hollywood

Something called Green Rooster. Awful taste. Worst hangover.

Where are you staying? What do you like? What do you dislike? Where are you from? What's your budget? But Spago (the tasting menu) is a great suggestion.

If you go to La Toque, the wine and food pairings are worth investigating and enjoying. Basically a tasting menu with wines to match.

Cook at home. At least I know I'm really really good. Hey, you know exactly what you're getting.

Just reading between the lines.

So many posts in so little time . . . As for me, do you have to ask? Given the pizza metaphor, if Uma's were closed would you eat at Divine's or cook at home?

Dr. Freud, paging Dr. Freud?

Interesting analogy. Would you rather eat at Uma's or Divine's?

So, you're OK with the Classics Illustrated comic?

You're fired. Did you have riblets? What exactly are riblets?

I've been to CF twice I think, several years ago. Do the wait times change if you have a really young child with you? Is the restaurant willing to deal with baby meltdowns, or do they try to get infants and their families in and out? When I went it seemed like a date/hangout kind of place for people 16-27 or so. Folks with a lot of time and not that much money, looking for a lot of food and something to do on a Friday or Saturday night.

In the Arrowhead area, this place used to be good. Royal Oak Restaurant 27187 State Hwy. 189, Blue Jay Village PO Box 373, Blue Jay, CA 92317 Phone: (909) 337-6018

As for Palm Springs area, the usual guidebooks and/or your concierge are probably your best bet. One thing that occurs to me is that you could combine your husband's love of golf and your quest for food by visiting La Quinta and eating at the La Quinta Grill.

Fish pants or fishnets?

It's been several years since I've been but Arrowhead is nicer and there were better restaurants there. FWIW, there's a McDonald's that you can get to by car or by boat. Basically, ther's more money in Arrowhead and a better view.

Big Bear is right next to Lake Arrowhead, the setting for Chandler's The Lady in the Lake. It'll be busy the closer you get to Labor Day. Otherwise it's placid and Alpine. Unfortunately, yesterday Arrowhead had a first stage smog alert--probably due to the inversion layer and too many SUVs chugging around the mountain canyons. Hopefully, this won't occur during your visit.

Oops. Jin, I think it would be kinda cool if you had a Mario coat. Now if it was a Chef/Writer Spencer coat.....

Yeah, I think Zin would love to be the new Merlot. As it is, Rosemont Syrah is showing up everywhere.

Puck got his start in one of the Philly suburbs. Actually, he got his start in Europe but he became well known at Ma Maison in LA. From Puck's website... The Austrian-born Puck began his formal training at age 14, inspired by his mother, Maria, a hotel chef. Encouraged by a friend, Wolfgang - whose first name alone identifies him across America - left Europe in 1973 at the age of 24, having already learned his craft as a classically trained French chef in the master kitchens of three-star French restaurants, the Hotel de Paris in Monaco, Maxim's in Paris and L'Oustau de Baumaniére in Provence. His first stop in the United States was as chef at the restaurant La Tour in Indianapolis. Puck made the move to Los Angeles two years later, in 1975, and became both chef and part owner of Ma Maison, which quickly became a magnet for the rich and famous, with Puck the starring attraction. Fame and acclaim quickly followed - a combination of a dynamic personality and a culinary brilliance that bridged tradition and invention. Puck peeled a lot of potatoes in his teens.

Sounds like Paul's heirs cashed in their chips.

J. Gold likes this spot for Peruvian Chicken. Pollos a la Brasa 16527 S. Vermont Ave. Gardena (213) 382-4090

Here's S. Irene Virbilia's pick in the Torrance area, Gina Lee's. http://events.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,...l-17074,00.html

Now that you mention it, there's probably a good Japanese place or two in Gardena which is not that far away.

When I first started drinking wine in California, Paul Masson seemed to be everywhere in the low to mid range. The winery somehow managed to get Robert Lawrence Balzer to write stuff that described and complemented its wines. PM always had odd stuff--Rhine Castle, Light Chablis, Johannisberg Reisling, Gamay Beaujolais, "Chablis," "Burgundy," Sylvaner, etc. The thing is what I recall was always mediocre at best. PM is still around. It just doesn't seem as ubiquitous.

It's odd that you mention these particular spots. Fortunately, there's a lot of LA nearby where there's much better food. What are you looking for? I surely don't get to Torrance often and the only respectable restaurant I can recall in the area is Chez Melange in Redondo Beach. Big Bear is visited for the scenery, boating, skiing, not really for the food. Your best bet for high end food is clearly Palm Springs and environs but again it's not up to what's available in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. Also, it's pretty damn hot in PS right now.