Articles by S. Irene Virbila

AT METLOX, an upscale mall in downtown Manhattan Beach, a little girl runs circles around her father on the grass next to the sleek water sculpture. Read more

WHEN I took a Francophile friend to dinner in Santa Monica last week, she stood on the tiny octagonal tiles spelling out the name Anisette and twirled on her glittery ballet flats, looking up at the high ceilings, taking in the age-spotted mirrors and red leatherette banquettes. Read more

AT Rustic Canyon, September’s menu brings golf ball-sized arancinearancine fried to a deep gold. Read more

THE sprawling space at 665 N. Robertson Blvd. Read more

EVERYTHING you’ve learned about British superstar chef Gordon Ramsay on television is a crock. Read more

“IT’S ACROSS from Green House Smoke Shop,” I yelled into my cellphone through the din at Gjelina, a new restaurant on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. Read more

WHEN Campanile stopped serving daily breakfast a decade ago, the regulars (but obviously not enough of them) who’d made a cappuccino and pastry or poached eggs and ham at the restaurant part of their morning routine were devastated. Read more

TWO “food dudes” – laid-back, long-haired cooks who grew up in Florida and are culinary graduates of the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale – make their way to California and end up at the late Chadwick in Beverly Hills working with Ben Ford and Govind Armstrong. Read more

YOU SNAG a parking spot on the street in the middle of Brand Boulevard’s endless row of car dealerships and as you get out of the car, you can feel the salesmen go into high alert. Read more