(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...
A “star” baker as a relative with a closely guarded recipe automatically bestows bragging rights onto an immigrant family. The family of Marlo Gertz of Marlo’s Bakeshop in San Francisco is no exception. But unlike so many recipes that have disappeared (like my Viennese grandmother’s tissue paper strudel), Marlo not only...
Any excuse is good enough reason to write about Frank Sinatra for me. Mario Marino was recently tapped to host the Frank Sinatra-Audrey Hepburn exhibition at Bergemot Station to usher in the year of the Sinatra centennial, co-sponsored by KJAZZ and The Grammy Museum. He was already legendary when he became a long-time customer o...
The legendary Celestino and family (pictured here at a charity event honoring them), inspired the Pasadena restaurant of the same name. name that translates into a gold standard restaurant on the westside, ever since he opened his first place, Drago. Seasonal menus demonstrate this perfectly. The Holiday Mushroom & ...
Modo Mio in Pacific Palisades celebrates 30 years as a rustic Mediterranean dining room, intimate and friendly, serving familiar, refined, northern Italian dishes made from scratch from a loyal staff of almost as many decades. The culinary journey takes diners from Val d’Aosta and the famous Piemonte to Lombardia, Ven...
Second generation operated ethnic restaurants include marino ristorante in East Hollywood. Los Angeles Magazine’s “best” pick restaurant host, Mario Marino, shares responsibilities. Brother Sal (former owner-chef of Il Grano, La Bottega Marino), oversees the kitchen. (Marino ristorante) is one of t...
Gerry Furth-Sides 
Barbara Hansen 
Chef-owner Alain Cohen 
Roberta Deen 
Jose Martinez 
Nivedita Basu 