Grateful to once again be recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a Leader of Influence in residential real estate. It’s an honor that never gets old. Looking ahead, here’s to a stronger 2026. One where both our city and our market can thrive again. Los Angeles has always shown resilience, and I’m hopeful to see it return to the city I’ve always known and loved.
Wow. This was completely unexpected. A friend of mine in Spain sent me this earlier today, and I was honestly in shock. Huge thanks to @sostresarticulo and @forbes_es for taking the time to write something about me and more importantly, for capturing exactly how I feel about food and food media.
It means a lot that this came from a country I love to visit and whose cuisine I deeply respect and cherish.
If you want to read the piece, you can flip through the slides or hit the link in my bio. It’s in Spanish, so maybe let ChatGPT do the translating for you.
Grateful to everyone involved. This was a real honor and a very cool thing to wake up to.
I will say this: It’s not about being right or wrong. It’s about having the balls to say something. Backed by years of eating, learning, and actually giving a shit. I might love something you don’t. You might love something I don’t. Cool. But I’m out here putting my name on it, making myself vulnerable, and giving real opinions people can agree with, argue against, or test for themselves.
“Didn’t hit” or “wasn’t the best” means nothing. It’s a lazy cop out before dropping some arbitrary score or ranking. It helps no one, least of all the chefs actually doing the work.
Love it or hate it, I’m out here. Saying what I mean. Standing on it.
That’s more than most can say
New York is still the best bar city in America and honestly I don’t think Los Angeles is even close right now.
Spent the week drinking through places like Schmuck, Sip & Guzzle, Martiny’s, Katana Kitten, and Superbueno and it just reinforced something I already believed. NYC still treats hospitality like a profession. The fundamentals are stronger. The density is crazy. Bartenders actually know their craft. The standards are simply higher.
That doesn’t mean LA is hopeless. There are bright spots and I talk about them in the piece. But I also think we cheat the conversation a little bit by calling massive restaurants with very good bar programs “cocktail bars.” New York has actual bar culture.
Anyway. This piece became way bigger than intended. Cocktails, food, hospitality, martini bliss, why most bartenders still don’t know what a daiquiri is, and a burger at the #1 bar in North America that possibly had an off night.
Full piece on Substack and Podcast is out now.
Link in bio
Jacaranda opens May 6
New tasting menu on Melrose near the Mozzaplex. 30 seats. One seating. Daniel Patterson back in fine dining with his wife Sarah Lewitinn running the room
But this does not feel like the usual LA tasting menu
It feels more like getting invited over for dinner by people who actually know what they’re doing
You sit. You hang. Music is playing. No one is rushing you. The room feels personal, not like some sterile little fine dining box
Food is clean. Nourishing. Not heavy. Not built on butter, starch, and cream doing all the work
A lot of it is ingredients tasting the most like themselves. Artichoke with artichoke. Asparagus cooked in its own juice. That kind of thing
You leave feeling good instead of destroyed, which is not always the case after 10 courses
Also Matt Tinder is overseeing desserts and bread. One of the great pastry minds of modern California fine dining. The raw chocolate and roasted kelp dish is ridiculous
Went for friends and family and it already felt open, not about to open
Do I have notes? Of course. I’m me. But that’s not the story
The story is Daniel Patterson is back, Jacaranda is different, and LA should probably pay attention
Full review on Substack. Link in bio
Stayed at The Manner in SoHo
I liked this one a lot
Didn’t really feel like a hotel. Felt more like you’re staying at a friend’s place who has great taste
Lacquered wood, bold colors, nothing feels random. You can tell someone thought this through
They keep Saratoga water stocked in the room which I weirdly care about. You just grab it and don’t think about it cause its complimentary
There’s a guest only living room called The Apartment upstairs with aperitivo hour every night. Solid white negroni and snacks
Sloane’s is a real bar. Not “good for a hotel” good. The tower is ridiculous, just get it
The Otter is worth sitting down for too. That scallop crudo and the swordfish were both excellent
Street is quiet but you’re a couple blocks from everything, which is kind of perfect
I’d absolutely stay here again
If you’d like to stay at The Manner, use promo code: FRIENDS for 20% off rates
Full write up on Substack
And listen to our Mad Food x The Manner podcast episode for more details on the experience, with a special guest appearance by chef Alex Stupak
Link in bio
Torien
I went into this wanting it to feel like Japan. That’s just the reality when you tie yourself to Torishiki.
It doesn’t quite get there.
There’s a lot to like. Some really strong skewers. One of the better yakitori meals I’ve had in the US. No real mistakes until the end.
But I kept waiting more.
More range in the bird. More of the special cuts that actually make yakitori fun. Chochin, different heart cuts, all of it. That’s where this style of cooking separates itself, and I wanted more of that here.
The breed of chicken just isn’t the same as Japan. That part I felt most.
If this place was in LA it would be the best yakitori in the city immediately. Not even close.
I still really liked it. I just didn’t love it.
Full breakdown on the Substack and The Pod. Link in bio.
Torrisi
I get why people love to throw the word “overhyped” around here. Easy to say that. It’s also very wrong.
This place is just good. Like actually good.
The room is one of those special New York dining rooms that is impressive from every angle. Brick, columns, barrel vaulted ceiling, lighting, staff that knows exactly what they’re doing. It feels grown up.
The food is not second rate to the atmosphere. The food is impressive.
Bread and butter that are both delicious. Tortellini pomodoro that I could eat 100 of without thinking. Clam pasta done the right way. A chicken dish that has no business being this good. A couple misses, sure, but they handle it like professionals.
It’s thoughtful cooking that doesn’t ask you to think. You just sit there and enjoy yourself. That’s part of the enjoyability of it.
We don’t have this in LA.
Full breakdown is up on Substack and on the Podcast. Link in bio.
Ètra
I’ve been a handful of times now and it just works
nothing feels forced, nothing feels like they’re trying too hard
just good product, cooked well, served by people who know what they’re doing
order across the menu
don’t just load up on pasta
the crudos, veg, and stuff off the grill is where I think they really shine
also… I don’t understand how they’re serving that many ramps for $15 but go take advantage of that while you can
full breakdown is up on Substack
what to order, what stood out
link in bio
Noma Dropped Crab On My Lap And Didn’t Apologize
I’ve eaten there 4 times. I understand what they’re trying to do.
But somewhere along the way, it stopped being about pleasure.
Now it feels like:
what does this look like
what’s the vessel
what’s the idea
…and somewhere after that
how does it actually taste
There were moments.
A Dungeness crab dish that was actually delicious.
A few flashes where you see why this place mattered.
But then:
a lobster used as a drinking vessel
a mushy spot prawn from basic execution mistakes
a dish that literally stung my lip
wines that felt more like experiments than something you’d want to drink
At $1500, you start asking different questions.
This isn’t a takedown. It’s just what happened.
Full breakdown is on Substack. Link in bio.
Podcast is live too. Give us a read. Give us a listen.
Electric Bleu got labeled a neighborhood bistro pretty quickly.
And sure, technically that’s what it is. But I think people are giving it a little less credit than it deserves.
I’ve been back a few times now and about seven months in, it’s just better. More dialed. More confident. The kind of place that improves instead of trying to force it.
Husband and wife restaurant. No group. No backers. Just people doing the work.
Food highlights:
olive oil poached trout
prawn crudo with some heat
German white asparagus (I’m horni for leeks)
pork jowl done right
duck with olives Jordan loves himself some olive appreciation if he would ever get here
and yes… I’m breaking up with squash until next fall
Also worth mentioning, a real sake list in a place you wouldn’t expect it. And it actually makes sense with the food.
This isn’t me telling you to run across town.
I’m telling you it’s a good restaurant. And it’s getting better.
Full review + exactly what to order is on Substack.
Link in bio.
Everyone suddenly became anti fine dining overnight.
Some of that is fair. A lot of it isn’t.
I read Khushbu Shah’s piece and had to respond. Not to defend bad kitchens, but to bring some actual nuance back into the conversation.
I’ve also lived this. Ran a 16 course fine dining restaurant for 8 years.
A lot of it doesn’t work. Some of it is performative. Some of it belongs in a museum. Some of the most celebrated restaurants in the world don’t move me at all.
But when it works? It’s one of the best experiences you can have with food. Period.
That’s the part people keep ignoring.
Full breakdown on Substack. Link in bio.
You don’t hate tomatoes.
You just ate one in February.
Same goes for strawberries, corn, melons, all of it.
Timing is everything and most people get it wrong.
Late March is a weird window at the farmers market. Some things are finishing, some are just starting, and if you know what to look for it’s one of the best times to shop.
I broke down exactly what to buy right now, where to find it, and what to stop wasting your money on.
Also, buy flowers. You’re already there.
Full piece on Substack. Link in bio.
