MÄNI'S BLOG CAFÉ
Your café on the web for current information about delicious, healthier versions of traditional foods for the health conscious connisseur.
Get MÄNI'S Blog updates by email. Subscribe here.
01.25.08
Mäni’s on Fairfax is excited to be a participating restaurant in dineLA Restaurant Week this year and we can’t wait to see you. dineLA takes place Sunday through Friday for two weeks: January 27 - February 1 and February 3 - February 8. 3-course fixed price lunch at Mäni’s is $15 and a 3-course dinner is $25. Check out some sample meals we’ve cooked up for you. Try this for lunch... Start with a cup of Mäni’s famous Turkey Chili, a favorite forever at Mäni’s On Fairfax Red Beet Salad
Marinated chicken breast, red beets marinated in balsamic vinegar, with soft goat cheese crouton balls, served on a bed of baby arugula with tropical fruit kiwi, mango and/or pineapple Finish with a Lemon Tart. It’s new, tangy, and amazing. Or, one night for dinner, you may want this…
Cesar Salad, a popular salad with great flavors Mäni’s American Burger
Choice of baked or fried French fries or soup of the day Rich, decadent, chocolate brownie made with Scharffenberger dark chocolate Or, on a cold, wet day, how about…
Chili Nachos, organic yellow corn tortilla chips with Mäni’s signature chili Next, a Cobb Salad, Mäni’s style. Good and good for you! And, a slice of Chocolate Fortress Cake Or create your own meal. You get a choice of appetizer, choice of entree and choice of one of Mäni’s famous desserts. You decide. How can you resist? Join us Sunday for lunch or dinner, on any day next week, and let us create your favorite meal! Bon appetit!
01.05.08
Mäni’s on Fairfax is a place where people tend to hang out, have a coffee, enjoy a fantastic dessert and a great, healthy meal. But where do you hang out when you’re not at Mäni’s? Where do you hang out when you’re online? Do you belong to any social networks? We want to know! Please take our survey and let us know where you hang out when you’re on the web.
11.05.07
As you probably know we’re just few blocks from the Writers Guild at 3rd & Fairfax. Over the years, so many writers have taken up space here especially off hours, to just sit and write. We feel for all the writers and Hollywood in general about this unfortunate situation. Our hearts go out to all those affected and hope this matter will be resolved quickly.
07.17.07
This evening, a demonstration at the corner of Wilshire & Fairfax, was heating up as rush hours drivers cheered with their horns to the signs carried by passionate Angelenos.
 Horns could be heard practically constantly, showing support for the demonstrators before tonight’s scheduled Senate filibuster on ending the war soon. The event was in front of the L A County Museum of Art, formerly the May Company department store. Visitors from events at LACMA often find Mäni’s a wonderful neighborhood respite after a visit there.
12.08.06
Our esteemed neighbor to the east, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is currently featuring a major exhibition of work by Rene Magritte. In my mind there’s nothing better than seeing a great art show and then havinga meal or dessert after with my friends to discuss the exhibition.
So we had an idea. Mäni’s is just a short walk from LACMA. Why not meet your friends for coffee and dessert before or after you see the show? We are offering a $2 discount on any espresso drink with the purchase of a dessert, when you present your ticket for the Magritte show. The holiday season is a great time to take a break, see some great art and spend time with your friends and we invite you do that at Mäni’s. The $2 discount is available through December 31, 2006. For information about the Magritte show, check the site at LACMA.org. You do need tickets for the event which you can reserve online or by phone: 323-857-6010. LACMA is open every day except Wednesdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Monday
Tuesday
Thursday
12 noon – 8 pm
Friday
12 noon – 9 pm
Saturday
Sunday
11 am – 8 pm
10.06.06
Update: We cannot seem to get the poll to work on the blog. Please use this link to take our quick, one question poll. Thanks!
09.29.06
It’s a time to be social & enjoy friends, great food & have tons of fun. We may not experience the drama & beauty of changing leaves, or the crisp & cool temperatures that call for cozy sweaters, but we most certianly get to experience all of the other wonderful things that come along with the fall season - • complex & rich foods
• tickets to the LA Opera or LA Phil
• television premieres of great shows like Amazing Race & Grey’s Anatomy
• gatherings with friends
• fabulous holiday parties
• AND best of all - delicious new Fall Items at Mäni’s If there’s anything that you would like to share about your love for fall, let us know!
09.22.06
 Look for Larry towards the back of the table.
Jonathan deserves a thank you himself. The event, in its 9th year is essentially the brain child of Mr. Chu. He decided health care for those who can’t afford it was a cause worthy of his time and has worked to make Extravaganza For The Senses a huge financial success
08.21.06
 Today is the final day of KCRW’s summer pledge drive. For the past 10 days, we, Mäni’s on Fairfax, have been driving our baked goods to their studios so their volunteers can have breakfast in the morning.
This has been an ongoing event for us, twice a year, for years now. Of course, we do it because we love and support the work that KCRW is doing. We also donate a bunch of Mäni’s cards as incentives for subscribers (they really do make subscribing irresistable!). So, if you haven’t subscribed yet, and are a listener of KCRW, give them a call at 800-600-5279 and pledge your support at whatever level you can. It will make a difference!
08.18.06
On behalf of Mäni’s I would like to extend a huge warm thanks to everyone who participates in our blog. Whether you’re reading & posting comments, just reading, barely reading, or only reading when free treats are involved, we appreciate your contribution. You make a tremendous difference! THANK YOU!
08.04.06
I’ve been posting blogs for our bi-weekly soup menu for about 8 months. For the first time & to my absolute surprise, I received a friendly comment from a patron, Elham. Elham shared about how much she enjoyed our Yellow Corn Soup (the “most exquisite soup” she had ever eaten) & how sad she was to find it missing from our current soup menu. She wrote, “I am not crazy but I have tears in my eyes thinking I won’t have that again.” I know it’s just food, but I was really touched. Similar experience -
Last summer I had the most fabulous flavor bursting appetizer at Table 8 - heirloom tomatoes/fresh herbs/burrata cheese. It was so wonderful, I can’t even remember my entrée from that evening. The appetizer was all that mattered. When a friend mentioned having dinner there some months later, my eyes widened & I began to dream - “heirloom tomatoes, burrata cheese, heaven”. It was the first time that my friend was going to experience Table 8, my most favorite appetizer, etc. I was so excited! We sat down, menus placed in hand & without a flinch, I was tearing through the appetizer section with my eyeballs. Where was that delicious dish? I swear I had to read through that section about three times. “Did I miss it the first two times? Is there a “Specials” menu? Where is it!?!” When I inquired about the appetizer, my server explained that heirloom tomatoes were seasonal, blah blah blah. I stopped listening. I just wanted that appetizer. Summary -
Elham, I totally GET your excitment for Yellow Corn Soup. I do & I bet there are millions of other people who could share a similar story. Your comment to my soup menu blog really made a difference & we are going to bring that Yellow Corn Soup back into the rotation this summer for you and other interested folk to enjoy! SO, This is what you get from a little tidbit of SHARING. Thank you, Elham! (and if anyone has information about that Table 8 “heirloom tomato/burrata appetizer” tasty delite, please do share)
07.11.06
 Mäni’s is proud to support the Los Angeles Free Clinic by participating in the Ninth Annual Extravaganza For The Senses, it’s annual fund raiser. Mäni’s will be one of 30 restaurants and nearly 100 wineries donating their products and services for this wonderful evening. Click here to purchase tickets and more info on the event. Help support our community and have fun by joining Mäni’s at:
20th Century Fox Studios Lot in Century City
Saturday, July 15, 2006
6-10 pm VIP | 7-10 pm General Mäni’s on Fairfax would like to thank all the supporters of The Los Angeles Free Clinic including it’s hard working board of directors and especially Jonathan Chu from Buddha’s Belly. Jonathan invited Mäni’s to participate while some of us Mäniacs were enjoying a wonderful dinner at Buddha’s Belly. I’ll be there, as well as Carl, Doug, Sergio, Chef Jose, & Amanda. Come to our table for some great salads, our Our Signature Turkey Chili,some wraps, including our new 400 Calorie menu item, ‘The New Mayan’ and of course our famous desserts!  If you haven’t tried our new lemon cake it will be included in the price of admission! But get to our table early before all 2000 servings are gone!!
05.25.06
Last Monday we had a group of about 10 German Bikers stop by for some healthy American food that is “Good and Good for You.” Imagine it, 10 Harley’s parked in one parking spot out front. Now picture 10 of them with bushy beards, tattoos, leather, etc sitting outside. Their accents were so thick they could barely order. They finally completed their order of some of the best breakfast items we have: California Omelets, Pecan Waffles, our delicious French Toast, etc. When they were through with their meal, one of them got up and came inside. He was looking around for something more to eat when he saw a loaf of jalapeno-cheddar bread behind the counter. He told his server, Sergio, to cut the loaf in half, throw some ham & cheese on it, and give it to him. I think it was the biggest and most expensive sandwich we have ever served. All I know is when I heard the roar of the bikes driving away, there was nothing left on their plates…
03.06.06
There was a stunning upset at the Academy Awards presentations last night. Crash was the upset winner of Best Picture, beating the favorite to win, Brokeback Mountain. Regardless of how you feel about either movie, most people predicted that Brokeback would take the prize. Where does that leave the Mäni’s Oscar contest? We had 49 voters. No one got a clean sweep. 11 voters missed only one...they voted for Brokeback Mountain as the Best Picture. In every other category they predicted the winners correctly. There’s an article in today’s L.A. Times by Kenneth Turan, explaining why he thinks Crash beat Brokeback Mountain.
01.29.06
Los Angeles is a big city, with a lot of radio stations, public and private. But the world is small when it comes to the stations in Los Angeles that connect back with the large community. KCRW, based at Santa Monica College, has been providing over 450,000 Angelenos with news and music on a weekly basis. We at Mani's are huge supporters of KCRW and NPR public radio stations. For many years now, Mani's has supported their pledge drives by donating food to their volunteers. In addition to that, we donate Mani's Cards for new or renewing subscribers of KCRW to win during the pledge drive. And, of course, KCRW members receive a discount at the Mani's Bakery Cafe, Fairfax restaurant. We are currently accepting Orange and Light Blue fringe benefit cards. We strongly urge all of our customers who listen to NPR or KCRW to show their support for this wonderful station, and to keep Public Radio going. Thanks! Carl Avery, General Manager
12.13.05
Thank you Elijah Wood for being so helpful to your friends at Mäni’s on Fairfax. We really appreciate your helpfulness and friendliness. Your involvement in our press release promoting our blog site is greatly appreciated. By the way all your friends (and family?) that you’ve dined with here have also been really friendly and wonderful. Even the little toddler seemed to enjoy himself. Our blog site is important to us since it brings us closer to our customers. It allows our guests to comment on articles and give us feedback on what people like and what’s not working for them. For instance, many guests have commented on our new bakery/restaurant colors being too bright, so we’ve re-designed some colors and will be repainting the interior very soon.
10.15.05
We'd like to thank Scot for all his support, patronage and enthusism about and for Mäni's. Also thanks for the acknowledgement on your Debut Album. Come by and see us at Mäni's on Fairfax when you get to L.A. Larry and your friends at Mäni's
10.06.05
Our maintenance is complete and we're back in business. Remember, we're honoring Dine For America today so stop on by for your favorite dessert, soup or entree. We are donating $1 for every customer who comes in today.
10.04.05
Well, we got our lemon alright! We were hit with a maintenance issue that required us to be closed for 3 days. Since we're open 18 hours a day 7 days a week, we had to close to take care of a much needed issue. So we decided to close during our slower days, Monday through Wednesday and re-open on Thursday. We're very sorry to have inconveniced our valued guests and certainly our regulars! So during that time we've had an entire company meeting at LACMA in the park and came up with some great ideas from staff to better serve our guests. As soon as they're implemented, we'll let you all know.  We've finalized our new color scheme for retail, finalized our new casual shirts for retail team members, shopped for new chairs for the restaurant and more.
So that's the lemonade we made from the lemon we were dealt. We also passed out coffee coupons to customers who came by while we were closed. If you came by and we were closed, just ask us for your complimentary coffee drink, next time you come to visit us for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack. Larry
10.02.05
Due to a necessary maintenance repair, Mäni's will be closed for business from Monday, October 3rd through Wednesday, October 5th. Since October 5th is "Dine For America" day across the nation, we will simply use Thursday, October 6th as our personal "Dine For America" day. Read the "Dine For America" story! Mäni's Morsel: OCTOBER 5TH IS "DINE FOR AMERICA" DAY We really want to be a part of this fundraiser, so Please visit us on Thursday, the 6th!!! For every customer we have on Thursday, we will donate 1 dollar to the "Dine For America" Fund. Again, it's a great way for you to participate in this fundraiser without donating from your own wallet! We really encourage you to visit your "second favorite" (participating) establishment on Wednesday the 5th and support "Dine For America". For more information visit the "Dine For America" website. We'll see you on Thursday, October 6th. Tell all your friends to come too... make us pay a lot!
09.27.05
It all began after September 11, 2001. A group of restaurant employees in Seattle went to their CEO with the idea to have a "dine out" day to raise money for the 9/11 relief fund. The CEO not only agreed to their idea, he suggested they go public in an effort to get other restaurants around the Nation to participate as well. "DINE FOR AMERICA" as it became known, grew to 8,000 restaurants and raised over 20 million dollars for the relief effort and was the second largest fundraiser for those whose lives were devastated by the events of September 11, 2001. In light of recent events in our own Gulf region, on Wednesday, October 5th, "DINE FOR AMERICA" will return. Dine For America is not an organization, instead it's Restaurants across America, their  employees, and guests and the National Restaurant Association uniting in support of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, by raising funds for The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Check out DINE FOR AMERICA. 100% of the funds raised will go to The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. 100% of the funds raised through Dine For America will go directly to The American Red Cross to help the victims, their families and other needs arising out of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Check out The American Red Cross. Mäni's has joined with the thousands of restaurants across the U.S.A. and pledges to give 1 dollar, to Dine For America, for every customer we have on Wednesday the 5th. So, if you haven't yet tried our New Menu items, October 5th is the perfect day to come in. Check out the New Menu. Even if you come in to get your daily Muffin ToGo, we'll donate 1 dollar. How about a nice Hot Chocolate or Latte ToGo? We'll donate 1 dollar. Whatever you do, come in and do it on Wed. the 5th of October.  Double up on your power to help by buying a Helping Hand Cookie for 1 dollar.  All proceeds will go to Americas Second Harvest; and we'll donate 1 dollar to "Dine For America". Read about Helping Hand Cookie.
Many are planning Dine For America "parties", getting groups of friends together at restaurants participating in the Dine For America Fundraiser. Whether you eat out often or not, if your thinking of dining out the first week in October, do it on the Wednesday the 5th! Find out if your favorite places are participating or not and support those that are. You might even suggest that they do participate. There are various ways in which a restaurant may be a part of this huge Fundraiser. They should check out the Dine For America Site.(linked above) Please come by Mäni's on Wednesday October 5th and be a part of Dine For America. It's an easy way for customers to play a huge part in the Fundraiser without having to dig deep into your own pockets. Now that's a great value!!!
09.26.05
For anyone reading our BLOG for the first time; we've been selling Helping Hand Cookies for 1 Dollar since 9/7/05. The response to our cookies has been very positive. The total Helping Hand Cookies sold, as of Noon today (9/26), is 524! For every cookie we sell (1 dollar), America's Second Harvest provides 4 bags of food to those who have no food. So, we're looking at 2,096 bags of food!!! Thank you for adding those "Hand Cookies" to your purchases these last few weeks. The relief effort may lose it's "hot new story" coverage, but the need will not go away as quickly. Thank You! We will continue to keep you informed.
09.20.05
As many of you know, Mani's is going to match your donations to the American Red Cross. At 1 pm today (9/20) we counted a total of 489 dollars from you. When we reach 500 dollars, we will match it with 500 dollars and turn it over to the Red Cross. Thank you! We are all grateful to you for supporting us in our effort to take part in helping those who are in serious need right now. We will update you, when we give the money to the Red Cross.
09.19.05
Here's the latest update for our Helping Hand Cookie Sales. As most of you know by now, we're selling these crispy butter cookies for a dollar and all monies collected will be given to Americas Second Harvest. For every dollar A2H receives they can provide 4 bags of food to feed the hungry. The Hurricane in the Gulf Coast has left many with nothing at all... some haven't even got I.D. to prove who they are! A2H is involved with those who have been devastated by hurricane Katrina as well as the many who already go hungry here in the U.S.A. Our thought behind the Helping Hand Cookie is that when you come in to Mani's for some of our healthier alternatives to traditional baked goods, why not donate a dollar to America's Second Harvest and get a Helping Hand Cookie in return. As of 11 am today (Monday) our total sales are 434 cookies. At 4bags of food for every cookie you buy, that totals 1,736 bags of food available to eat. If you would like to check out Americas Second Harvest click here. If you have any comments or questions about anything please feel free to click the comment bar below. Thanks. And thank you to all of you for your support!
09.15.05
Once Again, we'd like to give those of you keeping up with us, an update on the Helping Hand Cookie Sales. As of Thursday evening our total sales have reached 372 cookies. The cookies cost a dollar each, so we have the same amount in dollars. Every dollar we collect for each cookie will be given to Americas Second Harvest. For each dollar A2H receives they can supply 4 bags of food to people in need. Thank you to all our customers! We'll keep you posted.
| 
