Archive for June, 2010

QUATTRO ITALIANA

By Larry Levine - From south to north California boasts some outstanding Italian restaurants. As you travel the state this summer, you may want to consider a stop at one or more of the following. In the Brooklyn neighborhood, where I spent the first decade of my life, if you weren’t Jewish you probably were [...]
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HASH HOUSE A GO GO – Restaurant of the Week – 6/28/10

“Ooh-ahh” is the expected reaction to 4th of July fireworks. But you are likely to say the same thing at first sight of Hash House A Go Go’s brown sugar banana pancake – a golden flapjack the size of a monster truck tire, and a lot better tasting. There are two Hash Houses – one [...]
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MELISSE – Restaurant of the Week – 6/14/10

By Larry Levine - Jennifer and I loved Melisse long before Michelin discovered it and hung two stars on the wall. It’s not just one of my two current favorite California restaurants, it ranks up there alongside many of the other great spots I’ve enjoyed through the years – Scandia, Perino’s, The Windsor Room, Chassen’s. [...]
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HAS TV FOOD PROGRAMMING GONE ASTRAY

By Larry Levine – I think Jacques Pepin’s weekly program is the best cooking show on television. He doesn’t compete with anyone, or chop anyone. No reality contests, or hopscotch travels through diners and dives; no tours of bar-b-que joints, or endless decorations of cakes no one would ever bake at home. Pepin just cooks [...]
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SANTA MARIA BARBECUE

By Larry Levine The City of Santa Maria on the central coast of California is well known for Santa Maria Barbecue. There are many restaurants and barbecue stands throughout the downtown area. The basic Santa Maria Barbecue is tri-tip beef. But there also are chicken and rib. Essential sides are pinquito beans and salsa. Red oak [...]
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GRILL, BABY, GRILL

By Larry Levine – It’s barbecue season and I feel lonely. According to the latest Weber GrillWatch Survey, 75% of Americans own an outdoor barbecue grill and about 33% of them own two or more. Gas continues to be the most popular type of outdoor grill – 67%. Half of all grill owners now have [...]
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ROAMING PIT ROAD – A regional American Barbecue Tour

By Larry Sheingold - We discovered fire a zillion years ago. Then we invented barbecue. And before the first bones were gnawed and discarded, we had BBQ experts. No doubt, those prehistoric trendsetters had their traditional cave food favorites. A zillion years later, not much has changed. Even in today’s homogenized, mass marketing world, America’s [...]
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