Sora Brentwood, the new hand-roll-focused sushi restaurant, has been packed since the day it opened. We made a reservation before heading over on a Saturday night with our two daughters and a friend who met us there, and it’s a good thing we did — every table was full and the room stayed loud and busy the entire time. After working our way through about sixteen hand rolls across eight different flavors between the four of us, I walked away with mixed feelings: the food is excellent, but the experience comes with real trade-offs worth knowing before you go. The…
Culinary Passages
We visited the newly reopened Duke's Malibu on a regular Saturday with no reservation — the honest truth on the wait, the newly remodeled dining room, what to order (and what to skip), and what it actually costs for a family of four.
Carbon Beach Club at the Malibu Beach Inn has become our family's go-to for a special-occasion dinner. Here's why: the oceanfront terrace, the whipped ricotta, the deep-dish chocolate chip cookie, and honest notes on cost, parking, and bringing kids.
A return visit, ten years in the making, to Black Market Liquor Bar in Studio City — the inventive cocktails, the must-order deep-fried flufferutter, honest notes on the service, and why it is the perfect westside-to-valley meeting point.
Our dinner at Shoreside Santa Monica had great food and friendly staff, but also a wind problem the restaurant hasn't quite solved yet. Here's what worked, what didn't, and how the inKind rewards made up for the higher-than-listed prices.
Our second visit to Chelsea in Santa Monica, the moody London-inspired spot that's become one of our family's regular dinner spots — what to order, what to skip, and why the Banana Flambé is worth it.
Our honest take on Sushi Roku Santa Monica: the dishes worth ordering, the ones to skip, and what to know before you go.
Drive up the coast for casual drinks on the water and coastal history at Gladstones Malibu, a fading icon perched where history meets the Pacific.
How we booked Terranea's “Sunday by the Sea” package for about $249 all-in, plus what we'd do differently next time — the spa discount, the suite upgrade, and skipping the holiday weekend itself.
Our honest take on Sendero at the Ritz-Carlton DTLA: the food, the kid-friendliness, the bar, and whether the 24th-floor room matches the price.