When he's not hobnobbing with Oprah Winfrey or Ellen DeGeneres on TV, you're likely to find Australian chef Curtis Stone at one of this two Los Angeles County restaurants, Gwen and Maude.
Gwen Butcher Shop and Restaurant, named after his maternal grandmother, is a celebration of all things meat and one of Eater LA's top picks right now. Maude, a 24-seat tasting menu-only restaurant named after his paternal grandmother, was named 2015 Best Restaurant in Los Angeles by LA Weekly.
Stone, in case you're wondering, is the real deal. He's also an incredibly friendly guy and an unabashed fan of California's Central Coast. The current tasting menu at Maude is a celebration of the food and wine produced in this region, and Stone shared some of his insights about the menu with California Now Podcast host Soterios Johnson.
Johnson also chats with Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley in this episode, exploring some of Moseley's favorite haunts in the Lake Tahoe area. After that, Johnson speaks with author Matt Jaffe about Death Valley National Park, a hot, dry, unforgiving destination that nevertheless draws all sorts of visitors looking for seclusion, wonder, and a front row seat to some natural beauty.
