Vanilla Guerrilla

My guess would be Bob Blumer. Although technically he is the Surreal Gourmet. ← His name is Bruce Brennan. You can find some info on him here Hippy Gourmet

Tri2Cook - Thanks for the recipe! I am going on vacation in the next couple of days but I will definitely have to try that when I get back. Mary Elizabeth - That pinapple tart looks great and sounds fantastic! gfron1 - I love the way the that celery thing looks (not sure what to call it)

So I have a thing for accents

That campfire looks fantastic! I can only imagine how that tastes. I love smores and this looks like a proper adult version. I would love to know how you made this as well if you don't mind sharing some of your secrets.

Bourbon?! Now were talkin! I don't really know of any special places to buy liquor other than some normal places. Costco usually has good prices, as well BevMo and the Beverage Warehouse in Marina del Rey. I don't really know what may or may not interest you, so I will try and cover as much as I can without being too long winded. Phillipes is a good place to go because of its location and history. They have been serving french dip sandwiches and other items since 1908. Try the hot mustard and chili too. Phillipes is located about a block away from Grand Central Station which may interest you or your party as well. Also right around the corner is Olvera Street which I believe was the first street in LA, formed in the late 1800s. It is no longer a street but a Mexican cultural area with some shops and good, cheap food (try the aforementioned taquitos with the green, guacomole-esque sauce). Chinatown is also about a block away and features some nice things to see. Some links: Phillipes Olvera Street There is also Tommy's Chili Burgers on Beverly and Rampart. Bring some Tum's with you if you decide to go though Tommy's Langer's Deli is located at 7th and Alvarado and has some really good pastrami sandwiches. They have been around forever Langer's El Tepeyac is a long time burrito staple of LA. Its rather far away from everything else though and the 'hood isn't the greatest, but it isn't bad. Go during the dayEl Tepeyac El Cholo has some great Mexican food also and when they are in season, May through October, the green corn tamales are fantastic. El Cholo The Farmer's Market on 3rd and Fairfax has been around since 1934 and has some great food. It is also near Beverly Hills, Melrose, etc Farmer's Market I have never had any sort of problem in any of these neighboorhoods but they can have the appearance of being unsafe. Tommy's, Phillipes and Langer's would be better visited during the day if you are worried about it. All three areas are heavily populated and busy during the day so you shouldn't have any problems. Thats all I can think of at the moment. I will let you know if I think of anything else and I hope this helps. Most of the places I listed, short of Farmer's Market and perhaps El Cholo, may be takinig you a little farther away from the shopping than you may have wanted to go but I thought I would list them anyway so you could look into it.

My Favorites in no particular order: Morimoto Alton Brown Bourdain Tom Colicchio Jose Andres - Made in Spain was great Mark Bittman - His show is good, but he can be a little weird sometimes Zane Lamprey - Pretty funny guy and it's nice to see food from other parts of the world Batali The whole cast from the original Iron Chef Favorites because I think they are hot and I make no apologies for being a typical male pig : Giada - actually, I kind of like her show as well as her Padma - I watch Top Chef anyway, she is just an added bonus Ingrid Hoffman - I don't watch the show, but I like her Least Favorite: Neelys Hippie Gourmet Fieri - Look at his page on FTV.com and read his description. What exactly are skateboarder shorts? I grew up skateboarding, but apparently I was doing it all wrong because I didn't have the proper attire. No one informed me that there were special shorts. Thats all I can think of for now.

Sprouts- totally not impressed- seemed like "seconds" on the veggie end. Fresh & Easy- cute but I refuse to do the pre-packaged vegetables and fruits- I want to pick my own. Anyway, as you noted, there are mainstream markets in more"ethnic" neighborhoods that have incredible produce and great prices- quick example is the Food 4 Less in Gardena. Then right across the road is a Ranch 99- so you're set. ← There is a Food 4 Less near my house and I wasn't too impressed with it, I wonder how it differs from the one in Gardena though? I do go to Ranch 99 and Marukai every so often, so perhaps I will check out the Food 4 Less over there. A Fresh & Easy just opened up by my house but I haven't gone there yet. The company I work for did a lot of the ad work for them some time ago though, so I am curious about it.

Hello Bernaise! As far as shopping goes, I may not be too much of a help since I am a low maintenance, beach dwelling male, but I will give it a go. Melrose is always interesting and is close to the Beverly Center, Beverly Hills and Hollywood. The 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica is also a nice place to walk, shop and eat as well. Thats about all I have on that subject As far as food goes, there are quite a few good spots to eat. For Persian food, Shekarchi is quite good and is located in Downtown LA near Chinatown, Phillipes French Dip (good food), and Olvera Street (great taquitos there). I don't know how often you and your group has been to LA or whether or not you are interested in trying the typical LA haunts like Langer's, The Hat, El Tepeyac, El Indio, etc, etc. Let me know and I can elaborate. @ Kim Cooper - I just got an email about the Downtown Art walks and saw that you and Esotouric are offering your services to help out, so hopefully I can say hello one of these days! The Bukowski tour sounds interesting as well!