http://www.lefoodnews.com Dedicated to advancing the art and knowledge base of cuisine ancienne et nouvelle Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:23:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en To be honest with you, the only reason I signed up for a Hornblower Yacht Harbor Tour (with buffet brunch and endless sparkling) was that I obtained a discount by using Goldstar. However, i was not disappointed. We took the lunchtime tour of the Long Beach, Calif., Harbor (duration: two hours) ... http://www.lefoodnews.com/2009/07/12/when-the-weather-is-perfect-try-hornblower-yacht-cruises/ The iconic Squeezeburger, featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network, is being forced out of its aptly named Squeeze Inn because a disabled woman's lawsuit--one of many she's filed as a way to fatten her coffers--has forced the Inn's owner to make the place accessible under provisions of the ... http://www.lefoodnews.com/2009/07/10/squeeze-inn-squeezed-out-by-extortionist-lawsuit/ The Quickfire challenge on tonight's Top Chef Masters is to cook an egg with one hand tied behind your back, which actually doesn't sound that difficult if you're just doing a fried, boiled or poached egg and nothing fancy to go with it. The Elimination challenge is to prepare a dish ... http://www.lefoodnews.com/2009/07/08/top-chef-masters-cook-with-just-one-hand/ Okay, I confess: I had never heard of a Santa Ana restaurant named Lola Gaspar Kitchen & Bar until I read about it in the newspaper, and I had no idea that Santa Ana harbored a scenic hideaway called Artists Village (pictured at the bottom of my post) that features artists' ... http://www.lefoodnews.com/2009/07/07/lola-gaspar-fun-casual-retreat-in-santa-anas-artists-village/ I can't believe I actually watched Nathan's 2009 Hot Dog Eating Contest this morning. It was gross, but the title remains in America for aother year as Joey Chestnut vanquished 68 dogs, a new record: http://www.lefoodnews.com/2009/07/04/joey-chestnut-gobbles-68-dawgs-for-new-record/ Forgot to load the SD card in my digital camera, so all I had left at Stars of Santa Barbara was my pocket YouTube camcorder (results below). The charity event, benefitting the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, was held outdoors at South Coast Plaza (no doubt the nation's premier ... http://www.lefoodnews.com/2009/06/28/wine-and-ravioli-shine-at-stars-of-santa-barbara/ Tonight's Top Chef Masters pays tribute to a classic season two Top Chef Quickfire in which the chefs must create a dish using one single color – and of course it has to be delicious!  When Ludo Lefebvre (Ludo Bites) and Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill) both plan to make a quesadilla as their main ... http://www.lefoodnews.com/2009/06/24/top-chef-masters-must-master-a-color-scheme/ I attended my second Wine & Cars Under the Stars at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif., this past Saturday. Though I found it about a third (or more) smaller/fewer in offerings of wine and food from 2008, I enjoyed myself. I discovered some really nice wines and gobbled the food, sparse though the grub may ... http://www.lefoodnews.com/2009/06/23/wine-cars-under-the-stars-some-e-coli-there/ Okay, so an orchestra dedicated to playing waltzes and opera pieces can't really be said to rock in music terms, but tell that to the several thousand people who turned out at the Noka Theater at LA Live this past Friday, June 19, to spend the evening with Andre Rieu ... http://www.lefoodnews.com/2009/06/22/la-live-almost-rocks-which-andre-rieu-and-strauss-orchestra-definitely-do/ Tonight on Top Chef Masters, the chefs are operating on an extremely tight budget and  must create the perfect amuse bouche using only what they can find in a vending machine (a la a season-two Top Chef  competition). Master chefs Wylie Dufresne, Suzanne Tracht, Graham Elliot Bowles and Elizabeth Falkner find ... http://www.lefoodnews.com/2009/06/17/vending-machine-battle-tonight-on-top-chef-masters/