The charming little town of Ojai was built by the Ohio magnate and art patron Edward Drummond Libbey who raised money from his wealthy friends to build its cohesive Italian town center complete with an arcade and a belltower. Today, Ojai preserves its classy charm by being franchise-free.
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Sushi Roku opened its first location as a sushi lounge in Hollywood in 1997 and has since expanded to Santa Monica, Pasadena, and beyond California to Scottsdale, Arizona, and Las Vegas. As the Santa Monica restaurant turns 16 in November, we thought it a good time to re-visit. We chatted with Tom Cardenas, IDG, the parent company’s VP of Operations and Chef Hiroshi Shima, Corporate Executive Chef of Sushi Roku and Katana.
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Sonoma Wine Garden, with its large outdoor patio and breathtaking ocean and sunset views, Sonoma Wine Garden, has been a hit with customers since its opening in August 2010, and its large wine selection, and special wine events have kept customers engaged, returning for more.
The sleepy little fishing village of Loreto on Mexico’s Baja coast, is only a two-hour flight from Los Angeles, but what a world apart! On the clear blue waters of the Sea of Cortez against the backdrop of five islands on the horizon, full of unique flora and fauna, and dubbed by explorer Jacques Cousteau dubbed as the “Aquarium of the World”, it is a United Nations protected Marine Park offering a wealth of nature activities.
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Bristol Old Vic in association with Handspring Puppet Company will present The Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Broad Stage.
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On June 7, the California Restaurant Association will present its the Elizabeth Burns Lifetime Achievement to local chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill at a gala held in their honor at Hotel Casa del Mar.
The founders of Border Grill restaurants and truck and City restaurants, as well as Susan Feniger’s Street gained national fame from their Food Network show “Too Hot Tamales.” “Mary Sue and Susan are pioneers in so many ways,” said Jot Condie, CRA president and CEO. “They not only paved the way for women wanting to work in the industry, they have popularized styles of world cuisine and were two of the world’s original celebrity chefs.
That kind of legacy will never be replicated.” For more than 30 years, Feniger and Milliken have worked amongst the upper echelon of restaurateurs in Los Angeles, where they landed The duo landed in Los Angeles after working together in Paris and at Chicago’s famed Le Perroquet, and have worked here for more than 30 years amongst the upper echelon of restaurateurs.
With the opening of City Cafe on Melrose Avenue in 1981, the pair changed the culinary landscape of the city by blending family recipes with eclectic dishes from Thailand, India, Mexico, France and Italy. The first Border Grill opened in 1985, and has expanded to include four locations – including one in Las Vegas – as well as a mobile truck. Along with “Too Hot Tamales,” they also were featured on the “Tamales World Tour” series and “Top Chef Masters,” as well as several radio shows.
Along the way, they co-authored five cookbooks. They also manage to play an active role in the community, providing leadership for many associations, charities and organizations, including Share Our Strength, the Scleroderma Research Foundation and the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center and the Human Rights Campaign.
The California Restaurant Association is the trade organization of the California restaurant and hospitality industry with more than 22,000 member restaurants. A portion of the event proceeds will support the CRA Educational Foundation and ProStart programs in the Los Angeles are
Freud’s Last Session is now playing at the Broad Stage till February 10.
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What local restaurant Border Grill’s chef-owner Susan Feniger gleefully refers to as the `the cyclone that is my life’ just packed up considerable fresh momentum. Along with co-authors Kajsa Alger and Liz Lachman, she has just come out with a new book, STREET Food: Irresistibly Crispy, Creamy, Crunchy, Spicy, Sticky, Sweet Recipes, promotion for which is now in full swing.
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