I was in Los Angeles last week (they now officially have more Vietnamese restaurants than we do, a change from my last trip there). I did a little trip to Disneyland with the family unit and found out, that, uh huh, just like last year's trip to Disneyland, the food at the park pretty much still sucks. I did eat a pretty good corndog in line for California Screamin', though. But enough about my trip southward.

Here's what I missed, and because I was gone, here's what you missed:

* The sad: Exit 133 reported a few days ago that Shakabrah Java is closing. Read it here. We're going to dig around a bit on the story, as well. Watch for a post later this week on that.

* The good: Brix 25 in Gig Harbor got a new top toque. His name is Bryce Lamb and he most recently was chef at La Fermata in Bremerton. Here are a few excerpts from a press release from Brix 25:

Chef Lamb is bringing almost two decades worth of culinary experience and travel to Gig Harbor. "My approach is to bring seasonal dishes with as many local ingredients as possible at the peak of their freshness," Chef Lamb said.

Chef Lamb's most recent tenure was at La Fermata where he served as the executive Chef for six years. La Fermata is an intimate seasonal Northwest restaurant with an Italian influence located in the Manette area
of Bremerton. "We are very fortunate to find a chef with this kind of talent and experience locally." said General Manager Jason Winniford.

Look for Chef Lamb's new seasonal menu to roll out toward the end of October. You can visit the Brix 25 website www.harborbrix.com for a full biography on Brix's new chef and his current menu when it is released.

So what else did I miss? Freeform, go ahead and post away dear readers.