Alison Miller with (FROM LEFT) John Simonian, Matt Goss, Jeremy Berlin, Yuval Bar-Zemer, Cameron Silver and Adam Gross at a Stolichnaya photo shoot.

Foodie Fight

The conversation typically begins like this: Who has the best gastropub burger in LA? My friends and I then embark on a lively yet friendly argument on the merits of the infamous Father’s Office burger with its applewood-bacon and caramelized-onion compote vs. Umami Burger’s Port & Stilton version. For me, Father’s Office wins hands down.

Los Angeles is a foodie heaven with its endless variety of restaurants of astoundingly good quality. In this issue, we feature many of the incredible offerings in our food-fanatical city, and we celebrate the countless culinary accomplishments of the people and places that make it so special.

On June 12, we are thrilled to partner with Taste of the Nation, a prestigious culinary benefit dedicated to ending childhood hunger. A dizzying array of notable chefs including Kerry Simon, Michael Voltaggio, Quinn Hatfield and many others are participating in the event, which supports Taste of the Nation’s parent organization, the Share Our Strength foundation. Many of our fantastic allies—Infiniti and E.&J. Gallo Winery, to name a few—are also joining in the celebration, and you can as well by purchasing tickets at tasteofthenation.org.

Not to be outshone, our friends at SBE keep it cooking with new venues of their own opening in the area in the next several months, including Katsuya by Starck in Laguna Beach (the company’s first outpost in the OC) and a vibrant Italian market/eatery concept, Mercato di Vetro, led by chef Danny Elmaleh in West Hollywood. With all of this great food, it’s a good thing our friends at The Sports Club/LA have suggested a fitness challenge for our LAC team. Thanks in advance to Jeff Ono for the much-needed summer-foodblitz recovery program. A great personal trainer and nutritionist and the club’s cutting-edge equipment are going to be essential this summer. Here’s to a delicious and healthy season!

Cheers,

ALISON MILLER
GROUP PUBLISHER

Follow me at twitter.com/alisonmillerlac.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JSQUARED PHOTOGRAPHY