By Brianna Chu When I approached the Pasadena Playhouse early Monday evening, the air was abuzz with conversation and laughter; graduands’ family and friends were standing as close to the front doors of Playhouse as they could, arms full of flowers and balloons, waiting to celebrate their graduands. The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) welcomed…
By Brianna Chu November 19, 2019 will mark Mi Piace’s 30th anniversary; when they opened in 1989, Old Town Pasadena didn’t even have Cheesecake Factory yet. Mi Piace is one of the few restaurants that were open in 1989 still left. Armen Shirvanian opened Mi Piace with his mom, and partner and pastry chef Takis Markoutsis….
By Brianna Chu Greg Lukasiewicz is no restaurant industry rookie. Lukasiewicz’s career has taken him from the highly Zagat-rated French-Japanese restaurant, Shiro, to opening two high-end restaurants named after his daughters – first Devon, and then Halie – to starting a “recession gourmet” taco chain, Bull Taco, on the beach when he was supposed to…
By Brianna Chu Gustavo Landgrebe’s restaurant, 1810, is celebrating its tenth year, and heralded in that milestone with some updates to both its interior and its menu. The restaurant is a rustic, warm, cozy space with beautiful exposed brick. One of the new features post-remodel is a bar area, with the white marble countertop and…
By Brianna Chu Students of all ages, background, and experience are moving in and out of the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE)’s fairly new Los Angeles campus from 7:30 am to 10:00 pm most weekdays. There are three shifts of classes: 7:30-11:30 am, 12:00-4:00 pm, and 6:00-10:00 pm, the latter of which is meant for…
By Brianna Chu When you walk into Mignon Chocolate, you don’t just walk into a chocolate store: you walk into a business with a rich, multi-generational, and cosmopolitan history. The Ter Poghossian family business starts with Mignon Chocolate owner Joe Ter Poghossian’s grandfather, Hovsep Ter Poghossian Sr., who opened and operated a bakery in Ukraine…
By Brianna Chu John Bicos shares ownership of Gus’s BBQ with his brother, Chris. He had been coming to Gus’s since he was a kid, as his best friend (and indeed, the best man at his wedding!) was the great-grandson of the eponymous Gus, who started the restaurant with his relatives in 1946. Their family…
By Brianna Chu Owner Pete Gallanis, as you might guess, is not the first owner of Cameron’s Seafood. The eponymous John Cameron was an attorney who, when inspired by his friend Fred Duckett – owner of The Fish Market – opened his own restaurant in 1984. However, Cameron quickly realized that he liked eating at…
By Brianna Chu After a decade of owning Ichima Sushi, owner James Park and his brother opened Oseyo Shabu Shabu in 2014. They transitioned into Oseyo and sold Ichima the next year. Park wanted to run a smaller restaurant so he could spend more time with his kids: so the shift from Ichima, which had…
By Brianna Chu Coming into its fourth year running, Masters of Taste is an exclusive dining event that brings together an incredible array of culinary masters, restaurants, pastry chefs, alcohol specialists, breweries, and mixologists from all over Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. The purpose? To raise money for a deserving cause. One-hundred percent of…