From Boulder to Bourdain, the many lives of Checker Hall's Gabe Kennedy. Plus, Infatuation pans Vespertine, the problem with "shoppy shops," and The Best Restaurant in Town.

Gabe Kennedy is the all-star chef behind Highland Park’s Checker Hall. He joins us today to tell us his high-octane journey, which includes winning Anthony Bourdain’s competition show “The Taste,” co-founding one of the hottest plant-based supplement companies on the market, and uprooting his life in New York to relocate to LA and grace our city with one of the most fun dining experiences I’ve had in a long time in Highland Park’s Checker Hall. 

One conversation with Gabe and you’re immediately hooked. You can just really tell how much this guy cares, not just about making delicious food, but about doing things that have real meaning and thought behind them. Personally I’m stoked to have Checker Hall in my backyard, but they’ve got a chicken schnitzel that is 100% worth driving across town for. Not to mention the historic building, the fantastic cocktails, the music venue next door. It’s one of the most fun evenings you can have in our fair city, and I think you’ll be makin’ a rez right after you hear Gabe talk about it. 

But first, Father Sal and I break down the things that caught my eye this week. There’s the Infatuation’s lackluster review of Vespertine, an intriguing albeit quite cringey Taste article on The Best Restaurant in Town, and a discussion on whether shoppy shops are good, bad or somewhere in between for neighborhoods.

Helpful links:

Checker Hall https://www.checkerhall.com/

Gabe Kennedy https://www.instagram.com/gabe_kennedy/?hl=en

Plant People https://www.plantpeople.co/

Vespertine review from The Infatuation https://www.theinfatuation.com/los-angeles/reviews/vespertine?ifsb=yes

The Best Restaurant in Town by Priyanka Mattoo https://tastecooking.com/the-best-restaurant-in-town/

LA Grocery opens up on Melrose Hill https://la.eater.com/2024/6/3/24167496/la-grocery-and-cafe-melrose-hill-los-angeles-produce-market

Noise in restaurants https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/interactive/2024/loud-restaurant-noise-health-effects/

Kevin D'Andrea show https://austinfoodmagazine.com/austin-chef-kevin-dandrea-to-host-new-nbcuniversal-series-breaking-baguettes/

EEEEEATSCON https://www.eeeeeatscon.com/los-angeles/lineup

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