Andy Gavin's Blog, page 179
December 17, 2011
The New Cover Concept
As I've discussed before, I commissioned a new cover a couple weeks ago for The Darkening Dream. Well I've got a concept sketch now (to the right, click it to embiggen). You can compare it to the old cover at the bottom of the post.
NOTE: This is still just a sketch, not the final new cover and the titles are quick hacks that I whipped onto the concept sketch. Still, I wanted to see what people think.
We shoot the model this weekend. Cliff Nielsen, the artist uses a composite style in which he blends photographic and hand drawn elements. The final result will even better and much much more detailed and specific. This sketch is to get a sense of layout, color, and positioning.
Overall I'm stoked.
The interior is also rocking along and I hope to have the E-Book on the "shelf" (i.e. Amazon etc) right around the New Year.
So write in the comments: What does this cover say to you, would you pick up the book and see what it's about? What do you think it's about?
The old cover -- made by yours truly
For more info on the new cover, click here.
For more information on The Darkening Dream.
For more posts on writing, click here.
December 16, 2011
Quick Eats – Il Pastaio
Restaurant: Il Pastaio
Location: 400 N.Canon Drive. Bevery Hills, CA 90210. Phone: 310.205.5444
Date: December 2, 2011
Cuisine: Italian
Rating: Excellent neighborhood Italian
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Il Pastaio is one of the Drago brothers many many excellent Los Angeles Italians. This is probably the flagship of brother Giacomino Drago's collection of seven restaurants. The pastas in particular (the name does mean the Pasta Maker) are incredible. This meal, however, was just a quick lunch.
A lobster salad with marinated peppers and cucumbers. I'm a huge lobster salad fan and this was no disappointment. Look at all that juicy lobster meat!
Gnocci in pink sauce. A classic, but very good.
A spinach parpadelle with a meat ragu. I love this kind of hearty meat ragu. yum yum.
To avoid carb coma.
And parked outside was this totally whacky but cool chopper. If you zoom in you can see that every part of it from engine block to the seat is custom tooled!
Anyway, while this is just a mini glimpse at Il Pastaio's cusine, it's a fantastic place. I'll have to come back and document a much more extensive meal.
Older brother Drago restaurant is reviewed here and Giacomino's via alloro.
For more LA dining reviews click here.
December 15, 2011
Maison Giraud
Restaurant: Maison Giraud [1, 2]
Location: 1032 Swarthmore Ave, Pacific Palisades, Ca 90272. 310-459-7562
Date: December 5 & 10, 2011
Cuisine: French
Rating: French "home" cooking at it's best
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I've been waiting for Maison Giraud, the new local (just blocks away!) Pacific Palisades restaurant/bakery from acclaimed LA French chef Alain Giraud to open for what seems like forever. The day it did I was there for some pastries. Then we kept trying to get in for dinner. We had to come on a monday at like 5:30!
The Swathmore Ave frontage has been revealing itself in stages since at least the 4th of July.
Inside the chef peers down at your from the French-style board.
Today's menu.
A pair of nice French whites, one a Sancerre, the other a Viognier.
House baked bread.
They call this a tart, but it's really a flatbread (aka pizza). "Camille's Potato and Rosemary Flat Tart. Creme Fraiche, Gruyere." Pretty yummy.
And another. "Crispy Tomato and Basil Flat Tart. Roasted onions, parmesan."
"Seared Scallops, leek fondue, meyer lemon & pistachio sauce." This was one of the best seared scallop appetizers I've had — and I normally prefer my scallops raw.
"Arborio Risotto, mushrooms, aged parmesan, fresh herbs." A lovely mushroom risotto. The weather was cold and dreary (in relative LA terms), so this was perfect.
"Seared Atlantic Salmon. Garlic potatoes, cipollini, bacon, red onion sauce."
"Cocotte. Beef Bourguignon." Basically beef stew with the classic additives: potato, carrots, onions, etc. But this was one damn fine beef stew.
Bread dipping good!
We had to get back in a hurry, so we didn't have time for dessert, but I had that Vacherin Glace one time when the chef was cooking at Bastide (in 2004) and it was one of the best desserts of my life.
I liked the Maison so much that I brought my son back for breakfast on Saturday. This is from the bakery, a fresh apple turnover. Yum!
And fresh OJ.
A decent, if slightly foamy cappuccino.
French toast. Very nice typical variant. My favorite part was the fresh Chantilly cream which was incredible. I'm a big sucker for whipped cream.
Classic Eggs Benedict.
Some more baked goods. Muffins.
And the ultimate pain aux chocolate. This is the only place in LA I've tasted where the croissant type pastry actually tastes like it does in France.
So far, I'm very pleased with Maison Giraud. The food is essentially French comfort food with a bit of international adaption, but everything has been spot on fresh and well done so far, and the bakery is outrageously good. Given how incredibly lame most of the Pacific Palisades food offerings are this is all incredibly welcome.
For my early preview, see here.
