Jaunted - Tag: Table Crashing

London: Sanctum Soho's Restaurant is a Little Underwhelming

juliab — 2009-07-01T17:17:18-05:00

We liked Sanctum Soho when we looked around it back in April (a lot more than the New York Times did, as it turned out). We said at the time that, as long as the clientele were up to scratch, it held a lot of potential.

Last night we found ourselves back there, eating at No. 20, the restaurant. We had high hopes – it looked pretty fine when we saw it pre-opening, what with its sexy booths and scarlet bar – and we were looking forward to the puddings described in the Sunday Times as ”the sort of thing that could make all the difference on a first date”.

Santa Monica: FIG at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel

EricRosen — 2009-02-05T14:31:00-05:00

FIG bars, it's what's for dessert.

One of Santa Monica’s most famous landmarks is the 128-year-old Moreton Bay fig tree that sits in the driveway to the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, so it’s no wonder that the hotel’s new restaurant is named FIG.

Around 90 percent of Chef Ray Garcia's menu is locally and organically sourced, and the dishes will change according to season. If you have any doubts about that, just check out the calendar of crops at the bottom of the menu to see what will be “coming soon” to a plate near you.

There are even “food scouts” who apparently are scouring the local farmer’s markets and nearby ranches for the raw ingredients for Chef Garcia’s menus, which he says are “nothing experimental or overworked. Just pure, flavorful ingredients expertly prepared and delivered to your table.” He must have picked up that philosophy while working at Thomas Keller's famous French Laundry in Napa.

Baltimore: Table Crashing: Bertha's

pbb — 2008-07-21T15:21:26-05:00

Even though Bertha's has become a tourist magnet in the heart of Baltimore's yuppified Fells Point neighborhood, it's still got enough junk hanging from the rafters and no-nonsense waitresses to call it, at best, a down-home spot. And we mean that as the highest compliment.

Santa Monica: Table Crashing: The Lobster at the Santa Monica Pier

juliana — 2008-05-05T16:43:16-05:00

Without a doubt, heading to the Santa Monica Pier is one of the top tourist attractions in Santa Monica. Made famous in countless films, the pier was originally built in 1909 which is defined as the pre-historic age for Los Angeles.

It's considered the final stop along Route 66, as anyone who saw the movie Forest Gump knows, and it houses a historic carousel ride, a ferris wheel *, a small aquarium, carnival games, tourist trap souvenir shops, a pub and a few restaurants.

Now, dining on the pier is not something we would ever do unless it was like on a triple dog dare or something, but if we had to dine in the vicinity of the pier the only place to do so is The Lobster.

New York: Table Crashing: Nello on Madison Avenue

juliana — 2008-05-02T16:30:01-05:00

Nello on Madison Avenue is a storied restaurant for the rich and famous. It's one of those places that always pops up in gossip columns and, when the weather's nice and celebs are chewing away on the sidewalk, the paparazzi-driven tabloid magazines.

In fact, its restaurateur, Nello Balan, is perhaps just as well-known in Manhattan as some of his customers. First, there was the incident about an alleged bribe to Page Six (hence the gossip column presence.) Then there was the incident with the model who took his limited edition $1,000 umbrella and didn't return it, thus prompting Balan to publicize it in Page Six. (Full circle?)

With all this sort of superficial, lives of rich people in Manhattan type of drama, does anyone even know what the food is like? We table-crashed the place to find out.

Los Angeles: Table Crashing: Hollywood Power Players at Angelini Osteria

juliana — 2008-04-21T17:04:04-05:00

Confession: We first heard about Angelini Osteria on Giada's Weekend Getaways on the Food Network about a year ago. Then it popped up again on our radar when it hit the Best 75 Restaurants in Los Angeles list at number 17.

So we decided to make an early reservation at 6:30 pm on a Friday night. The restaurant is on a unassuming block of Beverly Boulevard just east of Fairfax Avenue and close to The Grove shopping center.

We got a table towards the back but it turned out to be the second best table in the house. Why's that? Because it was next to the best table in the house and guess who showed up for a 7 pm reservation? Big-time movie producer Brian Grazer and Paramount honcho Sumner Redstone. They were dining with two ladies and didn't do much of interest. Except Grazer carries around a Volcom backpack. Weird.

But on to the menu.

Las Vegas: Table Crashing: The Palazzo's Merry-Go-Round of Restaurants

juliana — 2008-04-17T16:37:39-05:00

What the world looks like when you get off the Palazzo tasting tour.

We were fortunate enough to get invited to the Palazzo Las Vegas last week to check-out the hotel scene. But as with most hotels these days and especially in Las Vegas, the hotel is often not about the hotel. It's about what else is at the hotel.

And aside from the gambling, the Palazzo has a ton of other distractions and ways for you to spend your cash, whether you won it at the blackjack tables or whether you're just burning your paycheck.

While the Shoppes at the Palazzo definitely caught our eye (hello, massive Barneys department store!), there are 12 restaurants to indulge in. We tested a few of them out. Be prepared to leave your calorie-counting ways behind.