- Carmen compares her hands to Jane Russell’s
Guest Wine Chix Carmen Micheli is a freelance wine, food and music writer living in Temecula Valley Wine Country. An amazing home chef, mother of two and wine aficionado she writes about those in-the-know and on-the-go. With a pulse on the latest in dining, entertainment, events and more, Carmen delivers the latest news and happenings around the city, showcasing the best that Temecula Wine Country and the SoCal area has to offer.
Hollywood Sights and Bites Food Tour
TOURific Escapes Tour Company
I recently discovered a Food tour in famous Hollywood, CA that is an exciting combination of sights, bites, stars and history. Courtesy of TOURific Escapes Tour Company, our team of Temecula based writers and photographers (Linda Kissam, Corie Maue, and Todd Montgomery) were delighted and amazed at our “Die Hard“ Hollywood food and sightseeing experience. The educated tour guides zipped us through the “Fast and Furious” city and used their Jedi senses to pick the most delicious and interesting places to savor the flavors of Hollywood.
Roosevelt Hotel
The tour begins at the Roosevelt Hotel, named after President Theodore Roosevelt and home of the very first Academy Awards in 1929. The hotel has a rich history and has hosted timeless stars like Marilyn Monroe who modeled for a suntan lotion ad in the pool area, and Shirley Temple who received tap dancing lessons from legendary Bill Bojangles on a staircase just off of the original lobby. Here is a fun video of the two dancing together on a similar staircase: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCFYpWDmfM. More recent actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks filmed a famous chase scene in the hit movie, “Catch Me If You Can” in an upstairs hallway.
Babylon Court at the Hollywood and Highland center
After a detailed history lesson on the birth of the Hollywood Sign and a stroll along the Walk of Fame we arrive at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (now the TCL Chinese Theatre: http://www.tclchinesetheatres.com/). It features over 200 handprints and messages in stone from iconic celebrities like The Marx Brothers, Joan Crawford, John Wayne, John Travolta, George Lucas, and others. Some celebrities choose to imprint other things associated with their career, like actress Whoopi Goldberg who left an imprint of her famous dreadlocks.
Crumbs Cupcakes Case
Our first foodie lovers delight, Crumbs Bake Shop, is an East Coast sensation and their cupcakes took us to the “Point of No Return”. I could have hung out here all day and over-indulged in the scrumptious Red Velvet, Oreo Cookie, Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter Cup, Sea-Salted Carmel, and S’mores cupcakes. After summoning some serious self control, I decided on just one perfectly moist and rich mini Red Velvet cupcake with café mocha to drink. These guys really know how to make a star cupcake! http://www.crumbs.com/
Kaya Toast with Soy glazed egg at Street
Next, a walk up the famous Red Carpet Stairway and a quick stop at a version of the 1916 movie set “Intolerance” brings us to our second foodie stop, Susan Feniger’s Street http://www.eatatstreet.com/. Susan Feniger is best known as the last standing female chef in the second season of Top Chef Masters. She was sent home during the “dish for the gods” round in which she made Kaya Toast with a soy-glazed egg for Aphrodite. This dish is a star menu item here and within minutes of service, all of our plates were empty. Spicy Potato Samosas with a Tamarind Ginger Cooler were my favorite and are also popular menu items.
Mozza 2 Go Sage Pizza
Famous Chef Mario Batali’s Mozza 2 Go http://www.mozza2go.com is our third, and my most anticipated, food stop of the day. I have been a fan of the Food Network Iron Chef for many years and the flavors they crank out of this place are like nothing any of us had experienced. I love the style of the Bianca Sage Pizza with Fontina, Mozzarella, and Sottocenere garnished with a butter fried Sage leaf on top. I can honestly say it was the best pizza of my existence and I will make sure we meet again.
“Against All Odds” of the busy city, we get time to relax inside the TOURific Escapes shuttle and enjoy some more celebrity stories and interesting historic facts. We pass by, get photos of, and talk about surrounding famous areas and buildings like Pig N Whistle, Paramount Studios, the Capitol Records Building, and Melrose Ave. from “Melrose Place” to name just a few.
Carmen Micheli and Corie Maue at Greenblatts
We soon arrive at the best place in town for a Pastrami Sandwich: Greenblatts Deli, Restaurant and Fine Wine Shop, http://www.greenblattsdeli.com/. There are no words to describe their “Almost Famous” masterpiece of perfectly baked Rye bread and precisely sliced pastrami that’s served with slaw and 3 different mustards. The Fine Wine Shop showcases a great wine selection and wine bar for tasting, in addition to the deli and upstairs restaurant. The whole group adored it here.
John Kelly Chocolate
A big highlight of the tour is a visit to award-winning JohnKelly Chocolates for chocolate tasting and a behind the scenes tour of their chocolate factory. This is a chocoholic’s dream and they offer premium chocolates handmade on location that even Willy Wonka himself would envy. After tasting a few of the bestsellers like Peanut Butter and a spicy Dark Chocolate with Chipotle, I decided buy some of the Dark Chocolate with French Grey Sea Salt to bring home. Thank goodness I can get more online, it didn’t last long. http://johnkellychocolates.com/
Green Tea Ice Cream
Our “Final Destination” is Mashti Malones Ice Cream. Mashti Malone’s Middle-Eastern inspired Ice Cream offers unique flavors from Mashti’s homeland like Rosewater, Saffron, Ginger, Green Tea, Lavender, and Cardamom to name just a few of my favorites. It has been served to celebrities like Mel Gibson at the Warner Brothers Studio, as well as on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond. Listen to the legend of Mashti Malone here: http://www.mashtimalone.com/legend.htm.
Our tour ends conveniently back near the Roosevelt Hotel where there are tons of photo opportunities and shops to explore. We are left with a day full of fun memories and stellar food experiences that demand an encore.
The Hollywood Sights and Bites Food Tour is just one of three fun tours offered by TOURific Escapes. For more information, or to book a tour, please visit http://www.tourificescapes.com/.
