This Wednesday, Hotel Maya is hosting their signature “Mojitos and Mutts” happy hour.  Well trained and leashed canines — along with their respective humans — are invited to visit the waterfront hotel to mix and mingle for a barking good time.

While the two legged folks sample mojitos made with 10 Cane Rum, puppies will be pampered with complimentary goodie bags with doggy snacks.

Event sponsor i Love Dogs has partnered with Hotel Maya to theme the event and promote social awareness.  The theme for July is “L.A. for LA”, “benefiting dogs and their owners in Louisiana who have been affected by the [Gulf of Mexico] oil disaster”.  Future themes include a fashion show and a Halloween party.

Mojitos and Mutts at Hotel Maya
6:30 to 8:30 PM on the last Wednesday of the month from now until October.

http://www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/losangeles/maya

700 Queensway Dr.
Long Beach, CA, 90802
562.435.7676

i Love Dogs

http://www.ilovedogs.com

This event features a line up of trucks that looks like a who’s who of the popular meals-on-wheels scene. You’ll see Buttermilk Truck, Lomo Arigato, Cool Haus, Don Chow, and many more.  There will also be live music to entertain you as you enjoy your buttermilk biscuit, lomo saltado, and ice cream sammie!

Brought to us by the Long Beach Junior Chamber of Commerce Charitable Foundation, proceeds from ticket sales will support the Adopt-a-Teacher program and Long Beach City College scholarships.

Advance tickets can be purchased online until 6 PM on Friday, July 23 for $6.  Tickets can be purchased at the gate the day of the event for $8, cash only.

LONG BEACH STREET FOOD FEST

http://www.lbstreetfoodfest.com

https://twitter.com/LBStreetfood

Saturday, July 24, 2010 10:30 – 5:00 PM

Rainbow Lagoon Park (map)
Long Beach, CA

Cook a Brunch Mom Would Be Proud Of

Many of our area grocery stores have deals going on. So you know where to go to get what you need, but will you know what you need when you get there?

Fresh & Easy has put together this handy Easter Brunch shopping list to keep you from missing anything. To make the prospect of cooking that much sweeter, it comes with a coupon for $10 off your purchase of $50 or more.

Of course, you can use the list anywhere but the coupon is only good at Fresh & Easy!

South Bay Fresh & Easy Locations » http://www.freshandeasy.com
ROSECRANS & AVIATION, 1700-C Rosecrans Avenue, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
PALOS VERDES & WESTERN, 26640 Western Avenue, Harbor City, CA 90710

Plenty of Options for Dining Out

If cooking isn’t part of your Easter plans, here are a few places that have special deals for brunch or dinner.

• Fuego at Hotel Maya » http://www.jdvhotels.com/dining/losangeles/fuego
  700 Queensway Drive, Long Beach, CA 90802, (562) 481-3910

  They’re not technically in the South Bay but the venue alone makes Hotel Maya worth the drive. This Sunday they’re serving a Latin-inspired brunch with a ceviche bar, a taquito station, and plenty of authentic Mexican sweets. You can check out my review of their brunch for for info. Be sure to check out the big umbrella!

The Big Umbrella at The Maya Hotel in Long Beach.

• Ortega 120 » http://www.ortega120.com
  1814 Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach, CA 90277, (310) 792-4120

  Here’s another option for doing Easter fiesta style. “Back by popular demand, for Easter, Mas y Mas Brunch! $25 for adults & $10 for kids 12 & under. Reservations are in two hour increments & strongly recommended. 9:30am-3pm”

• Chez Melange » http://www.chezmelange.com/
  1611 S. Catalina Avenue, Redondo Beach, CA 90277, (310) 540-1222

  In addition to a special A La Carte Easter Brunch & Dinner, Chez Melange is offering a gift for ladies who wear Easter bonnets. Put on your big hats!

• Samba Brazilian Steakhouse » http://www.sambaredondo.com/
  207 North Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach, CA, (310) 374-3411

  If you’re really hungry — or want to see some dancers in feathers and not much else — head over to Samba. They’re offering “all-you-can-eat BBQ meats grilled on open fire, endless salad bar, glass of champagne or orange juice. $40 adults and $20 kids 4-12″.

• Admiral Risty » http://www.admiral-risty.com/
  31250 Palos Verdes Drive West, Rancho Palos Verdes, California 90275, (310) 377-0050

  After a month of “fish on Friday”, seafood might not be your first option for Easter. If it is, check out Admiral Risty. Starting at 11 AM on Sunday, they’ll be serving Easter dinner all day. Oh, be sure to check out their menu online. I love their funky old-school website! Its Web 1.0 but totally gets the job done with complete menus and prices.

Photo credit: Fresh & Easy.

An explosion of Greek hospitality ignited Long Beach over the Labor Day weekend, September 5^th – 7^th with the annual Greek Festival hosted by Assumption Greek Orthodox Church on Colorado St.

Celebrating 60 years as host of the ”Festival by the Sea”, the Assumption Church opened its doors to the community to share food, drink, entertainment, and their rich Hellenic culture. Three days of food and fun; over 15,000 festival goers; and an invitation to be “Greek for a day” kept this festival hopping. Admission was just a $3 donation, free on Labor Day from noon to 4pm. One of the longest running Greek festivals in California, its no wonder it’s so popular.

The church grounds were lined with white shade tents housing merchants peddling their colorful wares. Everything from jewelry and crafts to traditional Greek icon art lined the walkways. The sounds of traditional Greek string instruments bellowed through the hot September air intermingling with the fragrances of fresh foods being prepared on open grills and fire pits. The parish proudly acknowledged that all the festival foods, sweet and savory, were lovingly prepared by members of their community, offering festival goers a taste of true traditional Greek cuisine.

We decided to get out of the sun and headed for the dining area where lamb and chicken dinners were being served up home style. The chicken had been marinated and roasted on a pit making it crispy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. Accompanied by fresh green beans tossed in marinara sauce and a delicate rice pilaf, this dish was a winner.

We added a colorful Greek salad with cucumber, tangy red onion, Greek olives, chunks of velvety smooth feta cheese, and of course, hummus and pita. The pita was more of a flatbread, which my family enjoys more then the traditional pita. The hummus was nice, but not overly flavorful. The yummy Greek olives atop the hummus added a good flavor. This bountiful array of food cost us $20, which I found to be a bargain. The portions were generous.

Then we were off to the dessert table. The sweets, I was told, were baked in the church kitchen.  Trays of six different dessert types lined the table in front of us, each for $2 a piece. Decisions, decisions!  I decided on the Baklava: layers of flaky filo dough with chopped walnuts for just the right amount of crunch, all smothered in butter and honey. Rich and sweet! My husband had the kourambiethes, a melt in your mouth butter cookie topped with snowy, white powered sugar…Mmmm.  My son opted for the diples, a delicate, fried dough drizzled with honey and dusted with cinnamon. No complaints there!

We ventured back into the sunshine and the swell of the crowd where Assumption Greek Dance & Cultural Arts School provided music for the party and folks enjoyed dancing and spirits. There was also a small carnival area for the kids that included rides and games. And, though it’s not Greek, Italian Brain Freeze offered a chance to cool off with their Italian water ice, with lots of flavors to choose from.  The name alone screams “Fun”!

Fun and food is what the Long Beach Greek Festival is all about. Assumption Church lived up to their reputation of good food and traditional Greek hospitality once again. I know my family is looking forward to 61 years in 2010.  Opa!

The brunch menu is definitely Mexican but traditional brunch diners will find the requisite eggs and pancakes…although the pancakes are made with blue corn and served with prickly pear syrup.

Accompanying each entree order is the small but impressive salad bar which is loaded with traditional Mexican pastries along with fresh fruits and veggies.  My faves from the bar were the corn salad (simple and flavorful) and the jicama + mango salad which was like eating a crunchy mojito.

The service was impeccable but a little slow after we ordered our three entrees: the cerveza carnitas, the fiesta breakfast (pancakes, eggs, and bacon), and the baja lobster.  I wondered if the lobster held up the other dishes which seemed like they should come out quickly.  Our water glasses and coffee cups were well attended to, however,  and dirty dishes were removed promptly.

All of the entrees were delicious with the blue corn pancakes and the lobster (and accompanying black beans) being the stand outs.  The carnitas needed a dash of salt and the eggs and bacon were good but par for the course.

We also had the prickly pear and orange mimosa as well as the sangria.  The mimosa was delicious with a slight kick from the prickly pear.  The sangria was flavorful but we requested an additional dose of simple syrup to make it sweeter; it was more on the dry, fruity side.

In all I highly recommend Fuego at The Maya Hotel.  The setting is absolutely gorgeous and the staff are on point.  The food is satisfying but perhaps slightly expensive for the casual diner ($17 for the pancakes, eggs, and bacon; $32 for the lobster).  But for a special occasion or a romantic Sunday brunch get away, there’s probably no place like it in LA.

Oh, another tip, roam the grounds after brunch.  Between building #2 (the hotel is broken up into 4 or five buildings over several acres) there is a cool lounge made out of a huge umbrella.  If you’re lucky (and we were on this summer day) there will be a a bar and a DJ there playing salsa music.  Altogether, it makes for the perfect spot to chill after breakfast and watch the boats sail by.