Home Care In Belmont, LA

The name’s Village. Belmont Village.

When Belmont Village Senior Living presented this year’s “Belmont Blooms,” an annual event that channels residents’ creativity into various themes, it decided to put on a film festival. Previous years have featured a fashion show and an Olympics-style event.

For 10 residents of Belmont Village La Jolla, filmmaking inspiration came from none other than James Bond. Their 12-minute film, titled “Ace of Plates,” follows resident Dwight McDonald as Agent 0070s as he seeks a prized diamond to return it to its rightful place.

With guidance from Eva Fogel’s Madame M, Agent 0070s dodges danger and encounters an eccentric cast of characters along the way.

“Ace of Plates,” created and directed by Gianna Meaglia, premiered at Belmont Village’s Sabre Springs location May 15. More than 60 residents and staff members were present for the Hollywood-inspired event, which included red-carpet arrivals, film screenings, nonprofit booths and more.

“Ace of Plates” isn’t just a Bond homage. As with the films from the three other participating Belmont Village communities in San Diego and Orange counties, it places a spotlight on a local organization the group supports.

For the La Jolla team, the organization is Kitchens for Good, a San Diego-based nonprofit that seeks to help people with potential barriers to employment — such as mental health, substance abuse and legal issues — earn a living through culinary and hospitality training.

Thus far, its apprenticeship programs have helped more than 700 people and, in 2023, led to the development of a boutique commercial bakery in San Diego’s Old Town, according to Kitchens for Good.

“Ace of Plates,” however fantastical, explores themes of redemption aligned with Kitchens for Good’s mission.

“I hope people get a good laugh and the basic knowledge about an amazing organization thatprovides an opportunity for individuals who are seeking a second chance at their future,” Fogel said.

The filming it was a “great process” that helped build community, she said.

The process for creating “Ace of Plates” began in February, when Belmont Village communities throughout the nation got to work on documentaries. The La Jolla location decided to put its own spin on the idea, morphing a documentary with a “fun” piece.

James Arp, executive director at Belmont Village La Jolla, said he has seen the community rally around the project.

“They develop such wonderful camaraderie,” Arp said. “The buzz that’s been happening since the filming of the documentary the last couple of months … provides such a wonderful purpose and drive for their day that differs from every other day and every other experience.

“Some people have been very shy in front of the camera and then start loosening up after the fourth or fifth take of a scene.”

McDonald, as the lead character, applauded Meaglia’s direction and the cast that brought the film to life.

“It was so much fun to build creativity and be a part of something that gives back to the community,” McDonald said. “The way the film came together, I am so proud.” ♦

AfterAfter exiting a restaurant in LA that had ended dramatically, chef Timothy Hollingsworth is opening a restaurant in New York. Yet the French Laundry-trained California chef is not debuting in Manhattan as one might expect: Instead, he’s on track to open a restaurant...near the Belmont racetracks and the Islanders sports arena on Long Island.

Though the location might seem unusual for a chef of a formerly hot LA restaurant to land, it’ll be one of the offerings at the newly built Belmont Park Village, a luxury destination with shops from designers like Vivienne Westwood, Thom Browne, Missoni, and Lacoste that’s part of Belmont Park, which includes the arena and the racetrack.

In partnership with the New York-based Patina Group — behind Lincoln Ristorante and Grand Tier, both at Lincoln Center, as well as restaurants at Walt Disney World and elsewhere around the country — Hollingsworth is on track to steer Hundredfold (2501 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont). It’s an aspirational name that points to “the joy of sharing great food,” and offering “more than what’s expected.”

“I’ve always wanted to open a restaurant in New York,” Hollingsworth told Eater, citing the days when, as a chef under Thomas Keller, he helped open Per Se in 2004. As Hundredfold opens this summer, he’ll be based in the city, with his wife and family in Los Angeles.

Hollingsworth, most recently, is a co-founder of Chain — a celebrity-backed food pop-up celebrating fast-food chain restaurants that he founded in partnership with actor B.J. Novak; the West Coast-based festival ran in New York earlier this year. In partnership with the brands, Hollingsworth dressed up iconic fast-food items. Aside from Chain, he was behind the Los Angeles restaurant Otium which co-owned with three partners. It shuttered last fall with employees protesting after not getting a final paycheck (they were paid a while after). He ran a barbecue restaurant inspired by his mother’s cooking called Barrel & Ashes, also in Los Angeles. Prior to that, he worked at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry for nearly a decade. And he won the Rising Chef award from James Beard in 2010, the year after he competed and placed in the culinary Olympics, the Bocuse d’Or.

In the new open-air Belmont Park Village (which opened in October), the French brasserie will offer classic American touches in a restaurant that seats over 200 diners, with a wraparound bar, an outdoor patio, and a coffee and wine counter for grab-and-go options. There’s a fireplace and bookshelves inside; gallery walls and fishbowl views as well as more intimate nooks. “We want it to feel like you’re eating in someone’s home,” says Hollingsworth.

“We get to use products I’m excited about,” Hollingsworth says, for a menu that displays French technique with an occasional cheese pull. Look for items like a Stouffer’s-inspired French bread-style pizza. The pizzas remind him of the days when he was cooking with Corey Lee — now chef-owner of the three-Michelin-starred Benu — when they’d go eat late night after a shift. “He’s an amazing chef; I really look up to him.”

There’s also a French onion dip with homemade chips and beef tartare with whipped bearnaise. More hearty dishes include a croque monsieur or madame layered with Comte, ham, and black truffle; a lobster roll; and steak frites with thick-cut fries. In keeping with the moment, roasted chicken is on the menu, dressed in a white wine garlic jus, served with artichokes, carrots, and mushrooms. Desserts include vanilla soft serve on a Nutella base, topped with banana cream and peanuts for a compact banana split. No word yet on prices as the menu has not been finalized.

The drink menu comes from Patina Group VP Olivier Rassinoux, who’s offering a mini martini flight, along with drinks with names like the Hip Flask, with rye, cognac, and Pedro Ximenez.

The opening of Hundredfold parallels the rise of restaurants connected to retail, with the debut of places like the food court at Nordstrom; the Stephen Starr-run cafe at Louis Vuitton; the opening of Maison Passerelle and others at the new French department store, Printemps; and perhaps Prada in the future.