L.A.'s Legendary Restaurants: Celebrating the Famous Places Where Hollywood Ate, Drank, and Played

I bought this for my history-loving husband for Christmas. Many of the restaurants featured were at the end of their runs when we first moved to Los Angeles, and many were already by-gone legends, but we were fortunate enough to have dined in many of them, sometimes with friends who could point to framed photos of their famous parents and grandparents on the walls.Even if these legendary haunts are no longer here, the magic of them has been very well captured by the author and made me wish that I had been around during Hollywood's Golden Age.Every one of the establishments in the book has an interesting history that has been wonderfully described by the author and, if that is not enough, each is accompanied by vintage photos as well as several recipes to try.Last week, I made the Meat Loaf that was wildly popular at 72 Market in Venice (as well as its Beverly Hills spin-off, Maple Drive. It was delicious and the taste was really quite the same as I remembered. Although I was not eating it at either of those restaurants, I was able to conjure up the ambience of 72 by reading the author's wonderfully accurate descriptions.Judging by the success of the meat loaf, I can't wait to try any number of other recipes from this book. Even though there is no way to recreate the aura of the red booths of Chasen's, the tiki jive of Trader Vic's, the elegance of Bullock's Tea Room, the craziness of eating in a hat, or the sense of intrigue lurking in the Formosa, this book is the next best thing to doing just that - although if VR ever succeeds in doing that, I'll be the first one in!

I have been a fan of George Geary for close to 20 years and have taken classes from him, traveled to France, Scottsdale, New Orleans and taken many other day trips he has hosted because he is a story teller, history buff and one of the most entertaining and likeable people I've ever met. In his newest book, L.A.'s Legendary Restaurants, he takes his love of history to a new level. Growing up in Long Beach, CA, in 1947, I had heard of many of the places he writes about in his book. My parents went dancing at the Palladium, we ate lunch at Bullocks Wilshire tea room,and the Coconut Grove was our "grown up" venture for date night graduation. The list goes on and on. To have all of the pictures and history in one book takes me back so many years and just makes me smile. I have all of George's other books (all cook books) that are east to duplicate (mostly) with unfailing results. They elicit rave reviews and make me feel like a seasoned baker! Bravo George. This is such a delightful addition to your repertoire!

I enjoyed all of the "inside info" about various Hollywood celebrities. Capturing these folks while dining really added significance to their movie related roles.The recipes are fantastic. I have made the some of the famous salad dressings and they are easy to make and provide some new flavors I have not experienced.The history of these famous restaurants is very interesting. I can remember some of these restaurants when they were flourishing and it was a very special treat to dine in any of them.

This was given to an elderly friend who lived in LA and performed as a piano bar entertainer in a number of these restaurants. His memory of those days were brought to life through this book.

What a FABULOUS book! Shhh......don't tell anyone but this is going to be my go-to Christmas gift. It is so well done that there is something for everyone. It is a high quality, coffee table style book with great pictures. This book has entertaining and well researched information on these cherished L.A. restaurants. The cherry on top -- wonderful taste memories and highly sought after recipes. Thank you for this treasure, George Geary!

I loved the pictures of movie stars and restaurant menus. I liked the historical descriptions. I wish it covered more restaurants.

Very interesting book with a lot of pictures and facts. Great book for people who like restaurants, food with a lot of details, so you feel like you’re there!

This kindlebook that is L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants: Celebrating the Famous Places Where Hollywood, Ate, Drank and Played by George Geary (foreword by Barbara Fairchild) includes a great deal of information such as; Fairchild describing her dad as a character actor and her experiences of how she felt when her family relocated to Los Angeles from New York in her when she was a kid, a picture of Ben-Hur actress Haya Harareet enjoying a sundae, a feature on Van De Kamp’s Holland Dutch Bakery in Los Angeles California, Musso & Frank Grill in Hollywood California and so much more.

Historical knowledge at its best.

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