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We’ve Moved!
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Brite Ideas: Studios Increase Focus on China
Fox International Restructures Asia Team Toward China Focus
Fox International Channels Revs China Operations with Management Overhaul
Warner Bros. in Talks to Make Movies in China
Brite Booze: Craft Cocktails at MB Post in Manhattan Beach
Hendrick’s Gin with Muddled Cucumbers and Jalapeño
In Love & War: Death in the Afternoon with Tariquet VSOP, Bubbes, Herbsainte, Guava, and Lemon verbena
Vio Vega: Vodka Gimlet with Boyd & Blair, Bergamot, Ginger, Almond, Coconut
Recently voted best brunch by LA Weekly, MB Post gets a lot of recognition for its food and upbeat atmosphere, but I think their bar deserves some praise. After stopping in for a drink this past weekend, my friend and I literally could not walk away before trying a few more. Bartender, Will Shimerman, expertly crafted each cocktail-- all of which were home runs. The Vio Vega was very smooth--made with Pittsburgh-based Boyd & Blair potato vodka. It is exactly what you would to sip on a block away from the ocean. I highly recommend the barrel-aged Southern Hospitality cocktail which is the MB Post take on an old-fashioned. This is the place to step outside your comfort zone and order whiskey even if you are a solely a martini drinker, you won’t regret it.
Manhattan Beach Post 1142 Manhattan Ave Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 545-5405 Walk in for bar/communal seating, reservations highly recommended otherwise
Enjoy these enticing entryways and the magical gardens beyond their doors
Marilyn Monroe at LaGuardia Airport, 1959.
If this doesn’t make you want to get out and take a trip, I don’t know what will.
www.wecallthishome.org
Brite Bites: Mario Batali’s Eggplant Parmigiana
So I’ve been in an Italian movie/TV phase recently and everything they eat in The Godfather and the Sopranos looks SO GOOD. Tried this recipe from The Food Network and it turned out amazing. We served it as a side dish with steak, but it could easily be a vegetarian meal in itself. My advice is to decide how many people you are serving and then multiply by 4-- that’s how many pieces of eggplant you should have after slicing.
Ingredients
Extra-virgin olive oil 2 large eggplant, about 2 pounds Salt and pepper 2 cups basic tomato sauce, recipe follows 1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chiffonade 1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/8-inch thick 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs, lightly toasted under broiler
Basic tomato sauce: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 Spanish onion, 1/4-inch dice 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried 1/2 medium carrot, finely grated 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved Salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Using some extra-virgin olive oil, oil a baking sheet. Slice each eggplant into 6 pieces about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Lightly season each disk with salt and pepper and place on the oiled sheet. Bake the eggplant at 450 degrees F until the slices begin turning deep brown on top, about 12-15 minutes. Remove the eggplants from the oven. Remove the slices from the baking sheet and place them on a plate to cool.
Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F. In an 8 by 12-inch brownie pan, place the 4 largest eggplant slice evenly spaced apart. Over each slice, spread 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and sprinkle with a teaspoon of basil. Place one slice of mozzarella over each and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon grated Parmigiano. Place the smaller slices of eggplant over each of the disks and repeat with tomato sauce, basil, and the 2 cheeses. Repeat the layering again until all the ingredients are used.
Sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over the top of the eggplant dish, and bake uncovered until the cheese is melts and the tops turn light brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Tomato Sauce:
In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.
Yield: 4 cups
Recipe courtesy of Mario Batali & The Food Network
Summer Safari at the Pittsburgh Zoo
Yearly the Pittsburgh Zoo throws a Summer Safari party where guests are invited to spend the evening eating and drinking their way through the zoo. As the sun was setting, guests made their way leisurely through the zoo, drinks in hand from the open bar, stopping to admire the animals who weren’t shying away from the attention.
Throughout the night the music got louder and zoo-goers weren’t shy about communicating with some of their favorite animals. You can see the the penguins at the PPG Aquarium, obviously a favorite of the Pittsburgh crowd, being coaxed to jump into the water in the video I took below. Zookeepers walked around with a few of the smaller animals-- I made friends with a snake while my sister was elated to meet an adorable Fennec Fox
By the end of the night, the crowd gathered on the dance floor feeling like VIPs closing out the after-hours experience at the beautiful Pittsburgh Zoo.
VISIT Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium 7340 Butler Street Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Tickets: $15 adults, $13 children
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Where to Catch Celebs Singing Karaoke...On a Weeknight
Rande Gerber’s Cafe Habana in Malibu is quite the celebrity hotspot..even on a weeknight. With karaoke night on Wednesdays, just this past week Cuba Gooding Jr., Owen Wilson, and Woody Harrelson were all spotted enjoying the performances. Empire of The Sun singer, Luke Steele, even hopped onstage to sing two of his own songs. Keeping it in the family, the drink of choice for the evening was Casamigos Tequila, the popular brand owned by Rande Gerber and George Clooney.
Cafe Habana Malibu Malibu Lumber Yard 3939 Cross Creek Road Malibu, CA 90265 310.317.0300
Floral Luggage For Fall
I went on a bit of a shopping spree and got a set of matching (hopefully not too much so) Tumi luggage. The pattern reminds me of the wallpaper in my bedroom, and by choosing a dark color I’m hoping the dirt and nicks won’t show. My family has long been devotees of Tumi, and the Tegra-Lite line is easy to roll even with a bag or purse on top since it has 4 swivel wheels. The backpack is great for travel or daily life-- there is a padded laptop compartment and a cutout so you can attach to handle of the larger bag while rolling.
Tegra-Lite Large Trip Packing Case in Peony Floral $945 Halle Backpack in Aubergine $275
Lima Travel Toiletry Kit in Peony Floral $95 For all the guys out there, the Tegra-Lite bags come in neutral colors like blue, silver, and black.
Let’s talk about breasts, baby. Dr. Jaime Schwartz on founding the Beverly Hills Breast Institute.
The Beverly Hills Breast Institute is described as a patient-first and comprehensive breast surgery center that combines the safest and most advanced aesthetic and reconstructive principles. intrigued by the idea of a center that focuses solely on breast surgery, I met with Dr. Jaime Schwartz, MD, FACS in his Rodeo Drive office to learn about his background and the vision behind the center he founded and his dedication to plastic surgery. Dr. Schwartz graduated from Georgetown Medical School, where he trained extensively in breast cancer and genetics under a former president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons who he says “based his whole world around breast cancer reconstruction.” With a residency at Georgetown and then a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Schwartz did 7 years of training solely focused on plastic surgery (3000+ surgeries) as opposed to a 2 year specialization following general surgery training, which is more typical. A member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, he is the founder of the Beverly Hills Breast Institute.
Dr. Schwartz shares with me his expertise on breast cancer reconstruction and facing a cancer diagnosis, the new cohesive gel “gummy bear implants,” and what to look for in a plastic surgeon.
What led you to founding the Beverly Hills Breast Institute? Dr. Schwartz: When I was in medical school I was exposed to breast cancer reconstruction very early on and that is kind of when I found plastic surgery. I was recruited out to California to build a breast cancer reconstructive program for a hospital system, and I did that for many years. What I learned was that breast cancer reconstruction, or even breast surgery in general, is not something that gets really focused on. It’s sort of a by-product of things that happen. My idea was to create somewhere where you can go and understand these things and have a comprehensive approach.
How closely do you work with oncologists? Do they give you recommendations for surgery? Dr. Schwartz: Very closely, but I don’t recommend the oncological treatment. For breast cancer, you are typically part of a team and that is what I like to do. When you look at the patient in the center, we all have the recommendations for how we will go about doing things--If there will be radiation or chemotherapy or what size breast they will have, the chain of what their medical health is overall.
With the procedures that you do, which ones put you at risk of losing sensation in or even losing the nipple completely? Dr. Schwartz: Depends on how much of the breast is being removed. Your skin and your nipple and your areola get blood supply and nerve supply from the breast tissue. If you have a mastectomy and that is all removed, you are going to be numb because you are losing the nerve supply. The other thing that you are at risk for then is complications and healing problems if the skin is not getting enough blood supply or oxygen. That is one of the complications we temper and deal with. There are other ways to treat things, if someone is going to have a lumpectomy we can do something called an oncoplastic reconstruction. All that means is if a portion of your breast is being removed, I can do a breast reduction or a breast lift and almost fill that area in with breast tissue as if we were doing a regular breast reduction or lift. At that point, you should maintain all your sensation, but not necessarily 100%. If you are having a mastectomy and your complete breast is removed, you can use your body’s tissues. You can use your stomach, your back, there are a lot of other things you can do to replace it which are more autologous or natural. The other thing you can do is fat grafting, we can remove the fat and put that into areas too. The most common reconstructions in the US are using expanders or implants because the other surgeries are usually reserved for when you have problems with healing or other things like that, that is how I do my practice.
For people facing a breast cancer diagnosis, what does the road ahead look like? Dr. Schwartz: The truth is, the road ahead is going to be fine. The average person does extremely well, as long as you are diagnosed early that is the most important thing. If you are diagnosed early, your survival rate is really really high. In terms of reconstruction, there could be some bumps in the road, but ultimately you will get to where you want to be. It is a lot harder to reconstruct the breast than it is to augment it because somebody may have chemotherapy, radiation, and all these other things that get involved.
You are are a national trainer in the new cohesive gel or “gummy bear implants”-- what makes them unique? Dr. Schwartz: We always had saline implants. In the early 2000′s silicone implants were taken off the market for cosmetic procedures and just used for reconstruction. 2 years ago we got approved for what is called the gummy bear or cohesive gel implant. Silicone can be in liquid or solid form; it’s all based on the molecular cross-linking. The cohesive gel is just more highly cross-linked in terms of their molecules.
If you took a gummy bear and bit the head off, it wouldn’t change shape at all. That’s what it is with these implants; if you cut or rupture the implant, it maintains that shape. Because of that, it is a little more complicated to use. It comes in a height a width and a projection, you have to really fit this to your body. You have a little more forgiveness with the roundness, but with this implant it has to fit perfectly so that’s a bit of a tradeoff. I tell people there is no perfect implant on the market, I educate people and then they understand. The cohesive gel seem to be more of a natural look, less fullness at the top more of the fullness is directed at the bottom. My older patients or those who have had children tend to gravitate for that. I do a lot of reconstructions for patients who have had bad plastic surgery—5, 10, 20 procedures, and when I am reconstructing breasts for them I tend to use these as a base for them. For my younger patients coming in before 25, they really tend to choose the round silicone implants, they are softer and more full at the top, for lack of a better word it’s a more “fun” implant. Lifespan for implants? Dr. Schwartz: I recommend that between 10-15 years you should start thinking about swapping them out. Studies show that after 10 years that is when the possibility of implant problems begin to happen. They are not lifetime devices. People do live them in long term, but I tell people that if you are my family member I would probably recommend that 15 years is about the right time. If you look at people when they are having breast surgery anyway, say you have a breast augmentation at 20, by 35 you will need them replaced and most likely by that time you have had children. At that point, your breasts may be sagging from breast feeding so you can switch the implant out and do a breast lift.
For people with bad surgeries in the past, what are the main things that have gone wrong? What should they look for in a plastic surgeon? Dr. Schwartz: That’s the million dollar question. I think price is something—do that with your car or computer; don’t do that with your body. With a board certified plastic surgeon, you have a better chance of doing well.
In CA, we see people going to cosmetic surgeons. They have medical degrees, but they are not plastic surgeons—I did 7 years of just plastic surgery training. Some of these people take a cosmetic surgery course over the weekend and next thing you know they are advertising that they are a cosmetic surgeon. There is something about experience and time. For me to become a board-certified plastic surgeon I had to take a written exam and an oral exam where they reviewed a year’s worth of all my cases to make sure I was competent enough to proceed. I think that certification was one of the hardest things I ever achieved in my career.
On top of that, I think it’s a personal connection with people. There are some people who do a lot of sales pitches; we keep a normal straight practice, and if there are people who need help, we fix them. I let my patients talk to old patients of mine. Not that everything always goes right with your patients, but I am there for them and it’s more of a partnership instead of one surgery and we are done with things. I don’t perform a breast augmentation and never see someone again; I make sure people come back and see me yearly. I think the connection and the follow up is as important as everything else.
Dr. Jaime S. Schwartz, MD, FACS Founder of the Beverly Hills Breast Institute (310) 882-5454 http://www.beverlyhillsbreastinstitute.com
On a strip of Dutch highway, a set of plastic solar panels indicate that the future of harnessing sunlight could get more colorful.
Brite Bites: Country Brunch at Jacoby’s Restaurant & Mercantile in Austin, TX
On my first morning in Austin, my friend who is an Austin native, had us meet her for brunch at Jacoby’s in East Austin. With puppy in tow, we joined a group of in-the-know Austinites for a relaxing brunch on the back patio which felt more like a friends backyard. The patio itself had a great rustic feel with upgrades like refreshing fans to keep away the summer heat. The grassy private yard of the restaurant overlooked the Colorado River, something we had been following since our drive from Arizona.
Owner, Adam Jacoby, serves family raised meats from his family’s ranch in Melvin, Texas with locally sourced vegetables for a ranch-to-table experience full of country favorites. While creating the space, interior designer Kris Swift, included reclaimed wood from the barns on the ranch as well as bricks from a former bank in downtown Melvin. These accents, paired with custom neon signs, make for an updated feel.
TO EAT (for brunch) Biscuits & gravy Chicken Fried Steak & Waffles (somehow it was even better with syrup on top) Strawberry Pancakes Steak & Eggs
SHOP Jacoby’s Mercantile is connected to the restaurant and offers a unique assortment of vintage and local handmade goods including jewelry, pet accessories, housewares, and gifts. My friend picked up a set of blue mason jar glasses which we had on our table during lunch.
ABOUT Jacoby’s Restaurant & Mercantile 3235 East Cesar Chavez St Austin ,TX 78702 Phone {512} 366-5808
Tuesday- Saturday: Happy Hour 5:00-6:00 Supper 5:00-10:00 Lunch (newly introduced) 11:00-2:00
Sunday Brunch 10:30-2:00 FOLLOW JACOBY’S: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Wood fired pizza & local brews at Pizzicletta in Flagstaff, AZ
During my visit to Flagstaff, I stumbled upon an adorable little restaurant called Pizzicletta. The tiny space had one large communal tables and window-side barstools both in and outside. We watched the chef make our pizzas in the open kitchen from our seats. The chef was able to hand a hot pizza directly to customers seated outside through an open window from the kitchen.
The food was all fresh and very tasty-- they have a simple salad with field greens, chèvre, and oil and balsamic dressing. Pizza crust has the amazing wood oven taste, and the chocolate sea salt gelato was bomb.
To drink they have wine and a selection of beers from the adjacent Mother Road Brewing Company. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.
Pizzicletta 203 W Phoenix Ave, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (928) 774-3242
Shopping in Santa Fe, NM
Amazing Indian jewelry, leather goods, and furs all located in shops in the town’s mission style town square.
I would recommend checking out Cowboys & Indians-- great selection of boots, clothing, and Southwestern furniture and home goods. They have a wide selection of purses by designer Juan Antonio that I fell in love with.
Colorado River Rafting at the Glen Canyon Dam
I started my cross country roadtrip (LA to Nashville) with a stay in Flagstaff, AZ. Since I’ve already been to the Grand Canyon, we decided to drive north to Page, AZ where the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell are located. We took a great ½ day raft trip with a company called Colorado River Discovery.
To access the dam, we had to take a bus through a very dark government owned tunnel through the canyons you see above. Emerging from the dark, we were welcomed by waiting pontoons and the peaceful Colorado River. We drifted up and down the river, picking out shapes in the canyon walls and looking for wildlife– the group silenced by the beauty. Every now and then you would see campers or fisherman who had come in from Lee’s Ferry, but for the most part we had the entire canyon to ourselves. Enjoying a packed lunch on the boat, midway through the journey to the picturesque Horseshoe Bend, we stopped on a sandy embankment and jumped into chilly 40 degree river!
The Grand Canyon can be such a hassle to get in and out of so this was a perfect alternative and a way to see an impressive canyon from below.
Colorado River Discovery 30 6th Avenue Page, Arizona 928-645-9175
http://raftthecanyon.com