The craft beer invasion
Deschutes doesn't really need a gimmick. We prefer their porter and pale ale to most of the dreck on 7-11's shelves and that should probably be enough. Still, the expanding Oregon-based brewer is launching a food truck-style marketing campaign on L.A. in early April and even has a few bad boner jokes to go along with it.
In yet another sign that the festival has parted from any semblance of underground cool or lo-fi, underground anything, The SLS Hotel is packing a lunch for Coachella-goers. That is, those who haven't spent their last cent scoring a ticket in the first place. Geared to the spendy consumer who only goes for the VIP seats, the restaurant offers a to-go lunch assortment for $28 (!!!) containing a choice of Catalan ham with cheese or a veggie dip, plus a tomato salad, Spanish cheese with whole fruit, water or soda, and a selection of cookies and brownies. It must be ordered 24 hours in advance and clearly isn't for anyone racing to the pit. Anyway, not a small amount of planning, nor loot, to get a simple road trip snack.
Silver Lake's dining landscape is changing
Pop-up mania continues! Okay, maybe it's a little more like pop-up tolerance at this point, but still, a new suppertime residency called "Project Mayhem Ivanhoe" with a chef from Lazy Ox at Local sounds promising enough. The L.A. Times reports that (current? former?) Ox-er Kevin Lee is endowing Jason Michaud's place with a new small plates approach that includes influences from Lee's native Korea and a whole 'lotta pork (we have a feeling the city won't move beyond its obsession with the other white meat as long as all those chefs are carrying pig tats). What's being served?
Rande Gerber, at Cafe Habana in MalibuPhoto: Lesley Balla
Rande Gerber has a pretty sweet life. Notorious as a national nightlife kingpin who co-owns more than twenty lounges and restaurants, he's also the handsome husband of supermodel Cindy Crawford and the guy who introduced Cafe Habana to Malibu, where the father of two lives. When Gerber doesn't "go into town," you'll probably catch him hanging here with celebrities on karaoke night or dining with what must be a painfully beautiful family (or maybe even Kid Rock, as we recently spied). "It's like a little clubhouse with locals, surfers, parents and kids, our friends," he says of his Cuban-influenced import. "Malibu's high profile, but really low key." Gerber recently launched Caliche Rum onto the spirits market, and in case you're wondering just how many mojitos currently fuel his days, read on to learn everything he ate and drank this week in today's L.A. Diet.
Some of Short Cake's new selectionPhoto: IsabellaCrisman via Flickr
Today Short Cake releases its full menu of savory items from Short Order chef Christian Page and co-owner Nancy Silverton, with the help of MVP Walter Manzke, the same one we forecast last month. The new menu brings salads, croissant sandwiches, and tartine toasts together with baked items from Hourie Sahakian, who is now working on a gluten-free line of goods to follow.
"But I was here first!"
Over the past few weeks, we've cheered on while watching McDonald's, Taco Bell, the nation's school system, and today, grocery giant Safeway, all reject the disgusting and prominent meat filler made from unwanted scraps called "pink slime." This is dynamite news for anyone who has been afraid to eat a burger since their first glimpse of Food Inc. Still, there's one person who might be feeling a little bit left out of the victory lap here: Jamie Oliver. Yesterday, the celeb chef, most famous for his televised march on U.S. obesity, launched a new website called Stoppinkslime.org that seeks to be the central headquarters for all citizens opposed to the product, even if does sort of feel like the second wave of slime scorn is now drawing to a close.
Murray
Convicted Michael Jackson killer Conrad Murray is crying out from the hells of L.A. County Jail, and it isn't a pretty picture. Earlier this month, the disgraced doctor narrowly sidestepped a shanking at the hands of one of the Debarge brothers, but now he claims it's the jail food that might end up killing him if he doesn't get out. TMZ says that Murray is "extremely sick" with dysentery, and has dropped 30 pounds since November due to a combination of skanky water and a diet Murray claims is mostly "cat food" purchased at the commissary.
• Safeway is the next major food outlet to turn its back on pink slime, announcing that the disgusting meat supplement won't be sold at its Von's and Pavilions divisions, either. Wait, even fancy Pavilions was selling this shit? [KABC]
• Jonathan Gold turns us on to a new birria taco with handmade tortillas at Highland Park's El Pariente. [LAT]
• George Clooney is the latest celeb to launch a liquor brand, a tequila called Casamigos. Is there anything the man can't do? [NYDN]
• David Gelb, the director of Jiro Dreams of Sushi recommends his five favorite local raw fish spots. [Los Angeles]
“LOVE this place!”
I've eaten here a few times, and just this week have ordered it for my co-workers. I think they're converted :)
“Yummie delivery”
Nice selection, good food, and fast service. I like it.
“Amazing vegan food.”
Delicious even if you're a carniverous veggie rejecter.
