1. Sprinkles: Although they serve their pumpkin flavored cupcake all year round, there’s no better time to treat yourself to this sweet than during Halloween. The cinnamon cream cheese frosting makes this to die for. October 23-31 they will also feature their Boo box with special sugar toppings and a BOO sticker.

2. Yogurt Stop: This West Hollywood frozen yogurt cafe always outdoes itself both in flavor and Weho friendly flavor names. Their Pumpkin Party Patch is no exception. This is one of, if not the best-tasting pumpkin yogurts you’re going to find. Try it with their cheesecake topping for a Pumpkin Cheesecake treat. 

3. 8oz.: Their Pumpkin Gingerbread is a year round staple but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked during the Halloween season. A blend of pumpkin puree, fresh gingerbread and pumpkin seed brittle- this shake is sure to leave you wanting seconds. If you’re not in a diabetic coma, that is…

4. Gordon Ramsay: The Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood is mixing up a special drink just for the haunted holiday. Through November 1st, they will be offering a special Pumpkin Pie Martini for all ghouls to enjoy. 

5. The Griddle: ”Tis the Season”…for Pumpkin! And pumpkin you will get when you order these pancakes at the popular breakfast spot. This year-round concoction is their good ol’ fashioned recipe mixed with pumpkin pie filling. Sounds filling!

6. Rustic Canyon: Pumpkin flavored eats and sweets are great, but, believe it or not, pumpkin is pretty darn scrumptious just by itself. Rustic Canyon keeps it simple with their roasted pumpkin with honey, mint and black pepper. It’s just a side dish but you’ll wish it were the main event!

Ask and we shall receive!  dineLA Restaurant Week is back by popular demand.  Usually an annual event, it’s back for a second round due to its overwhelming success this past January! This fall, dineLA Restaurant Week is taking place from October 4-9 and October 11-16 with over 200 establishments participating. With restaurants coming and going as fast as the latest LA trends, there’s hardly enough time or money to try them all. Designed with this in mind, dineLA gives people a chance to sample three-course meals at some of the hottest restaurants in town. Conviently, there are three set price categories that each eatery must choose from; therefore you know exactly what you’re getting into before you go. Deluxe Dining is $16 for lunch and $26 for dinner. In this category you can enjoy places like Happy Endings, Taste and Essex Public House. In the Premier Dining group, $22 for lunch and $34 for dinner, you’ll find Bond St., Riviera and SimonLA. And for a real treat you can experience XIV by Michael Mina, Spago or Asia de Cuba in the Fine Dining group for $28 for lunch and $44 for dinner.

A second Restaurant Week isn’t the only thing special this time around. Five chefs from local restaurants will be tag team cooking aboard a special dineLA food truck. If this isn’t a sign of the immense influence of  the “food truck” on the Los Angels food scene, I don’t know what is. Rather than feel threatened by this new craze, many chefs have decided to embrace the new culture. Hunt down the dineLA truck on twitter and you’ll be lucky to find Anisette’s Alain Giraud, Eric Greenspan from the Foundry on Melrose, Jason Johnston from Dakota at the Roosevelt, Walter Eckstein from Lawry’s the Prime Rib or John England from Rosa Mexicano. Oh, and did I mention that they’re handing their bites out for FREE?!

Whether you’re looking to try a new neighborhood restaurant, get a favorite meal for cheaper than usual or experience one normally out of your price range, dineLA can make it all happen. People can’t resist these great deals so make sure to book your reservations now because the restaurants do fill up quickly. Bon Appetite!

“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” That was then. Now it’s more like, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for…BEER!” So why not take our favorite food from childhood and mix it with our favorite drink from today? Well, that’s exactly what many restaurants and bars are doing all over L.A. as we are seeing a wave of beer floats hitting the menus. We’ve grown up so has the root beer float- and now it packs a mean punch.

It’s probably safe to say that this new cocktail craze was prompted by the L.A. Beer Float Showdown back in July. For this event, which raised money for charity, The Golden State and Scoops paired up to compete against BottleRock LA and Milk. While the winner of that night was declared BottleRock LA and Scoops, the real winners are all of the beer float lovers out there. Golden State’s menu permanently features a float of Old Rasputin Beer with Scoops ice cream. BottleRock took it a step further and offers a selection of beer floats including a coffee toffee one and also a cherry bomb flavor. They even offer a “mix your own” option, allowing you to pick from their collection of beers and match with one of their ice cream or gelato flavors. Simmzy’s in Manhattan Beach has also jumped on this bandwagon and offers an Old Viscosity and Vanilla ice cream float.

If beer isn’t your thing or if you’re looking for something a little stronger, a few other restaurants are serving up alternatives. 8 Oz. Burger Bar has a Jameson float and XIV on Sunset mixes a mean Jack Daniels float. Look for these adult floats to be hitting more and more menus soon. Hopefully Father’s office will get the memo because many are anxious to see what deliciousness they’ll mix up. 

Don’t you just love it when you discover a really awesome new restaurant, bar or club? You can’t get enough of it. You tell all your friends. And soon everyone there knows your name. Don’t you just hate it when the entire rest of the city also declares it their new favorite spot? It becomes crowded, full of douchebags and hanging out there just makes you want to run home and take a shower. That’s why when you find a true gem, you should keep your mouth shut. Such is the case with The Supper Club; but due to their strict membership policies and fees, there’s no harm in spreading the word.

This private membership club just opened its Los Angeles chapter earlier this year joining the already existing ones in London and New York. Founded in 2005 by British socialite Tamsin Lonsdale, the purpose of this club is to bring together talented, unique and successful individuals over a shared love for food and socializing. You can be sure that every Supper Club event is held at the hottest restaurants, bars and private locals throughout the city. Past events have taken place at the Roger Room, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and The Doheny. Every month members are guaranteed at least three event invites (although more than three gatherings take place, but not everyone is invited to all). Most of these events are members only, although on occasion they welcome guests interested in joining. If you should get so lucky to attend as a guest and want to become a member, you then most have 2 members as sponsors. And that’s just the beginning. Then there’s an application to fill out and numerous other rings you must jump through in order to be accepted. They turn down around 80% of the applicants, welcome only 10 new members a month, and cap off at 400. Oh, and there’s also a $2000 to $5000 annual membership fee. Yes, it may sound silly to some to spend that much for a dinner invite.  However, The Supper Club prides itself on the personal, business and romantic connections its members make. So $2000 to meet the love of your life or a financier for your new company might not sound so bad after all.

…Miyagi’s on Sunset was packed? What happened to it and how does it continue to stay open? I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the place was ever “cool,” but once upon a time, it was definitely bumpin’. If you didn’t care about the scene and were just looking to have a good time with a large group of friends (or if you were from the Valley,) then Miyagi’s was an easy choice. Now, this once-not-horrible sushi restaurant acts more as a parking lot than anything else. Most of the time it seems to be closed and when it is open it seems to be at random, spontaneous times. On the rare occasion that  they are serving, there never seems to be more than a single table of what I can only assume are tourists. I tried checking out their website and  it turns out that they haven’t even bothered to keep one up. So sad. Miyagi’s is now just a place where sushi goes to die.

Junk food and roller coasters, double-D chests and tube tops, Scarlet Johansson and a music career-  not all pairings are good ideas. Food writer Gev Kazanchyan knows this, which is why he keeps to old favorites for his Dionicess alcohol and food pairing events. Sticking with the basics has proven a success as the Dionicess series has yet to misstep. Past pairings have included beer and chocolate, beer and cheese, and coffee and chocolate. How do you follow that? It seems only natural that it’d be with beer and pizza. On September 27^th, Dionicess V will take place at CitySip in Echo Park. This event will pair five award-winning ales with five custom crafted pizzas. The best part though is that the event will benefitReal Medicine Foundation (RMF), “an organization that provides humanitarian support to people living in disaster, post-war and poverty stricken areas.” These events always prove to be a great time- leaving you stuffed and all for a good cause. I’m putting in my vote for the next one to be cake and champagne!

Thanks to a classic Seinfeld episode, most people are at least aware of black and white cookies. These cake-like cookies, iced half with chocolate and the other half with vanilla, can be life changing. Walk down one block in NYC and you’ll have a plethora of options as to where to treat your taste buds. However, it’s hard to find two black and white recipes that are the same. Every bakery seems to have a slightly different style. Fans of these cookies tends to have specific feelings about the cake/frosting ratio and texture. People’s opinions vary, which isn’t a problem in NYC since there are plenty of bakery options. This is far from true in LA. In all my years on the hunt, I’ve only found a handful of bakeries that carry this delicious treat. What’s worse is that the few cookies I’ve managed to locate, shouldn’t even be allowed to call themselves black and white cookies. LA’s B&W cookie market is so scarce that a baker once thought I was being racist when I asked for one. He’d never even heard of them! I couldn’t believe it.

So now I’m asking for your help…who thinks they’ve found the best black and white cookie in LA? In my mind, the only current contestant is Nate ‘n’ Al’s in Beverly Hills.

“The key to eating a black and white cookie, Elaine, is you want to get some black and some white in each bite. Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate. And yet, still, somehow racial harmony eludes us. If people would only look to the cookie. All our problems would be solved.” - Jerry Seinfeld, in “The Dinner Party” Seinfeld

It’s a pretty commonly agreed upon notion that the British don’t have the best food. But, they did get one thing right- Tea! Soon, h.wood will be unveiling their Tea Room (t.room?) which will be a small and private area for about 50 people. Celebrities and regulars will have their own teas and it will only be open a couple of nights a week. Sounds like it will be worth checking out- if you can get in. To tide you over until then, I put together a list of the best and most unique teas experiences LA has to offer.

Tea Rose Garden: Located in Pasadena and featuring flower from their gardens, this is one of the most traditional teas you’ll find in LA. http://www.tearosegarden.com/

Royal/T Cafe: Not your grandma’s tea! This is a must do if you like unique experiences. This tea room in located in a shared art, retail and cafe space in Culver City and invokes contemporary Japanese art culture. The tea menu is a French, Californian, and Asian fusion and your servers are dressed as they would be in the Maid Cafes in Tokyo. http://www.royal-t.org/cafe/

Gordon Ramsay: Honestly, not the most inspired food but the decor of the restaurant and the overall experience are worth checking it out. http://www.thelondonwesthollywood.com/gordon_ramsay/

American Girl Store: Who says afternoon tea is just for adults? If you have kids or can borrow some, this is an experience that they’ll love. The menu is similar to your typical tea menu but far more kid friendly. Plus, their dolls can dine at the table too! http://www.americangirl.com/stores/location_la.php

Fete Du Thé: A private tea catering company started by the people behind the retail space Algabar. They help you throw your own tea party by creating “modern tea parties with an exotic twist” They have both daytime and nighttime themed menus and can help you put together the most decadent of events. http://www.feteduthe.com/home%20.html

These are all extravagant, relaxing and indulgent traditional afternoon teas:

The Peninsula, Beverly Hills:

http://www.peninsula.com/Peninsula_Hotels/en/default.aspx#/Beverly_Hills/en/Dining/The_Living_Room/

The Four Seasons, Beverly Hills: http://www.fourseasons.com/losangeles/dining.html

The Montage, Beverly Hills: http://www.montagebeverlyhills.com/beverly-hills-entertainment.phphttp:

Okay, so I’m a crazy dessert lover and anyone who knows me for about 5 minutes is fully aware of my obsession. It’s so out of control that people even feel obligated to send me pictures of cakes and other sweets that they themselves are eating. I’m not at Sprinkles everyday or anything, but whenever a new bakery opens up I make sure to check it out. Sometimes the verdict is easy- like or don’t like. But when I start trying to compare one cupcake to the next it gets a little overwhelming. Rather than stress over an important matter such as this one, I just accept that every bakery is good for different things. Sprinkles makes good gifts and are great for holiday flavors, Crumbs’ mini cupcakes are perfect for parties, Susie Cakes makes the best birthday cakes and the list goes on and on. Where am I going with this? I recently found a red velvet “cupcake” that so clearly surpasses all other red velvets that my non-comparison rule has been thrown out the window and I just needed to share my find with others. Until recently I was mourning the loss of the best red velvet cake I’d tasted. It was at Dough Boys which has closed down; I didn’t think I’d find another cake that could stack up. That was until I tried Kiss My Bundt’s red velvet bundt and immediately my mind was blown, tears came to my eyes and the clouds parted. It’s amazing perfection and you must try it!!!

http://www.kissmybundt.typepad.com/

Update on Monday, August 31, 2009 at 10:31PM by Holly Velour

Apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way. Los Angeles Time just did a write up about Kiss My Bundt’s Red Velvet cake and even included the recipe.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2009/08/kiss-my-bundt-bakerys-red-velvet-cake-recipe.html

It’s amazing how much the ability to send 140 characters to hundreds, thousands or millions of people at once can change the world. Everyone has their own reasons for using Twitter. Some fancy it for following friends. Many use it as a news source and others have an account even though they’re still not sure what Twitter is but just like being trendy. Media, news, gossip, our social lives and everything else has sped up, been facilitated and become more accessible since Twitter has become as common as facebook. The pluses and minuses of this can be argued, but there’s one thing that can’t- it’s changed the way we eat in LA. And this is a good thing. A very good thing. You’d have to be living under a rock to not have noticed the explosion of food trucks hitting the roads daily. And we’re not talking your typical taco trucks either. This new breed of meals on wheels features some of the most unique and yummiest food in LA - and it’s all thanks to Twitter. Because Twitter gives burgeoning chefs/food trucks free advertising and ability to reach costumers instantly. It’s made starting a new business a lot cheaper than opening a store front. Not just that- but the novelty of finding these trucks in different places is also exciting. There’s nothing like coming out of a bar at the end of the night and finding your favorite burger truck or strolling through Malibu and grabbing an ice cream sandwich from another. Our stomaches thank you, Twitter.

Food trucks you should be following:

@COOLHAUS :All natural ice cream sandwiches designed and imagined by Architects. 

@Marked5 :Asian style burgers with their signature rice buns

@locali :Conscious convenience

@sprinklesmobile :Sprinkles cupcakes!

@Green_Truck :”We are 100% green - from our packaging to our produce to our solar-powered commissary.”

@BarbiesQ :A Rollin’ BBQ Joint

@Kogibbq :Korean BBQ Taco Truck that started it all

@letsbefrank :”Dogs Gone Good, Grass Fed Beef Hot Dogs from our trailer”

@Fishlips_sushi :Sushi!

@bordergrill :Gourmet tacos, quesadillas, ceviches, and more

@frysmith :Fries that serve as a meal

@getshaved :Shaved ice in amazing flavors