Chef

At a spot on Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, visitors scoop up sushi, taste frozen yogurt and order lattes. But this isn't a restaurant or even a fancy supermarket. It's that Main Street staple: Walgreens. "It's like an amusement park," gushed West Hollywood resident Brent Leonesio, 30, as he eyed the line of people waiting to pick up caffeinated drinks to go. "They've kind of made this into a destination. It's actually fun to come here. " Once mainstays for late-night snack runs and toilet paper emergencies, drugstores are shaking off their stale image and going upscale.

It's no secret that beer and food combine for a dining experience greater than the sum of its parts, and Los Angeles chefs, restaurants and breweries are expanding beer and food pairings past the pilsner-and-pretzel classics into more adventurous territory. Over the next few weeks there are a handful of interesting beer dinners planned. First up, today, the Los Angeles edition of Dogfish Head Brewery's " A Hopocalypse Now " beer dinner series that features hop-focused beers from the Delaware brewery.

Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana in Modena cooked at an extraordinary private dinner in Bel Air last night. He is widely considered Italy's greatest chef. The French  have awarded him three Michelin stars and he placed number five (the highest ranking Italian chef)  on last year's World's 50 Best Restaurants list sponsored by S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. Bottura was in town to celebrate Italian cuisine as part of the Italian government's " Year of Italian Culture . " With all that's going wrong in Italy right now, the chef said, he was excited to be part of something positive.

Though the address reads Main Street, the specialist shop Japanese Knife Imports in Venice is a bit hidden away, down a few steps from the parking lot of a nondescript multi-unit building, indicated only by No. 105. "I kind of like it like that," proprietor Jonathan Broida explains. "In order to find me, people have already made some effort to do the research. And I end up with the kind of customer that I want. " Walk into his shop as a novice and he won't just sell you a knife. He'll want to sit down at the low table in the center of the room, preferably over genmaicha tea served in a lovely ceramic tea bowl, made by his wife Sara's family in northern Japan, and explore your relationship to knives.

What's a chef gotta do to land a job? Mette Williams competed against three other contestants on national television to win the title of executive chef at Culina at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. The former chef of Areal in Santa Monica emerged the champion on the Food Network show "Chef Wanted With Anne Burrell. " Each week four candidates, prodded by the bossy, electro-haired Burrell, compete for an executive chef job. Thursday's episode was taped over a few days in early December, and Williams, the only female contestant, has been cooking at Culina since January, keeping a low profile until the show aired.

I can't remember the last time I made poached eggs. Probably because I had such consistent bad luck with them that I quit trying years ago. But J. Kenji Alt, from the Food Lab at the website Serious Eats, says he's broken the code . I can't wait to try it. The solution is ingeniously simple -- crack the egg into a fine strainer to drain off the thin, liquid part of the white (the part that always floats away and looks awful)....

New head chef at Patina: Joachim Splichal, founder of Patina Restaurant Group, names Charles Olalia executive chef of Patina, his landmark restaurant at the Walt Disney Concert Hall downtown. Olalia, 29, was formerly chef de cuisine and started at the restaurant in 2010 after working as a private chef with Oracle and in the kitchens at the French Laundry in Napa Valley and Guy Savoy in Las Vegas. 141 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 972-3331, www.patinarestaurant.com . New in Silver Lake: Hyperion Public has opened in Silver Lake, serving "contemporary American cuisine with light organic options, paired with craft and local tap beers, wine and cocktails.

Playa on Beverly Boulevard, the 2-year-old "urban Latin" restaurant from chef John Sedlar and his partner, Bill Chait, will close Wednesday. "While the restaurant has been critically successful and John has tremendously enjoyed the creative process of introducing Baja and Mexi-China inspired menus to Angelenos," an announcement said "the concept has not met the high expectations John and Bill set for it when opening two years ago. " ...

Rex Scouten, whose 48-year career in the White House began with the Trumans and ended with the Clintons, and whose duties included helping first families transition to their oversized new home, died Feb. 20 at a hospital near his home in Fairfax, Va. He was 88. The cause was complications from hip surgery, said his daughter Carol Scouten. Scouten started as a Secret Service agent and ended his career as curator of the White House's art and furnishings. Most of his years were spent as chief usher of the White House, primarily managing the 132-room mansion.

World street food scene: Chef Bryant Ng of Spice Table is representing Los Angeles on the board of the first World Street Food Congress set for May 31 in Singapore, a 10-day event celebrating the richness and vibrancy of street food cultures. The event includes the World Street Food Jamboree with up to 40 hawkers, a two-day conference for the exchange of ideas and an awards event to recognize top global street food players. The board also includes Anthony Bourdain, Saveur's James Oseland and Chinese TV food host Johnny Chan.