A few weeks ago, I attended a media-comped dinner at Mohawk Bend in Echo Park in order to sample some of the seasonal items creeping up on the menu. It was a cold, rainy night, and being plopped down next to the restaurant’s roaring fireplace was kind of the best thing ever. Luckily, the food was good too. After the jump, check out some (grainy, blurry) pics of what we tasted…
REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA PHOTOCAP: Kim’s Gone, But The Idiocy Remains
It’s official. Kim Zolciak has left the building. Yes, Real Housewives of Atlanta’s wiggiest idiot has moved on to greener pastures (specifically the pastures that serve Chick Fil-A and cigarettes). After her cast mates confronted her about always having excuses when it comes to social plans — or in this case, vacation plans — Kim stormed out of the restaurant like Thomas the Train and into the arms of husband Kroy, who had materialized out of thin air. The two then became belligerent with the cameras as if there were some obscene invasion of privacy going on (there wasn’t), and just like that Kim was gone. And so begins the quiet dimming of her star, which had at times shined bright like a diamond. Or maybe just a shard of a plastic Pepsi bottle.
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REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MIAMI PHOTOCAP: Parents Just Don’t Understand (English)
2011: Real Housewives of Miami debuted with little promotion and instantly bored fans and critics alike. It was a creative dud and a massive disappointment for a sexy city filled with so many exotic and “spicy Latinas” (everyone loves them, according to an Urban Outfitters’ t-shirt). Without a doubt, Miami was roundly considered the worst of the Housewives, even worse than DC, which has since been canceled.
2012: Miami has done a massive turnaround, thanks to an injection of more colorful characters, sharper editing, and more salacious storylines. The cast has seemingly quadrupled with oodles of ancillary characters, all of whom are hilarious in their own feisty way. True — some of the stories feel forced or staged (ie. anything with Joanna) — but I’ll take a few dumb scenes with Marta if it means I get to see more idiots tossed in a pool (or better yet, slapped in the face).
To be honest, Miami is the most entertaining Housewives on Bravo at the moment, which says a lot given that it’s airing alongside the franchise heavy hitters Beverly Hills and Atlanta. Those two series’ have yet to find their footing in their third and fifth season, respectively. Miami, meanwhile, is in the zone, and that might be in large part thanks to the parents. First we had Elsa. Then Lucero (Karent’s mom), and then this week — a parental explosion! Lenny’s Russian mom and dad arrived, full of trilling pushiness, and then came Frederick’s amazingly swanky parents — by far the most stylish and sophisticated people to every grace any Real Housewives episode ever (sorry, Countess). Lastly, we had the arrival of Joanna’s mom, who was greeted by a dry humping from Romain. Appropriate? Perhaps not. Lucky? Most definitely.
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REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS PHOTOCAP: Ojai, How Are You?
I’m back!! Thank you all for your patience while I’ve been working on other projects. They’re not totally done, but I have enough time now to write a photocap or two; so I thought I’d jump right into The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Admittedly, this third season hasn’t been the most exciting (the bigger story is that Real Housewives of Miami is about ten times more entertaining than both BH and Atlanta combined — who would have thought?), but sometimes with a great cast, we don’t always need fireworks every episode.
New to the cast this season has been Yolanda Foster, a flaxen beauty who’s married to music producer extraordinaire David Foster. So far Yolanda has stayed out of the drama, choosing instead to stare down any given person with icy, scary eyes. In other words: I love her so far. The season, however, is young, and while I’m impressed with Yolanda’s steely reserve, personal style, and sexy Dutch accent, I am aware that she may turn out to be an über biatch. For now though, she and Lisa have been holding down the fort in the classy department (if there can even be such a thing on Bravo, let alone the city of Beverly Hills).
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Osteria Drago Serves Up Hearty Fall Fare
It may be shocking to believe, but there are seasons in Los Angeles, and even though the temperatures still linger in the high 60s, restaurants have filled their menus with braises and root vegetables and all that hearty fare we expect at this time of the year. One such spot is Osteria Drago, which has taken up residence in the former Il Sole space on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Fun fact: Il Sole was where Victoria and Jonathan of The Amazing Race took J-Unit and I to dinner i order to clear their names after the infamous Shovegate of 2005. They paid for dinner, and all was forgiven. What can I say? I’m an easy mark.
Nevertheless, I was recently invited to a media-comped meal yet again at Osteria Drago, but this time I can assure you the intentions were far more noble. After the jump, check out some pics of the food, and prepare yourself to be very, very hungry.
Fall Cocktails at Drago Centro Are — You Guessed It — Awesome
The running line about Los Angeles is that it’s a city with no seasons. I think this is false for a variety of reasons, but for those of you who still feel adamant about this point, might I direct you to Drago Centro, which has been doing a bang-up job this year is heralding each quarter with a new batch of seasonal cocktails. I was lucky enough to partake in tastings of the Spring and Summer options, and recently, I was invited back to a media-comped meal at Drago where mixologist Jaymee Mandeville provided us with yet another new slate of drinks to celebrate fall.
After the jump, take a look at pics of the cocktails and a few of the nibbles.
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Where The Heck Am I?
Hey everyone! Just in case you didn’t read the message on my last Big Brother post of the season, my blog is on temporary hiatus while I finish up work on another project. I hate to leave readers hanging, but hopefully I’ll be done soon and can get back to blogging. I’ll still post the podcast and an occasional “easy” piece for me to write, but for now, the photocaps are on pause. Sorry and thanks for your patience!! I’m working as fast as I can! In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/bsideblog).
Elevated Pub Fare at Tom Bergin’s
Founded in 1936, Tom Bergin’s remains one of the few classic (as opposed to “gastro”) Irish pubs east of the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, and come St. Patrick’s Day, it’s ground zero for beer swilling celebrations in Los Angeles. There’s more than just Guinness and Bass bubbling out of the taps though. Tom Bergin’s also has a full dinner menu, which has been recently revamped by the likes of Chef Brandon Boudet (Little Dom’s, Dominick’s, 101 Coffee Shop), and on a recent media-comped meal, I was able to sample some of the offerings now on display. After the jump, check out pics of the food.
Border Grill + Tequila Revolucion = Good Times
The Border Grill has become something of a Los Angeles institution, a crown jewel in the burgeoning empire of celebrity chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. It’s been around for over ten years and spawned two other locations, not to mention a food truck too. Aside from serving up tasty Mexican fare, the restaurant also occasionally hosts Margarita Dinners — multicourse prix fix meals that come with, you guessed it, margaritas. I was recently invited to a media-comped Margarita Dinner at the Santa Monica location, and while I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, my friend Cathy did warn me that “Ohhhh… their Margarita Dinners are soooo fun.”
After the jump, check out the tasty food and drinks I ingested at the Border Grill…
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REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NYC PHOTOCAP: The Pirates of LuAnn’s Pants
Ain’t no vacation like a Real Housewives of New York City vacation. Just as the bitches from Orange County never fail to bring their A-Game to season finales and reunions, these New Yorkers always school everyone when it comes time for an international jaunt. To this day, none of the Housewives have been able to top “Scary Island” (despite several valiant efforts in South Africa, the Dominican Republic, and Hawaii).
Now we have St. Barth’s, which has given us a nice smorgasbord of ridiculousness. First, there were Ramona and Sonja barking orders at the house staff for pool noodles. Then there was Round 37 of the Great Toaster Oven Photo Shoot Debacle of 2011 (Carole — quickly becoming one of the funniest housewives ever — noted that Sonja’s toaster oven remains the most talked of toaster oven that no one has actually seen). The real fun of the hour came, however, when the girls headed off to a night of heavy drinking at a local watering hole. We met a certain Johnny Depp lookalike named Tomas, and it wasn’t long before LuAnn was swinging her pirate booty in his direction. Shockingly, the Bravo cameras apparently shut off at midnight, which meant we totally missed the following escapades (the second major miss of the episode following Heather walking straight into a glass door).
According to the women of the house, LuAnn brought back Tomas. This was actually verified by LuAnn herself, who spilt the beans to her friend in French (did she not think there were any interpreters at Bravo? Then again, her accent is so bad it’s a miracle that anyone understood what she was saying). LuAnn, however, hilariously maintained a façade that she had run into a group of old Italian friends. None of them had names or identities, but apparently they were a great time. We’ll have to wait until next week for Ramona to grill Tomas about his illicit encounter. Until then, here’s the photocap…
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