Gladstone’s, Paradise Cove – Malibu

August 20th, 2009

Gladstone’s Restaurant in Malibu has an undeniably fantastic setting, directly on the beach in Paradise Cove. Regarding the food that they are dishing out, the annoying, seagulls swallow it and seem to like it, but I will steer clear of this subject without remarking on it, as it is indeed as terrible as has been chronicled over the years by most Los Angeles food critics.
Is it possible that there may finally be something edible at Gladstone’s at Paradise Cove?
If the rumor that SBE (Katsuya, XIV, Foxtail etc.) will be taking over management of Gladstone’s then it is a resounding, Yes!
Paradise Cove is one of the most lovely settings on the Southern California coast nestled behind the southern side of Point Dume in a beautiful cove, I used to skin-dive in the kelp beds when I was a teen and later on when I had a boat we used to anchor there for days and catch fish that we placed on the grill in the fireplace below. Occasionally, when friends from Japan visited we usually trolled on the way up from Marina del Rey, and caught bonito, which they would instantly turn into sashimi.
Paradise Cove has always been a sought-after site for filming Southern California beach movies and some famous ones have been shot there including Gidget.
A $25 parking fee for each car and $5 for walk-Ins is levied as you enter, although the parking fee will be refunded if you dine at the restaurant. However, there is a 3 hour limit on parking, although if you parked on the highway and walked the mile or so on foot I suppose you can stay as long as you wish.
Several years ago, when the wine list contained a few decent, albeit overpriced, French selections, at least, you could drink your lunch, but I sampled almost everything on the menu, trying to find anything that was edible to accompany the wine, unfortunately, it was utterly hopeless. Today, even that is impossible, considering the current ordinary wine list.

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Festa Della Vendemmia Wine Tasting Event, Grand Hyatt Erawan, Presented By G Four

August 17th, 2009

The Festa Della Vendemmia, on 17 August 2009, at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel was presented by G Four and it was a Wine Tasting Event that attracted a diverse crowd that included a great number of Bangkok’s celebrities, both film stars and TV personalities, which meant the local paparazzi and TV News was represented in full force.

There was a large selection of Italian wines, and a great number of them new requisitions although, I am still looking forward in the near future to sample G Four’s semi-secret addition of a new selection of wines from France, which are due to be introduced to Bangkok sometime in October. G Four is a company that is expanding rapidly in this market. Congratulations to them!

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Hollywood & L. A. Dance Clubs, Bars, Lounges – Los Angeles

August 16th, 2009

The current, 2009, Los Angeles club scene is as diverse as the people that live within this sprawling network of townships both big and small, linked together by a web of Freeways, which make up the Greater Los Angeles Area. The clubs themselves range in style from very exclusive to regular joints, but be assured you can strut your stuff on the floor, no matter which club you choose. The current beats are not surprisingly: Latin, top 40, hip-hop, funk, disco and pop. Please note that many of the dance clubs, bars and lounges listed here are next to impossible to gain entry, due to their strict and sometimes rude attitude at the door. Don’t be discouraged, as there is a wide choice and you will always be able to find a place to have fun and dance.

HOLLYWOOD

El Floridita

Dance Club
1253 Vine St #3, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Savor the flavors of old Havana at this traditional Cuban supper club. Order a mojito or well-steeped sangria. As might be expected, an energetic salsa band is provided.

Fat Slams grand Slam @ Teddy’s
7000 Hollywood Blvd – Hollywood
Strict dress code: skirts for ladies and suits for gentlemen. Quite a fun club in spite of the silly name.

Opera
1650 N.Schrader Ave – Hollywood
Another “more of the same” minor celebrity hangout in the heart of Hollywood.  Mood, just down the street is owned by the same group and it means; obtaining permission to enter the club, by the animals at the door, is extremely difficult.

Villa
8623 Melrose Ave – Hollywood
Another new place that recently opened on Melrose and is referred to as: “frequented by A-listers”. I am soooooo, so impressed. Really!!!??  Gentlemen (and I use that word loosely), don’t even try to approach the door unless you are prepared to order and eventually open, and drink, a few bottles or are accompanied by a gaggle of females.

Shag
1835 N.Cahuenga – Hollywood
An interesting name but nothing is guaranteed! Well known DJ’s spin top 40 Hip Hop, Indy Rock, Pop, 80’s, and more Hip Hop.

Play
6423 Yucca Ave – Hollywood
This club’s most popular meeting place is on the large smoking patio with it’s own bar. Inside you will find a mini dance floor and even a go-go pole!

Ritual
1743 N.Cahuenga Blvd – Hollywood
An “in” club at the moment. Go early and dress to impress the gate.

Holly’s

1651 N.Wilcox – Hollywood
This place is more of a bar/lounge than it is a club. Extremely difficult to gain entry because of its small size (50 persons). It is very popular, good luck!

Tigerheat @ Avalon
1775 N.Vine Street – Hollywood
This is an anything goes club, which means; expect trans-genders, bizarre shemales, bi-sexuals, gay & lesbian, weird straights, the rest of the mix is made up of ordinary groupies of one persuasion or another. Another dance floor spins 80’s too! 18+ Entry $8

Social Hollywood
6525 Sunset Blvd – Hollywood
The old Hollywood Athletic Club was located in this building, now the refurbished site is called Social Hollywood and it seems to be mostly membership only and a special events club and restaurant (however, this place has already been through a lot of changes and does not know in which direction it is headed, so there could be many more switches in the future).

Boulevard 3
It is in the same complex as Social (but a separate club)
A restored ballroom, with a garden outside and a fire pit.
No cover charge (long, long wait to gain access).

Cabana Club
Dance Club
1439 Ivar Ave, Hollywood, CA 90028
For club-habitués looking for an escape from the stress of the city, Cabana Club is just the ticket. Be prepared to be pampered on the back patio that flaunts a reflecting pool, miniaturized waterfalls, and of course, palm trees, it is California after all, and private cabanas with bottle service and spa treatments available. In addition to all this, no trick has been missed in trying to make this club successful, including: a gilded bar, a two-tiered dance floor and what they call “a VIP area”.

Goa
1615 N.Cahuenga Blvd – Hollywood
This is just another “hard to pass through the velvet ropes” club that is now serving out its limited time in the haloed spotlight.

Respect @ Larchmont
5657 Melrose Avenue – Hollywood
This place still does big business especially on weekends, it is known for endless droning on of drum and base.

The Forbidden City
1718 Vine Street – Hollywood
This good looking bar, lounge and restaurant looks over the Capitol Records building.  It has a charming outdoor patio. The theme is mostly red and it stays open late and continues through the morning. Be forewarned, that you might encounter some very unsavory, drugged-out characters during these late night/early to mid-morning hours so be on highest guard. It is entirely possible that the staff might be in the same condition or even worse . . . means, you are pretty much on your own.

Cinespace
6356 Hollywood Blvd – Hollywood
Convenient location on top of IVAR this supper club offers an upscale bar and restaurant where you may watch classic films and video. Consume nothing by mouth, except liquid!!
DJ/Dancing After 10 PM to House and Hip Hop!

Circus Disco
Dance Club
6655 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038
An enormous space divided into different areas and what seems to be a must for every club: a patio, VIP lounge, disco room, and bungalow “for dancing and  relaxing”. The sounds are nothing unusual; techno, salsa, and disco in the main room, and another dance floor above the bar features hip-hop spun by top LA DJs.

Tropicana Bar @ The Roosevelt Hotel
7000 Hollywood Blvd – Hollywood
Sit by the pool and order drinks—relax! This is not exactly a club. Anyway, who cares? It is a really nice place to have fun and enjoy the evening.

The Green Door
1429 Ivar Ave – Hollywood
Gaining entry to this club is very difficult at anytime, but don’t waste your time trying to get in on weekends, unless you are known by the management. Celebrities and an upscale crowd have somehow designated this, as a current “must do”, at least, for the moment.

LAX
Dance Club
1714 N Las Palmas Ave, Hollywood, CA 90028
Expect a long wait to enter this airport-themed club, owing to celebrity patronage, lines are laboriously long however, most will agree it is worth the wait.

Mood
Dance Club
6623 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028
This club with its pseudo Balinese motif generates a lot of interest from a young Hollywood crowd with better than average looks, although not necessarily better behavior. Hip-hop, R&B, and rap are the genres of choice. Singles looking to hook-up mainly gather around the bar.

OUTSIDE HOLLYWOOD

Sky Room
Dance Club
40 S Locust Ave,
Breakers Hotel, Long Beach, CA 90802
If there was ever a reason to go to Long Beach this is it. The Breakers Hotel is an elegant spot to indulge in drinks, dinner and dancing throughout the entire evening. This is a completely different venue from all of the aforementioned clubs and, it is a breath of fresh sea air and miles apart in terms of sophistication, although it is not for everyone. If you live in the area, certainly you are already familiar with the Breakers Hotel’s Sky Room.

The Derby
Dance Clubs
4500 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
For 20 years, this location was one of many famous Brown Derby Restaurants around the city. Its trademarked domed ceiling was covered up during the sixties when the building was a restaurant although now the dome has been exposed, and the 1930s-era decor is just another benefit of this dance club.

Dialate @ Little Pedro’s

120 N.Vignes(at 1st St.)- Downtown LA
This is a new After Hours Club that opens from 2am – 6am and the cover charge is $10. Comfortable booths.

Rumba Room
Dance Clubs
1000 Universal City Walk #208, Universal City Walk, Universal City, CA 91608
Everyone here dresses to the nines, as the dress code is strictly enforced. The Rumba Room rocks seven nights a week with couples shaking it to the strains of salsa, rock, and pop. On weekends, live bands perform.

The Mayan
Dance Clubs
1038 S Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Built in 1927, The Mayan was originally a legitimate theater. Today, its dancing to salsa, merengue, and Rock en Espanol bands.

Akbar
4356 Sunset Blvd – Silverlake
A neighborhood bar/dance club in Silverlake; a magnet for every type of person: gay, straight, bi, you name it, they all congregate here. Anything goes.

Body Music @ The Overlook
1745 N.Vermont Ave – Los Feliz
This is a hard to find club but worth the effort if you are looking for something different.

Afro Funke @ Zanzibar
1301 5th Street – Santa Monica
Dance to African sounds and also rock to funk.

Recycled @ Mor
2941 Main Street – Santa Monica
It is a great destination for Westside residents, there is now no reason to drive all the way to Hollywood.

Little Temple
4515 Santa Monica Blvd – Silverlake
Silverlake Hot Spot with some cool DJ Nights. Always an interesting crowd, mixed from all walks of L.A. Life!
On a lower key than some of the “so called” Hollywood A-List Clubs, which does not mean it is less entertaining, aux contraire, on most evenings it can be more amusing and/or satisfying.

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Panorama Restaurant, Pan Pacific Hotel – Bangkok

August 14th, 2009

952 Rama IV Road , Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Tel. +66 2632 9000 Fax: +66 2632 9001
Opening Hours:
Email: info.bkk@panpacific.com or visit bangkok.panpacific.com
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Expensive – Very Expensive

Panorama Restaurant on the 23rd floor of the Pan Pacific Hotel is an amazingly good restaurant due to its ground-breaking cuisine and comfortable, yet awe-inspiring design, which manages to stay in touch with the current generation of diner’s vibrant lifestyles. One of the most innovative and refreshing design ideas was to convert the space running along the windows into a type of enclosed balcony, build a large bar in the center and two informal dining areas on either side. It can be converted into an open-air deck by turning off the air-con, folding back the windows; or not, depending on the time and heat of the day. This entire stretch of airborne real estate is completely separated from the restaurant per se, and the unique convertible indoor/outdoor terrace also has a designated smoking area on one end, and a birds-eye view of the Sports Club and surrounding buildings down below.
Executive Chef, Joseph Martin is backed up by well versed kitchen staff performing their culinary miracles in two self-contained “Show Kitchens”. The restaurant design is by renowned Tokyo-based design firm SPIN.

The new amiable General Manager, Thomas Mayrhofer usually spends his time in the Pan Pacific’s corporate offices in Singapore, and he finds it a welcomes change to be able to interact with hotel guests. He says that it gives him another viewpoint as the hotel business, is after all, a service business.

Allow me to present a few of the many dazzling dining highlights that I experienced at Panorama and are pictured below:
Foie Gras with a Caramelized Fig, Pan-Fried (hot), Terrine en gelée (cold), and in a very imaginative version: freeze the foie gras with a stick in it, in the form of an ice cream bar and dip it in chocolate (frozen).

Canadian Lobster Cappuccino with North Sea  Shrimps, Hokkaido Scallops and Hennessy VSOP Cream

Atlantic Cod “en cocotte”

Open Squid Ink Ravioli with Andaman Tiger Prawns, Fava Beans, with Fennel

Magnificent Colorado lamb with an interesting ‘al dente’ ratatouille, not stewed to mush, but magically achieving the same intricate taste.

Apple Tart with Espresso and Mascarpone Ice Cream

Panorama imports the finest gourmet products available such as: Scottish salmon, Spanish Jamón ibérico, Dutch veal, Tajima wagyu beef.

At Panorama guests are given the option of having their meat cut and weighed to order table side, which is de rigueur at classic New York and Chicago steak houses, it is then given to the grill chef in the show kitchen where he exercises great skill carefully grilling it over hardwood charcoal.

Be sure to peruse the wine list, there are 130 wine labels to choose from, and after ordering, you may follow your bottle’s travel from its removal from one of the ‘specially designed’ twin plate-glass, double storied wine towers as it is carefully brought to its final destination—your table.

The private dining room seats 10 diners around a large circular table, it is called The Krug Room where Chef Steve will tailor-make a tasting menu for any group, or he can weave his magic and create a dish on the whim of any guest (with advance consultation, of course).

Guests have only to walk a few feet from the restaurant to the Finishing Post, the exclusive cigar lounge where they may order a rare 40 year old single malt whisky, blended at one of Scotland’s oldest family owned distilleries, from the large selection of single malts on hand, or a post dinner cognac and cigar.
There is always an impressive list of musicians, ranging from live resident DJs to jazz; the sounds drift through to the Lobby Lounge.

An interesting point to note is: you do not immediately recognize that the center area of the restaurant is under the atrium of the hotel, as you have ascended 23 floors to arrive in the lobby, it does not occur to you to take a good look upwards, as you might do if you were on the ground floor. When you finally have a more scrutinizing look around and up, you will discover that the center section of the restaurant where the show kitchens are situated is a showcase, so to speak, as all the hallways on all floors above are open and look down onto the action, and yet at the same time, the design team have allowed privacy for the guests by allowing only the area around the show kitchen to be observed. Panorama Restaurant is in reality a great stage and the chefs that are giving their culinary performances, presumably for their guests, are being silently watched by the entire hotel.

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Witch’s Tavern – Bangkok

August 13th, 2009

306/1 Sukhumvit Soi 55
Thong Lor Soi 8-10
Bangkok 10110 Thailand
http://www.witch-tavern.com/
+66 2 391 9791 / +66 2 391 7170
Open Hours11a-2a M-Su
Credit Cards:All Major
Prices: Moderate

Witch’s Tavern has been around for years and I remember first going there in 1989 or 1990. It is located on Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Thonglor) and has always been a popular bar for expats and locals that live in the area. It is a reasonably priced Thai version of an English pub that offers food & drink every day and live music on certain evenings.
Ladies enjoy drinks on the house on Ladies Night, Wednesday evenings from 5 to 9pm. From the upstairs dining room you have a good view of the band and dance floor. It has a long history of offering pure jazz especially on Sunday nights when the Jazz Wizards featuring Risma, the resident singers from the Philippines, perform.

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The Sunset Strip – West Hollywood, California

August 7th, 2009

Above Photo: The Chateau Marmont, an iconic fixture on the Sunset Strip, it has been a much-frequented destination for rock stars and others in the music-biz, for many years.

The Sunset Strip has always been known for its famous nightclubs especially in the 1930s & 40’s. The Players, 8225 Sunset Boulevard, The Trocadero, 8610 Sunset Boulevard, Ciro’s, 8433 Sunset Boulevard, and The Mocambo, 8588 Sunset Boulevard, owned by Charlie Morrison and Felix Young, was very popular with the film-crowd at the time. The “Strip” was made an unincorporated area under the jurisdiction of the County of Los Angeles and patrolled by Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department who were more lenient than the L.A.P.D at least in those days. The Garden of Allah became an unofficial club for many in the “Hollywood set” in the late thirties and forties; Robert Benchley and other cronies held court in one or more of the bungalows built around the central pool, and a decadent slice of the film crowd clientele frequenting The Garden of Allah were known to throw quite scandalous and wild parties until the wee hours of the morning.

A few famous restaurants on the “Strip” at that time were LaRue, Bit of Sweden, Scandia, and Frascati Grill (it took over the original Scandia location when Scandia moved to a much larger space across the street and just east of Doheny).

The Viper Room, 8852 Sunset Boulevard was a rundown club but well-known to a certain set on the Strip. Owned by Johnny Depp, it is where actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose on Halloween morning 1993.

The Whisky initially called “Whisky-à-Go-Go” until the original club in Paris, opened in 1947, sued them for using their name, and they were forced to rename it The Whisky, 8901 Sunset Boulevard, at San Vicente 310-652-4202. The Beatles dropped in on their first visit to L.A. and and an unruly and drunk George Harrison caused a minor brawl by throwing his drink at a photographer. Jim Morrison and The Doors started out as the house band in 1966.  So did the Who, The Kinks, The Byrds, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and in fact, Jimi Hendrix also played there. It was the birthplace of go-go dancing in Hollywood in the 1960’s, and the club is still going strong with heavy metal bands.

The Roxy, 9009 Sunset, at Hammond St., 310-276-2222 perhaps Hollywood’s best rock club; and definitely the most popular club for celebs; where Rod Stewart met his future wife, supermodel Rachel Hunter. Over the years, it has seen performances by David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Prince. The little bar, On the Rox, 9009 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069, 310-278-9457, located directly above the club garnering a sordid history as well as being a hangout for, too many to mention, rock and roll celebrities including John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, and Alice Cooper.

Sky Bar
8440 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tel. 323 848 6025
Opening Hours:
Open to guests 10 am – 2 a Daily
Open to public 8 pm – 2 am Daily

Sky Bar is in an open air, ivy-covered pavilion perched above the pool in the Mondrian Hotel. It has been a hot spot for years. Redesigned by Tim Andreas of Banjo, Skybar is fitted-out with custom-designed furniture handmade in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

House of Blues Sunset Strip
8430 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
323-848-5100
Lounge Hours: Wednesday – Sunday: 6:30 p.m. – 2:00 a. m. (Please call to confirm.)
Monday & Tuesday Hours may vary depending on the entertainment in the Music Hall
Foundation Room Host Stand at 323-848-5125
The Sunset Strip Foundation Room – I hope that it still lives up to the days when Nigel was at the door!

The Troubadour is located at 9081 Santa Monica Blvd (just east of Doheny). The club opened in 1957 and Lenny Bruce is arrested on obscenity charges shortly after. In 1968 Joni Mitchell made her Los Angeles debut.  Elton John performed his first show in the United States on August 25, 1970; he was introduced by Neil Diamond. In that same year, a drunken John Lennon heckled the Smothers Brothers here and was thrown out of the club along with his friend, Harry Nilsson. Randy Newman started out here as well as Cheech & Chong. Elton returned to do a series of special anniversary concerts in 1975. Later, the club became associated with heavy metal bands such as Mötley Crüe. Doug Weston, Troubadour’s owner passed away in 1999.  310-276-6168.

Villa Nova, Rainbow Bar & Grill
310-278-4232
9015 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Before becoming the Rainbow the restaurant was owned by film director, Vincente Minnelli and later it was bought and run by Alan Dale.

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RDG Grill, Bar Annie, BLVD Lounge – Houston

August 1st, 2009

RDG Grill, Bar Annie and BLVD Lounge
1800 Post Oak Boulevard (at Ambassador Way)
Tel. 713-840-1111
Opening Hours:
BLVD Lounge:
Light Bites, Coffee, Cocktails & Hors D’oeuvres Daily
11:30AM – 10:00PM
Lunch Monday – Friday
Bar Annie + RDG Grill Room:
11:30AM – 2:00PM
Saturday “Blue Jean” 
Lunch & Sunday Brunch
Beginning September 12
Bar Annie + RDG Grill Room
 12:00PM – 3:00PM
Dinner Monday – Saturday
Bar Annie + RDG Grill Room
 6:00PM – 10:00PM
Sunday Dinner
RDG + Bar Annie
5:00PM – 9:00PM
Credit cards: All Major
Prices: Moderate – Expensive

Cafe Annie has closed! However, the good news is: three different venues have emerged from it and are now in place in a new location down the road. The company has come a long way since its days on Westheimer when Robert del Grande formed a “South of the Border” style cuisine with French overtones and then went on, along with others at the time, to create what is now considered Southwestern cuisine. It has developed into a multi-restaurant company under the corporate veil of Schiller Del Grande. Link to the old post on Cafe Annie


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Ebury Wine Bar – London

July 27th, 2009

139 Ebury Street, London,
SW1W 9QU
Tel.  0871 3328766
Venue Type: Wine Bar
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 11:00-23:00; Sun 18:00-22:30
Underground: Victoria or Sloane Sq.
Cuisine: British
Kitchen Open: Daily 12:00-14:45 & 18:00-22:15
Booking Essential on Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Facilities: TV Screens showing sports events
Children: Welcome
Credit Cards: Visa, MC
Prices: Moderate

In the late sixties and early seventies when I spent a good deal of time in London I frequented Ebury Wine Bar while staying with friends who lived around the corner on Chester Row. In those days, they had on offer some very reasonably priced, solid “little” French Burgundies, both red & white, along with a good selection of Loire Valley, Rhône, and Alsace wines available by the glass or bottle. At the time, it was excellent value especially for the wines; and the food was, on the whole, quite good. Today, they have no hope of offering the quality of the wines from France and Italy that they could in those days, and no one expects that, however, they are scouting out a great many “interesting wines” from the old and new world that are quite surprising in their own right. It is because of these elements combined with maintaining the integrity of the kitchen that it has remained to be one of the great wine bars in London for over 40 years.

Information below includes: Name of wine, region, vintage year, country of origin, price by bottle, price by glass, alcohol percentage by volume.

White Wines – House Selection

1. Chevanceau Blanc, Vin de Pays du Cotes de Gascogne, 2005

France 
£12.80
 £3.40
 12.0%

2. Chenin Blanc, Stormy Cape, 2006

S.Africa
 £16.50 
£4.35 
13.5%

3. Sauvignon Blanc, Reserva, Echeverria, Curico Valley, 2006

Chile
 £17.00 
£4.45
 13.0%

4. Pinot Grigio, Della Provincia di Pavia, Cielo, 2005

Italy 
£17.50
 £4.60 
12.0%

5. Unoaked Chardonnay, Foundstone, 2006

Australia 
£17.50 
£4.60 
12.5%

6. Riesling, Kabinett, Johannisberger Erntebringer, Rheingau, 2004

Germany
 £18.00 
£4.70 
9.5%

Red Wines – House Selection

38. Chevanceau Rouge, Vin de Pays de L’Herault, 2005

France
£12.80
£3.40
12.0%

39. Merlot, Vin de Pays D’oc, La Place, 2005

France
£14.50
£3.80
13.0%

40. Santa Ines, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004

Chile
£16.50
£4.35
13.5%

41. Malbec, Bodegas Terrazas Mendoza, 2004

Argentinal
£17.00
£4.45
13.5%

42. Nero D’Avola, Mandrarossa, 2005

Italy
£17.50
£4.60
13.5%

43. Anares Tinto Crianza, Rioja, 2003

Spain
£17.50
£4.60
12.5%

44. Shiraz, Tyrrell’s Moore’s Creek, Hunter VAlley, 2004

Australia
£18.00
£4.70
14.0%

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Bistro 33 – Bangkok

July 21st, 2009

Bistro 33
22 Sukhumvit 33 (Daeng Udom)
Klongton Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel. 02-260-3033
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Moderate

Bistro 33 is on a corner of a sub-soi off Sukhumvit Soi 33, situated in a house with a lovely garden and large plate glass windows that take full advantage of it. Truthfully, this cafe has little in common with a bistro in the strict sense, semantics aside though, it has lots to offer in the comfort-food department and one can while away many hours in this very pleasant environment.

The menu lists a Caesar salad, variations on the theme of hamburgers: cheese burger, meat ball burger with spicy tomato sauce, and a turkey burger. In addition; a Ruben sandwich, Quesadillas (either chicken or vegetarian) and the usual inescapable Italian items—all these dishes seem to improve somewhat after a few quaffs from the well-thought-out and properly priced wine list. Basically, there is something for everyone on this eclectic menu. My daughter enjoyed an Orange/Yogurt smoothie, and that made her day, along with an excursion into the garden with her drawing pad, where she plunked herself down on a wooden bench and attempted to sketch a Plumeria tree.

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Hotel Derek Presents PS Valentino & Vin Bar Coming Soon – Houston, Texas

July 19th, 2009

PS Valentino & Vin Bar
Hotel Derek
2525 West Loop S., Houston, TX 77027
Tel. 866-292-4100
Fax.713-297-4392

PS Valentino and the more casual and less-expensive Vin Bar will be taking over the Bistro Moderne space in the Hotel Derek sometime this fall. Piero Selvaggio of the famed Valentino Restaurant in Santa Monica, California, which it seems has been around for eons and with good reason, also more recently Las Vegas, is headed to Houston. Selvaggio and executive chef and partner Luciano Pellegrini will open PS Valentino Vin Bar in the trendy boutique Hotel Derek this fall, taking over the Bistro Moderne space. PS Valentino Vin Bar will house two dining experiences, an intimate fine dining restaurant serving Selvaggio’s inventive Italian cuisine and the more casual Vin Bar with a selection of innovative dishes in the now quite familiar “primi” or small plate format. PS Valentino Vin Bar,  no direct phone line available as yet, although you can dial the hotel. Stay tuned for the latest information as it becomes available.

Hotel Derek
The earthen colors chosen for the public areas are mostly caramel and coffee tones, while the genteel, guest rooms, up to 1200 square feet, include rain showers, spacious glass desks, high-speed Internet access, and cordless phones.  The outdoor swimming pool area is an interesting layout—it looks a bit barren at the moment, but with a bit more planted areas or potted greenery and given the Houston sun/humidity . . . it certainly should bush-out quickly. The mainly Texan and Californian inclination to stretch the gas-guzzling SUV making it even less green, is offered by the hotel for guests to shuttle them around the city.

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