This Week's Appetzing News - Where to eat, right now!

Spring and restlessness is in the air for some, including myself. While I love cooking and eating at home, I've just got to jump in and open up this week's "We recommend ..." for places that are on a trajectory to become new dine-out objects of my obsession, and ideally yours too!

We recommend ...

California Fish Grill ~ actually Lisa gets credit for this one. With locations in Orange County and Gardena, they will be opening a new store soon in El Segundo. Fresh and inclined to "get you hooked", you might want to run, not walk, to this healthy spot at your next earliest convenience!

Berri's Cafe ~ One of those "We've walked by 1000 times" places, literally, since we pass this on our LA tour and I had never been before this morning! They are famous for their pizza, and now have just opened for breakfast. From now through April 15th, breakfast entrees are FREE between 6 and 8 a.m.! The exquisite dining room has a French accent and reminded me of my favorite cafe in Paris, true story. Their online menu does not yet boast its "petite dejeuner", but I strongly urge that you do drop in for one of the best little breakfasts in town as soon as possible. Soccer fans like myself will love that this summer, their lifesize TV projection will be showing the World Cup matches at whatever hour we need to watch them.

Philippe the Original ~ If you're lucky enough to be attending Opening Day at Dodger Stadium next Tuesday, you probably already know that Philippe's is the call for breakfast that morning ... or early dinner after the game. While they were closed for a brief spell earlier this year, all is alive and well again now. Another fabulous LA breakfast spot also open at 6am, they serve incredibly delicious and well-priced specialties and I personally recommend the homemade biscuits! Otherwise, don't miss their famous French dips (about $6) with a side of (my other favorite) macaroni salad (about $1), til 10pm daily! Coffee - 9 cents, lemonade - 75 cents ... the 102-year-old landmark experience ... priceless!

And finally, did you know that Julie&Julie's Oscar-nominated actress Meryl Streep doesn't have a lot of good food memories of good food from her childhood? Here is what she said about that:

"My mother had a lot of things she wanted to do, and cooking was not one of them. I remember when I was 10, I went to a friend's house up the street, and she and her mother were sitting at the table, doing something to tennis balls. I asked them what they were doing and they said they were making mashed potatoes. I told them mashed potatoes came in a box! They were peeling potatoes. I had never seen a potato."

Thank you, Valerie in Montana, for sending me that one!!

I leave you with that delicious idea of homemade mashed potatoes, as I exit this post and enter my own kitchen to prepare frog legs for dinner. My friends at Farmers Market Poultry are anxiously awaiting my report on that one.

Wishing everyone a yummy week, especially around the table with those you love!

Until next time I remain your faithful,

Diane Scalia
Chef and Tour Maestra