Sonoko Sakai, with her deft movements and snowy white chef coat with bandana head dress was already a magnet for passersby looking in on her Soba Noodle Workshop under the strong lobby lights shining down on the lobby The Standard, Downtown LA s in the dreary, rainy Sunday afternoon propelling her unique Soba Noodle works...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) Ask almost any Greek where to find the Greek cuisine, and they will almost invariable answer, “at home.” Carlos Tomazos is no exception although he prefers to share what he – or his mother when he was growing up on the island of Cyprus – prepared at home in his new contemporary, c...
Delightful Pastries company, known as Chicago’s largest producer of authentic Polish paczki, offers a different menu annually for Mardi Gras, on Tuesday, February 9 this year. The family-owned and operated bakery and café will begin to churn out thousands of housemade paczki per day to prepare f...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) Ever since I saw my favorite “bad boy” chef Anthony Bourdain make an event out of eating the novel Dol Sot Bibimbap on his TV show I wanted to try it. The actual name roughly translates to a rice dish served in a steaming granite bowl, so hot that when a raw egg […]...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) In his plea to “save this institution,” David Sax’s book, Save the Deli becomes the definitive account of delis around the world. Besides providing detailed, mouth-watering descriptions of the food he is served in his exhaustive research – along with witty accounts of the folks who prepare it R...
71 Palm overlooking the ocean The expert, loving care given 71 Palm Restaurant in Ventura is obvious from the thick herb garden (yes, they use the herbs for cooking) fronting the gloriously restored 1910 Craftsman. At the top of the stairs is a congenial gentleman effortlessly welcoming guests with a huge smile. It is ch...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) Arrive 15 minutes before the 11:00 AM opening and there is already a zigzag line of customers forming, eyeing new arrivals. The place does 800 covers a day during the week-end, and that’s a lot even considering the cafeteria style service. The phenomenal host and manager, Aron Celnik is alr...
It’s truffle season, not the candy modeled after the irregular, warty-shaped little gem but the original with it’s very own unique flavor, aroma and story, now served in local restaurants. Natural truffles are black, brown, white or gray. They vary from the size of a walnut to a man’s fist. Bulbs grow from 3 to [&helli...
New rum cocktail drinks are being created by barkeeps these days as fast and furious as the molasses rum is created with is slow. Although rum is mostly associated with its wild and sometimes brutal British and European history, Puerto Rico the new cocktail names themselves are bouncy city fun and include the Lavender Tonic, [&h...
Heavenly French macarons and rich hot dark chocolate have become the newest form of “cookies and milk” –and more healthy and non-fattening! We’re talking here about the French macaron, not the candy-kiss-shaped coconut meringue cookies, though are made of egg whites and almond paste and got their biggest bo...
Gerry Furth-Sides 
Barbara Hansen 
Chef-owner Alain Cohen 
Roberta Deen 
Jose Martinez 
Nivedita Basu 