Culinary Students Allege Discrimination at Bottega Louie, the Restaurant is Baffled

Los Angeles - A group of culinary students is calling for a boycott of Bottega Louie Restaurant on the basis of racial discrimination. The group of mixed races (Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Caucasians) arrived at 10am to celebrate the end of classes, but were not able to be seated until 10:30am when the main dining room opens due to the size of their party. They say that while they waited they decided to sit at the bar to order a few drinks. Around them they saw other patrons sipping on a variety of alcoholic beverages such as Bloody Marys and Mimosas.  They waited at the bar for 10 minutes with no one acknowledging their presence before flagging down a server who pointed to a 'manager type'. The manager told them that alcohol was not served until 11am despite the presence of other people with alcohol in front of them.  When the group pointed that fact out, they say the manager had no response.  One person asked him, 'It's like that?' The response from the manager was a simple 'yes'. The group had no idea why they wouldn't be served if other patrons were and have assumed that it was racial discrimination.

This morning I spoke to Mark who manages in the mornings and he was completely unaware that this incident took place. He acknowledged that the bar back was serving drinks when he should not have been as he's not a bartender, and he's been reprimanded. The restaurant's policy is to not serve alcohol until 10:30am when the main dining room opens.  Currently the restaurant has no idea who the students spoke to but was horrified to find that they feel discriminated against. Mark assured me that they would find out who this mystery manager was and will be reaching out to the students as well. 

Eat My Blog 2011

Happy Holidays from your local gluttonous bloggers! Eat My Blog, organized by Cathy Chaplin at Gastronomy Blog, is back for it's 4th event (3rd annual holiday event). This year gets us out of the Westside and over to family friendly Old Pasadena. Last year's treats were amazing! Both well presented and delicious. I should know as I volunteered and brought my 3 year old who proceeded to eat everything in her path and caused mommy to donate more money to the LA Regional Foodbank. This year we have 50+ bloggers baking, and a ton of local restaurant partners including a personal favorite SQIRL who makes the BEST locally sourced preserves. Please make the time to join us this Saturday and donate to a worthy cause.

Baleen - Redondo Beach

Let's face it, the South Bay is kind of like the bastard red-headed step child of the Los Angeles food scene: everyone forgets it exists and even then it has no soul. Sure the South Bay gets some recognition for the Japanese cuisine found in Gardena and some parts of Torrance, but for the most part, until recently the South Bay has been 85% chain restaurants and the people who love them. Like everything else though, this is changing. New gastropubs like 1321 Taproom in Downtown Torrance and David Lefebvre's new place MB Post have people turning their taste buds in a new direction.

Recently another place was pointed out that had slipped under my radar; Baleen in the King's Harbor of Redondo Beach. 3 years it's been there without my notice and for that, I sit ashamed. In all fairness, its predecessor Breakwater did me wrong and created a blind spot in my field of vision. Luckily, this wrong has now been righted. Under the deft hand of Chef Jesse Souza, Baleen at the Portofino Hotel is definitely deserving of notice.