Get in mah belly

Here are my latest food posts over on the Restaurant blog on Uptake. Bar food, refreshing beverages, hunks of meat and a condiment query – you may need a nap afterwards.

Raising the Bar at Duke's in Malibu

This past weekend my husband and I found ourselves in possession of one of the rarest commodities for a parent: a three-hour window to ourselves. The teenagers were busy with homework and the chores had been done, so we got busy planning our escape. Did I mention THREE WHOLE HOURS? That’s like two decades in parent years. We realize that teenagers have feelings too, though, so we tried not to seem too eager to leave them – although I told my husband that fifteen-straight-minutes of high-fiving might have given us away. Read More...

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I Never Met a Steak I Didn't Like

Actually, that title is a little deceiving. I have met steaks I didn’t like – the ones that have been overcooked, over-seasoned, or those that have been humiliated by being topped by onion rings or some sort of mango-honey-starfruit-relish concoction. Once I get rid of those obstacles, though, I can usually get to what I came for – a simple, glorious, unadulterated piece of meat. Ah, steak. Read More...


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Uva Bar: The Happiest Place In Downtown Disney
If you’ve been to Disneyland, then chances are you’ve passed by Uva Bar, the outdoor bar located right in the middle of Downtown Disney. But if you’re like my husband and I, you’ve probably only gazed at it longingly as you rushed past on your way to the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, your kids urging you to walk a little faster with their cries of, “Must get FastPasses” and “Why do old people move so slow.” You resolve to come back later and relax with a tall cool one, but know deep inside that your diet for the next few hours will consist of chicken fingers, Cokes and giant turkey legs. Read More...

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What's On Your French Fry?

I don’t like ketchup on my french fries. There, I said it.
I realize this puts me in the minority. What kind of deviant doesn’t like their fries served up with a generous helping of the all-American condiment? Sure I get some weird stares and lots of pointing and name-calling (and that’s just from my family), but I prefer my fries completely naked so I can savor the crunchy, salty taste without the sweetness of the ketchup distracting me. Besides, tomato-y condiments are best saved for things like deviled eggs. Cue more pointing and name-calling. Read More...

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After this I'll shut up

To those of you who I haven't emailed, texted, called, or alerted on Facebook, I've got a new social media job for the travel site UpTake.com, running their Los Angeles Facebook page and Twitter feed. Next I'll be showing up at your house with a cake that has the information scrawled across the top in icing, just to make sure I've driven the point home. It'll have rum in it, don't worry.

I'll be posting about the latest fun, hip, interesting things to do in L.A., as well as hooking you up with deals on things like restaurants, travel and events. I'll be highlighting everything from neighborhood coffee houses to cheap happy hours to where to get your hair did. Then I'll cover places to take that new 'do and get jiggy with it. I have no idea what I just said but trust me YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THE RIDE.

So if you haven't already, come join the UpTakeLA Facebook page and follow UpTakeLA on Twitter. I won't mention it again, I promise. Then again, there's always skywriting.

Here's my latest from the site:

Labor Day Weekend: Heading To Temecula For Winnings and Wine

So, this weekend we're heading to Temecula for the last vacation of the summer before the kids go back to school. Why Temecula? Let's just say it's a trip revolving around my 89-year-old mother and her love of casinos. I'm not implying that she's got a gambling problem, but when we asked her where she might like to go for a little getaway this summer she looked up from her crocheting, adjusted her teeth, did a backflip over her walker and yelled, "Pechanga!!"

For those of you not familiar with Pechanga, it's a huge resort and casino located on the Pechanga Indian Reservation in Temecula, around a two-hour drive south of Los Angeles. So that's where I'm headed with my husband, two daughters, my mom, sister, two of my brothers and an as-yet undetermined number of nieces and nephews. And while a few of us do like to gamble a little (I've been known to feed the slot machines a paycheck or two) we're mostly going to keep my mom company while she sits for hours on a stool in front of a 5¢ Keno machine, spending our inheritance and drinking copius amounts of Sprite...Read More...

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My Favorite Restaurants. And By The Way, Art Supplies Are Edible.

I wrote about my favorite restaurants in L.A. this week for UpTake. I started off my post with a mention about the time I ate an eraser. Maybe not the best way to start off an article that's sharing my culinary opinions, but there you go. (Also, if you know of where they serve the most badass margarita in your city, go on over and leave a comment on my UpTake post. I'm going to do a compilation list later this month):

We were asked to write about our favorite restaurants this week, and the only difficult part will be writing a post that doesn’t go on for five pages. My list is long and varied, and I’m always up for trying new things - including half a Pink Pearl eraser that I once ate on a dare when I was working at an ad agency. It definitely didn’t taste like chicken...Read More...

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UpTake, a new travel search engine, opened to the public today. Check it out - it's a great site, where you can find everything you need to plan a vacation, from girlfriend getaways to pet-friendly travel (you can finally take your gerbil to Belize with you.) Plug in your destination, what you're looking for (lodging, things-to-do, etc.) and whether it's a family trip or just a getaway. And voila - you might just come up with an adventure more interesting than that Soap Opera Cruise with the cast from Passions. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Also, you can read my weekly posts there where I regale the traveling world with tales of all-you-can-eat nachos and men in tights. It's almost too much goodness in one place, I know.

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