Electronic Bliss in Grand Rapids

Major events promoter, Rob Bliss, proved last evening that he still has the midas touch when it comes to rallying West Michigan to one of a kind events. In fact, over 15,000 rave fans packed Calder Plaza for five hours to celebrate the 2nd Electronic Music Night. Highlighted by West Michigan's DJ Super Dre and Chicago-based and former West Michigander,DJ Kalendr. The free event that was open to all ages

A Picture Perfect Day For Polo

Grand Rapids is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when you think of polo, but on this quiet corner of the midwest, polo has been a fixture since 1950. Meadowview Farms in Lowell was the host of the Fred L. Hansen Charity Polo Classic to benefit Vicky's Pet Connection, a local non-profit dedicated to rescuing, caring for and placing homeless and abandoned pets back in our community. On the field, it was the battle between

The Children of Burma

The Women of Burma

I want to thank my sister, Haj Wilcox, for sharing these gorgeous photos of Burmese women taken during her most recent trip to Burma (also known as Myanmar). Burma is sandwiched between China to the north, Laos to the east, Thailand to the southeast,  the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, Bangladesh to the west, India to the northwest. According to BBC, Burma is the largest exporter of teak and a primary

LA's Restaurant of the Moment - Rivera

Spanish Olive Cake - Strawberry Sorbet, Creme Fraiche Ice Cream,
Jerez Vinegar Sauce. This looks a lot better than its actual taste. The
cake tasted like a stale muffin from Starbucks and the sorbet and
ice cream were very average.

The Rivera Restaurant is LA's restaurant of the moment and LA Magazine's top ranking eatery. It's reputation certainly deserved our homage. So we were able to reserve a table for seven on a Monday night, a surprise given that most hot restaurants are hard to come by, even on a Monday. We attempted to book at Gjelina's in Venice Beach to no avail. But Rivera it is and I was dying to compare Rivera's modern latin cuisine to that of Frontera Grill of Chicago, perhaps the epicenter of Latin cooking in the States.

We arrived around 8:30 PM to a relatively slow restaurant. A friendly, model-type, Asian hostess greeted us at the door.  Good start so far. A sharply dressed server, probably a budding actor, greeted us at the

The Dance Event of the Summer: Pachanga Latina!

It was another captivating evening of latin dancing at the second Pachanga event of the year hosted by the JW Marriott and Salsalogy Dance Academy. Close to 600 guests packed the International Ballroom at the JW bringing forth the idea that Grand Rapids is very ready to host bigger dance events in the future. Just like the first Salsa Pachanga event in May, this night jam packed beautifully clad dancers

Pork Belly Nirvana

While standing in line for our first taste of Roy Choi's sensational Kogi BBQ taco truck in Venice beach, a loyal patron recommended that we try chef Choi's new hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Culver City. After one bite of his Korean taco, my sister and I were convinced that a trip to his dive was warranted. 

Culver City is the ugly sister of Santa Monica, just southeast of where the 10 and 405 freeway meet. Located in a small strip mall in the 3300 block of Overland avenue is Pork Belly Nirvana - Chego

Saturday Morning Breakfast of Spanish Chorizo, Garlic and Eggs

After our failed attempt at finding chorizo at the farmer's market (see last post), Kiran and I decided to stop by Bay City Deli on Lincoln avenue for a last ditch effort. Fortunately, we found the Spanish chorizo behind the display counter. Unfortunately, we had to wait for thirty minutes behind the mob of BC loyalists ordering their weekend sandwiches and alongside the cornucopia of Italian deli meats and

Discovering the Best Juice at the Farmer's Market

There's nothing better than experiencing a farmer's market especially when traveling. In Paris, walking to the market on rue Montorgeuil, steps from where my mother lives is a daily ritual - espresso at the corner cafe, a loaf of baquette at Strohrer and some "stinky" cheese from the local cheese merchant - heaven! On a business trip to Milan a few years back, I stumbled upon a farmer's market which butts next to the

Father's Office - The Best Burger in Los Angeles?

Angelenos swear by Father's Office's beef burger as the best in town. Los Angeles magazines ranks it up there in the stratosphere. This heavenly burger with gruyere, Maytag blue, caramelized onions, arugula and served on a slice of baguette is LAs equivalent to Chi-town's deep dish pizza. At $12.50 a pop, plus

Balinese Paradise in Santa Monica - Photo Vignettes

Balinese Paradise in Santa Monica

The al fresco bedroom off the master bedroom

This Balinese style home one block from Santa Monica beach has been our home this week. And let me just add that this home has been our best vacation rental home ever. The photos on the VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner) website were wonderful, but we were so pleasantly surprised that photos alone couldn't adequately describe this fantastic home. The home is owned, from what little we discovered, by

Anatomy of a Street Goldmine: Kogi BBQ

The baby started it all - Kogi BBQ Spicy Pork and Short Rib Tacos ($2).

These were not underrated at all and certainly worth the trip. 

There isn't a food truck more popular than LA's Kogi Korean BBQ. On its July issue, Food & Wine magazine features on the cover Kogi founder, Roy Choi, as one of the best new Chefs of the Year. Classically trained at the CIA and an alumni of Le Bernadin, Choi took the streets of Los Angeles by storm a couple of years ago when he started marketing the location of his truck via Twitter. He parked the truck in UCLA one evening and 600 people lined to get a taste of this BBQ phenomenon. The truck

The Doors, Gates and Fences of Santa Monica

The Wilshire in Santa Monica

I've learned to always trust a local's recommendation when searching for a restaurant. I wanted to take my family to Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger's Border Grill in Santa Monica, but my sister's good friend, who practices law in Los Angeles highly suggested the Wilshire restaurant. And was she ever correct. Located on Wilshire avenue in Santa Monica, the Wilshire exudes casual elegance with a fabulous al fresco dining area in the backyard complete with an outdoor fireplace, soft white lights and a

The Best Place to People Watch - Venice Beach

A performer flips over nine kids and one adult as part of his group's

finale performance.

You can't beat the people watching in Venice Beach where everything goes is expected. This is a Southern California tradition, especially on the weekends when throngs of visitors pack the beachfront sidewalk to witness the wacky and the weird in one big dose. If you can spare a couple of hours on your

The Last Maitre d' in America

Denis Cerezo decanting a wine on my

birthday last year

When I started my career in the late 80's, the maitre d' ruled the dining room floor of every fine dining restaurant in America. The maitre d' was more than just a manager, the maitre d' was the brand. A good one can bring new customers and keep the regulars very happy. Back then, the customers followed the maitre d' wherever he worked. The loyalty was to the maitre d' and not the restaurant. They commanded

Best Kept (Burger) Secret in Grand Rapids

Every couple of months, my wife and I crave a juicy, well seasoned, plump, burger with mushrooms, grilled onions and cheese. While there are a boat load of good burgers in town, the burger at GP Sports, inside the Amway Grand, remains one of our favorites. At one point, it was the largest burger in town with a whopping 10-ounce of succulent beef until the 4lb Fifth-Third burger  was created at the Whitecaps ballpark. Let me see here...do I want to be stuffed with a little extra room for dessert or do I want to consume 10,800 calories of ground beef, nacho chips, cheese and beans? Get my point?

Next time you're downtown, take a detour from the ordinary and head over to GP for one heck of a delicious American classic.

Lunch at LA Farmer's Market

Meet me at Third and Fairfax remains the calling card for the beloved Los Angeles Farmers Market. The Farmers Market opened it's parking lot to neighboring farmers who sold their fresh produce and fruits to Angelenos in 1934. The idea of the metropolitan farmers market caught on, and since then, this LA institution has been the home for the best farmers products, comfort food meals from Mediterranean to

Welcome to LA-LA Land!

When I was living in Southern California in the 80's, the hare krishna's ruled the streets of LA with their shaved heads, white robes, drum beating and rhythmic chanting. Times have changed in LA, especially downtown, where there's renewed life with new swanky hotels and restaurants propped up in formerly abandoned buildings and surface lots. I couldn't resist the temptation to hit the LA Live complex to

The High Performance Meeting

The Events and Food and Beverage teams at the JW Marriott at LA Live sure know how to turn an all day meeting into a sensory spectacle. I knew it wasn't going to be a typical business-as-usual meeting day when I walked in the meeting room for our group of about fifty JW Marriott general managers, regional teams and national public relations partners and the lights in the meeting room were staged, soft up tempo music was playing , white flowers on the table, candles and a breakfast buffet designed to be simply admired.

For our morning break, the culinary team brought out a tantalizing fruit and juice display of fresh, dried and "wet," a visually clever idea to refresh the body. But it was the lunch display that blew me away for its visual appeal and

JW Marriott at LA LIVE!

There is a new player in tinseltown and I couldn't be more pleased to see the new JW Marriott at LA Live making a splash in this glitzy haven in Southern Cal. The JW is part of LA's entertainment district comprising of the Staples Center, Nokia Theater, Club Nokia and a number of restaurants such as Flemings and BOCA at the Conga Room. The JW's sister hotel, the Ritz Carlton, stands tall next to the JW tower.

The brand has a wide portfolio of styles from classic to modern. The JW at LA Live belongs to the latter and may I add, ultra hip, complete with a host of amenities and venues which hits a home room with the Gen X'ers and millennial generations. 

I joined my fellow JW GM's at a reception in the Mixing Room in the lobby area last evening. I give the whole