West 3rd St Holiday Party -- Thurs Eve!!

Don't forget::::

West 3rd Street Holiday Party

Thursday, December 9

5-9p

Most businesses open until 9pm!!!!!

Discounts, special gifts with purchase, yummy treats and drinks ranging from hot cider to French bubbly at West 3rd Street businesses from La Cienega to Fairfax!

Take a stroll down the boulevard and visit all the great spots! Here's what's happening at Vintageweave (remember, we're 5 businesses west of Fairfax):

• French Bubbly
• Yummy delights
• Free Gift Wrap
• 20% off all Christmas decorations
• 20% off all Dash and Albert Tote Bags (to tote all your gifts to and fro!)
• 20% off all Wood Candlesticks 
• Free Marseille Hand Cream with minimum purchase

And because we are major foodies and because we can all agree there's a nuclear proliferation of AWESOME food trucks in Los Angeles, we will have parked RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BOUTIQUE....

        Global Soul Food (comfort food from around the globe!)

         No Jodus Cuban Kitchen(oh yum!)

Get your tummies ready! Come visit these AWESOME culinary delights from 6-9p tomorrow directly in front of Vintageweave!!

 Global Soul Truck and Shrimp Toastie and La Borracha - Mamon with rum soaked berries and hand-whipped whipping cream and sponge cake...OMG!

 No Jodus truck and Cuban Sandwich...yummmyyyy

Want more food pics or more info? Visit our Vintageweave Facebook Page
VERY limited parking in rear; valet parking in 3 locations along 3rd St.
Vintageweave Interiors
7928 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323.932.0451
www.vintageweave.com

When you crave Italian

I rarely, if ever, post topics about food or the restaurants at which I eat mainly because I know readers are from all over the world and really now, who wants to hear about my foodie cravings in / around Los Angeles? Boring. Yawn. Besides, I eat out A LOT and many chefs around town are friends+clients (Josiah from Melisse, Raphael from Jiraffe, etc...) so I have many restaurant favorites where I drool and get crumbs on my clothes. {A blog dedicated to food for another time another day....}

That said, every now and then a restaurant experience warrants a shout out. And not because said restaurant creators looked to Vintageweave to consult and supply merchandising items+displays for their adjacent MOZZA TO GO shoppe, and not because they both have numerous cookbooks that I occasionally sell. Simply because it's pure perfection at every turn.

Enter: Pizzeria Mozza and Mozza Osteria....creations by Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali.

(All photo collages courtesy of the lovely Dishy Goodness blog; I was too busy shoveling the goods into my mouth to stop and hold a camera.)

Course One> Tricolore Insalate. Tossed with fresh Parmesan Reggiano and anchovy dressing. KILLER. Not too salty or tart and dressing was so perfectly dispersed amongst the greens. We devoured it all in a nana second.

Course Two> Cauliflower Gratinate. Boyfriend initially scoffed the idea of a cauli dish, but when it arrived from the broiler and the smell waifed the air, he sang a different tune. Made with 10 gloves of garlic and Spanish onions, this was heaven in a dish. I kid you not. So much so, that I share the recipe below. Truly the best cauli dish I've ever tasted.

Two pies> Me: Gorgonzola dolce, fingerling potatoes, radicchio + rosemary.
Boyfriend: Fennel sausage, panne, red onion + scallions.
HOLY MOLY....to say Nancy Silverton is a bread goddess is an understatement (creator/founder of La Brea Bakery). Boyfriend and I both grew up in the Chicago area, so we know pizza. Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali have created heaven on crust. No other way to describe. No heavy red sauces or white sauces to overpower the ingredients. Just pure flavor combos that explode in your mouth.




Wine: You may ask the Sommelier at Osteria to help with a wine pairing, but the waiters are pretty well versed as well. Recommended Etna Rosso Outis, which proved to be a new all time favorite. (Warning: $80 at the restaurant, around $27 at a wine shoppe; this mark up is typical of restaurants.)

Back when I had much more time, quarterly progressive dinners with friends was a mainstay (progressive dinner=a different course at a different person's home all in the same evening). While time no longer allows, I still enjoy the experience of moving and sampling. So when I come to the Mozza enclave, I tend to eat my meal at Pizzeria Mozza and scoot next door to Mozza Osteria to enjoy wine + dessert at the bar.
Having eaten all over Italy and France, it's hard to find places that really knock my taste buds on the floor. Mozza does it time and time again. And did I mention the service is SO friendly--no LA 'tude.

Reservations hard to come by, but you can usually grab a seat at the pizza counter/bar during non-peak hours. Be sure to stop in Mozza 2 Go to see all of Vintageweave's baskets, pedestal plates and glass urns in the display and merchandising!

Bon Appetito!
"Mozza"

La Brea Avenue (at Melrose)

Hollywood, CA

*Cauliflower Gratinate (6 servings)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 Spanish onion, peeled, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
10 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 head of cauliflower, stem removed, cut or pulled into 2-inch chunks
2 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a heavy saucepan, preferably 10 inches wide with a 3-to 4-quart capacity, over medium heat and combine olive oil, butter, onions, garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook over low heat, covered, for 3 minutes.

Stir in the cauliflower, heavy cream and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring ingredients to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until cauliflower is tender. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the cooked cauliflower and put it into a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Continue to cook until the cream is reduced by half (about 3 to 5 minutes). When the cream has reached a rich, thick consistency, add to the bowl with cauliflower, stir to combine, then place into a casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes, until brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Serve to ohh and ahh.

Fairytale Provence B & B

On this important day in American (er, WORLD) history, we give you a respite from the sad remembrance.....



There once was an old olive oil mill who lived in the heavenly village of Moustiers Ste.-Marie, PROVENCE FRANCE....

...along came gracious Joel who followed beautiful Genevieve down the hill. Fell in love whilst taking in the lavender-infused air (and who wouldn't??). Married her and together transformed the infamous mill into a luxury b&b which would be coveted by those who travel from far away lands to rest in one of the most picturesque settings in the world.

Alas, the ultimate hosts now spend their days preparing breakfasts and dinners from the organic bounty their gardens magically offer (Jack and his ol' beanstalk are given a good run for the money, honey). Lounge and eat local olives, cheese and freshly-plucked eggs here:

What to do besides relax, hit area marches aux puces (because antiquing is a must and a given, nest' ce pas?) and eat crazy good food and wine?

Oh...I don't know...perhaps hike in the lavender fields of Provence (just to say YOU DID)....

..... swim and canoe in the bluest of blue waters in Ste. Croix Lake, allow your venerable hosts to teach you a thing or twelve about traditional Provincial cooking, meet your neighbors and get invited to harvest grapes....you know, the UUUSH...


Fairytale Excursions now being accepted:

La Bouscatiere in Provence

Chemin Marcel Provence, 04360 Moustiers Sainte-Marie
A mere 3 hrs train ride from Paris to Aix en Provence

Top Twelve Things to Eat in Paris

I was talking with a charming book editor recently and the topic of "getting thick around the middle came up".
Got me to thinkin' of my MUST EAT stops when on buying trips in Paris.
No. really.
Each stop.
Each visit. ...Gee, and I wonder where the extra pounds are coming from "so suddenly"???? Damn French and their masterful hands.

1) Freshly-made baguette at the Le Poilane boulangerie: OR any great baguette, sea-salted butter from Brittany, and myrtilles (blueberry) jam. (Every boulangerie's schedule varies, but usually Le Poilane has it coming out of the oven at 7am and 4p. A heaven-on-earth treat);

2) Croissant au beurre (as opposed to croissant ordinaire -- this distinction is important, and the best ones come from places which offer both and thus give you the option of having the extra indulgent, greasy, and wonderfully-luscious type. BUH-TA, baby);

3) Ossau Iraty cheese from Androuet or really any good fromagerie;

4) Poulet de Bresse on the rotisserie at the local boucherie;

5) Crepes (sweet ones on the street -- au buerre sucre, au nutella et bananas; and savory buckwheat ones in a breton or normand restaurant, even the street vendors at The Louvre and Eiffel Tower make wonderful ones);

6) Coq au vin in the absolute traditional sense (Le Toulouse does it wonderfully in the 7e off Metro: Tour Mauborg);

7) Falafel from L'As du Falafel in the Marais;

8) Crusted broiled-top Cheese Ravioli along with a glass of champagne from Le Trait D'Union in the 6e;

9) Pate de campagne from a local boucherie (combined with a baguette, bottle of red, green apple, Evian, and an impromptu picnic on the lawns facing the Eiffel tower);

10) Berry Creme Bruele at Mariage Freres (honestly, the best ever to grace my lips..er, or is that hips?);

11/12) TIE: Hand-made chocolates from Michel Cluizel in the 1e and macarons from Heidiard.

What do you love to eat in Paris?


Oh who can just stop at 12 great things to eat in Paris????? Bring on the honorable mentions:

* Berthillon ice cream on Ile St. Louis
* Pizza with four cheeses, one of which is iFrench Blue Cheese at Saint Lucia in the 6e (a combo of cheese I would never, ever eat in the states but coupled with a pint and people watching it's pure bliss)
* Coquilles St. Jacques at Violon d'Ingres
* 24-month aged Tomme de Savoie cheese
* Assiettes de saucissons secs and jambon
* Roasted potatoes with extra drippings from aforementioned rotisserie chicken #4 above

Please share with all of us your favorites...or your favorite eating spot when you travel to any city outside your own (even if that means the next neighboring town to grab a Krispy Kreme!)

UPDATED TO ADD: For a mouth-watering selection of cakes (desserts), you must see this lovely blog and today's post: Rochambeau. Constance has put together a delectable delight!

Speakeasys of Yesteryear...

I had the best afternoon recently when my old boss and some of my favorite former colleagues and I got together to celebrate a friend who passed very suddenly and tragically many years ago. In addition to the howling laughter recalling shared memories, the day was made all the more memorable when the occasion was booked at a favorite LA haunt, The Buffalo Club.
As you enter, you are transported to a Chicago speakeasy or New York chophouse....

The inside mahogany bar is romantically illuminated from below, casting a tawny glow on the impressive collection of liquor bottles..
Rich Honduran mahogany paneling,
Birch bark shade sconces....
Antique mirrors...
Burgundy leather booths studded with polished brass tacks are both inviting and luxurious...
...and then the walls are adorned with photos of legendary literary figures and 19th century Buffalo, New York, the hometown of the owner, Anthony Yerkovich.

In the back you enter what undoubtedly feels like a Secret Garden: Walk along the bend past the restrooms and you pass through a curtained threshold....there you discover an English garden hideaway dotted with hanging silk Chinese lanterns...and the piece de resistance: a 40-foot, solid mahogany bar and dining tables aglow with amber votives atop soft ivory linens.

Dining here outside, whether under the summer sky or a regally draped winter tent (during Winter months), you feel as though you've entered a magical garden.

Eating inside? You're transported to an exclusive club.

It's one of the best places in all of LA to grab a cocktail.

The Buffalo Club is one of the THE spots in Los Angeles not because it is usually crowded with the most gorgeous people and A-List Celebrities, but because it carries that invariable LA vibe:
There is no sign on the door...or on the building... or anywhere visible for that matter.
You just have to be in the know.

Of course it doesn't hurt that the food is fantastic and the decor is stately, grand and comfortable all at the same time.

TIP: A reservation can often be hard to come by, but if you go right when they open, grab a seat at the bar; they will happily serve you dinner there. I

Their lively website is great fun, too, and wonderful pics under PRIVATE EVENTS:

The Buffalo Club
1520 Olympic Blvd
Santa Monica, CA
www.buffaloclub.com

When Pictures Lie...

Yeah, Right.

When EVER have you had a delivery boy bring you a pizza in a box that looked like this???!

The Europeans. Oh, how they tease...
(photo: Cote Sud magazine)

One of my favorite gatherings to host at my home is a Pizza Party....


(Vintageweave's Bon Appetite Silverware Sleeves available in any language. Hemp-fully machine washable!)

....friends, who love cooking as much as I do, gather at my house with an uncooked pizza concoction in tow and their favorite bottles. These get cooked on the grill, which is my next most favorite way to eat pizza outside of a wood burning fire pit. If raining (ok, this is California so that is never planned for, but it DID happen once!!), we'll move the party indoors but still utilize the grill.

I romanticize of a time when it's a tropical warm storm and we sit outside under shelter amongst plenty of candles and wine bottles!

If the party heads into the night, we always remain outside but just add blankets to the mix. Cigars get lit and the occasional toasted marshmallow. I always layer a mixture of vintage fabrics-nothing fancy, and I never worry over tomato sauce or red wine. Whatever BIZ doesn't perform a miracle on will just become like a face wrinkle: a symbol of laughing and fond memories with friends.

Pellegrino and earthy red wines are always a'flowin, and usually in antique or depression glass. (Shown: part of my collection of Fostoria American depression glass pattern.) At the moment I'm particularly liking this table red: Abadia Retuerta - Sardon De Duero 2003, a Spanish Seleccion Especial red with undertones of vanilla and fig.)

The Islands of Paris: Part I

One of our more charming and delightful clients has a fabulous apartment on Ille de la Cite, which is point zero for the grid system in all of Paris. On a recent trip we were given the keys to work on filling it with furniture and providing the Vintageweave touch.

She's got FAB taste and has wonderful accessories (yes, some from VW!). Her collection of black and white photographs lining the white embossed wall covering walls were sensational. REALLY fell in love with her ceilings. {more pics later}
From the living room windows the view is MAGNIFIQUE! She looks RIGHT UPON Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral...holy moly I'd never leave Paris! This pic below is her view of this artistic masterpiece of French Gothic design (albeit from a different angle, but the beauty is the same). I'll give you a minute. The green overtakes your body with envy I know.



Did you know?
*Notre Dame means "our lady" in French;
*Construction began in 1163, with completion around 1335;
*This masterpiece was horribly desecrated during the French Revolution in late 1790's. Much of the religious imagery was
either damaged or destroyed (can you even IMAGINE how beautiful it must have looked like before???);
*A serious and steadfast restoration began in the 19th C, bringing her back to her original breathtaking beauty;
*A formal maintenance and restoration program begin in the late 1990's and is still going on now;
*It is an active Roman Catholic Church today and where the French Archbishop sits. Ohhh to hear a mass given in the elegant French language and the
hymns sung by a French choir is indescribable loveliness.

Ok so you did your soul some good now do your palette some good: On this island you MUST have ice creme (or a tartine) at Bertillian, 31 Rue St Louis. Known as the best ice cream in all of Paris, this spot doesn't disappoint! Flavors rotate but my personal fave is banana coconut...mmmmm......

Chairs, Chairs, the Musical Fruit....

French Chairs in their natural patina, evoke images of the travels and memories they have surely lived. Can you just imagine pulling up these chairs to a table?

"Dinner parties in Burgundy where guests sat laughing and sharing stories of travel, love, politics, and the art of wine making....

Dinner parties in Paris where les femmes wore stately sables and cloche hats and les hommes wore smart suits and patent wing tip shoes...all the while sipping champagne and enjoying perfectly-prepared Flambeed Filet Mignon with a rich Madeira Sauce alongside truffles in champagne, and a side salad of mesclun kissed with a walnut vinaigrette garnished with shaved black truffles." You CAN cook this! Or you can just go here if in Santa Monica, CA, where my dear friend, Josiah, creates culinary magic that gives the best Michelin-rated Parisian restaurant a run for its money. (Speaking of the latter, you WILL need plenty of it, liken to taking out a 2nd on your mortgage-but worth it!) BURP.

Throwing your own dinner party or spaghetti soiree? Chairs are in abundance at Vintageweave with the arrival of our most recent container! We let our favorite guest pull up her favorite chair to the table...

Morning Rituals

At my house, the day starts with French Press Coffee. It's not chosen because of the name, but because in my opinion the flavor can't be beat. The plug-in drip coffee maker has long since been retired to the back of the pantry. Throw in organic Granola (Whole Foods brand is a favorite) mixed with yogurt (Brown Cow Organic Blueberry is another favorite) and the day is ready! First became hooked on this yogurt concoction at Il Fornaio in Beverly Hills. Don't forget to drink out of a favorite, beautiful coffee mug as the ambience needs to be as good as the taste! Years ago while driving through western Provence, I fell for the this one (click above photo to enlarge) in the artist hotbed community Le Beaucet in Venasque. I bought up all of these hand-painted beauties. {TIP: If you are planning a trip here--albeit from your armchair---some friends have a fabulous compilation of food stops you simply must read if you haven't already discovered this part of the world.}

Truth be told, we would prefer a croissant, but the variety offered in the States is so horribly disappointing. If in LA, the only two locations where excellent, as-close-to-Paris-as-you-can-get versions are at the French-owned spots: Little Next Door and Breadbar. The French owners at the respective spots are so lovely, and not because they are regulars of Vintageweave, but because they are excellent at their craft.
{Of particular note is the foamy cappuccino at Little Next Door--honestly as good as the best in Paris.}