I thought she was joking when my friend Ann Lawlor, a fashion and beauty PR representative and photographer, told me to look for the house cat upon checking into Hotel Le Bristol in Paris. She is a practical joker and I never really know when she is pulling my leg...

Once upon a time, there was a little blond-haired and blue-eyed girl who always dreamt of being Eloise At The Plaza -- not just any Plaza, but THE Plaza, Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris. Let me tell you, this was way before Miss Carrie Bradshaw made her sexy in...

I like to call him the Mayor of Mayfair because there are more restaurants in Mayfair that have been scooped up by this handsome and debonair man who started out in the "schmata business," Yiddish for the rag trade. Richard Caring now owns Harry's Bar on South Audley street, and...

Here we are in 2011, the world markets are falling apart, riots are breaking out in the most civilized of nations, and yet, one tradition is still standing among the ruins of what once was in Jolly ol' England. Teatime. Yes, teatime is still a tradition that the Brits and...

The new English cooking is overtaking the restaurant scene in London, Heston Blumenthal with his Fat Duck and newer Dinner in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Ruth Roger's The River Cafe, Fergus Henderson's St John's Restaurant in the St John Hotel, and my favorite Francesco and Gael Boglione's Petersham Nurseries (see...

I have a good Parisian friend who spends much of the year traveling for work, but, fortunately for him, he loves hotels -- well, who wouldn't, if they are nice hotels. Isn't it the best to have your sheets and towels changed twice a day, and 24-hour room service?

Petersham Nurseries is only a 20-minute train ride from the center of London in the lovely town of Richmond upon Thames, but it seems a world away in actuality. Who knew that heaven was waiting for me here on earth? Francesco and Gael Boglione, who created this enchanting escape hatch...

I am proud to be born and raised a California girl. Don't you wish you were one too? When you take a car and drive Highway 1 up to Carmel, your mouth will drop open at the astounding beauty of my California coast. A good friend and I decided to...

There is a hot and sexy young star in Hollywood. The fourth generation of the famed Venetian Cipriani family, the handsome, well dressed sons of Giuseppe, Ignazio and his younger brother, Maggio, have a new brand, Mr C. The first of their ventures officially opened on June 1st in Los...

It is really unconscionable that I have taken this long to write about a restaurant that I have been frequenting since the day I moved to New York City. I guess I am one of those people who have taken it for granted that Mezzaluna will always be there ready...

I am usually the "go to" person whenever one of my friends or family members needs a restaurant recommendation somewhere in the world. I am happy to report that the charming little Italian restaurants I am about to share with you were not my discovery but that of some good...

I received sad news on Monday that my friend, teacher and favorite restaurateur Giorgio Baldi died over the weekend.

Giorgio, whose restaurant Il Ristorante di Giorgio Baldi is situated at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains next to the blue Pacific Ocean. It has been, for me, my...

It is one year since the starry Oscar week debut of The Soho House, Los Angeles, and the movie, TV and music stars with their entourages are still coming out in force to hang out in this gorgeous Waldo Fernandez-designed club overlooking the city of LA. Just about every A-list...

It was the afternoon of September 11th, 2001, the streets were deserted and an eerie haze of smoke coming from the burning Twin Towers in lower Manhattan covered the whole city of New York. At the time, I lived in an apartment on East 79th Street. After being glued to...

I ended the year of 2010 eating in two of my favorite Italian restaurants in New York City, Bottega del Vino and on New Year's Eve, Harry Cipriani. Since I have previously written about them, I will leave them out of this story. I started this new year of 2011...

In my last blog I promised that I would go into detail about my experience the evening that I dined at Chef-owner Thomas Keller's The French Laundry in Napa Valley. I need to begin this blog by saying that I am not a restaurant critic, just someone who loves great...

As a California girl and a foodie who loves great wine, I am embarrassed to say that I only recently traveled to the gorgeous Napa Valley. (I did long ago visit my high school boyfriend when he attended college in Sonoma, but that doesn't count because this was way before...

Summer has gone by so quickly and with the last blast of scorching heat, The Hamptons are winding down. I promised I would take you to Nick & Toni's and The American Hotel in this week's chapter, but they will be...

For those of you who missed my first in a series of blogs about the Hamptons, you can go to the bottom of this page and click on "Everybody Eats Where? Everybody Sleeps Where? In the Hamptons Part 1".

I am excited to share with you one of my...

The Hamptons, West, South, Bridge, and East Hampton as well as Sag Harbor and Montauk are but a short drive from the city of New York, depending on the traffic. If your pockets are deep, there are helicopters and private planes to whisk you into either West or East Hampton...