Sweet nothings
Sweet nothings
Fountain Coffee Room, Mar Vista, Valentine's Day gifts, Cobi's, Rome, Mother Wolf Las Vegas, Super Bowl takeout, MORE
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
Stars, they’re just like us
You might not find a more unlikely spot for a diner than the ground floor of the iconic, pink-and-green-clad celebrity haunt that is the Beverly Hills Hotel. But that’s also what makes the Fountain Coffee Room such an LA institution. The curved, 19-seat counter has been serving egg white omelets and double-decker clubs since 1949, and as the website notes, “you still never know who you might find yourself eating a slice of apple pie next to.”
Sure enough, waiting for stools on a recent Saturday morning inside the intimate, historic room, I watched Usher and Timothée Chalamet meet for the first time.
I didn’t get the pie, but fluffy silver dollar pancakes with blueberries were a delightful stand-in. They arrive split into two servings when (correctly) ordered to share, alongside miniature bottles of maple syrup. Eggs were over-medium, as requested, and a “24 Carrot Gold” carrot-orange-ginger juice added a dose of California sunshine. The service is swift, accommodating, and friendly (but not overly so). I never saw the bottom of my coffee mug.
Because you’re in Beverly Hills, and specifically its eponymous Hotel, the prices are double that of your local greasy spoon. Given the pancakes, ambiance, and breakfast theater? More than fair. –Emily Wilson
→ Fountain Coffee Room (Beverly Hills) • 19641 Sunset Blvd. • Daily 7a-4p.
LA RESTAURANT LINKS: Inside the surprise closures of Manzke and Bistro Bicyclette, both shuttering March 1 • Chef Ray Garcia takes over the kitchen at Rose Venice • Why some LA bars are importing their ice from Japan • The new vocabulary of cocktails.
GOODS & SERVICES • Shopping Report
Valentine’s Day gift guide
It’s not too late for Valentine’s Day shopping, especially if you stick to locally made gifts. These six items, from flower-shaped candles to farmer’s market bounty, are produced or sold right here in Los Angeles.
If you can’t jet to Oaxaca before it’s time to tablescape next Wednesday’s romantic dinner, let Joanna Williams do it for you. The Kneeland Co. founder collects treasures from around the world for your dining room, including these calla lily candles handmade in Mexico.
→ Shop: Mexican Calla Lily Candle (Kneeland Co., above) • $30.
There’s no more direct path to a woman’s heart than a new bag. This one, an easy cross-body sling by LA-based designer Clare V., is shades-of-Bottega (but at a fraction of the price).
→ Shop: Petit Moyen (Clare V.) • $385.
Bespoke Bar L.A. made a splash during Covid by supplying mixes, barware, and booze to everyone stuck at home. Now, their curated boxes are the ultimate way to say, “I love you. Let’s party.”
→ Shop: Blood Orange Margarita Box (Bespoke Bar L.A.) • $140.
Treat your loved one to an acupuncture facial that will lift, sculpt, and shape. A gift card to Calypso Eastern Medicine is a swift path to rejuvenation.
→ Shop: Modern Medicine Woman Gift Card (Calypso Eastern Medicine) • $175.
Born of a love of '80s street jewelry, The 10 Jewelry knows its way around Cuban links. Case in point: this solid gold “love you” bracelet, diamond included.
→ Shop: The Love You Infinity Bracelet (The 10 Jewelry) • $1430.
No one will complain about getting a custom farm-fresh box from charming Eagle Rock grocer LA Home Farm. For a romantic lean, be sure to include fresh flowers.
→ Shop: Custom Gift Basket (LA Home Farm) • pricing varies. –Zoe Schaeffer
REAL ESTATE • Sold
To market, to market
Proximity to a farmer’s market isn’t usually a top reason for buying in a particular neighborhood — unless, of course, that neighborhood is Mar Vista. In a continued tight market for listings, properties here — where the median sale price is $2.03M, per Redfin — spent an average of 34 days on the market in 2023, compared to 52 days in 2022.
Three recent transactions of note:
→ 3539 Inglewood Blvd. (Mar Vista, above) • 5BR/6BA, 3957 SF • Modern indoor/outdoor living room with pool • Listed: 10/27/23, sold: 12/5/23 • Sold price: $4.2M • Listing broker: Bryce Pennel, The Pennel Group (Douglas Elliman).
→ 3222 Mountain View Ave. (Mar Vista) • 4BR/4BA, 3832 SF • Contemporary Spanish residence with views for days • Listed: 8/4/23 for $4.295M, sold: 12/19/23 • Sold price: $3.41M • Listing broker: Carter Williams and Matt Adamo, Christie’s AKG.
→ 3791 Wasatch Ave. (Mar Vista) • 5BR/4BA, 2605 SF • Recently remodeled two-story house • Listed: 10/6/23 for $2.95M, sold: 1/31/24 • Sold price: $2.875M • Listing broker: Kevin Krakower, Douglas Elliman.
LA WORK AND PLAY LINKS: Saks Fifth Avenue opens West Coast flagship in Beverly Hills • Hollywood Bowl sets 2024 summer lineup • Snap lays off 10% of global staff • Going inside the ultra-exclusive Forma Pilates • Going inside the semi-exclusive Atwater Village Moms Facebook Group.
WORK • Thursday Routine
Prep day
JEREMY ADLER • partner • Cobi’s
Neighborhood you live in: Mar Vista
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I work from home, so the scene is endless coffee, toys strewn about all over the floor from the kiddos, and art and drawings everywhere.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I take the kids and head to my trainer Jeff's house for an early lift every Thursday morning. Every extra bit of exercise is exclusively for another scoop of gelato or piece of chocolate. After that, it's all about prep: for the weekend at Cobi's, for weekend meals at home, for dinner parties where I invite too many people and make too much food and create too many dirty dishes.
Late-morning, I've got a meeting with the designer and GC of my next restaurant project in Mar Vista. I can walk (or bike) there from my house, and I want it to be a place that’s delicious and affordable. It's in the middle of the neighborhood, so I hope this project is a nexus for the community.
Thursday nights are usually when we light the fire in the backyard and throw a dinner party. I love bringing people together who don't know each other. If the food is delicious and people are exchanging contact info at the end of dinner, then we've all had a good time.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
The most delicious street in LA for us is Sawtelle. It’s one of the few areas where you can go and decide where to eat once you get there. The highlights for us are Hide Sushi, Nanbankan, and Artelice Pastry. Tonight, we’re headed to Mizu 212, since it's interactive and the kids love it. I wish there was more shabu shabu in LA.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I'm a die-hard Lakers fan and go to 15 or so games per year. Getting downtown from Mar Vista is a serious schlep. We also go for the kids concerts at Disney Hall, which are 45–60 minutes long (about all I can handle). Pine & Crane or El Parian are my go-tos for dinner before a Lakers game. The Crypto.com Arena is a wasteland for anything decent to eat.
Any weekend getaways?
We go to Hollywood Beach in Oxnard a couple of times a month. It's usually pretty empty and a great place to walk on the beach and listen to podcasts (shout out to Air Jordan and Three Ingredients). We go for back and foot massages at RELAX FEET Foot Massage and eat spot prawns by the pound at BYOB HC Seafood. The Jolly Oyster is also wonderful for lunch and Buddy's Wine is a great natural wine bar in Ventura.
What was your last great vacation?
Rome is my favorite city in the world. We were there in July for a wedding, a time I’d normally try to avoid — insanity, as it relates to the crowds. I'm a huge fan of starting your day at Campo De Fiori and getting pizza al taglio at Il Forno, then strolling over to Sant Eustachio for coffee. The concept of dolce fa niente (literally translated as “the sweetness of doing nothing”) is something we as a city need to embrace.
Some of my favorite spots include Al Moro — get the spaghetti al moro (carbonara made with parmesan and red chili flakes), the porcinis when they’re in season, and the zabaglione. Roscioli is also excellent, so understated and restrained with an insane wine list. Otaleg for pistachio gelato is open late and delicious. SantoPalato is the closest thing that Rome has to the Avant Garde. Tavernaccia Da Bruno has exceptional slow wood roasted porcelet and Felice a Testaccio has incredible gricia (they use both pan-fried and oven-crisped guanciale), and their tiramisu, while not traditional, is deserving of all the accolades it receives.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Indies
Black Pumas, Wiltern Theatre, (Koreatown), Fri @ 7p, floor, $202 per
KATE with Kate Berlant, Pasadena Playhouse, (Pasadena), Sat @ 2p, mezzanine, $142 per
Yo La Tengo, The Bellwether (City West), Sat @ 8p, floor, $123 per
GETAWAYS • Las Vegas
Mother load
In a chaotic shimmer of baroque blue, the much-hyped Fontainebleau Las Vegas finally opened in late December. The second location of the Miami hotel brand is attempting to deliver luxuries on the same plane as hip Strip hotels like Aria and The Cosmopolitan. For example: plush, luxe rooms that start at 488 square feet and marble bathrooms with massive tubs. Or the on-site Lapis Spa, a two-story, 55,000-square-foot Piero Lissoni-designed space, with soaking pools, cold plunges, treatment rooms, and a “snow shower”.
It’s also competing in the dining department, in a de rigeur Vegas way: By importing other cities’ big names. Here, it’s Evan Funke’s Hollywood spot Mother Wolf. Funke’s initial solo venture, Felix Trattoria in Venice, is still packed every night, as is his three-story namesake, Funke, in Beverly Hills. But it was the gilded Mother Wolf that placed him in a new echelon. The Vegas branch lives up to the standard and more importantly, and at least for now, is the easiest table of any of Funke’s restaurants.
Once you’re in, start with the rigatoni, an incredibly simple, four-ingredient thing of beauty — luminous, pink, salty, viscous. Delicate fior di zucca, stuffed fried zucchini blossoms, come with tissue-paper breading and a spoonful of ricotta-and-Parmigiano filling inside. In a city built on excess, in a room flush with it — pane, gambas, agnolotti, a vast selection of amaro, regal wallpaper and over-the-top decor throughout — they stand out for their discreet pleasures. –Caitlin White
→ Mother Wolf (Las Vegas) • 2777 S Las Vegas Blvd. • Sun.-Thurs. 5-1030p, Fri.-Sat. 5-11p • Reserve.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Look for the frog, and you’ll find Pinyon in Ojai • The Tropicana Hotel is finally cashing out in Las Vegas • How two ski chalets are redefining luxury skiing in Alaska • Chef Dominique Crenn now crafting new La Première and Business menus for Air France U.S. departures • The elongation of Europe’s peak travel season • Is the free hotel minibar on the rise?
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RESTAURANTS • The Nines