Yesterday, I spent an enjoyable morning at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills for the dineLA press conference. Don’t worry – I can mention other hotels here. I know who’s number one in my heart. But I, of course, had to go incognito. If you were there, do you remember a devilishly handsome gentleman who had the city’s best and brightest hanging on his every word?

That was me. Yes, I know how to blend in. It comes from my time in Berlin during the Cold War. Don’t ask.

Now, for those in the know, dineLA is a legendary tradition in Los Angeles: every year, for two years now, hundreds of the city’s best restaurants get together and, in the interest of broadening their customer base, offer special set menus at affordable prices. Why people order off the menu in the first place, I don’t know. I certainly never do. I like making up what I want for dinner on the spot, you know, to keep the restaurant staff on their feet. I love the mayhem I can cause with one simple request for fresh lizard’s tail baked in a BBQ spinach aioli. Hilarious! You should have seen Wolfgang’s face!

But so I spent an hour or two at this lovely press conference, giving each of the chefs terrible advice on how to make their restaurant more competitive with our resto Twist. Unlike these lazy bums, our own chef Antonio Moreno was, oddly enough, back at Twist actually working. Imagine that, chefs of dineLA? And what are you doing, if I may ask? Oh, you’re promoting your restaurant through this great LA program.

Here’s a few shots I took at the press conference. Who’s that in the middle? The mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa? I’ll never tell…

This is Bruce, signing off.