California: October 2008 Archives

By Courtney Cochran

Attention, outdoors-loving oenophiles:  Gone are the days of scarfing sub-par sandwiches and downing cheap brews between downhill ski runs. Well, at least for those of us lucky enough to hit the slopes in Southern California, that is.  There, über chef Joachim Splichal of LA's venerable Patina Restaurant Group (think Patina, Pinot Bistro, and Vegas's popular Pinot Brasserie) was recently appointed to oversee all food-service operations on Southern California's Mammoth Mountain, which means that visitors to the state's most popular year-round resort can now enjoy the fruits of the group's signature French-Cal cuisine between runs.

The readers of Conde Nast Traveler have named the Kenwood Inn and Spa (www.kenwoodinn.com) the Top Resort in Mainland USA in the magazine's 21st Annual Readers' Choice Awards. The awards are derived from the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Survey, the largest independent poll of consumers' preferences. Over 32,000 readers voted this year.