GAYOT's Blog

by Sophie Gayot

For your culinary delight, we have compiled a list of restaurants serving a Thanksgiving menu throughout America, and even in Paris & London. If you happen to be in Los Angeles — 1.78 million passengers are expected at LAX this Thanksgivi​ng, a 16 per cent increase over last year — and want to immerse yourself in the LA food scene, may I recommend you spend your holiday at chef Eric Greenspan’s new restaurant The Roof on Wilshire.

Starting at 4 p.m. until 11 p.m., for $29 (yes, only $ 29!), diners will enjoy an appetizer (salad of celery root, pomegranate, carrot or sunchoke soup); turkey, of course (with rosemary mashed potatoes, green beans with mushrooms, crispy onions, cranberry dijon chutney and pumpernickel stuffing); and dessert (pumpkin bread pudding). To discover the restaurant, watch our exclusive video with Iron Chef America-winner Greenspan, who also co-hosts the A&E show “Fix This Kitchen.” For more information, read our just published review of the restaurant.

Continue reading “Thanksgiving on a LA Rooftop” »

by André Gayot

“The ways the bankers have kind of toppled the way money is distributed and taken most of it into their hands is as good as Stalin or Hitler and the evil guys,” star restaurateur Mario Batali declared at a recent panel sponsored by Time Magazine. No surprise Mr. Batali got a lot of flak, especially, of course, from bankers and the like. The restaurateur realized belatedly that quite a number of his clients in his twenty fancy establishments might very well belong to or be associated with the banking industry because, according to his own terms, bankers “… have taken most of the money into their hands,” and thus can easily afford the hefty bills. Some talked vigorously of boycotting Batali’s restaurants. Deterring such a well-heeled clientele is not good business practice in these uncertain times.

Sorry, oops, my mistake, went Mario, who said through a spokesperson, “It was never my intention to equate our banking industry with Hitler and Stalin, two of the most evil, brutal dictators in modern history.” So we get the message: these two guys are really bad, but bankers are OK. OK, but not angels?

Continue reading “The Cook, the Demons, the Angels & the Bankers” »

by Sophie Gayot

There were some one hundred parties around the USA celebrating the arrival of the 2011 Beaujolais Nouveau. It is probably the wine that gets the most attention when it is released. Most the 300,000 Georges Duboeuf bottles imported in the America will be sold between now and December. The good news is that the price has not changed since last year due to the Euro exchange rate: $11.00. We have tried the wine yesterday. It is a very pleasant, and a very good value. Read our tasting notes in GAYOT.com Wine section.

I am just back from one of the celebrations held in Los Angeles. The Gamay wine was appropriately paired with Michel Cordon Bleu smoked salmon topped by Kendall Farms crème fraîche, pâtés and saucissons from Fabrique Délices, duck breast with fingerling potatoes by Maple Leaf Farms, a truly decadent Republica del Cacao chocolate fondue and macarons by Blue Blanc Rouge.

 

Continue reading “Beaujolais Nouveau is Here!” »

by Sophie Gayot

After twelve years of being the chef in his own restaurant, Josiah Citrin of Mélisse in Santa Monica has just published his first cookbook: In Pursuit of Excellence. Watch our exclusive video interview with Citrin to learn more about the book from the chef himself.

Mélisse restaurant has been named to GAYOT.com’s Top 40 US Restaurants continuously since 2006. The restaurant is also featured on our lists of the Top 10 LA Food Rating Restaurants, Top 10 LA Business Restaurants, Top 10 LA French Restaurants, Top 10 LA Romantic Restaurants, Top 10 LA California Cuisine Restaurants, Top 10 LA Wine List Restaurants, Top 10 LA Special Occasion Restaurants, Top 10 LA Thanksgiving Restaurants, and Top 10 LA New Year’s Eve Restaurants.

For more cookbooks on GAYOT.com, visit the Cookbook Reviews section.

Continue reading “Cooking with Citrin” »

by Sophie Gayot

The Food Network needs no introduction, of course, but have you heard about their new show “Chef Hunter”? Hosted by culinary recruiter Carrie McCully, “Chef Hunter” is a docu-reality series that takes you behind the scenes of running a restaurant, beyond just cooking the food. In the six episodes, chefs compete head-to-head for coveted executive chef positions at restaurants all over the country.

Watch our exclusive video interview with McCully to learn more about the show, and tune in to the next episodes. For information about the airing dates, click here.

Continue reading “Hunting for a Chef on Food Network” »

by Sophie Gayot

As you know, we go around the globe to bring the freshest news about the restaurant scene. If you missed me on the radio a few weeks ago, here is your chance to catch up on the conversation I had with chef Jamie Gwen. Her weekly radio show airs on Sundays in Los Angeles on KFWB News Talk 980.

Click on the restaurant names below to listen to what we had to say:

• L’Abeille, Shangri-La Hotel Paris, Paris – (More about the restaurant at GAYOT.com with an exclusive video of executive chef Philippe Labbé);

• Le Bernardin, New York – (More about chef Eric Ripert at GAYOT.com’s blog);

• Mercato di Vetro, West Hollywood;

• Stella Rossa Pizza Bar, Santa Monica – (More about the restaurant at GAYOT.com with an exclusive video with executive chef Jeff Mahin. The restaurant has just been named one of GAYOT.com’s Top 10 Pizza Restaurants in the US);

Continue reading “Restaurant News on the Airwaves” »

by Tiffany Apczynski

Presidio Social Club is one of those out-of-the-way restaurants in San Francisco that nobody ever minds going the extra mile or bus route to get there. It’s located in a quaint clapboard building in the city’s Presidio national park that operated as an army barrack long before it was a fine dining establishment. The interior has this 1930s clubby feel to it and its atmosphere exudes post-colonial design.

When it opened four years ago, it did so with a bit of a bang. Folks not only liked the location and vibe, but Ray Tang’s menu of upscale comfort food won diners over immediately. But Tang, who is a co-owner of the restaurant, left the kitchen two years ago, and, well, the menu started to slide.

Continue reading “Presidio Social Club: From Army Barrack to Fine Dining” »

by Meryl Pearlstein

Sure, food trucks help diners stretch dollars during these tough times, and appeal to today’s social-networked consumer. But for larger companies, they can also serve as billboards for a brand and serve as test outlets for brick-and-mortar restaurants. In New York City, the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck — one of GAYOT.com’s Top 10 Food Trucks in NYC — proved so successful that the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop opened in the East Village. Another entry on the list, Schnitzel and Things, opened a non-mobile version in Midtown, while GO Burger has opened three locations from coast to coast!

Continue reading “Food Trucks Roll into Restaurants” »

by Patricia Mack

I recently had the pleasure of attending the ten-day Right Some Good culinary and music festival held in small towns and historic sites along the rocky shores, rolling farmland, glacial valleys, barren headlands, mountains, woods and plateaus of Cape Breton, this serene and sparsely populated island in Nova Scotia. The event teamed world-class chefs hailing from as far away as Peru, China and Belgium with local chefs and culinary students for a series of gourmet dinners that were accompanied by the music of island talent.

Continue reading “Right Some Good” »

Nobu Matsuhisa, his chefs & Sophie Gayot

by Sophie Gayot

Just so you’re not confused by the headline, this blog is not about a train powered by Krug Champagne or even drinking Krug while riding on a train. It’s about listening to the group Train performing live while drinking Krug Champagne during Saturday night’s Los Angeles Food & Wine event, which left quite an unforgettable memory.

Earlier that tasty night, many top chefs served their food to the appreciative crowd. The choices of food (and wines) were vast and very different, as were the participating toques: Joachim Splichal & Tony Esnault (Patina, GAYOT.com Top 40 Restaurant in the US), Paul Prudhomme (K-Paul Louisiana Kitchen, GAYOT 2011 Top 10 Insider Picks in the US), Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood, GAYOT.com Top 40 Restaurant in the US), Hugo Bolanos (CUT, GAYOT.com 2011 Top 10 Steakhouses in the US), and 2011 Top Chef on Top Chef Masters Floyd Cardoz (North End Grill). Lines were very long in front of Lydia Shire (Towne Stove & Spirits); and Akasha Richmond (Akasha), who served a delicious braised American lamb (word spread fast). Also popular was Drew Nieporent & Stephen Lewandowski’s choucroute (Tribeca Grill, Alsatian chefs should be jealous of the recipe). Chef Ben Ford (Ford’s Filling Station) got help serving from his son Eaton.

Continue reading “Krug & Train” »

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