B-Side Blog

REAL HOUSEWIVES OF OC PHOTOCAP: Orange You Glad They’re Back?

The “First Ladies of Bravo” are back! Yes, The Real Housewives of Orange County aired its seventh season premiere last night, and as per the usual tradition, we had new faces (Heather Dubrow) and new faces (Gretchen Rossi). Actually, Gretchen’s face isn’t that new, but something’s going on in the mouth area, and I’m having difficulty pinpointing it. Did she have her lips done? Botox? Veneers? All of the above? Hard to say, but something ain’t the same with her Slade-slurper.

If you just grossed out by the notion of a “Slade-slurper,” I apologize. But please understand that it’s something that clearly happens. And yes, Slade is still hanging around. Gretchen loves him, which is great, but I, like Tamra, have yet to welcome him into my life (via TV). The guy gives me the heebie-jeebies, and I suspect his foray into standup comedy (as was teased at the end of the show) will hardly reverse my opinion. Poor Gretchen… she used to be so likable, but Slade continues to drag her down.

But let’s not talk about Slade. Let’s focus on Gretchen and her new ceasefire with Tamra. Yes, it seems like it’s happening at last. Tamra finally apologized for being a Grade-A C U Next Tuesday the past three years, and then after bestowing her former rival with some pink costume jewelry, Tam-Tam hugged it out and declared this a new beginning. Gretchen looked like she was ready to accept this, and thus we embarked on a new era… which may or may not last about forty-five minutes.

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REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS PHOTOCAP: CamBrandiPump For The Win!

Ding ding ding! Round Two of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion commenced last night, and if last week was all about Lisa, this go-around, it was Brandi who took center stage. The spitfire continued to win over fans as she calmly called Taylor, Kyle, and Adrienne out on all their bullshit. It was at times cringe-worthy, but then again, when aren’t these reunion shows cringeworthy? Taylor did her best to sling the mud back, going as far as citing Brandi’s notorious tire-slashing of her ex’s car, but Brandi barely skipped a beat in owning up to the act, thus deflating any power Taylor thought she had.

Even better for Brandi, she now had an ally in fellow couch-mate Lisa, who still weathered a fare number of attacks from across the room. Lisa, however, remained cool as a cucumber, and it was Kyle, Taylor, and Adrienne who looked most foolish last night. Kyle’s only saving grace was owning up to her awful behavior on Game Night, but as admirable as this was, she still had a few excuses up her sleeve for her behavior. Meanwhile, Taylor relished the opportunity to take Brandi’s death threats seriously, taking her for task for saying “I will kill you” as if it were a serious pledge. Dumb. As for Camille, she once again came up smelling like roses as she reveled in her newfound popularity, gushed about her hunky boyfriend, and threw shade at Taylor repeatedly. Clearly, the Camille Couch was the place to be.

Photocap after the jump…

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REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA PHOTOCAP: The African (Drama) Queen

At long last the Real Housewives of Atlanta — minus Kim — headed to South Africa so they could soak up the culture, enjoy the sights, and of course, scream and yell at each other like a bunch of banshees. Yes, there’s no such thing as a drama-free vacation on the Housewives, and South Africa was no exception. The controversy came courtesy of Sherée, who pulled the rather unclassy move of inviting “The Smalls” (Kandi and Phaedra) to her friend’s dinner party in Capetown, but shunning “The Talls” (everyone else). It was sort of like one of those reward challenges on Survivor when Jeff Probst allows someone to take two people to visit a waterfall. Except unlike on Survivor where people generally react by quietly scheming, the aftermath of this move sent the group into utter, amazing chaos.

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Scenes from Farmshop’s Open House

Over the past weekend, Brentwood restaurant / market Farmshop held an open house for the community, and since I’m never one to turn down casual grazing and free samples, I happily trekked over to the West Side for the event. I’d never been to Farmshop before, and I can say with authority that walking inside its well-heeled doors felt like stepping into an episode of Giada at Home (minus all the rampant awfulness).

Yes, Farmshop is the place where former yuppies turned middle-aged homebodies go to drool. There’s plenty of upmarket food porn on display: vibrantly colored cauliflower, charcuterie as far as the eye can see, and the sort of cheeses that would make Ina Garten faint with joy. Clearly, this is not the place for bargain shoppers to find a deal.

However, while I may not be able to make Farmshop a weekly grocery stop, there’s nothing wrong with ogling at the goods. After the jump, check out some savory images from the event… Continue reading “Scenes from Farmshop’s Open House”

REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS REUNION PHOTOCAP: Lisa in the Hot Seat!

And they’re off! The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion kicked off last night, and it was full of all sorts of petty bickering about surprisingly minor events from the past season — all set against the most gaudy backdrop since the first New Jersey reunion (remember that bright blue monstrosity?). Whoever thought it would be clever to light these women (and Andy) with a purple glow needs to be fired, STAT.

Nevertheless, at the forefront of all the fighting was a surprising duo: Adrienne and Lisa, the latter of whom bore the brunt of most of the attacks last night. It was a shocking turn of events, and I’d say Lisa handled herself quite well, given the ridiculous accusations thrown her way. Kyle and Adrienne accused Lisa of being cruel, but the irony was not lost on Ms. VanderPump, who happily reminded Kyle that she was in fact the mean girl for the group. Kyle ultimately retorted that she never meant to be mean, which had been Lisa’s defense of her jokes, but apparently only Kyle’s allowed to use that excuse.

Let’s not get it twisted though: Lisa is no angel. For every time she insisted she wasn’t mean, she managed to let a sly dig about Kyle’s temper or Adrienne’s “fat” shoe slip out of her mouth. If I were her friend, I could certainly imagine being frustrated with these Lisa-isms, but as a viewer, each one was like a gift from the heavens. Don’t cross Lady VanderPump. She will always have the last word.

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Papilles Brings French Bistro Fun To Hollywood

I’ve long complained that Los Angeles lacks two significant dining scenes: seafood and French. I’m not going to get into my seafood bitching here (the long and the short of it is that for a city perched on the ocean, we have very few options — both in terms of dining and buying), but I will talk about French food because that’s really what this post is about. We have no French. Okay, there are a few bistros here and there, but in a town that runs from butter and carbs like the plague, French food just never seems to catch on. It’s a shame really because French food can be so damn good. Unhealthy, yes, but worth the indulgence once in a while.

That being said, the Hollywood area has lately seen some blips on the French radar. Café Des Artistes may have shuttered, but we now have Delphine, Palihouse Brasserie, Maison Richard, and Little Next Door, to name a few. Add to that growing list Papilles, a super cute little bistro that has taken over a former Raffallo’s Pizza restaurant on the corner of Argyle and Franklin. For merely reducing the Raffallo’s empire by one, I am grateful. I was invited to enjoy a media-comped meal at Papilles recently, and I can assure you the meal definitely took me to a happy place.

Headed up by Chef Tim Carey (Patina) and wine director Santos Uy (Mignon), Papilles offers up a unique dining experience for Hollywood. The menu is always prix fixe (around $33-$35) for a three course meal: appetizer, main, and dessert. Chef Carey builds a new menu once a week (usually on Wednesdays) from ingredients he finds at the market, and people wishing to eat at the restaurant can check out Papille’s website (papillesla.com) to see what’s being served any given day. It’s also a good idea to glance at the site’s FAQ section, especially if you’re vegetarian, as the restaurant does come with its own set of “rules” to follow. Don’t be intimidated though: it’s a pretty painless dining experience and based on what I ate, delicious too. Photos of the food after the jump…

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Mohawk Bend in Echo Park Serves Brunch, But Can It Redeem Itself?

Back in July, I wrote about the opening of Mohawk Bend, a vegan-friendly (but meat serving) gastropub in Echo Park. The evening had been a fun one, but not all the dishes were the ones you’d write home to Mom about (not that I write home to Mom about every dish I eat). While we did graze on some tasty fare on that fateful opening night, there were enough duds — particularly a vegan pizza that left everyone at my table a little, uh, uneasy — that my lasting impression of Mohawk Bend was not necessarily the greatest. In fact, for months after, the most prominent memory I had of Mohawk Bend was their pizzas that suffered from soggy crusts, among other things. For all the the things the restaurant did right that night, I couldn’t really dispel that pizza from my mind — particularly the offending vegan pizza — and as a result, I’ve neither gone back to Mohawk Bend nor have I recommended it to anyone looking for an East Side dining option.

And yet despite this, I headed back recently for a media-comped brunch at Mohawk Bend. I’m not going to lie: I was totally apprehensive, but I knew that as long as I avoided the pizza, I would be fine.

Would the restaurant be able to redeem itself after its rocky opening? Results and pictures after the jump…
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REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA PHOTOCAP: Housewives in Africa? DRAMA!

The Real Housewives of Atlanta are going to Africa! That was the gist of this week’s episode, which saw the women more or less doing nothing but preparing for the big trip. NeNe continued to debate whether or not to go, but leave it to That Girl Marlo Hampton to set her straight. The oft-arrested socialite told NeNe she’d be crazy to pass up the trip (which we all know had to have been free); so NeNe countered that she would only go if Marlo came with her. Marlo, never one to shy away from social advancement, happily signed on, and just like that, NeNe was back on board the African adventure. Of course, she didn’t actually tell Phaedra, the organizer, which was a bit tacky, but then again, far be it for me to call NeNe tacky. After all, she’s RICH now: she’s earned her tackiness.

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REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS PHOTOCAP: Wake Me Up When The Finale Is Over

I have a theory that last week’s episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was intended to be the season finale, but thanks to Russell hanging himself, the producers needed to cap the season off on an optimistic note that somehow addressed the terrible tragedy. Enter last night’s snoozefest of a finale, which focused entirely too much on Pandora’s beautiful but dull wedding. It’s not that the wedding itself was dull — I’m sure it was a blast (my oversized $125 invitation must have gotten lost in the mail [shaking fist]). It’s just that as an episode, this was a bit lackluster. I never really love wedding installments of The Real Housewives because let’s face it: we tune in for fighting and marital discord, not bliss and commitment. If not even a looming dinosaur skeleton could make a wedding on Atlanta interesting, why would we ever care for a civilised affair on the VanderPump-Todd tennis courts?

Of course, I also speak from the male perspective. While I watched the episode, next to me my friend Dessert Darling sat, eyes quietly misting over with memories of her own recent nuptials. Girls love dey weddings.

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REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA PHOTOCAP: The One Where They All Went To Dinner And Didn’t Talk

I’m starting to sense that this season of Real Housewives of Atlanta is running out of gas. Sure, the women may be funny, but like the previous two seasons that came before it, there’s no real through-line, no real story here; so we’re just watching a bunch of nouveau riche women (I use the term “riche” loosely) make their way through the day, pausing occasionally to do something cultural like grope a hot slave mannequin at a museum or take in a dance class. The only thing close to drama this season has seen has been the resurrected feud between Sherayay and NeNe, but since their first explosive meeting on the season premiere, the two have barely shared any screentime together.

Same goes for Kim and Nene, whose hatred still burns strong and all stems from that weird argument they had on Kim’s bus last season. If we’re to talk about ridiculous feuds, this one ranks at the top. Alas, Momma Joyce decided this week that she wanted to start the mending process, which was an admirable but myopic idea. Truth is that there can be no progress unless Nene eats some humble pie and admits that she’s a crazy-ass bitch. Funny, but crazy.

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