Now at Pinkberry: Greek Yogurt and Great Savory Bowls!

Did you know that Pinkberry now has greek yogurt? Not a "greek" frozen yogurt, but a bonafide greek yogurt, and they use it to make some great bowls! Yes, Pinkberry's not just about froyo anymore.

I was recently invited to the Pinkberry headquarters in Santa Monica to do a blind tasting of greek yogurts and try their new Powerbowls. When else will I get a chance to visit their headquarters??

When I eat yogurt at home, I usually just add fruit and granola to it - maybe honey. That's it, and you probably do, too. But Pinkberry has been getting quite creative with their greek yogurt! I was amazed by their Sunflower Cucumber combination in which they top their greek yogurt (named "Pinkberrygreek") with cucumber, sunflower seed bites (like sunflower cookies), olive oil, and chili powder.

You don't have to have dessert at Pinkberry, you can have something savory too! I never thought of making something like this with yogurt, and was very pleasantly surprised. It was sweet and savory, silky and crunchy. This bowl has a very Mediterranean flavor to it, and will make a great light meal or snack. I'm already itching to go to a Pinkberry to get this.

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Los Angeles Food & Wine (August 22-25) + 2012 Recap

Last year I was able to attend a couple of the Los Angeles Food & Wine events courtesy of Knork, which was the festival's official flatware! (They also sent me a set of knorks, which is officially the best flatware I've ever owned.)

LA Food and Wine is not just a big tasting event, but they also hold special lunches, cooking demonstrations and tastings around town throughout the four days. Among this year's events, which are coming up on August 22-25, I'm excited about the Mixology Lunch at Hinoki & The Bird, Asian Night Market with Iron Chef Morimoto, Best of Belgium - Beer and Bites (because I love Belgian beers), a cocktail demonstration with Grant Achatz (I love The Aviary and The Office in Chicago), and Bacon and Bourbon with Chef Edward Lee.

Now, back to last year. I attended a Southern Brunch cooking demonstration with Chef Dean Fearing from Dallas and Michelle Bernstein from Miami.

It's hard to see the actual stoves but this mirror above really helped.

First Chef Bernstein shows us how to cure salmon. She cured wild Alaskan Cohoe salmon in Jim Beam! I haven't personally tried it but she made it sound pretty easy. The real process takes about a week so, of course, we ate the salmon she had already cured beforehand, sitting atop of crispy potato latkes and further topped with caviar. What a fancy Southern brunch!

Then, Chef Dean Fearing prepared chicken fried quail with his special spice mix (available for sale), served with some amazing bourbon jalapeno creamed corn and pickled onion and mango slaw. I'm loving the bourbon theme.

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The Georgian Hotel Celebrates 80th Anniversary With 1930s Retro Menu

The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica is a symbol of old Hollywood glamour and the hotel recently celebrated their 80th anniversary with the launch of a 1930s retro dining menu and a prohibition cocktail menu, available at The Veranda Restaurant. The Veranda Restaurant is literally on the front veranda of the hotel, overlooking Ocean Avenue.

The retro menu includes items like Grilled Chicken Waldorf Salad (grilled chicken breast, arugula, chopped apples, diced celery, candied walnuts, grapes and orange infused cranberries tossed with apple-orange infused mayo dressing - $13.95)

One of my favorites was the Mini Monte Cristo sandwich (black forest ham, roasted turkey breast, Gruyere; egg battered and deep fried, served with a blackberry jam dipping sauce - $9.75)

This was actually one of the best Monte Cristo sandwiches I've had since it wasn't overly eggy or sweet but still indulgent.

Vegetarians need not shy away from The Georgian since they have an awesome Veggie Meatloaf (made with fire roasted tomatoes, toasted walnuts, diced celery, yellow onion, fresh garlic, parsley, and green bell pepper blended together and baked. Topped with chunky fire roasted "ketchup", served with green beans in hazelnut gremolata - $12.75)

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