Ann’s Wine Bar
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The days of schlepping wine bottles, bags of ice and copious containers of picnic-friendly fare to the Hollywood Bowl are over. A.O.C., (and I’m talking about the brainchild of the super-talented chef Suzanne Goin and her sommelier partner Caroline Styne, not your favorite Congresswoman), has opened a fabulous wine bar at the Bowl. And I do mean fabulous.
The menu of small plates scored with every dish we sampled at Ann’s Wine Bar. The zucchini blossom/ ricotta/ Marcona almond and honey flatbread killed. Heirloom tomato salad with tangy, harissa- spiked labneh and watercress: to die for. Creamy polenta with mushrooms, mascarpone and gremolata: so completely satisfying. And big, juicy prawns atop mustard-butter flavored corn pudding: sublime. Small plates, yes, but more food than FF#3 and I could finish.
Accompany with a Cremant de Bourgogne sparkling rose, and your evening has hit full capacity. And the show hasn’t even started! I know there are a couple of other food options now at the Bowl, and the prepared picnic baskets are perfectly serviceable, but for an experience that perfectly complements the ambience and festive vibe of that evening under the stars the Hollywood Bowl promises, Ann’s Wine Bar has no equal.
Molly Cheek
Molly Cheek is a retired actor and Epicurean School graduate. She is best known for her roles in “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” and the “American Pie” franchise, (she baked the pie!). For her second act, she turned to her real love: Eating!!! Molly created a catering and home-cooked gourmet gift basket business, placing her baked goods in coffee joints and on craft service tables around Los Angeles. And even though she’s moved on from that endeavor, she still loves to eat. She starts dreaming of lunch as soon as breakfast is done. Cooking is fun, but eating out is her happy place. And she loves to talk about what she eats…..and what you eat and what people on TV eat…. So, she hopes her enthusiasm for food will ignite some tastebuds and inspire you Tomatoes to try something new.
