#Santa Monica

James Beard Award-winning Chef Michael Mina is bouncing back after a two-year hiatus with his most stunning concept yet, Orla, which opened in September in the Regent Santa Monica Hotel. “Orla is an incredibly personal concept for me, taking inspiration from my childhood,” Mina says during a tour of the property, in between grilling herb-marinated lamb chops with black harissa. “I was born in Egypt and grew up in a very Middle Eastern household. My father was from Alexandria and my mother was from Cairo. A lot of the food that I grew up eating I thought my whole life…