The Completely Revamped Vitello's (Studio City)

Vitello's in Studio City was an old school Italian restaurant in Studio City famous for being a mafia hangout in the 50's and the site of the Robert Blake shooting incident. If you were to ask the current staff, even they will admit that the food back then was no bueno. All that changed recently. Major renovation of the interior, an entirely new menu under a new chef (who for once is actually Italian), and a wine and cocktail program.

The cocktail menu was pretty interesting. I ordered the Bad Lil' Wabbit made with whiskey, carrot juice, agave, lemon, mint, and ginger beer ($11). I was wary at first. Carrot juice? But this drink was good! The ginger beer complements it nicely.

The chef likes to put out special items and customers can pretty much request whatever they wanted, as long as they have the ingredients. My dinner ended consisting of dishes not on the regular menu (except for the dessert). Fresh salmon tartar was served with diced apples and cucumbers.

A big mound of smooth, creamy burrata is served with sweet and crisp heirloom tomatoes. I welcomed every chance I got to eat heirloom tomatoes before the season ended.

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Get Spooked: Halloween Dessert Specials Around Town

While Halloween is not traditionally associated with dining out, some LA restaurants are getting creative with their dessert offerings. Eye ball cakes, worms, and chocolate and cocktail offerings are among the few things you can find. Here are some of the more fun ones:

At Cecconi's, diners can sip the new fall cocktails (or wine, if preferred), paired with five seasonal truffles from Compartes’ Chocolatier Jonathan Grahm. The tasting is available from 7-10 p.m. at Cecconi’s so guests can get their treats pre or post dinner. Guests can reserve their space for $25 prior, or purchase the tasting for $30 the day of. For reservations and more information call (310) 432-2000

Public Kitchen & Bar, located at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, is offering ghostly treats that replicate human body parts (a sight not for the weak!).
Executive Chef Tim Goodell has created eyeball cakes and “finger” cookies that literally look like the real thing. Pumpkin pies are topped with frozen shards of spiced foam.

I tried some of the eye ball cake pops myself and was quite impressed with how they looked!

Kerry Simon’s LA Market Restaurant at the JW
Marriott hotel, is transforming their Junk Food Platter into a sweet
and spooky version of the dessert. The creepy candy wonderland includes
orange and purple coconut snowballs, bat and mummy cake pops, pumpkin-shaped Rice Krispies treats, frosted brownies with worms, candy corn, and caramel
corn parfait.

GIVEAWAY: Dinner With GrubWithUs

If you ever have a hard time finding people to dine out with, or want to meet new people over a meal, Grub With Us is now there for you. Dinners are organized at partner restaurants, sometimes for a specific group ("travel enthusiasts", "entrepeneurs", "young Republicans" - no, really), sometimes just a "social meal". The menu is set beforehand for the whole group and when you sign up for dinner you pay the website in advance (all inclusive of tax and tip). If no dinner strikes your fancy, you can set up your own, but it has to be with a participating restaurant.

I haven't actually tried joining one of these dinners before but I will be this coming Saturday, October 28, and Grub With Us has offered to give away a free spot to one of you too! So join me for dinner with them (the dinner will be open to regular Grub With Us users to sign up per usual)! The place? Starry Kitchen pop up at Tiara Cafe in downtown LA!

If you're not already familiar with it, the menu at this husband and wife run restaurant changes pretty regularly, but the predominantly Southeast Asian dishes are crowd-pleasers. The awesome Singaporean Chili Crab may not be on the group dinner menu, but I'm looking forward to their other stuff.

UPDATE: Change of plans! Since the dinner on Saturday was apparently not set, the giveaway is now changed to credit to any future dinner on Grub With Us. Once you've won you can sign up for an account and browse for upcoming dinners.

To enter to win, leave a comment below with your email contact and answer the following: what type of people (or person) would you want to meet at a dinner like this? 
Oh, and of course, make sure you are free for dinner on Saturday!

The giveaway ends at midnight on Thursday, October 26. Good luck and looking forward to meeting one of you on Saturday!
Because of the changes in the giveaway, I'm extending the deadline to midnight on Saturday, October 27!