Andy Gavin's Blog, page 153
July 25, 2013
Wine on the Beach
This week I was lucky enough to be invited to a absolutely fabulous wine dinner hosted by Eric Cotsen at his lovely Malibu pad. A number of us Hedonists attended. Eric has these diners regularly and they feature an awesome setting, great company, wonderful food, and amazing wines provided by both him and the guests. All the wines are served blind (more or less).
You can see the ocean is rather close! Like under the house.
The chefs whip up our feast.
Eric has these crazy high tech nitrogen disp...
July 22, 2013
Eating England – Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
Restaurant: Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
Location: Church Road,Great Milton,Oxford,OX44 7PD,England.+44 (0)1844 278 881
Date: July 10, 2013
Cuisine: French
Rating: Wonderful
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No Gavin vacation would be complete without a couple top gastronomic restaurants. As it turned out, this year our summer travels brought us to England, and specifically to a little town just fifteen minutes away from Raymond Blanc’s gastronomic temple, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. This lovely (and pricey) country hotel is a Rela...
July 19, 2013
Return to Milo & Olive
My wife and I return to one of Santa Monica’s best pizzerias for some more tossed dough balls… find the details here.
July 15, 2013
More Mori Sushi
Restaurant: Mori Sushi[1, 2]
Location:11500 west pico blvd. los angeles, california, 90064.310-479-3939
Date: June 25, 2013
Cuisine: Japanese Sushi
Rating: One of LA’s best traditional sushi restaurants
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There is always considerable date as to which of LA’s many great sushi bars are the best — and it’s a fairly subjective question — but there is no doubt that Mori Sushi is often on the short list.
The owner in the foreground,Chef Masanori “Maru” Nagano who bought therestaurantfrom his former boss,...
July 11, 2013
Quick Brunch with Joe
Restaurant: Joe’sRestaurant[1, 2]
Location: 1023AbbotKinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
Date: June 23, 2013
Cuisine: California Farmer’s Market
Rating:Consistentlygood
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I’ve been coming to Joe’s since 1995 or 1996 and they are approaching their 20th anniversary any day now. In a major metropolitanrestaurantscene, that’s an eternity. Chef Joe Miller was an early proponent of the ingredient driven “farmer’s market style” of California cooking that is very popular right now. And despite therestaurant’sven...
July 9, 2013
UK Playstation Mag Interview
The below is an interview I did earlier this year:
Andrew, give us a bit of background about yourself before the days of Naughty Dog. (growing up, interests, coding background)
I grew up in thesimultaneouslycosmopolitan and suburban area of Northern Virginia (just outside of Washington D.C.). I was the right age to catch the first big wave of gaming in the late 70s, early 80s. I played all the arcade classics as they came out and eagerly pestered my dad for an Atari 2600. This was a time when t...
July 5, 2013
Le Petit Restaurant
Restaurant: Le Petit Restaurant
Location:13360 Ventura Blvd.Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. 818-501-7999
Date: May 27, 2013
Cuisine: French
Rating: Decent old fashioned fair
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Le Petit Restaurant has been a Sherman Oaks fixture for decades, serving classic French flair with a bit ofMoroccaninfluence.
The cosy interior.
2001 Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes. Parker 98.The spectacular 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is one of the monumental Chateauneuf du Papes of...
July 2, 2013
The New Nobu
Restaurant: Nobu Malibu
Location:22706 Pacific Coast Hwy.Malibu,CA90265.(310) 317-9140
Date: May 29, 2013
Cuisine: Japanese Fusion
Rating: Maintains it’s very high standards, and price.
In my continuing quest to eat theoceansof the earth clean in the form of sushi I returned to one of my “old” haunts, Nobu Malibu — but in it’s newglamorousocean-side location.
The various Nobus represent the corporate version of theJapanese-Peruvianfusionbegun byNobu Matsuhisaat his eponymousMatsuhisa (REVIEW HERE)....
June 28, 2013
Dumplings the size of Grapefruits!
Restaurant: Myung In Dumplings
Location:3109 W Olympic Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90006.(213) 381-3568
Date: May 17, 2013
Cuisine: Korean Dumpling House
Rating: Tasty and great value
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I’m a big dumpling fan. I mean, what isn’t there to like with a pasta-esque dough ball filled with ground goodness?
Myung is a little hole-in-the-wall place right next door to ShinBeijingin the heart of K-Town.
The menu is short, and very pictorial.
Like every Korean place, just sitting down seems to earn you acollectionof li...
June 26, 2013
The Last of Us – My Review
Title: The Last of Us
Genre: Zombie / Survival / 3rd person shooter
Played: June 15-25, 2013
Summary: Masterpiece (even if I weren’t biased)
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With The Last of Us, thetrajectoryNaughty Dog has been pursuing for over a decade reaches for andachievesnew heights. This synergy of world building, gameplay integration, emersion, and story telling really began with Jak & Daxter. True, with Crash Bandicoot, we made inroads in all but the last (anyone remember the “Crash, can you find my...
