East Meets West

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East Meets West

Dreams of clam strips are dancing in my head.  Tonight, I head to my Connecticut, childhood home, where I will load up on fried fish, butter-sautéed scallops, and lobster rolls .  Living in L.A., land of many flavors, I have my pick of international eats, yet I lament the lack of seafood shacks of my youth.  Sure, there's the PCH standbys, Neptune's Net and Reel Inn, and Santa Monica's BP Oysterette, but head inland and the choices are slim.  That is until Son Of A Gun came to town.

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Get Your Thrill At Red Hill

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Get Your Thrill At Red Hill

3 days.  That's how much time passed between my first and second visit to Red Hill. Normally, if I enjoy my inaugural dining experience, I vow to come back soon, but then get distracted by new openings, random cravings, and my ever-growing list of Places I Want To Try. It can take months to return. Not so at Red Hill, the 4-month young Echo Park restaurant, where my first time was such a charm, I was lured back immediately.

 

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Baco Slideshow

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Baco Slideshow

What is my aversion to writing about my favorite restaurants? It's not a question of selfishness, and that I want to keep them all to myself for fear of overcrowding. Quite the contrary--I want to scream from the rooftops about their excellence and share unforgettable meals with friends. No, I am afraid that my words won't adequately describe their awesomeness. Like a letter to a new love, I want each sentence to wholly embody my emotions, yet fret about misinterpretation. To quell my fear, I'm going to take a cue from teenagers, who use pictures, not words, to express their adoration (see: sexting) 

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Fort Delicious

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Fort Delicious

Fort Defiance Red Hook

I have fallen hard for Fort Defiance. Like all good love stories, it began with a crush; in this case, it was on the affable owner , St. John Frizell, who was holding court behind the bar my first night there. Sporting a traditional English, chalk-stripe apron, he crafted liquorous concoctions with the precision of a scientist, but without the brazen showmanship of Tom Cruise. This wasn’t your typical, carnal crush; while St. John is a handsome fellow, my affection stemmed more from what he had created. After hearing his tale of How Fort Defiance Was Made, I realized he was living a dream uncannily similar to mine: running a cozy restaurant/bar/café/community hub while writing about food and travel (All that was missing was my fantasy's B&B upstairs).

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