FOOD FESTIVAL FRENZY
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was a time of celebration and a time of despair. A time when great culinary events abounded, and a time when dining out finally got reasonable and locals friendly on the Las Vegas Strip.
The sad thing is all of these are occurring in the face of impending doom. But doom or bust, there’s no doubt that this is our golden age of food festivals.
You’ve got your hipster bars (Griffin, Beauty Bar), your mixology mecca (Downtown Cocktail Room), and even an old school standby (Sidebar), but none of them have a hotel that matches their uber-cocktail-coolness….until today when the El Cortez Cabana Suites starts taking guests in 64 of the neatest rooms this side of the Viceroy or Mondrian in Los Angeles — or anything you’ll find in Palm Springs.
Continue reading “El Cortez Cabana Suites – Urban Cool Invades Downtown”
ELV doesn’t mean to start him no scandal, and he counts as his friends and respected colleagues both the executives and officers of the James Beard Foundation, but many of the James Beard Award winners of last night gave him and his staff pause for reflection — not the least of which is Momofuku Ko (a restaurant that no one has dined at) winning Best New Restaurant in the entire nation for 2009. For if ever there was an example of food writers and voters voting for a place based only on hype, this is it.
Continue reading “The James Beard Awards – A Tempest In A Teapot Or Something That Needs Fixing?”