by Diane | Aug 23, 2019 | Best Restaurants
Dear Reader, I know you don’t want to hear this, but Thanksgiving is less than 100 days away. It falls late this year, too, which can cause even greater stress for corporate event planners and family heads-of-state who want to secure a great holiday dining or...
by Diane | Aug 20, 2019 | Best Activities
Back in 1983, the Red Hot Chili Peppers came together in L.A. when high school buddies Anthony Kiedis (now infamous lead singer) and Flea (aka Michael Balary and now infamous bassist) decided it was time to create a band. During that first year, the scrappy...
by Diane | Aug 13, 2019 | Best Activities
In May this year, the Pros’ United Skim Tour began 2019’s seasonal run for the crown at a full-on gallop. The Tour hits both coasts, with Cabo San Lucas and Santa Cruz early in the season, followed by East Coast Outer Banks (NC) and Dewey Beach, Delaware...
by Diane | Aug 13, 2019 | Best Restaurants
In yet another ode to the happy, growing-up years of our childhood, Harley’s Chef Greg Daniels has created a Sunday family style “backyard BBQ” from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. If you’ve been around long enough to remember Three Seventy Common’s...
by Diane | Aug 12, 2019 | Best Restaurants
After a rare U-turn last Thursday in South Laguna, something strange caught my eye … actual PEOPLE moving around in the former Eva’s Caribbean Cafe. There were tables out front and people were SITTING at them. What the heck was going on? I called the City. Yep,...
by Diane | Aug 9, 2019 | Best Restaurants
When he was a teenager, Alec Glasser spent three summers working at the Drake Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Because his family didn’t want him traveling back and forth each day to their home in Queens, they negotiated a sweet deal: He was allowed to live at the...
by Diane | Aug 7, 2019 | Best Restaurants
This week in Laguna, our restaurant community suffered another casualty. The new Mediterrania restaurant (also called MG Laguna) closed its doors unexpectedly. Mediterrania Owner Mohamed Mamoun opened his first Mediterranean restaurant in Irvine in 2013 (Mediterrania...
by Diane | Aug 6, 2019 | Best Activities
Every now and then, I find a cool event outside of our city limits that I’ve just got to tell you about. My friend, Ali, turned me on to it, and I’m heading there this Thursday. In San Juan Capistrano, the non-profit Ecology Center offers a number of...
by Diane | Aug 2, 2019 | Arts + Laguna Culture
Alright, I’ll admit it. I love the “American Songbook” (also called American Standards) era … you know, the fabulous and original Rat Pack boys (Frank Sinatra is still my favorite), Nina Simone, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald … the list goes on and...
by Diane | Jul 29, 2019 | Best Activities
When the Molteni brothers purchased the iconic Royal Hawaiian in January, Laguna Beach was in for a rare, “brotherly love” kind of treat. While Chef Martin and Chef Maro have independently operated award-winning kitchens all over the world, they’ve...
by Diane | Jul 24, 2019 | Best Activities
Many, many Saturdays ago, on a last-minute whim, I joined Ruben Flores’ monthly Garden Walk. Years ago, Ruben started the Garden Walk at his original location at Mountain and Coast Highway and continued the tradition after moving the nursery to North Laguna at...
by Diane | Jul 7, 2019 | Arts + Laguna Culture, Best Hotels Laguna Beach
The Festival of Arts & Pageant of the Masters is exactly that – two enormous productions that symbiotically co-exist next to each other on the same grounds. While this year’s 81st Pageant of the Masters plays nightly in the Irvine Bowl at 8:30 (see my...
