(Gerry Furth-Sides, Research and images supplied by Leisure). How does your favorite cake rank in the world? And what are the most favorite cakes in the world anyway? And, just to make the definition of cake more interesting, we watched cheesecake maven George Geary mix carrot cake ingredients into a cheesecake batter to make...
Chef George Cheesecake reached a new plateau when the hit TV series The Golden Girls made pulling it out of the fridge for a kitchen table talk a ritual. Pastry chef George Geary made those luscious and delicious cheesecakes, and many other foods for hit sitcoms. His stories about how first his cheesecakes and then he [&helli...
(photos by acuna-hansen) Celestino Ristorante in Pasadena introduces a New Summer Power Lunch Menu created by Owner and Executive Chef Calogero Drago that turns lunch into a daydream trip to Italy. We’ve known the Dragos for a generation and their family chefs consistently prepare the most superb, authentic food ...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) Southern Spice Restaurant, although right off the 405, may be a little off the beaten restaurant path but certainly worth the drive for the Southern Indian food alone. Add to that the “southern hospitality” with an owner always on site to welcome you, a chef to explain the dishes in detail, and...
Gerry Furth-Sides) Celebrate Mezcal Day July 24 with these new cocktails and our favorite mezcaleria. Mezcal is processed from a variety of agave plants (that includes tequila) and that instills a special smoky taste. The heart of the agave plant, the piña, is traditionally slow-cooked in pit ovens, giving it a characteris...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) Ulises Torrentera’s mission to put a spotlight onto authentic, artisan mezcal has transformed the reputation of this spirit formerly regarded as a peasant drink. His visits to the United States from his native Oaxaca are now a big event. The first stop this year was appropriately at Maestro Mexican Rest...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) A “healthy Greek” cuisine cookbook is an idea of the present; we tried doing a book like this as ordered from the publisher a generation ago with the popular, Greek restaurant owner-chef, Sofi Konstantinidis. Sofi felt that the heavier staples of the classics was what gave them “oomph&...
(Gerry Furth-Sides, photos are identified)India’s Tandoori Restaurant, Brentwood is already a neighborhood favorite that includes celebrities who hold gatherings there that can last an entire evening and turn the place into one big party – like the one we were at last Sunday. It is fitting then that beloved, dedi...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) This writer has always been enamored with the French sensibility, first with a fellow lifeguard at camp, then all films French and finally food. The finest dining LA restaurants and pioneer bistros. And now the current Gelson Market’s three-week July French promotion is especially exciting because s...
(Gerry Furth-Sides) The person who answers the phone at legendary Mori Sushi still insists you are calling “Mori”himself, and the name is very much on the raggedy but intact outside sign with the famous fish logo. The sushi served inside these days has very much the same touch but it not because Mori is there. [&he...
Gerry Furth-Sides 
Barbara Hansen 
Chef-owner Alain Cohen 
Roberta Deen 
Jose Martinez 
Nivedita Basu 