BlogHer Food 2009’s Local Reunion Lunch Meet Up

I was privileged to enjoy a wonderful poolside lunch a few days ago with fellow food bloggers (we met last month at the 1st annual BlogHer Food conference in San Francisco), in The Dining Room (under the care of Executive Chef Dakota Weiss) at the newly renovated Shangri-La Hotel in Santa Monica. Thankfully it was Thursday, and not Wednesday, when our whole region was under a deluge. I couldn’t help noticing during my drive to Santa Monica that grateful Angelenos wasted no time in "untopping" their convertibles.

The Shangri-La is a perfect “Chamber of Commerce” spot of an oceanside boutique hotel retreat (and  speaking of “Chamber of Commerce- it was definitely a “Chamber of Commerce” day). The hotel houses a luxurious poolside bar and several cabañas- which I hear can be reserved if you’re looking for a more private meet up.

The Shangri-La graciously hosted our group, as they are seeking to build rapport with the local food blogging community. Kudos to the local food blogging community- we’re actually building a community here in notoriously community challenged L.A., and lunching at the Shangri-La was a great first step in the right direction.

I arrived a bit early, and had three menus placed in front of me as I sat down- the regular lunch menu, an "executive" lunch, and as it happened to be DineLA week, there was a special menu for that, too. It was the one to focus on for most of us.