Editors Note: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED as of 2017
About the only true thing about Honey Bear Daisy’s homey “cute” name is that the place is friendly. Otherwise the refined American regional, rustic dishes are layered with international flavors, and the airy, soaring space overlooking the ocean is as spiffy as can be.
Intense, internationally experienced, Executive Chef-owner John Schenk, is the driving force behind HB Daisy. It is the culmination of his diverse culinary background put to best use; Chef Schenk’s seasonings alone command enormous respect. His journey took him from his hometown of Buffalo, then back and forth between NY and San Francisco at the height of each city’s heady pioneering, innovative days in the ’80’s, with stints in between to Africa and Las Vegas.
Colorfully painted counters hold an array of baked goods and packaged foods. Refrigerated foods and drinks wait behind glass sliding doors on one wall.
The HB Daisy is ingeniously designed so that you can order at the counter with your food prepared in the kitchen OR you can choose from gloriously prepared food on platters inside the glass cases in front of you. The dishes looked so good is was almost impossible to choose! Before we knew it, we had nibbled almost ALL of the snappy house-made sample potato chips at the counter while studying the menu.
Again, wonderful, well thought-out design shows in the side space because a “rounded feel” comes with the banquette seating, with comfy plastic chairs at each table. Note the timeless, marble tile on the floor. So it is perfect for a leisurely meal or a quick one. It is truly a combination of the best of east and west coast.
Chef Schenk talked us into the Turkey Cubano as the best we would ever eat. The chef with a self-assured, rugged demeanor that only comes from experience and expert bears such a resemblance to Chef Robert Irvine. You cannot say, “no” to him.
We’re glad we did. He was right! “French’s mustard” supposedly is the key ingredient that makes this sandwich work – and the housemade pickles- but oh-so-thinly sliced turkey was meltingly tender and flavorful. The fresh bread was just crusty enough on the outside. We forgot our disappointment that it was not pressed.
The dressing on the salmon was paprika – not one of my favorites. But combining it here with cinnamon and other spices now puts it on the top of my list. Two side dishes come with each entree. Here they are broccoli and divine, butter, silky squash. The sample of ubiquitous (though well massaged here for tenderness) kale salad was not unique.
The Falafel Waffle served with a frisee salad was dry; we were encouraged to use the yogurt dressing on it.
French Toast arrived as three discs made with (Rockenwagner) brioche that lacked the expected pillowy texture, and with authentic maple syrup. My dining companion ate every bite.
The Turkey Meatloaf with jalapeño had a delightful kick to it. This is a dish to be ordered another time. The ribs in the counter could be added to this list.
Matcha Tea shortbread appealingly stacked in packages. The good: generous, delightful samples and the bad: The cookies have just enough bite and sweetness to them so that they are hard to stop eating.
Breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner all have extraordinary choices. Every dish is familiar but elevated to its best version. The service is welcoming, courteous and intelligent. Parking on the street and 90 minutes free underground (totally different than north of Pico).
The couple next to us from the court house said they ate there every day for two weeks — if I were closer, I would be there too! This is easily solved with the take-away options for so many of the menu items.
Chef John Schenk was born in 1957 in the city of Buffalo, NY, US John’s father, a native of Galveston, a small town in Texas, was his first teacher in the culinary arts, with food filled with deep, resonating southern flavors. From then on he paid attention not only to how food tastes interplay but how all the senses are affected.
The long road to Honey Bear Daisy was filled with vital connections at every stage. When John started his career in the ’80s in San Francisco at Patty Underman’s popular Hayes Street Grill, he became acquainted with the likes of legendary Mediterranean food expert, Paula Wolfert, and Barbara Tropp, the maven of Chinese food. We only found out when he laughingly told us he learned how to cook fish. While cooking at Paula Wolfert’s home, he “mistakingly took the fish off the grill after a few minutes. It was the hit of the party.
Afterward came trips to France and Kenya and then a stint in 1987 at the outlandishly trendy Gotham Bar and Grill in Manhattan with celebrity chef, Alfred Portale. The Monkey Bar followed, which earned him notice in the pages of Food & Wine as “one of the 10 best chefs in America.”
Every food writer and fan remembers when the dark, clubby Gotham Bar and Grill arrived in Santa Monica (north of the freeway) to great fanfare and it was the talk of the town – for a few months before it disappeared. At the time, al fresco dining was just becoming popular. Almost reading my mind, and possibly because of his San Francisco job experience, Chef John announced, “you can’t just come out here from New York and expect to succeed with east coast ideas.”
Armed with the knowledge of restaurant organization and imaginative, practical food back of the house, he moved on to multiple unit restaurant, and subsequently earned public recognition and financial success as Corporate Executive Chef with the corporation of the Strip House – a network of snack bars and restaurants located in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Las Vegas and Texas.(www.honeybeardaisy.com), Honey Bear Daisy, 1705 Ocean Avenue (at Olympic), (424) 229-9669.
The $30 million extravaganza is double the size of Cavalia’s eponymous creation, which enjoyed a successful Irvine run in 2007. Odysseo’s epic and soulful experience has astonishing l1.5 million audience members and wowed critics across North America.
When we talked to the show management, they agreed. “The well-being of the horses is the primary concern of Cavalia and they show this off during the show, where they are so pleased to express their natural tendency to play. A team of 20 people, including a stable manager, two veterinary technicians, a blacksmith and several grooms, takes care of the horses’ well-being. Together they provide a balanced and personalized diet, a training program, care for their hooves, etc. Every day horses get their share of pampering, including a shower, grooming, massage, outings to the paddocks and workshops with their riders.
800 Degrees prides itself on in a polished and elegant “date worthy” atmosphere. A spacious 3,800 square feet, the pizzeria features an outdoor patio and showcases an interior design with a dramatic black and white color palette and traditionally-styled wood booths, Carrera marble, intricate tile work and statement chandeliers.
In a place of honor that captures the eye as soon as you walk into the front door, the authentic double oven made by the renowned Mario Acunto company in Naples, Italy is the required domed wood-burning oven, which burns at about 900°F. Neapolitan pizza is cooked fast and hot in a domed wood-burning oven, which burns at about 900°F. The high heat leaves characteristic blisters of char on the bottom of the crust.
For this reason, the Playa Vista location exclusively features a selection of Neapolitan panozzo sandwiches made on pizza-dough bread, stuffed with artisanal ingredients and wood oven-baked until crisp. 800 Degrees Pizza also offers a selection of fresh, made-to-order salads, a variety of Hot and Cold bites, a Burrata menu and a locally-churned artisanal gelato.
This included Peppe Miele (then of Antica Pizzeria) , the venerated Tonino Morra (shown above) whose family owned Da’Pasquale and current Tonino’s).
Ed LaDou (who created the pizza for Spago and for California Pizza Kitchen as well as his own CAIOTI in Studio City.
Espuña products prove this as we learned firsthand. Our box arrived and when we opened it, the products each wrapped in brown butcher paper and tied with string, we felt as though we were on “Chopped” and ready to go. Here is why: New to the United States, they are the best commercial product out there on the market comparable to the reliableColumbus Italian.
At a young age, our founder, Esteve Espuña, realized that he too shared this passion of producing dry- cured meats in the traditional way, and wanted to stake his place among the legends in La Garrotxa. He soon embarked on a journey to learn everything he could about the traditional dry-curing process.
In 2014, a third generation began working to craft Spanish charcuterie in the Espuña tradition: Xavier’s son Esteve. Esteve grew up listening to his father’s charcuterie stories and is dedicated to continuing his family’s heritage of producing Espuña’s world-class line of dry-cured meats, charcuterie, and tapas.
New Executive Chef Conrad’s tender Achiote Snapper is marinated and served on a bed of mole verde topped with peach chutney and sautéed vegetables.
Here, dramatic Besugo, grilled Black Sea Bream is accompanied by summer squash and green papaya escabeche (photo by acuna-hansen) in the hands of Filipino Chef Jeff Lustre at Demitasse Roastery & Kitchen in Hollywood.
She served it with a silky butternut squash and snap peas, a take-off of a trendy restaurant dish she tried the week prior.
What started this all was trying to be chic at Chinois in Santa Monica and the headline-grabbing ginger whole fish since it opened decades ago– especially seated at the back bar and watching it be prepared.
A decade later Haifa Restaurant in the Pico-Robertson area became our go-to place for whole fish, actually one third the Chinois price. Sofi of Sofi Restaurant and I would fight over who would get the head – and the eyes, which are supposed to make you smarter! A cautionary note: once new owners took over, the fish was not the same at all.
(Gerry Furth-Sides) Pasta is the star of the Drago family restaurants. And there are as many of them as brothers, even more these days, serving classic Sicilian and other Italian regional dishes with a sure hand.
The legendary oldest brother Celestino (pictured above at a charity event honoring him), inspired the Pasadena restaurant of the same name, one that translates into a gold standard restaurant since Celestino first opened on Beverly Drive a quarter century ago. In fact, the inspired, cheery chef is now “Cavaliere Celestino” since the Italian government knighted him a couple of years ago
The sauce teased every bit of flavor from the bird and perfectly complemented the fanastical mushrooms capped with the distinctive honeycomb appearance of ridges and pits. They are impossible to cultivate and prized so highly they influence enthusiasts into a madcap hunt for them during the season, no pun intended. And these are the best, from Italy!
The Zuppa del Giorno (soup of the Day) was pumpkin. And pumpkin it was, with only a bit of butter added to the smooth, silky puree. Mario told us that they rarely used broth so that the true flavor shines through of the vegetable. A smiling swoop of olive oil and a drizzle of Creme Fraiche tops the dish.
Calogero Drago (shown above right with head waiter Mario, and below) also keeps a sure hand on the front of the house. The friendly Mario (left) only looks serious … although he is serious about his position at Celestino for 15 years… and actually began his career with Chef Celestino at the original Beverly Hills location.
As if the Market Table choices were not difficult enough to resist at the Fogo de Chão churrascaria party, chefs have just added brand new fall menu dishes to the array (spring on this southern continent!)
Roasted Butternut Squash Salad – Butternut squash, a winter staple in Brazil, is roasted with cinnamon and honey and then tossed with American cranberries andGreek feta.
We were better mannered with the the pão de queijo (warm cheese bread), meaning that the table finished one basket only.
Just when you think you’re balancing out the Market Table with the beef, along comes crispy hot polenta, and caramelized bananas served family style on the table.
(Roberta Deen and Gerry Furth-Sides) Virtually “hidden in broad daylight” in a sprawling Sunset Boulevard strip mall, the spacious, subdued interior of Kura Sushi Restaurant becomes the realm of a sophisticated Korean father-son team (Sunny and Daniel) offering the finest of seasonal and omakase dinners prepared in true traditional Japanese style. Its name is accurate: In Japan the “kura” was historically a village storehouse holding precious heirlooms and provisions to support the local community. 
The effervescent, intelligent server/manager, Annie, turns out to be Chef Daniel’s sister! She presents the next course, a step up in a rich and fattier fish, with a touch stronger flavor as well.
Dessert was a meal unto itself as well – and shows the best of Daniel’s playful Korean influence, along with his work at world famous restaurant. Chef Daniel has taken the street food, Taiyaki, the little red bean paste and custard-filled fish batter mold cookies. The chef added to it house made Black Sesame ice cream with a black sesame crumble. A whimsical abundance of riches after a spectacular meal.
The biggest surprise about our meal at 
Fogo de Chão is a leading Brazilian steakhouse, or churrascaria, which has specialized for more than 36 years in fire-roasting high-quality meats utilizing the centuries-old Southern Brazilian cooking technique of churrasco.
Gerry Furth-Sides 
Barbara Hansen 
Chef-owner Alain Cohen 
Roberta Deen 
Jose Martinez 
Nivedita Basu 