Andy Gavin's Blog, page 151
September 11, 2013
JiRaffe Burgundy Blowout!
Location:502 Santa Monica Blvd.Santa Monica, CA90401. 310.917.6671
Date:September 9, 2013
Cuisine:FrenchAmerican
Rating: Santa Monica Classic
ANY CHARACTER HERE
My Hedonist group has been mixing up our format a bit, and tonight we aren’t just checking out a restaurant (the excellent New-French Jiraffe) but putting together an exclusive “high end” Burgundy night. Each guest was required to bring at least one great bottle of red Burgundy, the bar being set at DRC, Leroy, Jaye...
September 9, 2013
Agora – The More Things Stay the Same
Title: Agora
Cast:Rachel Weisz(Actor),Max Minghella(Actor),Alejandro Amenábar(Director)
Genre: Historical Drama
Watched: August 31, 2013
Summary: Things haven’t changed
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That this movie got made at all is fairly amazing — and in a totally different way and polar opposite from the vacuous crap oft spewing out of Hollywood (Hansel & Gretel I’m looking at you!).
Agora is set during the tumultuousdecades at the end of the 4th and early 5th century AD. It centers around the riots in the Egyptian city of...
September 6, 2013
Eating England – The Square
Restaurant: The Square
Location:6-10 Bruton Street.Mayfair, London,W1J 6PU.+44 (0) 20 7495 7100
Date: July 15, 2013
Cuisine: Modern French/Italian
Rating: Thoroughly Enjoyable
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While in London I failed to secure any reservations at the city’s three 3 Michelin star restaurants (sadly, the Fat Duck wait list didn’t pan out), but I did hit up “The Square” which has 2 stars and was a recommendation (and a great one at that) of my wine friend Martin Buchanan who arranged the evening and brought a coupl...
September 2, 2013
Untimed on the Cheap
The E-Book versions of Untimed will be only $0.99 cents from Monday, September 2 through Friday the 13th! Take the plunge, it’s certainly a great deal.
Buy it on Amazon!
Tweet, share, like, follow, blog and grab a copy of my book. The trailer can be found here.
About Untimed
Charlie’s the kind of boy that no one notices. Hell, his own mother can’t remember his name. So when a mysterious clockwork man tries to kill him in modern day Philadelphia, and they tumble through a hole into 1725 London, Ch...
August 30, 2013
All Things Akbar
Location: 2627 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, Ca 90403. 310-586-7469
Date: August 28, 2013
Cuisine: Indian
Rating: Bold and balanced flavors
ANY CHARACTER HERE
For 13 or so years Akbar has been one of my favorite Indianrestaurants. Too many Indian places focus on low cost buffets of very over cooked food, but Akbar cooks everything to order — even baking their own Naan when you place the order. They are more focused on the cuisine of the Punjab (Northern India), with very goo...
August 28, 2013
Blood Song
Title: Blood Song
Author: Anthony Ryan
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Length: 591 pages
Read: July 23-August 24, 2013
Summary: Excellent, but flawed
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Structurally, this book borrows heavily from . It opens with a box story about a famous military man and then slowly dolls out the (first) chapters of his long career, beginning with his schooling. Blood Song is well written, with solid practical prose that doesn’t get in the way. There is none of the elegant and overwrought voice of the afor...
August 26, 2013
Uni All the Way Down
Restaurant: Kali Dining
Location:13488 W Maxella Ave Marina del Rey, CA 90292 Apt # 559
Date: August 16, 2013
Cuisine: New American
Rating: Uni Awesome
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Independent chef Kevin Meehan of Kali Dining is a friend of mine from my Hedonist groupand even cooked up that same group’s start of summer blast. Kali Dining is his concept for hosted “dinner party,” where you sign up for a special meal and join him at a big communal table in Marina del Rey.
This is about half the table. Finding it is the challeng...
August 23, 2013
Pig Ear is Here – Taberna Arros y Vi
Restaurant: Taberna Arros y Vi
Location:1403 2nd Street.Santa Monica, CA 90401.310.393.3663
Date: August 21, 2013
Cuisine: Spanish
Rating: Good food, amazing service
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Michael Cardenas, co-founder of Lazy Ox Canteen, has recently opened a new Spanish “tavern” right off the Promenade in Santa Monica. Given our great nights at the Ox, it’s only natural that we Hedonists should test Arros out with a big wine blowout.
The menu.
From my cellar: 2009 Raul Pérez Rías Baixas Muti.IWC 91.Bright yellow-gold. D...
August 21, 2013
Hansel & Gretel – Arrrrrgg!
Title: Hansel & Gretel
Cast:Jeremy Renner(Actor),Gemma Arterton(Actor),Tommy Wirkola(Director)
Genre: Fantasy / Fairy Tale / Action
Watched: August 11, 2013
Summary:Reaches for (and finds) new lows
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OMG, someone finally ripped off Van Helsing! Actually, more like mated it with The Man with the Iron Fists. Lest it not be clear, I loathed Van Helsing. It is, in my humble opinion, one of the worst big budget films of all time. Hansel & Gretel is actually better. Not a lot better mind you, but watchab...
August 19, 2013
Tar & Roses got your Goat?
Restaurant: Tar & Roses[1, 2]
Location:602 Santa Monica Blvd.Santa Monica, CA 90401.(310) 587-0700
Date: August 15, 2013
Cuisine: American Tapas
Rating: Awesome goat!
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Tar & Roses is a relatively new American tapas-style place in Santa Monica, loosely in the vein of Rustic Canyon or Gjelina. Despite the relative crowding of this market, it’s a welcome — and extremely popular — addition.
The Chef & Owner is Andrew Kirschner, a Santa Monica-native who grew up in a family with a strong appreciation fo...
