Touring Artisanal Shops in Old Town Temecula

During a recent press trip to Temecula Valley Wine Country (thanks to Temecula CVB and the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association), we also got a little tour of Old Town Temecula's artisanal shops from an olive oil store, a lavender store, a sweets shop, and a spice and tea shop.

Our first stop was Temecula Olive Oil Company. The building used to be a saloon and brothel but before the olive oil tasting we headed upstairs for breakfast first, catered by E. A. T ("Extraordinary Artisan Table"), located 5-10 minutes outside of Old Town.

EAT sources ingredients from local producers and even make their own almond milk for morning coffee. We had tomatoes that were picked just the day before.

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Handmade Pastas and Charcuterie at Desco (Oakland, CA)

Desco is a gorgeous new restaurant in Oakland from Donato Scotti who owns Donato Enoteco in Redwood City, serving house made charcuterie and pastas.

Desco's bright and spacious dining room

I had dinner there with a couple of vegetarian friends, but I indulged in plenty of meat on my own. I started with a platter of three house-made charcuterie that seemed to be much more reasonable than the ones I find in LA. The Piatto della casa (smoked duck, lamb prosciutto, rabbit terrine ) is only $10

It's quite the charcuterie plate for $10! The lamb prosciutto was aged for 3 months and the rabbit terrine was drizzled with extra vecchio (extra old) balsamico.

There's a small list of classic cocktails ($10 each), but they're made well and included drinks like Pegu Club. The Old Fashioned was quite nice and they have a good selection of gin and whisky.


The thing you must get here is the handmade Casonsei ($12). Casonsei is a type of filled pasta from Bergamo in Lombardi region, where the chef is from. It is filled with pork and amaretto cookie crumbs, then topped with brown butter and guanciale. 

I absolutely loved it. The pasta had very nice thickness and texture. The pork inside is very tender, perfect with the crispy guanciale. This pasta was so delicious, I couldn't stop eating despite having another entree coming ..

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Halloween Deals and Specials!

Forget parties with a high cover charge, a lot of bars and restaurants are throwing deals and specials! Here's where to drink on the cheap for Halloween:

First of all, there's a Boos for Booze bar crawl along Washington Blvd in Culver City. Deets:

Crawl kicks off at A-Frame from 5-7pm
Serving: Furikake Kettle Corn and Heirloom Pickles - $6, The Omen (Rye Whiskey, Yellow Chartreuse, Imbue Petal & Thorn, Lemon) - $6

Crawl moves to Waterloo & City from 7-9pm
Serving: Scotch Egg with Piccalilli - $4, Waterloo Scary PubTail (Mezcal, Blood Orange, Serrano Chilies) - $6

Crawl culminates at The Corner Door, 9pm

Serving: Fried Chicken Sandwich - $7,  Halloween Punch - Ginger & Mary Ann (Bourbon, House Made Spiced Apple Cordial, Lemon, Lime, Ginger, Prosecco) - $6

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Or, if you'd rather stay put at one place and drink all day/night, Ricardo Zarate's restaurants are giving you open bar deals:

Picca. 9575 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035

www.piccaperu.com

310-277-0133

9:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m:

·         Welcome shot for those dressed in costume

·         $20 open bar to those who enjoyed dinner earlier in the evening

·         $25 open bar to general public

·         Includes: Pisco Halloween Punch, Peruvian beer, and house wines

Tricks: Costume contest, “Thriller” dance competition, and bobbing for apples  

Treats: 20% off New Year’s Eve Dinner, “Spooky Gift Bags,” and a surprise grand prize

Mo-chica. 517 West 7^th Street, Downtown Los Angeles, CA 90014

www.mo-chica.com

213-622-3744

                                                 

11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

·         Welcome shot for those dressed in costume

·         $25 open bar: Pisco Halloween Punch, Peruvian beer, and house wines

2:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m:  Happy Hour- 20% off entire bill

Tricks: Costume contest, dance competition

Treats: Gift certificates and “Spook Gift Bags”

  

Paiche. 13488 Maxella Avenue, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

www.paichela.com

310-893-6100

            2:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m:   $25 open bar with special-themed cocktails, beer, and house wine

9:00 p.m.-midnight:    666 Menu featuring 6 dishes for $6 each

Tricks: Raffle, Costume contest
Treats: One-hour mixology class with Mixologist Deysi Alvarez, one-hour cooking class with Ricardo Lopez, and more

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Thirsty Crow in Silverlake is also throwing a Dead Celebrity Party starting at 9pm with $5 "blood punch" and a costume contest