YEAR-END RESTAURANT WRAP-UP

As 2006 draws to a close, I’m looking back on some of my best, and worst, dining experiences over the year. I’ve eaten out an average of fourteen times a month. I guess that’s a lot, but many people do it even more often. Most of the rest of the time, though, Mr. X and I pick-up food from a restaurant, since we’re not big on cooking. (I do make our own Christmas dinner, though, and I spend the next twelve months recovering from that experience. So does Mr. X. That’s plenty of cooking for the year.)

There are many establishments that I can’t understand the appeal of. My mouth is watering to tell you guys about the worst breakfast place I’ve ever encountered, but you’re going to have to wait for next year, as I want to end this one on a positive note. (My first article of 2007, though, will probably be about where I want to go for my birthday on January 14. I can’t give it any thought until after the lovely beginning-of-the-year Jury Duty I’ve been “invited” to do.)

When it’s my choice, I try to go to new places. Many of my friends are not as adventurous, so, unfortunately, I never get to sample every Los Angeles restaurant. But it’s not for lack of desire. Here are some end-of-year thoughts on some I previously reviewed in this column.

My two favorite new restaurants are Chakra in Beverly Hills and Deliboys in Manhattan Beach. You can read my reviews of them, and everything else I’ve written for this site, in my archives, listed to the right. All the pertinent info is contained there, too.

I’ve been craving shakes recently, and that can mean only Café 50s. I’m vouching for only the one in WLA, though, as they have different owners. It’s always fun there, too.

Many people took me out for birthday, almost a year ago now, and I appreciate them all, of course. But my favorite meal was with the fabulous Jerry and Karen, my friends from Aspen, who took me to Fogo de Chao, the Brazilian churrascaria on La Cienega. I never reviewed it here on BHP, (though I did on Karen’s Restaurant Revue, when it opened last year), but I did recommend it to a reader on my message board. I’ll try to write about it soon.

Mr. X’s all-time favorite doggie bag that I brought home was the butterfish from Asia de Cuba. He missed out on the very hip experience, though.

Karen and "Clarence, The Singing Dog."

And my one big restaurant regrets is that, in all the years of its existence, I never once made it to L’Orangerie. A few extra-generous suitors have offered to take me there, over the years, but I’ve heard it’s too romantic for anyone other than your loved one. Since Clarence is a dog, which they don’t allow, I guess I need to go there with Mr. X, and since he is not a fan of eating anyplace other than over the kitchen sink, it looks like it’s not going to happen, ever. Sadly, this establishment closes its door after New Year’s Eve, after being open for 28 years. I guess it serves me right for not getting to it until the last minute. As with all things in life, we can’t get to everything, no matter how hard we may try.

And lastly, I wish you all a happy, safe, and peaceful New Year’s. Let’s all hope that 2007 will bring much-needed sanity to the world, and to our country in particular. Happy New Year!

Karen’s Restaurant Revue airs on January 4, 2007 at 8PM on Time-Warner Cable, Channels 98, 77, 37, or 3. Check the listings in your area.