Had a great time in LA recently, visiting my best friend, Brendan and helping him celebrate another great birthday. (Last year we went Las Vegas).
We had his birthday dinner at Beso Hollywood, co-owned by Eva Longoria. It is a very cool space located right in the heart of tourist mecca on Hollywood Boulevard, one block off of Vine. The place, with it's huge high ceilings and dimly lit glass fixtures feels smoky/noir, a bit of another era, especially with the cool booths and diamond tuck upholstery.
Food was delicious, we started with Eva's guacamole, continued with lamb rack w/rosemary and pepito paste and sea scallops with truffle oil mashed potatoes and pomegranate sauce. We ended with a deconstructed banana split. The restaurant gets more interesting later in the evening, when the bar scene turns into a full blown night club, very LA.
The weekend continued with a great off, off production at the Ruby Theater at the Complex on Santa Monica called Geeks vs Zombies. This wacky production about the end of the world was great fun and had a packed house on Saturday night. On Sunday, we drove down to Malibu and had a delicious lunch at Malibu Seafood, Market and Cafe. This casual outdoor picnic table spot features really fresh seafood--our fish and chips perfectly cooked and washed down with fresh lemonade.
You know we couldn't go without a Mexican fix, and Brendan has found an amazing new taco place on Beverly at Stanley called Escuela Taqueria. A simple concept--a small menu with daily original combinations of mouth-watering tacos. Think braised beef short ribs with dill pickle, shrimp with chorizo or pork belly with pickled onion. Add sides of rice and beans and voila! Yum.
