Food: October 2008 Archives

       

The Hollywood corridor dining scene is getting more exciting. First there was Kitchen 24, then Loteria Grill and now the soon-to-be Mediterranean Fresh that has popped up over the last month. Not much information is out there yet, but according to a waiter from the next-door Musso & Franks, the restaurant is owned by the same people opening the bawdy international chain Supperclub, which opens in December in the Vogue Theatre next door and will be a place where "patrons eat and drink on actual beds while watching edgy performers (dominatrixes, opera singers, midgets on bicycles, etc.) during lavish multi-course meals," according to the LA Times.

We're in the middle of apple season and all of the sudden, our late night snacking became healthy. What has come of us?

She's single, plays flag football in Valley parks weekly and her book was on the New York Times bestselling list for a year. In fact, the vegan activist author of Skinny Bitch (LAist Review) has penned two guest posts for LAist. In the just released December issue of VegNews, writer Rory Freedman earned the top prize in the 2008 Veggie Awards--Person of the Year. In an interview with the magazine, Freedman, who has convinced thousands of women to turn vegetarian in her book, announces that a major network TV sitcom is in development and that Skinny Bastard (watch out meat eatin' guys) is due in bookstores in June (she says she's in search of a skinny bastard herself).

Neccessity is the mother of invention. Camping in Mexico is a great time to discover that the only thing left in the cooler - mango nectar, is delicious with tequila.

If you love Halloween as much as we do -- candy corn isn't a treat it's a condiment -- you'll most definitely appreciate this list of cocktails where you can actually drink in the spooky holiday around Los Angeles (includes some Halloween night ideas, too).

     

Written with Greg Thompson

       

What do you do when the club you DJ at closes down temporarily? You can either get a new job, do nothing or follow a dream you've always wanted to do--open a restaurant. And that's exactly what Chef Doomie (some may know him as DJ Doomie) did when Roberto's closed down and the owners gave the "ok" to use the kitchen to start a comfort food (yes, not Thai) vegan restaurant in the space.

If you're on a self-declared "Great Los Angeles Mac & Cheese" hunt, then the fancy chain restaurant that is Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar is a needed stop. It's not the best we've had in this city (tough choice between Pete's Bar & Grill and some others), but it certainly ranks up there as a memorable experience with the al dente cavatappi double elbowed pasta drowned in a creamy mild cheddar spiked with chipotle to taste.

We're constantly on the hunt for cocktail milkshakes in Los Angeles. Mmm, nostalgic fun with an edge! Surprisingly not too many places offer them in our fine city. But one night while we were enjoying the grilled cheese pork rib sandwich at 8 oz. on Melrose, we asked the bartender if the chef, bartender, whomever got around to making the alcoholic milkshakes we had heard they were planning to put on the menu months ago.

Are you so over cupcakes? Too sweet for you? You may want to give bundt cakes a try. Stop laughing. We tried them at the newish bakery, Kiss My Bundt, in Midcity and were pleasantly surprised because 1) they are available in teeny tiny cupcake-size bundts rather than not-so-cute bundt cake slices, 2) they aren't uber sweet, making them a perfect coffee complement and 3) the small bundts are pleasantly cheaper than most cupcakes out there.

Recently Tart, the restaurant that's a part of the Farmer's Daughter Hotel, underwent a menu revamp, and LAist was on hand to check out some of the new bites. Not long after, when the urge to indulge in a breakfast more meaningful than a packet of instant oatmeal came up, it was over to Tart we went to check out their morning offerings.

       

On Sunday, there was a big community Bake for Barack event in Silver Lake. Their goal? $10,000. We're not sure if they made it, but the goods sure do look good (thanks to Tom Andrews for taking these photos). In fact, we wish we had some of those Cupcakes for Change as we watch (and hack) tonight's Presidential Debate.

Even fast-food leader McDonald's Corp. is considering making some changes to its popular dollar menu -- either by changing the items on the menu or bumping up prices -- saying the cost of selling meat at such low prices might be too high.

Continue reading "Restaurants, Food Suppliers To Raise Prices"

         

With all the buzz surrounding restaurant newcomers Anisette and Comme Ca, another elegant French bistro has quietly slipped under the foodie radar: The Hall at Palihouse. This serene, casual, but sophisticated space within the "extended-stay" hotel has recently changed chefs: Anisette's former chef de cuisine, Brendan Collins, has taken over from Stephanie O'Mary, and in doing so has invigorated the traditional French bistro menu with more exotic Mediterranean influences.

LAX may not be the most exciting airport by any means, but small steps help. Tomorrow is the ribbon cutting for two locally based companies, Baja Fresh and La Brea Bakery, in Terminal 7 where an express version of Wolfgang Puck's has already been located for years. La Brea has been at the airport for a couple months now, offering a limited menu of sandwiches, paninis, salads, soups and homeade pastries.

             

Sea Harbor sits a block south of Valley Blvd on Rosemead and is one of the highest rated Dim Sum places in Los Angeles. I've long heard of this place but have always been turned away by the crowd waiting outside, certainly a good indicator of the general consensus. Finally, this weekend I managed to drag the girlfriend out of her apartment by 10am, and we arrived at 10:50, plenty early to avoid a wait, or so I thought.

Who needs roses? To celebrate their 60th year, Canter's Deli will be offering their famous corned beef sandwich on rye, pickle, "taste" of potato salad and a chocolate rugelach for only 60 cents! It is one per customer, but that's OK. You can just bring us a couple of black & white cookies.

We've never watched Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel, but since they're coming to Los Angeles we'll definitely be checking out this episode next Tuesday at 10:00 p.m.

Food bloggers What You See is What You Eat are back in the LAist Featured Photos pool with this refreshing and unusual cocktail from The Hungry Cat in Hollywood. They said: "Where else are you going to see the bartender take a slice of avocado, muddle it up with some hard spirits, and then give it to you like it is normal to muddle whole slices of fruit and put it in a drink?" Yes, $13 might be a bit pricey for some, but the Cat's original cocktails are always worth the splurge.

Here's what the line looked like from an office window looking down on Philippe's birthday celebration today at 4 pm. It stretches around the building from Alameda to Spring Street.

Our generation was never quite as obsessed with kitchen gadgetry as our parents were. Most people never seem to venture beyond a blender and a George Foreman Grill. After all, Margaritas and paninis can get you through your 20s just fine.

   

When the first wave of the frozen yogurt phenom hit in the mid-80s, this LAister was a Torontonian; that was when and where the newest froyo franchise to hit the City of Angels today was born. YogenFruz started in Toronto in 1986, and has just opened their second LA location in Tarzana. To celebrate, all weekend long the new store will have a "Buy One-Get One Free" promotion going on, so grab a friend and head into the Valley to see what makes YogenFruz different from other frozen yogurt.

            

Not too long ago I had a chance to meet Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer award winning food writer for the LA Weekly. I know what you're thinking, did I ask him for a recommendation? Of course I did! This is one of two places he recommended to me personally, and I'm so excited to finally come visit this place.

Sunday brings the 2nd annual TasteTV Luxury Chocolate Salon to Los Angeles, and chocoholics and the sweet-toothed can score discounted advanced tickets until 6 p.m. today online to the indulgent event.