venice

A Friend Date at Barnyard

by whitney on February 2, 2013

My pal Joy and I hit up the soft opening of Venice’s brand new addition to the dining scene- Barnyard. We arrived and we arrived hungry. And thirsty. Duh.

The place was packed with cheerful diners. Maybe too packed? You know that moment where you think you might never be seated? That happened while we stood at the bar staring at all the people eating food that we wanted to eat and drinking wine we wanted to drink. BUT- then we got a couple glasses of German Gilabert Cava and all was right with the world.

THEN- we were seated and it was on. Everything on the wine list looked great to me, which is rare for hot new restaurants in LA, sadly. The interesting thing about the list was that it was comprised solely of wines imported or distributed by Farm Wine Imports. Therefore, Louis/Dressner, Jose Pastor, and a few Farm domestic selections were represented. Maybe having only one point of view could get old for returning patrons after a while? Maybe not.

I do know that I was excited to try a Portuguese red on the list from Adega Regional de Colares. I’ve had their beautiful Arenae Malvasia before and was super impressed. The wine this time was the 2009 Chão Rijo made from 100% Castelão. Castelão? Ok, sure! This was a little more modern in style than the Arenae wines they make, but still unique and enjoyable.

PS- we might have spent far too long sneaking peeks at a table nearby which happened to be where Nev from Catfish was seated.

BHMF Video: Venice & Pow Blop Wizz

by whitney on February 6, 2012

What do Joy the Baker, Venice Beach, Pow Blop Wizz and some damn fine waffles have in common? The next BHMF Neighborhood video!

The LA neighborhood food and drink crawl continues! Claire and I touched down in WeHo then we rolled over to Venice for a Joy the Baker style afternoon. I paired a wine to the essence of the Venice that Joy lives in, the way she sees it. And she made some freaking incredible cornmeal and chive waffles with a fried egg and salsa on top. I mean, come on!




Wine: Olivier Lemasson “Pow Blop Wizz” (currently sold out in LA. sorry to be such a tease! anyone know if it’s available in NYC?)

Sunday Sip: Spritz-ing in Venezia

by whitney on December 20, 2009



While in Italy, my favorite time of day is around 5 or 6 pm. Not only because I am that much closer to some sort of utterly fantastic dinner feast, but because these are the hours of aperitivo. Much like an American happy hour, it is a time to gather with friends, have a snack and a drink and open the stomach and palate for the dinner experience. Other than the region of Emilia-Romagna (with it’s lambrusco and culatello), Venice is my favorite place for aperitivo. I was there in chilly November and the piazzas were still full of people sitting around drinking ice cold glasses of spritz, munching on potato chips and discussing the day’s events. You can get a spritz anywhere in Italy, but it is most popular in the North.

photo by M. Quintanilla

photo by M. Quintanilla

What is a spritz, you ask? Classically, it is Campari (an Italian bitter liqueur), white wine and a splash of sparkling water over ice with an olive garnish. But, there are variations on this theme. As my friend Marisa and I stood at an incredibly crowded bar waiting to order, we watched as the bartender expertly created what seemed like dozens of spritz per minute for us thirsty patrons. Sometimes he would use white wine and sometimes he would use…..prosecco! Also an option, it seemed, was Aperol instead of Campari.  That was it, I had chosen my version of spritz. Aperol and prosecco on ice with a slice of orange. Delicious and refreshing.

Spritz. It’s what’s for aperitivo.