12/03/2007 at 4:35 PM
Tags: Owen Wilson, Bridget Moynihan, Restaurants, Celeb Travel (all tags)
This past Friday night we hit up a favorite spot on Santa Monica's Montana Avenue, an Italian restaurant called Locanda Portofino. The small restaurant serves a fusion of Northern and Southern Italian cuisine from Chef Florestano Caracciolo di Nicastro. It's extremely and unnecessarily expensive, especially the wine list. (We'd tell you to bring your own bottle but with a $40 corking fee, you might as well just order one.)
It was all completely worth it, though, as we had to squeeze by Owen Wilson to enter the restaurant. He was too busy getting digits from an attractive pin-thin brunette to move out of our way of course. Also spotted that same night was Bridget Moynihan, best known at Patriots QB Tom Brady's baby momma. She was dining with her mom and dad and we are guessing some siblings. A very good-looking family.
As for the food, this was our second time there and we can highly recommend the pasta dishes. Unfortunately, the chicken and other meat dishes fall short. Locanda Portofino's open for dinner every night and has lunch Tuesday through Saturday.
Related Stories:
· Locanda Portofino [Official Site]
· Owen Wilson coverage [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: People]
by juliana
10/26/2007 at 4:15 PM
Tags: Shopping, Shopping-in-SoCal, Halloween (all tags)
We haven't updated our Shopping in SoCal Map in a bit (eek!) but with Halloween just around the corner we couldn't resist filling you in on a Westside costume shop we like.
Ursula's Costumes on Wilshire in Santa Monica is perfect for all your silly, not-to-be-taken-too-seriously costume needs. To the point, we like it because it is stocked to the brims with those easy to assemble Halloween costumes that come in plastic packages and cost anywhere from $35 to $50. We have easily spent that much going from places like Goodwill to Target to Joanne's Fabric Store trying to put together a costume.
At Ursula's our only problem was trying to decide between the Slutty Wizard (really) or a Slutty Merchant's Wife (seriously). In the end we chose Slutty Corrections Officer because we get to hit people with a plastic baton all night. Men can choose from less slutty options like Caveman, Doctor, Zoot Suit Gangster and other cliched costumes. Also, your pet can have his or her pick of costumes too.
For those who want to go to the next level, Ursula's has a costume rental department as well as a tailor who will custom make your outfit. (That takes about two months, so you'll buy off the rack for this weekend. But it's never too early to get a jump on next year!)
The only downside is that during Halloween time it gets crowded and parking (as per usual) is either unavailable (meters on Wilshire are hard to score) or costly. We hit the lot behind the building which charges $1.00 for every 20 minutes. We were also disappointed in the wig section which carried a so-so collection. Plus you have to buy a $1.99 wig cap before you try any wigs on, even if you don't end up buying a wig.
Ursula's is still open after Halloween and orders are accepted online so it fits any costume party needs--not just those happening around Oct. 31st.
Related Stories:
· Ursula's Costumes [Official Site]
· Shopping in SoCal Map [Jaunted]
by juliana
