HAPPY ENDING CHOCOLATE

BOUQUET COLLECTION

Tue, 04 May 2010 13:54:00 -0400

For Mother’s Day we have a special collection available for a limited time. The Bouquet Collection is a flower infused collection perfect for mom.

Check out our online store to make a purchase.

World's 50 Best Restaurants...

Mon, 03 May 2010 05:52:00 -0400

The S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for 2010 was just released. Noma from Denmark was voted #1 restaurant in the world.

If anyone has been to Noma, please share your experience in our comments section. We want to get the scoop!

view the entire list here

Coffee Break!

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:39:00 -0400

Above: Chocolatier, Xenon Mallari, samples a Kenyan coffee at the “Coffee of the Year” cupping area of the SCAA Show.

The Happy Ending crew was recently visited by our good friend, Josh Walter (aka Josher), owner of Sunrise Coffee in Las Vegas. Josher’s boutique coffee shop only serves organic products and he’s extremely particular about the products he carries. As an avid coffee connoisseur and hands-on owner, Josher attends coffee expositions to sample products to make sure they pass his strict criteria. We joined Josher on his quality-coffee-quest (say that three times fast) at the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) show in Anaheim.

Here are some of the show’s highlights and our favorite products:

Top 5 Espressos (with a couple of ties)

5. Intelligentsia, a coffee company determined to provide top notch coffee products through a high caliber staff trained at their Chicago location. We had their Kenya Tharaka blend. It was extremely wild, like a jungle in your mouth. Very acidic with hints of bacon and mushroom. Lots of umami! quite savory and great for the seasoned espresso aficionado.
5. Fratello, Boutique Coffee Roasters, based in Alberta, Canada, produces coffee artisinally with careful attention to sourcing and responsible purchasing. We had their Diamond Mountain Single Estate from Panama. They used the Slayer Machine, which allows the artisan barista to use their instincts to control pressure and timing instead of digital machines. The Panama blend was bright with a plethora of citrus notes, very springtime. Almost sour throughout. The Slayer machine is shown below.

4. Cefecito Organico, the Los Angeles based organic roaster poured us a shot of their Calandestino, a special blend consisting of beans from mainly El Salvador but also with beans from Ethiopia and Costa Rica. It had a medium roast that had a syrupy palate that was sweet like honey, it had a slight berry flavor. The flavors were subtle. Great for the novice or casual espresso drinker.

4. Fratello poured us another shot from their slayer machine, their Competition Blend. The aroma was sweet and sugary. The palate had a pronounced acidity with a creamy finish, almost like chocolate, maybe cocoa butter.

3. Four Barrel Coffee, located in the Mission area of San Francisco, that consistently ranks as one of the top coffee shops in the Bay Area. We tried their Guatemala Bella Carmona. We had a shot from the La Marzocco machine, which uses digital devices to control pressure and time of shots so as to adjust to different roasts and time of day or even season. Our shot was a 26 second shot. Citrus front with a semi-sweet chocolate finish, slightly acidic.

3. Olympia Coffee Roasting Co., a 100% organic roaster based in Olympia, Washington pured us their Bolivia Cafe Golondrina. There was a jasmine syrupy palate up front with a nutty finish, medium acidity and just slightly sour throughout.

2. 49th Parallel Roasters, based in Canada tags themselves as “Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.” We had their Epic Espresso. Barista Vince Piccolo poured from their elaborate lever style machine, the espresso had a very floral aroma. There was great execution in their pour and a nice feeling of the oil extraction from the shot. A lingering sweet finish that starts slightly acidic. Very well balanced.
1. Intelligentsia got us again with their Black Cat. Their signature espresso had a great balance of flavors. Sweet with medium acidity and a very smooth finish. Ty McNulty of Intelligentsia in Los Angeles proudly poured their signature espresso for us.

Favorite Product: The Mypressi Twist. Great for people on-the-go. The Twist uses no external power and utilizes the same type of nitrous oxide cartridges used for whipped cream. The cartridges provide 135 psi (9bars) of pressure that enables you to extract essential oils and other flavors for your espresso.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures! Always trust your own palate. Also, don’t forget to visit Sunrise Coffee in Las Vegas, if you’re ever in the area. Tell them Happy Ending sent you! They’re located at 3130 East Sunset Road.

Josher explains the workings of a Unic espresso machine.

The Iron Chefs of the Barista world.

Halogen brewing method that produces a complex flavor with a variety of distinct notes. Popular in Japan, but fairly unknown in the United States. Only used by the Coffee Gastronomes over at Bluebottle in San Francisco.

A Lesson Learned From Banksy

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 15:53:00 -0400

Notoriously anonymous street artist, Banksy, who uses public walls and pranks as his medium, created a film which has everyone debating about it’s intentions. As a casual art fan, I’ve followed the “illegal grey area” work of Banksy for a few years.

I was expecting to see a behind the scenes documentary that showed glimpses of Banksy and other street-artists working in the cover of night. Instead, I was taken through a roller coaster ride that began in the underground art scene in Europe and ended as a satire of the pretentiousness and mass manipulation in Los Angeles. Ultimately, Banksy’s debut feature film acts as a way for the anonymous artist to send a message to the masses about the difference between true art and consumerism.

Exit Through the Gift Shop opens with a full gamut of legendary street-artists spray-painting walls, climbing rooftops and running from the police, all set to Richard Hawley’s “The Streets Are Ours.” From that moment, I was pulled into their world. I found myself nervously scanning the movie screen, as if I were a lookout for them. The Frenchman and self-professed filmmaker, Thierry Guetta, stumbles into the underground art world in Europe through his cousin, Space Invader. Through Thierry’s lousy videotaping, I was able to witness the craftsmanship behind the street artists’ works. Before hitting the streets, these artists spend countless hours working on their pieces, blueprinting and intricately cutting stencils with precision and finesse. Like a master chef with his knife, or a sculptor with their chisel; these street artists demonstrate a mastering of their tools.Their speed, accuracy and attention to detail sets them apart from graffiti vigilantes and makes them Legends.

Iconic street-artists, Banksy and Shepard Fairey, are introduced and become partially responsible for an unjustifiably successful art exhibit. In an attempt to retrieve the footage of their work, they unintentionally create Mr. Brainwash, an artist without skill or style but a keen sense of media awareness and mass manipulation. I was brought into an exhilarating world of street art and then found myself laughing hysterically at the scoffing of the bandwagon art scene and overnight success that could only be possible in Los Angeles.

Banksy creates pieces on religion, politics and twists on everyday objects so as to make one ponder. As controversial as his work is, it still causes onlookers to pause for a moment. That pause in our everyday lives, the pit-stop in the rat-race, that is where the meaning of art lies. The many reactions to Banksy’s work: shock, amazement, confusion, the sudden awareness of what’s right in front of you, political debate… or maybe one might just pass it by and say “I wish I would have thought of that!” Whatever your reaction might be, Banksy has succeeded in his work of art, for art is meant to evoke emotion. Banksy leaves your reaction up to you. You don’t have to like it, he just wants you to stop and think for a minute.

After spending sleepless nights in the kitchen working on my craft and trying to create recipes that I can only hope people will enjoy, I can appreciate and respect Banksy’s passion and dedication. The next time you find yourself looking at art, ask yourself why you liked or disliked it. I always tell people to trust their own palates and not listen to what food critics have to say. In that same aspect, I think Banksy just wants us all to have our own opinions about art, free from media and propaganda. Don’t like a painting because your friend told you to. Furthermore, don’t praise an artist just because he or she was on TV or praised by celebrities.

I’m still not quite sure what the intentions were for Exit Through the Gift Shop. Either way, cheers to you, Banksy, for making an informative and thought provoking film that, hopefully, we all learn from.

Below: Banksy puts a piece up a few days before his film’s debut in Los Angeles on 4th and La Brea. (rumored to be torn off the wall and selling for almost $1million)

Below: Banksy’s Anti-War pieces

Naja's Place: Fear No Beer

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 19:14:00 -0400

With 88 taps on the Redondo Pier, Naja’s Place remains one of the best places to enjoy a beer in Los Angeles. This seldom-publicized pub features an ever-changing rotation of rare microbrews and Belgians. The impressive beer selection, knowledgeable bar staff and unpretentious atmostphere make Naja’s the antithesis of trendy beer bars like The Surly Goat. On any given day, one can step into Naja’s and expect the bartenders to be pouring anything from Deschutes Little Buddha to Russian River’s Pliny the Younger.

A sunny day, a good beer, and close proximity to the beach make an irresistable combination, so we headed over to Naja’s.

The first beer we sampled today was Deschutes’ The Abyss ‘08— American Double Stout.

Very dark obsidian color. Smells of chocolate malt, bourbon, coffee, molasses, and vanilla. Coffee comes through as the most prevalent flavor, with bourbon coming in a close second (a result of aging in bourbon barrels). Definitely a sweeter stout with a heavy, yet silky smooth mouthfeel. The Abyss is a perfect beer drinker’s dessert beer, whose coffee notes pair nicely with a bite of chocolate.

While sipping on The Abyss, we nibbled on our First Class bon-bon: peanut ganache accented with salty pretzels in a dark chocolate shell. Peanuts, pretzels, chocolate, and The Abyss’ complex flavors join forces to create a hedonistic flavor combination. The salt from the pretzels brings other flavors out from The Abyss. Licorice, molasses, toasted coconut, and cocoa all made an appearance after a bite of First Class.

Highly recommended. 11% abv (scarily drinkable).

Next we tried Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge by Brouwerij Bockor N.V. — Flander’s Red Ale.

Looks like a dark red cola, doesn’t it? Smells like stable hay, vinegar, cherries and oak. Probably a 6 or 7 on a sour scale from 1-10. Flavor profile strongly represented by sour cherries, green apple, and wild yeast. Crisp and refreshing with a little lingering acidity on the tongue. This well-crafted beer is perfect for sharing with friends on a hot day… mild enough for sour novices, yet interesting enough for beer conisseurs.

Last we tried New Belgium’s Eric’s Ale

Golden straw color. Eric’s Ale is filtered and highly carbonated, setting this brew apart from the many sour beers we’ve experienced. Smells of peaches, white grapes and wet asphalt. Not too sour, a 3 on the sour scale. Mild tart peach flavor that finishes bone dry. Thin mouthfeel as a result of filtration.

Delicious and refreshing, but Eric’s Ale was our least favorite beer of the day (the others were that good)! 7% abv.

Naja’s bartenders Darin and Jay (in Darin’s arms).

Please note: If hunger strikes while at Najas, and filling your belly with bar food doesn’t sound appealing, head down the boardwalk to Quality Seafood. Enjoy live crab, steamed to order; oysters; fresh fish, fried to order; live uni; or just about any other edible sea creature at this long-established purveyor of seafood. Just grab a ticket, tell the fishmonger what you want/ how you want your selection prepared, find a table (outdoor seating only), and stuff your face!

We stuffed our faces with 1 lb of savory clams, and a New Zealand snapper, broiled to order along with a baguette, corn on the cob, french fries, rice, and potato salad for less than $25!

Savory clams steamed to order with white wine and garlic.

Rabbit Adobo

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:22:00 -0400

The Happy Ending team was walking around the LA Farmer’s Market when we happened upon the succulent rabbits at Puritan Poultry. While we were planning on posting our chicken adobo recipe (the inspiration for our chicken adobo bon-bon), the rabbits in the butcher’s case were too tempting and Easter was too close around the corner for us to resist putting this deliciously sacrilegious spin on the traditional Filipino dish.

In traditional Filipino adobo, chicken or pork is stewed in white vinegar and soy sauce with garlic, black peppercorns, and bay leaves. Stewing creates a rich savory-tart sauce which is spooned over white rice.

Our take on adobo replaces white vinegar with rice wine and champagne vinegars, which add complexity to the sauce. A splash of beer and apple juice round out the tartness of the vinegars, while the rabbit, which is all white meat, skinless, and contains more bones than chicken or pork creates an incredibly flavorful, yet lean dish.

We served ours with forbidden rice, blanched carrots, and roasted garlic. YUM!

Ingredients:

1 rabbit, cut into pieces (we got ours at Puritan Poultry 6333 West 3rd St.)

1 cup soy sauce

¾ cup rice vinegar

¼ cup champagne vinegar

1 ½ cups water

¼ cup apple juice

¼ cup lager-style beer

½ onion thinly sliced

4 large garlic cloves, crushed

3-4 bay leaves

10 peppercorns (5 crushed, 5 whole)

lemon-pepper

olive oil

chives for garnish

optional: 1/4 tsp ginger root, peeled and minced

thin slices of jalapeno

Procedure:

- Season rabbit generously with lemon-pepper. Let sit for at least 15 mins.

- Heat olive oil in dutch oven on medium-high. Sautee garlic, onions and ginger (if using) till they begin to brown.

- Reduce heat to medium, add rabbit and lightly brown.

- Add peppercorns, soy sauce, vinegars and water.

- Cover and cook for 30-35 minutes turning it over only once at 15 minutes.

- Reduce heat to low and add bay leaves, apple juice, beer and jalapeno (if using).

- Continue cooking on very low for 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

- Serve with rice and vegetables, garnish with thinly sliced chives.

An Interview with Jacub Gagnon

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:03:22 -0400

As a chocolatier, I’m always looking for new ideas and inspiration. A few weeks ago I was looking for inspiration in the pages of Juxtapoz magazine when I came across the work of Jacub Gagnon, a young, pop surrealist artist. His work teases one’s perceptions of reality and challenges the status quo, which is what Happy Ending Chocolates aims to accomplish in the confectionary world. Jacub was kind enough to set aside a few minutes to chat with a fellow artist.

X: So are you a foodie?

J: Yeah, a little bit

X: What’s your favorite food?

J: Believe it or not, it’s chocolate. I have to have chocolate everyday and if I go a few days without it I kinda go crazy. I’m addicted(laughs)

X: Nice! I’ll keep that in mind. So you went to school in Toronto. Have you always been in Toronto?

J: No, I’m actually from a tiny rural town; almost no one has heard of it. Marmora.

X: Where?

J: Exactly.[…] It’s tiny. Maybe 1,200 people.

X: So why pop-surrealism?

J: I don’t really know. I’ve just always been a fan of surreal art. I just like to doodle without an end in mind. I just draw and paint whatever might be on my mind at the time. My mom would always look at my sketches and say, “What are you drawing? That’s gross” (laughs)

X: You say you’ve always been a fan of surrealism. Any particular artist that influenced or inspired you?

J Well of course, Dali. There are a couple of other artists, but Dali is the father of [surrealism].

X: I know you have an upcoming exhibit at Distinction Gallery in Escondido, but are you planning a visit to L.A. anytime before that?

J: No, I’ve actually never been to LA. […] I’ve never even been to the US. I get a lot of content on the web, so I’m able to see what’s going on [in L.A.]. That’s actually how I track the progress of my exhibits.

X: Really?!

J: Yeah, I’ve been all around Europe but I haven’t had the chance to visit the US yet. I plan to, but I recently graduated and I’ve been busy trying to get a buzz started here in Toronto.

X: Well, you’ve got a buzz going here already. What are your thoughts about the L.A. art scene.

J: I love it! […] The [art] scene is good [in L.A.]. It seems like [L.A. focuses] on up-and-coming artists a lot more than other cities. I hope to make a trip to L.A. in May.

X: Where do you see [your art] in the future?

J: I want to be well known, of course, but [I want to] stay in the lowbrow movement.

X: What things can we look forward to in the near future? What can we expect to see at Distinction Gallery?

J: At Distinction Gallery there will be eight pieces: four new pieces and four older pieces that I [touched up]. I’m actually painting the biggest piece I’ve ever painted for the exhibit at Distinction Gallery.

X: So what’s the subject of this piece?

J: It’s a secret. […] Actually, to be honest. I don’t even really know yet (laughs)…

We continued talking for a few more minutes. Throughout the interview, I couldn’t help but notice a similarity in our respective artistic journeys. I respect Jacub’s dedication, passion, and modesty.

You can see Jacub Gagnon’s work at Distiction Gallery in Escondido, CA from April 10th - May 1st. The opening reception on April 10 features live music. Happy Ending Chocolate will be in attendance on April 10 handing out chocolates to the attendees of Jacub’s opening at Distinction Gallery.

Last night I went to check out the House Industries x Eames...

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:32:00 -0500

Last night I went to check out the House Industries x Eames exhibition reception at Eames Office in Santa Monica. The event was to celebrate the official release of the Eames Century Modern Font Collection. It was a great night, filled with lots of inspiration.

Meyer Lemon Springthyme Truffles

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:42:37 -0500

It’s spring. You know what that means? Meyer lemons are in season! Woo hoo! To commemorate the arrival of spring we’re making meyer lemon & thyme truffles (you’ll soon realize we can’t resist a corny play on words).

Bittersweet chocolate ganache is infused with meyer lemons and thyme, coated in a dark chocolate couveture (or not), then rolled in confectioners sugar. The result is a sweet, slightly tart, herbaceous truffle.

This recipe has been tailored to the home cook with annotations added for the more ambitious home confectioner.

Yield: 40 truffles

Ganache Ingredients

6 oz dark chocolate (170g)

1.4 oz milk chocolate (40g)

3 Meyer lemons juiced, strained (90g juice)

Zest of one Meyer lemon

½ C heavy whipping cream (100g)

1.5 Tb butter, at room temp (20g)

1.5 Tb honey (or invert sugar 20g)

10 sprigs thyme, more if desired

1.5 C confectioner’s sugar, or snow sugar (available at Chef Rubber)

Do your best to work in a cool, dry environment, preferably 70 degrees.

- Heat thyme in a small saucepan with 1 tsp. of water. Heat until most of the water has evaporated & thyme is bright green, about 2 minutes. Water helps extract flavors from the thyme so the cream doesn’t have to do all the work.

- Add the cream and zest to the saucepan. Heat until cream just starts to boil. You will see bubbles start to form around the outer edges of the cream. Remove from heat. Place in a glass bowl and steep cream and thyme mixture for 30 mins.

- Bring lemon juice to a boil. Reduce lemon juice by 2/3, or until you have about 30g. of lemon concentrate. Remove from heat & set aside.

- Chop chocolate as finely as possible in order to prevent clumping during the following melting process

- Strain cream over chocolate. Stir briefly and let this chocolate mixture sit for 2 minutes, letting the cream melt the chocolate. After two minutes, whisk ganache until smooth. Warm lemon juice to about 90 degrees; then pour into ganache. Whisk together, making sure to incorporate as little air as possible. If you notice clumps in your chocolate, heat ever-so-slightly with a heat gun and whisk. Clumps should disappear.

- Add honey, and whisk until incorporated. Add butter, then whisk until incorporated. Now the ganache is finished! Transfer ganache to a Ziploc bag or disposable piping bag (make sure the bag hasn’t been cut yet) and seal the top. Let ganache sit in this bag for 15 mins.

- After 15 minutes, when the ganache feels a little less viscous than playdough, the ganache is ready to pipe. If the ganache feels too thick to pipe, warm ganache with your hands until it reaches a thinner playdough consistency…. Like playdough that has been thinned down with a tiny bit of water.

- Line a tray with parchment. Move ganache into one corner of your Ziploc bag, or if you’re using a disposable piping bag, move the ganache to the bottom the bag. Twist the top of the bag to prevent the ganache from moving up to the top while piping. Snip a ¼” hole in the corner of the bag. Pipe ganache into mounds of equal size, making them as spherical as possible.

- Let these mounds sit at room temperature overnight, then quickly roll each mound between your hands to create a perfect spherical shape. Now you can toss your truffles in confectioner’s sugar or snow sugar (available at Chef Rubber), or you can coat your truffles in tempered chocolate!

- If coating in tempered chocolate, spoon chocolate into your hand. Place a truffle directly into the chocolate in your hand and use your hand to quickly coat the truffle in chocolate. Deposit onto a clean tray lined with parchment paper. Truffles such as these need two coats of chocolate to ensure the shell does not break. The chocolate coating will need 2-3 minutes to set, so when you’re done coating your last truffles with their first coat, the first truffles coated should be ready for their second coat.

- Repeat the process of coating the truffles, but this time deposit your truffles in a bowl of confectioner’s or snow sugar. While the chocolate is still “wet” cover the truffles completely in the sugar. Working in batches of 5-6 truffles at this stage is best.

Our finished truffles presented with a Meyer lemon mojito.

Meyer Lemon Mojito

Yield 1 mojito

Ingredients:

1/2 oz. Darbo Elder Flower Syrup

6-8 Mint leaves

1/2 Meyer lemon, cut into wedges

2 oz. Aged dark rum

Club soda

- Muddle the first three ingredients together. Add rum. Shake. Pour over ice & top off with club soda.

"REDEFINE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A HUMAN BEING"

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:28:00 -0500

Art does just that… From the words of Jeff Koons. A true visionary and living legend in the art world. Now curating a special exhibition using pieces owned by Greek businessman and philanthropist Dakis Joannou. Koons receives a heap of criticism for his kitschy pieces, but I feel his work brings a sense empowerment and a new perception on art.

The (now) not-so-secret story behind Signature

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:33:06 -0500

Everyone always asks me how I got my start making chocolate.

Well, honestly, years ago I watched a show about chocolate on Food Network. The chocolatier on the program was tempering chocolate and making truffles… he made the whole process look so easy! I thought to myself, “hey I can do that!” And so it began…

I initially started teaching myself how to make chocolate confections, believe it or not, by watching videos on youtube and reading material on the internet. As for results? Lets just say tempering chocolate and making a well-balanced ganache turned out to be much more difficult than that Food Network show led me to believe. I attempted over and over again to make a decent bonbon to no avail.

One of my first experiments in making chocolate, however, yielded a result that has stuck with me to this day. At the time, I didn’t even have the right equipment… instead of a polycarbonate mold, I used an ice cube tray. Into this ice cube tray went a white chocolate shell, which I filled with a dark chocolate ganache that I had flavored with vanilla and some butterscotch chips I found laying around my kitchen. Because I tempered the chocolate improperly, I was lucky to have a solitary bonbon pop out of the tray.

I took that one bonbon, garnished it with melted butterscotch and showed it off to my family. That white chocolate ice cube was the first confection I ever made.

Later, I learned the proper technique and began making other delicious confections, but I always found myself wanting to perfect the recipe for that first bonbon born out of an ice cube tray.

That first bonbon I made turned into the first bonbon in the Happy Ending Chocolate collection.

That first bonbon started the Happy Ending tradition. That’s why it’s called Signature.

The perfected version of Signature seen above was one of the chocolates Happy Ending shared with the attendees of the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Beer! Beer! Beer!

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:19:18 -0500

We are huge beer lovers. Though much attention is paid to wine, a good beer also pairs extraordinarily well with chocolate.

On Jan. 9 2010 we got to mingle with some of the biggest names in craft brewery at the Big Beers Belgians and Barleywines Festival in Vail, Colorado. The Festival featured over 200 beers weighing in at over 8% abv. We were certainly up for the challenge!

Here are a few of the highlights:

Sam Adams poured their Utopias, which was incredible! Rich, sweet, malty, and 27% abv. Drinks like a good cognac.

(Utopias on the right)

Bosteels popped their Deus. This is a Biere Brut— beer that undergoes final fermentation in the Champagne region of France, undergoes a specific process of removing yeast from the bottle, and oftentimes shares many characteristics with champagne (not sweetness though).

We found Deus particularly interesting… like a dry, light-bodied Tripel with champagne carbonation! Perfect for those who don’t take a liking to champagne. 11.5 abv.

Adam Avery himself offered samples of Meph Addict. Think Mephistopheles Stout + tons of coffee. Wow, rich, roasty, coffee, cocoa, and pretty viscous. Meph Addict’s malt and roasty coffee characteristics play nicely with the semi-sweet chocolate and cayenne heat of our Hot Thang. 16% abv.

We sampled almost all of the beers and were still standing when the festival ended!

While we were away...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:33:09 -0500

Sorry for the laggeritus in updating this blog. Heres a list of things we’ve been up to…

Big Beers and Barleywines Festival in Vail, Colo.

Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT

Scheming up new chocolate flavors… drawing inspiration from everywhere!

and yes, you can expect us to fill you in on all these activities!

GET READY

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:22:00 -0500

Another great event in fabulous Las Vegas. Celebrity chefs, wine, Vegas, and more wine. Kind of like the Coachella of fine foods. See you guys there!

PIZZA CONE?!

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:22:00 -0500

Pizza in the shape of a cone. Crazy concept right? Probably going to be my first spot when I’m in NYC in a couple weeks.

via Slice

DTLA ART WALK

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:14:00 -0500

Occurring every 2nd Thursday of the month is the Downtown LA Art Walk. I highly recommend checking it out, there’s always great pieces from talented local artists. Above are a few images from this past Thursday. Kudos to another great night!

http://www.downtownartwalk.org

SOLDIER OF LOVE

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:23:00 -0500

The beautiful Sade released her newest LP today. It’s been 10 years since her last release, but she consistently puts out great music every time. She is definitely an inspiration to us here at H.E.

SWEETS FOR YOUR SWEET

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:15:00 -0500

LAist.com recommended our Yours Truly Collection as one of their Valentine’s Day chocolate picks. Great choice indeed!

Visit our online store to purchase the collection. Order before 2/11 to guarantee shipment before Valentine’s Day.

Read the article here

Midas Touch

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:28:56 -0500

LA Weekly’s Jonathan Gold gathers up 40 of best restaurants in LA for a special event. Everything from food trucks to fine cuisine, his wide range selection definitely makes this worth checking out.

Stress Reliever

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:56:00 -0500

When times are tough and frustrating, I recommend listening to John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”. Always brings a smile to my face.