The Completely Revamped Vitello's (Studio City)

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Vitello's in Studio City was an old school Italian restaurant in Studio City famous for being a mafia hangout in the 50's and the site of the Robert Blake shooting incident. If you were to ask the current staff, even they will admit that the food back then was no bueno. All that changed recently. Major renovation of the interior, an entirely new menu under a new chef (who for once is actually Italian), and a wine and cocktail program.


The cocktail menu was pretty interesting. I ordered the Bad Lil' Wabbit made with whiskey, carrot juice, agave, lemon, mint, and ginger beer ($11). I was wary at first. Carrot juice? But this drink was good! The ginger beer complements it nicely.

The chef likes to put out special items and customers can pretty much request whatever they wanted, as long as they have the ingredients. My dinner ended consisting of dishes not on the regular menu (except for the dessert). Fresh salmon tartar was served with diced apples and cucumbers.

A big mound of smooth, creamy burrata is served with sweet and crisp heirloom tomatoes. I welcomed every chance I got to eat heirloom tomatoes before the season ended.

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AMMO's New Slinger

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There's a new face behind the bar at AMMO. Jonny Ericsen is a Portland transplant and Clyde Common graduate who will be taking charge of AMMO's cocktails (speaking of Portland mixologist moving to LA .. have you watched this Portlandia episode?)
A few of the cocktails remained from my last visit, but a number of new ones have popped up. The Currant Affair is a strong but sweet drink that's perfect to start the night off (Old Overholt rye, lemon juice, cassis, maraschino, Angostura bitters -$10)
I had a more aromatic beginning with the Copper Cup (Citadelle gin, Cynar, Dolin Blanc vermouth, orange bitters - $11)

Both drinks were well balanced and went down dangerously easy.
After a while, we started having Jonny play around with off-menu drinks, both classics and his own creations. The Van Cleef was a drink he made when he opened Little Bird in Portland. He calls it a "cowboy drink", made with scotch rinse, Buffalo Trace bourbon, and burnt orange oil.

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Pitfire Pizza's 15th Anniversary Special and New Fall Menu

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Did you know that Pitfire Pizza has been around for 15 years, serving artisanal pizza?? I didn't know about them until they opened up the downtown location next to The Edison so I was surprised that they've been around for so long, but their original location in North Hollywood has been around for that long. Now they have locations in downtown, Westwood, West Hollywood, Culver City, and soon they'll be opening a Costa Mesa location.
Anyway, to celebrate this major milestone, Pitfire will be serving a special 15th Anniversary Tuscan Pizza (roasted potatoes, rosemary, gorgonzola, grilled chicken). Not only that, for the month of November, this pizza will be selling for the price it was back in 2006, which is $7.95! 
It's the perfect time to visit Pitfire Pizza, because at the same time they have just launched the Fall menu. Roasted Pear Salad
Farmer's Market Platter ($9.95) features heartier items like butternut squash and a bowl of  Cranberry beans and christmas beans. The brussel sprout and kale remain from previous seasons, and there is also a nice mixture of farro, crimini mushrooms, and hazelnut.

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Knott's Camp Spooky

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Last weekend my family was invited to visit Knott's Camp Spooky, usually known as Camp Snoopy. Camp Spooky is a daylight non-scary Halloween event for kids ages 3-11 every weekend in October.

Join in the fun by coming in costume. Your child can participate in the costume parade, see the Creepy Crawler Cave (where naturalists will share their critters), Find your way through a hay bale maze, collect treats in the scavenger hunt, and of course enjoy all the rides and shows!

It was a great day, and while my daughter and husband enjoy a little scare with their Halloween festivities I was pleased to be goose bump free.

 

Knott's Merry Farm

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Knott's Berry Farm is all decked out with decorations and shows for the holidays. They invited my family to come visit last weekend and we had a wonderful time.

My daughter and husband love the rides and I love the chicken pot pies at the restaurant. On top of all that they have great Christmas themed shows. Sweet stories with heart warming morals and fun shows with ice skating Peanuts (The Charlie Brown and Snoopy kind).

You can get in for just $25 if you buy a Knotts toy to donate to Toys for Tots. You can also get season passes to Knotts's Berry Farm for just $66.99. It really is a fun day and such a good deal for an amusement park.

OH and just for the holidays they have these delicious frozen maple syrup lollipops. You really have to get one or two. Hey whose counting...

Seasons 52, Now Serving Delicious Low Calorie Food at Westfield CenturyCity

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When you want something healthy but still tastes good while shopping at the Westfield Century City, head over to the newly opened Seasons 52. Everything on the menu is under 500 calories and they use no butter and no fryer. They also have one hundred wines on their list, 62 of them available by the glass.

I was recently invited to a preview tasting in one of their private dining rooms.
Our visit started on the patio with a glass of Chartogne-Taillet Cuvee Sainte Anne, a small grower champagne, and a lemon verbena mojito.
So the verbena used in the mojito, along with a bunch of other herbs used in different dishes come from plants grown on site. There are some herbs on the side of the patios and there is a small "Chef's Garden" room near the entrance, and you can peer in through the glass door as the chefs harvest the herbs throughout the day.

There's a large patio area and it was surprisingly quiet for being next to Santa Monica Blvd.
We started with a crispy Chipotle shrimp flatbread with roasted poblano, grilled pineapple and feta cheese
Then we went into the dining room for our tasting. For an amuse bouche, we had dungeness crab and Haas avocado, pico de gallo, finger lime. This was paired with Aveleda Vinho Verde, Portugal 2011
I think this was my first time having finger lime, which was very tart, but all the components worked well together. The vinho verde is made with half a dozen native Portuguese varieties and is crisp and clean.

Next is a course I've had at the Costa Mesa Seasons 52:
Organic salmon on cedar plank, lemongrass skewered sea scallop, farmers market vegetables

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Local LA Gifts For Your Foodie Friends!

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Los Angeles has so many great finds that you really shouldn't look elsewhere for that special gift for your food loving friends. Yep, there are many lists like these, but here are my picks (you know, if you were buying something for me ... )

1. Truffles from Compartes Chocolatier
Compartes is one of the best local chocolatiers and they put cute artwork on top of their truffles too. Wouldn't a box of gingerbread truffles with penguins on them just be an adorable gift? Although everyone would love to receive the Macallan whisky truffles too.
2. Purple Forest Pie from I Heart Pies
Pumpkin pies? Boring ... Try I Heart Pies' black currant and speculoos pie. It doesn't just look striking with the purple color, with its creaminess and slight tart flavor, this is going to be someone's new favorite pie.
3. Caramels from Le Bon Garcon
Still my favorite caramels ever (it's just so smooth and never sticks to my teeth), Le Bon Garcon keeps coming up with new seasonal flavors that I always love. The newest one is persimmon with some guava and lime (though I'd love to see them make one with stronger persimmon flavor). Get them while you can!
4. Boozy chocolate bars from OcocoaYour foodie friends probably like to drink, too. Appeal to both sides with these beautiful chocolate bars from Ococoa, filled with caramel flavored with things like Irish whiskey, Tawny Port, and honey liqueur. I've seen them sold at Farmshop.