A Manly Meal For A Birthday Girl

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A Manly Meal For A Birthday Girl

Thank goodness for girlfriends. 

Mine are especially rad with their simultaneous beauty, sass, and smarts, traits that could induce extreme envy, but instead keep me inspired.  Most of them enjoy eating (these aren't those "I'll just have a salad, hold the dressing" kind of gals), yet I'm admittedly the gourmandette:  the one who insists on ordering multiple desserts, who finishes everything on our shared plates, and who has a penchant for all things porcine.  Hence, my ladies let me pick the location for our monthly dinners.  For my birthday, I chose the Parish.

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Good Gallic In A Petite Package

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Good Gallic In A Petite Package

buvette  noun (f)

1. a refreshment stall or counter

2. a snack bar at a theater, train station, beach, etc.

In French, and English for that matter, the diminutive "ette" connotes feminine (coquette) or little (cigarette), so it is implicit that buvettes are small.  Buvette, Jody Williams' Gallic gem, is indeed petite, but that's all it has in common with it's casual joints across the Atlantic.  Chef Williams' version--which she calls a gastrothèque-- is a pleasure chest of French delights, from fresh-baked croissants and housemade charcuterie, to classic coq-au-vin and cassoulet. 

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24-Hour Pastry Party

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24-Hour Pastry Party

Donuts are the new black.

The ubiquitous, frou-frou cupcake has been trumped by old-school goodness. It's only fitting--with the food scene going back to basics--that this old-fashioned orb is back in fashion.  In L.A., donut shops are a dime a dozen, most notably Randy's, the landmark shop (and my preferred LAX pit-stop) that is topped with a 3-story-high donut.  Donuts are no longer restricted to restaurants; this weekend, they star in their very own art show at ForYourArt's Around the Clock: 24-Hour Donut City II, LACMA's Choice

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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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