Food

  • Banana Leaf’s New Performance Cooking: Pulao Rice

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) Pulao Rice, which you may know as pilaf, is a dish with stock as a base, all cooked in one pot and served right away piping hot. Spices and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat are added along the way. Cooks need to use a very special technique while preparing the sumptuous […]...

  • The Modern Hippie Table Book

    To Lauren, “Modern Hippie means a place where old meets new, simple meets sophisticated, and fancy meets fun. The recipes are simple, elegant and appealing. The definition of “hippie” as “fancy” is puzzling. Hippie lifestyle meant and means “homegrown, simple and as back to nature as possible....

  • Must-Have Faith Kramer’s International “52 Shabbats”

    In the realm of international and especially Jewish or middle eastern cookbooks, Faith Kramer is as familiar and well-regarded as that of Claudia Roden, Joan Nathan and Faye Levy. Faith is a long-time writer in the field, both authoritative and ready to share and encourage in the most friendly, warm way. And, as expected, 52 [&h...

  • Maria Provenzano’s Everyday Celebrations from Scratch Book

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) Maria Provenzano’s book, Everyday Celebrations from Scratch feels as though it confirms our own lifestyle. My mom used to laugh at me affectionately because I “make up a tray of food as elaborately as if it was a dinner party of 20.” Yes. And, then, as now, food even tasted better. “Li...

  • Kudos to The Japanese Art of the Cocktail Book!

    (Gerry Furth-Sides, photos are courtesy of Hanna Lee) Anyone who has written a book knows that the marketing is the hardest part. But Hanna Lee Communications (HLC), a smart award-winning PR agency specializing in hospitality, travel and luxury brands found a handy solution to this problem.  How It’s Done: The ag...

  • Ring in the New Year with These Ethnic Restaurant Stars!

    Arth Bar + Kitchen, Culver City’s modern Indian eatery welcomes the New Year with dishes from their Signature Menu which includes Small Plates, Tandoor Starters, Entrées, Handcrafted Tandoor Breads, Accompaniments, Rice, and Desserts. There are also Party Favors, and a performance ...

  • Banana Leaf’s Expanded DTLA Menu

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) One, two, three, four –here’s why THE perfect score for food and service at Banana Leaf DTLA, one month-old today. It makes me so 🥰 because the owner is the publisher of LocalFoodEater.  Please read the story about how the restaurant added a location to their Culver city flagship in //localf...

  • Hank’s Double Diamond Burger Deal

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) It’s more than enough to just be at Hank’s resort-like restaurant in Pacific Palisades on a sunny afternoon any day of the year. Everyone seems be on holiday and with the sun overhead, you feel like you are in “Charade” at Megeve in the Swiss Alps with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Bu...

  • Delhi Belly’s Navratna (“nine gems”) Korma Lives Up to Its Name

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) Navratna Korma at Delhi Belly lives up to his name, “nine gems,” so beautifully that it could convince you to go vegetarian.  The northern classic named after the special body of nine courtiers for whom the dish was named in the 16th century was, in fact,  intended to plea...

  • Southern Cuisine “Banana Leaf” Moves North!

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) Chef-owner Sri Sambangi didn’t let moving madness get in the way of making it a party on the first day of new Banana Leaf LA in DTLA. Thank you, Sri.  Here he serves and guests new dishes he cooked himself on the new Southern Indian cuisine menu, starting with the Southern Shrimp Curry in his...