The Los Angeles Press Club just announced the winners of the Southern California Journalism Awards, and I’m thrilled to have won Best Food Criticism for my reviews in the Orange County Register for the second year in a row. Here are two of the reviews that got me into the competition this year.
The great burger debate: lettuce or no lettuce?
A chef on Instagram recently launched a debate by posting a picture of a cheeseburger beneath which he posed a simple question, “Lettuce or no lettuce?”
I didn’t weigh in, but I silently screamed, “Lettuce!”
Photo of the week: Hotel Paseo, Palm Desert
The Hotel Paseo recently opened in Palm Desert, and one of the new hotel’s coolest suites is actually an Airstream trailer parked in the courtyard near the pool…
O.C. Review: El Coyotito, San Juan Capistrano
I stuff a few dollar bills into the machine and scroll through the CDs: Banda Machos, Gerardo Ortiz, Juan Gabriel, Julio Iglesias, Enrique Iglesias, Christina Aguilera … and settle on the younger Iglesias, plus The Eagles, The Cars and Eric Clapton. The Eagles’ 1979 hit “I Can’t Tell You Why” begins to play, and everyone in the dining room seems to approve, even the two guys in the corner who are wearing dusty cowboy boots and sharing an ice-filled bucket of beer.
Just announced: Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards!
Awesome news today! My photos of Mar Adentro resort in Los Cabos took the top prize for photography at this year’s Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, sponsored by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation…
Photo of the week: Casa Luis Barragán, Mexico City
The former home and studio of Luis Barragán in Mexico City has been meticulously preserved and now functions as a museum and art center. Luis Barragán was one of the most important architects of North American mid-century design…
Mexico Earthquake Relief: How you can help.
My heart aches for Mexico right now. The recent earthquakes have taken a mighty toll. A lot of people are hurting. If you want to help, here’s how:
Why I travel: for the food, but also for the unexpected
My rickshaw driver keeps pace with taxis as he peddles me through Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The cool wind against my face brings relief from Vietnam’s stifling summer heat. Just as I’m about to relax, I smell smoke. It’s not the ubiquitous smog of unregulated motorbike exhausts. I immediately recognize this aroma as barbecue, like pork …
What to eat (or not) at the Orange County Fair
My first strategy at the OC Fair was to follow the smoke. Where there’s smoke, there will also be good food. Or so it usually goes. I spotted the beef tri-tips smoldering on a grill. They looked awesome. They looked like real Santa Maria barbecue. I immediately got in line and ordered the tri-tip sandwich. It was gross…
Photo of the week: San Jose del Cabo
This is one of my favorite photos from my stay at the beautiful Mar Adentro in San Jose del Cabo, an incredible resort designed (and owned) by Miguel Angel Aragones. I love the brutal simplicity of the beach chairs and umbrellas. I woke up early to catch the sunrise…
Hotel Review: Freehand, Los Angeles
The Freehand Los Angeles opened last week at the corner of 8th and Olive — across the street from legendary dive bar the Golden Gopher. The 226-room hotel resides in the landmark, 12-story Commercial Exchange building, which has been gutted and completely redesigned with an urban-hipster twist on California Craftsman.
This just in: Southern California Journalism Awards!
I’m feeling grateful and blessed to receive the Southern California Journalism Award for restaurant criticism at the Los Angeles Press Club’s annual gala. It is particularly gratifying to see this comment from the judges: “The winning critique blends a keen palate with laugh-out-loud humor in this spot-on reminder that a restaurant is much more than the food on the plate.”
O.C. Review: Meizhou Dongpo, Irvine
My skin is numb. Not just my lips and tongue but my lungs and toes, too. I have never been so uncomfortable as right now because I badly want to eat this stuff. It smells so nice. And it tastes so good for that millisecond before the electric surge…
Photo of the week: Mayakoba
This is one of my favorite images from my last visit to Fairmont Mayakoba in Mexico’s Riviera Maya. Just as I was sitting down for lunch, it started to rain and a blackbird took cover…
Photo of the Week: Sydney Opera House
The last time I was in Sydney, I was amazed at the spectacular sunrises and sunsets over the harbor and the famous opera house. I snapped this shot just after sunrise, when the sun finally broke through the morning clouds. Moments earlier, the sky exploded with pinks, yellows and oranges, which I also captured…
Sunrise of the week: Grand Velas Los Cabos
This is one of my favorite sunrises of the year. I took this from the lobby terrace of Grand Velas Los Cabos, just as the sun was rising up from the ocean. I’ve always found it strange that I can watch the sunrise over the ocean on the West Coast…
