Diane Armitage
21-year Laguna Beach resident &
absolute devotee of this amazing town.
Here our thousands of insider tips and
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LAGUNA BEACH
Best Food & Drink

Laguna Restaurants Shift Once Again to Take-Out Only
Take-out programs are back in play at all Laguna Beach restaurants. Recent Stay At Home orders went into effect on Sunday evening, Dec 6th at 10 p.m. It is expected to last at least three weeks. Along with sweeping closure changes, all restaurants are to cease outdoor...

A Tale of Two Pot Pies
While it seems that winter may never arrive in Laguna Beach this year, two of our restaurants are certainly ready with their own homemade versions of Chicken Pot Pie. My longtime favorite, The Lumberyard Chicken Pot Pie, has been on the menu since the restaurant...
Upcoming Events & News

Laguna Beach Books hosts best-selling mystery author T. Jefferson Parker
On Friday, August 14 at 5 p.m., Laguna Beach Books is pleased to present the latest virtual event in its new Signature Event Series. Enjoy a literary evening with author T. Jefferson Parker as he speaks about his new book, Then She Vanished. He will be in conversation...

Sawdust Will Open Smaller Outdoor Marketplace on July 17th
Clearly, the above photo will NOT be happening at the Sawdust Art Festival this year. But they DO have a different solution! While the Festival of Arts, Pageant of the Masters and Art-A-Fair all cancelled their summer seasons this year, the Sawdust leadership worked...
Get to Know OC & LA Chefs

Chef Jet Tila – Food Network’s Iron Chef
Meet the Food Network’s Celebrity Chef Jet Tila, the likable and uber-talented chef on a number of shows, including Iron Chef America. Chef Jet Tila is returning for his second year to OC Chef’s Table as the spotlight celebrity chef. Click to learn more about Chef...

Chef Jason Neroni – Rose Cafe – Santa Monica
Meet Chef Jason Neroni, the renowned L.A. based chef of Rose Cafe in Santa Monica. Chef Neroni has heard about the OC Chef's Table, and was so affected by the homelessness in his own neighborhood, that he contacted Illumination Foundation, the non-profit entity...
Best Food & Drink

Celebrate National Cheeseburger Day!
It's assuring to know that, even in the midst of a global pandemic, we're all still very willing to celebrate National Cheeseburger Day. Yep! It's coming up in two days - Sept, 18 2020 - so I thought I'd republishe my latest "Best Burgers of Laguna Beach 2020 column...

Royal Hawaiian’s Royal Take-Out Treatment
If you've been reading my columns this summer, you know that I've begun to lean somewhat heavily on our great restaurants in town whenever I have a small dinner party to pull off. A couple weeks ago, it was a special birthday dinner party for a neighbor. I invited...

August’s “Best of Laguna Beach” Food Finds
As I was flipping through my phone's August photos this morning, I realized that if you aren't following my social media platforms, you're missing out on most of the food I eat all month long! So, I'm introducing an end-of-month Diane's Best of Laguna Beach™ round-up...

Harley Shifts to Summertime Casual Fare
On Wednesday this week, I unchained myself from my desk and joined a friend (Ali, the lead concierge at Surf & Sand Resort) at Harley Laguna Beach to try Chef Greg Daniel's outdoor dining. Several weeks ago, it was a happy relief to all of us when Chef Greg...

Rumari Offering $37.50 Family Meals
I was so busy last week that I can't even think of a metaphor to describe it. The weekend prior, I had invited four of my COVID-quarantined neighbors (meaning they're being as cautious as I am) to my roomy patio table for a Thursday night dinner. As I tore through...

Vegetarian Options Abound in Summer Menus
One of my followers the other day commented that I was "focusing on too much meat," and by golly, I can fix that! As it turns out, I haven't pieced together a vegetarian-styled column since the end of April, when I mentioned many of my favorite salads in town. Whether...
Upcoming Events & News

2020 Festival of Whales Parade Changes Dana Point Route
While Laguna Beach has its Annual Patriot's Day Parade on the morning of Saturday, March 7th, neighboring Dana Point has its own parade - the 49th Annual Festival of Whales Parade - same day, same timeframe – which is just the beginning of a two-weekend festival of...

Laguna Playhouse’s “Barefoot in the Park” a Must
Laguna Playhouse is debuting one of my all-time favorites, Barefoot in the Park, with shows that begin on Sunday, March 1st and run through Sunday, March 22nd. No less than Paul Rodriguez and Rita Rudner are in two of the four starring roles. Rodriguez plays the part...

2020 Patriot’s Day Parade Promises Fun & LESS Traffic Snarls!
In Laguna Beach, the well-loved Annual Patriot's Day parade starts at 11 a.m., which means hundreds of happy citizens participating, thousands watching from the sidewalks, and traffic diversions beginning as early as 9:00 a.m. The parade starts at 11:00 a.m. by Laguna...

Beach Club at Main Beach has reopened behind Hotel Laguna
Hotel Laguna operators, Laguna Creative Ventures, has launched what it calls a "first stage" Beach Club, open Wednesday through Sunday and holidays (weather permitting) with limited beach service. Anytime between 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., you can walk down or park in the...

Big Fundraiser Keeps Getting Bigger This Sunday (Feb 23rd) for Adam & Rachel Bernstein
Three weeks ago on January 25th, a GoFundMe page went live for well-loved, longtime Laguna Beach bartender Adam Bernstein and his wife, Rachel. The couple has been financially beleaguered since Rachel was diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer last summer. GoFundMe...

President’s Day Soirée Celebrates Art & Music
Here's your perfect reason to actually celebrate President's Holiday on Monday, Feb. 17th - an Art & Music Soirée at The Deck's Bungalows! While The Deck provides its usual great party fare, there will be plenty going on with Pink and Foo Fighters musician Jessy...
Get to Know OC & LA Chefs
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