A friend of mine received a picture of a dead raccoon that the sender was about to cook. While she was repulsed and disgusted, I was intrigued. I suppose an individual’s definition of exotic, food or otherwise depends on what part of the world you live in. Here in Southern California, roasted raccoon might raise a few eyebrows. All of this got me to thinking about where a city-dweller such as myself might turn to if one had a hankering to dine on something off the beaten path. I googled “where can I buy raccoon meat”. One of the top hits was a web site called Exotic Meat Market (exoticmeatmarket.net). Not only do they proudly sell whole skinless and smoked raccoon, I discovered they also peddle a plethora of other wild animal meats that would have Andrew Zimmerman (host of Bizarre Foods) in hog-heaven. Read More

Rolling Stone, the magazine, has grown up along with its readers. How do you translate that political edginess that’s the magazine’s trademark into a Los Angeles restaurant and lounge? To do that, Rolling Stone turned to designer Gavin Brodin. The result, which opens to the public on Feb. 1, is time travel adventure set in vintage industrial with an urban street vibe. Read More