Le Parc Suite Hotel

**** (4 stars)

We’ve stayed at several upscale Beverly Hills hotels on our annual Thanksgiving trips, but decided to try something different this year, and were quite happy with Le Parc Suite. It seems to be a converted apartment building in a residential neighborhood. The pluses are:

Very large rooms with kitchens, easily sleep four.
Convenient (but expensive) parking.
Great room rate.
Convenient location.
Decent work out room and restaurant.
Gas fireplaces in rooms.
Fairly quite area.
Free fast Wi-Fi.
Friendly staff.

There are really no downsides, and I am sure we’ll be back.

Le Parc Suite Hotel
733 W Knoll Dr
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 855-8888
http://www.yelp.com/biz/le-parc-suite-hotel-west-hollywood

The Izaka-ya By Katsu-ya

***** (5 stars)

This was a great lunch find in Manhattan Beach. Bustling at lunch time on a Sunday. There are some very creative rolls here, including a cajun one that was our favorite. The team-tag approach to service worked well, keeping our drinks and tea replenished. The lunch specials are a pretty good deal, although we went ala carte, and the price was still reasonable for the exotic feast we assembled.

The Izaka-ya By Katsu-ya
1133 Highland Ave
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 796-1888
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-izaka-ya-by-katsu-ya-manhattan-beach

Mortensen’s Danish Bakery

**** (4 stars)

In our taste off of four different Solvang bakeries, I found that Mortensens has the butteriest tasting cookies. I particularly liked the plain round ones with the curved tops. They have a long, buttery finish that is slightly salty and not as sweet as some.

Mortensen’s Danish Bakery
1588 Mission Dr
Solvang, CA 93463
(805) 688-8373
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mortensens-danish-bakery-solvang-2

Marlow’s Tavern

*** (3 stars)

Marlow’s offers a fair assortment of sports bar type food, mostly burgers or fried things. The fried asparagus is good, if a bit oily, and the citrus aioli that accompanies it is nice. The Buffalo chicken wrap was delicious: crusty, tangy, and fresh tasting.

The outside dining is some of the more pleasant in town, facing the fountain at Pointe Orlando rather than a road or parking lot. Service was slow but friendly.

Marlow’s Tavern
9101 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 351-3627
http://www.yelp.com/biz/marlows-tavern-orlando

Chez Vincent

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***** (5 stars)

For us, Chez Vincent is like a little trip back to the neighborhood restaurant we always ate at in France.

The service is amazing, professional, anticipating every need, offering tastes of the wines by the glass, just perfect. The fact that our waiter handled the nearby table of French patrons (an endorsement in itself) fluently in French, then switched to us with no detectable accent was impressive.

The food is completely authentic. The house made pate is served just as it should be, with mustard and cornichons. My escargot was perfect–tender and just the right amount of garlic butter (which is to say, a lot!) I had the corvina in caper butter, a lunch special, and it was perfectly pan seared and then finished in the oven.

Food prices at lunch are reasonable for the quality, and there are many decent wine prices as well. My only complaint was that several of the wines I tried to order were unavailable; it’s time to update the very extensive list to reflect reality.

We loved this place, and will be back soon.

Chez Vincent
533 New England Ave W
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 599-2929
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chez-vincent-winter-park

Mimis Cafe

**** (4 stars)

Much improved after the take over by a French holding company. Now the menu really is French. There is a small selection of mostly sandwiches at lunch time, but everything we tried was good The Croque Madame is fairly traditional. Ask for the mornay sauce on the side. The decor at this Mimi’s isn’t quite as cozy as the one at the Mall at Millenia.

Mimis Cafe
3130 Daniels Rd
Winter Garden, FL 34787
(407) 656-5075
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mimis-cafe-winter-garden