a packed house of imbibers sampled a myriad of exotic, delightful and delicious beverages. And with a special guest appearance from Jonathan Goldsmith, the famous Dos Equis icon who everyone knows as, “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” how could it not be a great party?  

Hosted by Mutineer editor-in-chief Alan Kropf and actor/comedian Ben Morrison, the event celebrated the one-year anniversary of the magazine’s launch, while raising money for the global water relief organization, A Child’s Right.  

June sunshine brings Father’s Day celebrations. If you’re looking to impress Pop with something more than just a tie, check out our list of the Top 10 Father’s Day Gifts. From a  beer glass connoisseur kit to a digital photo frame, special getaway to Chesapeake Bay, and even a day on the road at the World Class Driving Car Club, this list has everything you need to please dear old Dad.

 

 

You can find the complete gift guide in our Tastes Newsletter for June, along with our list of restaurants for the Best Outdoor Dining, a spa review of The Lodge at Woodloch and more!

 

by Sophie Gayot

 

While I am in Paris enjoying escargots, fresh baguette, Camembert, and the glittering Eiffel Tower, I am also following the 2010 Roland Garros tennis tournament on the television channel France Televisions. Hopefully, I will have time to go see the players compete at the stadium, between my visits to Parisian restaurants.

 

If you are in the U.S., you can do the same by tuning your television to the Tennis Channel or TV5 Monde. In New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Washngton, D.C. and Chicago, we have selected a few French restaurants, bistros, brasseries and cafés that will bring true French tastes to your palate. Enjoy the games and the food!

 

Go to our Restaurant News, Restaurant Events, and Restaurant Search pages to find out what is happening in the culinary world from your city to Paris!

by Sophie Gayot

This morning when I turned on my computer, I was happy to hear from Jordan Kahn, the very modern pastry chef formerly of XIV and Alinea, about his new venture. Kahn will be resurfacing soon at Red Medicine, a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant featuring local ingredients and modern cooking techniques. Its logo sure looks contemporary! No word on desserts yet, but by the end of his tenure at XIV, his creations were among the best I ever had.

Red Medicine is slated to open mid-July for lunch and dinner on the site of Hokusai, the once-highly-rated Japanese-French restaurant, at the corner of Wilshire and Gale. It will offer some family-style dining in a rustic, yet urban-industrial setting with an understated modern style. Kahn plans on complementing the food with a seasonally relevant cocktail program and a small, unique wine list focusing on Riesling and other German/Austrian varietals. Will it give Crustacean, the twelve-year-old Vietnamese restaurant in Beverly Hills, a run for its money?

Keep coming back to  GAYOT.com for more Beverly Hills restaurant news, wine dinners, restaurant reviews, and Beverly Hills culinary events.

by Sophie Gayot

As downtown Los Angeles continues to attract more visitors, it has also convinced Wolfgang Puck, GAYOT’s 2010 Best Restaurateur in the U.S., to open another restaurant. Not far from the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill located at L.A. Live, WP24 gets its name from the chef’s initials combined with its location on the 24th floor of the new The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles hotel. Two large, completely separate rooms boast illuminated views of the surroundings. It’s decorated in two different styles, but I did not like either one.

Continue reading “Wolfgang Puck Aims High” »

by Jeff Hoyt

Rick Bayless is the second top chef to work his magic at the Obama White House, preparing Wednesday’s state dinner for President Felipe Calderón of Mexico and his wife, Margarita Zavala. The first couple has dined at Topolobampo, one of Bayless’ Chicago restaurants along with Frontera Grill and Xoco.

According to a statement from the White House, Bayless worked with Michelle Obama and Comerford to prepare a menu that “reflects the best of American cuisine” while “honoring the culinary excellence and flavors that are present in Mexican cuisine.” His molé sauce reportedly used more than twenty ingredients and took days to make. Several ingredients for the dinner, including herbs, radishes and lettuce, were harvested from the White House garden, while White House pastry chef William Yosses used honey from White House bees for the desserts.

The White House posted the following menu for the state dinner on its website Wednesday afternoon:

 

Continue reading “2 Presidents, 1 Dinner” »

by Tiffany Maleshefski 

  

It’s dinnertime. The refrigerator is empty (yet again). You’re starving. And yes, it’d be easy to dig through the stack of takeout menus conveniently stuffed in the kitchen junk drawer, but wasn’t the point of that hour-long cardio workout and $15 salad for lunch to stay on the caloric straight and narrow? And here you are ready to undo it all in one phone call. 
  

San Franciscans have the option of calling up Green Coriander, a new delivery service that promises Indian takeout fare that’s light on fat and heavy creams and is instead rich with nutritious and organic ingredients.  
  

While earning an advanced degree in France, the delivery service’s founder, Paawan Kothari, did what every college student does: she ate at the on-campus cafeteria. Eight pounds later, she was not too keen on the cafeteria, or many to-go foods, for that matter. So she ditched her marketing career, a field she’d worked in for years, and ventured into the wide and saturated world of Indian takeout, determined to offer the world delicious Indian food that came guilt-free and full of flavor.

Continue reading “Low-Calorie Indian Delivery in San Francisco” »

 by Sophie Gayot

 

 

I just published my review of Culina Modern Italian restaurant, which recently opened at the Four Seasons at Beverly Hills with an impressive décor. Now listen carefully to what Chef Victor Casanova says during my exclusive interview, and you will learn the secret of his tasty spaghetti that I just enjoyed.

 

The noise you hear in the background of the video is not a faulty microphone, but what the chef has to endure when he makes pasta twice a day for Culina’s satisfied diners. I also tried many more items on his menu, and particularly appreciated his wheat crust margherita pizza (see photos below).

Continue reading “Making Pasta at Culina” »

Chef Gordon Ramsay with Sophie Gayot and Alexandre, her son

by Sophie Gayot

 

For the third time, GAYOT.com will be helping chef Gordon Ramsay on his hit TV show Hell’s Kitchen. In 2008, I was featured in the eighth episode of season 4. In 2009, my brother Alain Gayot appeared in the final episode of season 6. I will return to the program on the season 7 premiere, to be aired June 1st on Fox (8:00p.m.-9p.m. ET/PT).

On the first day of filming this episode, Gordon Ramsay presented the sixteen new contestants: eight ladies on the Red Team, and eight gentlemen on the Blue Team. The second day was the real deal: the cooking and the judging. In his personal style, Gordon Ramsay asked the contestants to do something that had never been done in the prior seasons: complete the dinner service on the very first episode. Did they? You will have to watch to find out. Expect a few more surprises as well.

On another note, I have met Gordon Ramsay a few times, away from the impressive set of Hell’s Kitchen located in Culver City. He is indeed a rather charming person. One day, when I ask him to autograph one of his cookbooks, he refused to sign it for me, but instead dedicated it to my son Alexandre, who wasn’t there that night. Although a busy celebrity chef, Gordon had remembered meeting him earlier. So, despite what you see on TV, he can be very sweet.

Note: Chef Jason Santos, one of the contestants, is offering a special dinner on June 1 at his Boston restaurant Gargoyles on the Square, offering dishes he prepared on the television show. For more about Boston restaurants, read our Boston Restaurant News, Reviews, Culinary Events and Wine Dinners.

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