Posts for November 29, 2012 -- Grub Street Los Angeles -- Restaurant News, Openings, Chefs

Posts for November 29, 2012

11/29/12 at 3:35 PM
Burger Time
Comment

Slater's Reveals "The Armageddon" Burger

"The Armageddon"Photo: Slater's 50/50

If you're dead-set on December being the end of days, Slater's 50/50 has a fairly appetizing apocalypse on the horizon. Next month the chain will release its "Armageddon Burger," featuring a 1/3-pound meatloaf patty made from a blend of 50% ground beef and 50% ground bacon with rendered pancetta. The burger is then wrapped in bacon and layered with shaved prosciutto on a bacon pretzel bun, with chipotle ketchup and arugula providing the only things close to vegetable matter.

11/29/12 at 2:15 PM
Reopenings
Comment

Echo Park's Pizza Buona Struggling to Reopen

By Hadley Tomicki

Last February, a car slammed into Echo Park's Pizza Buona, taking operations out and injuring a pregnant passerby. Fortunately, no one was killed, but nine months later, the business is still struggling to be revived. Eastsider L.A. speaks with owner Otilia Schweitzer, who was hit with a double whammy when, right around the time of the accident, one of those questionable lawsuits was filed over the pizza parlor's lack of a disabled-accessible restroom.

11/29/12 at 1:15 PM
Chicken Wars
Comment

Will Bruins Bear a Chick-Fil-A in Westwood?

By Hadley Tomicki

Majoring in English

Chick-Fil-A is invading Bruin territory, as LAist learns the Atlanta chicken chain has plans for a location in Westwood. The restaurant is apparently overtaking Burger King on the corner of Westwood and Le Conte, though the company is yet to formally announce this expansion itself. Chick-Fil-A was mired in controversy this summer after its CEO admitted to the company's fiscal donations against marriage equality. The resulting fall-out found two local locations bombed by activist art, staged protests and "kiss-ins," civic in-fighting, and several competitors offering progressive chicken sandwiches, while an effort this fall to kick the business out of a food court at NYU was eventually foiled. But will Bruins bear it? Time will tell if UCLA students are as offended by the company's homophobia as they would be if it was called, say, Ching-Chong-Fil-Ling-Long-A.

Chick-fil-A Is Coming to Westwood [LAist]

11/29/12 at 12:35 PM
Taco Town
Comment

Street Gourmet L.A. Confronts Blog's Confounding "Best Mex" List

By Hadley Tomicki

Awesome!

If you caught Refinery 29's list of the "60 Best Mexican Restaurants" in L.A. back in September, our deep condolences for the precious moments of life that you'll never get back. The list was largely a re-fried review of some of the most disappointing tortilla-slinging tourist traps in town. Today Los Angeles Mag's Mex-pert, Bill Esparza, points out that not only demonstrated questionable to bad taste, but it was also often inaccurate. Though he's late to the party, who doesn't want to hear the writer who beefs with Rick Bayless beat up on Refried-ery 29's recent calamity?

11/29/12 at 12:20 PM on Grub Street NY
Where's the Cream Filling?
Comment

Don’t Worry, Hostess Executives Will Apparently Still Get Bonuses

By Alan Sytsma

Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Oh, Hostess: Yes, all of the company's assets will be liquidated and almost all of the company's employees are without jobs, but in a move that is sure to draw ire, the company asked a bankruptcy judge to approve a move that would give its top executives $1.8 million in bonuses. And, according to CNBC, that judge did, in fact, approve it.

11/29/12 at 11:40 AM
Menus
Comment

See The Menu For Ink's James Beard Dinner, With Help From Nancy Silverton, Jon Shook, and Jordon Kahn

By Hadley Tomicki

Mozza's ricotta raviolo in brown butterPhoto: Tatiana Arbogast

This Sunday, Michael Voltaggio's ink. is hosting a James Beard Celebrity Tour dinner with the chefs from Mozza, Animal, Red Medicine, and Jeremy Fox. Organizers tell us there are still 20 to 30 seats available for the $200 dinner and for everyone who wants to go, or merely just fantasize about the action, we have the full menu for your looks below, including Matt Molina's beloved uovo, ricotta, and brown butter raviolo, a cereal grain morcilla from Fox, and chicken fried sweetbreads from Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook. Jordan Kahn, originally lauded for his touch as a pastry chef, is on dessert duty, and Nancy Silverton is serving a starter of burrata with caviar. Get your reservations at 323-651-5866 and see the full menu below.

11/29/12 at 11:25 AM on Grub Street SF
Closings
Comment

Drakes Bay Oyster Co. Is Kaput

By Jay Barmann

The feds have spoken, and there will be no more oystering for 47-year-old Drakes Bay Oyster Company in Point Reyes. As we've reported a couple times this year, the company's lease was set to expire tomorrow and the National Parks Service was doing an environmental review to determine whether or not to allow them to continue another ten years, or to convert the whole area around Drakes Estero into California's first federally designated marine wilderness preserve.

11/29/12 at 11:00 AM on Grub Street NY
Overnights
Comment

Top Chef Seattle Recap: David Rees on a Handsy Padma and Old-Timey Hawaiian Obsessions

By David Rees

Photo: Bravo

This week’s episode kicks off with the gang still arguing over Kuniko’s exile. John, the most hated chef in Dallas, continues his role of loudmouth jerk. He yells at Josh: “How many restaurants have you opened and failed?” CJ looks like he wants to knock John upside the head with How to Cook Everything. Amidst the din, someone lets slip this immortal diagnosis: “You pretend to have balls and you don’t have balls!”

11/29/12 at 11:00 AM
Reservations
Comment

Superba Snack Bar Now Taking Reservations

Venice's Superba Snack Bar continues to draw a crush of diners each evening, necessitating a lot of juggling for the manager out front. The chaos should be alleviated somewhat as the restaurant is now offering reservations to guests, from 6:00 to 7:00 P.M. Mondays through Thursdays and 5:30 to 6:30 P.M. on weekends. Walk-ins are still welcome during those times, but bookings can be made at 310-399-6400.

11/29/12 at 10:30 AM on Grub Street Philly
Health Concerns
Comment

Peanut Farmers Peeved Over Peanut Butter Plant Closing

By Collin Keefe

Seems the FDA’s shuttering of a peanut butter factory tied to salmonella outbreak that sickened 41 people in twenty states has turned a bumper crop of goobers into a bumper bummer for the small town of Portales, New Mexico. And the citizens there are mad as hell about it. The AP reports that the peanut-rich region was banking on a particularly bounteous harvest this year, but with Sunland Inc., the only production facility around, and the town’s largest employer, out of commission, those hopes of fortune have turned to worries about the local economy.

11/29/12 at 10:20 AM
Imports
Comment

JapaDog Coming to L.A.!

By Hadley Tomicki

JapaDog's spicy cheese taramayoPhoto: Japadog

Considering Los Angeles already has three Japanese burger chains (and another on the way), it's about time to get our hands around a Japanese hot dog (well, besides this and this). JapaDog, the Vancouver-based inventor of okonomi, tonkatsu, and ume dogs is looking to set up shop in L.A., specifically hoping to establish a foothold in our shopping malls.

11/29/12 at 9:20 AM
Lawsuits
Comment

PETA Sues Hot's Kitchen Over Free Foie Gras

By Hadley Tomicki

"The Burger" at Hot's

Less than two weeks after the sale and production of foie gras was legally banned in California, we found the stuff being given away as a free side with "The Burger" at Hot's Kitchen in Hermosa Beach. PETA is not going to let that stand, as the animal rights group filed suit against the restaurant's holding company yesterday, claiming the offer of this complimentary supplement was a clear attempt to "evade the law." According to Reuters, the restaurant is yet to be served with the suit, but a spokesperson is already deeming this "outrageous, baseless" action as "an attempt to exploit the media by stoking controversial flames." Hot's Restaurant Group committed to the fight for foie as part of a team of plaintiffs that sued the state just one day following the ban, calling the statute "unconstitutionally vague." PETA, for its part, sues a lot of people, even recently invoking the 13th amendment in defense of enslaved orcas.

Animal rights group sues California restaurant over foie gras ban [Reuters]

11/29/12 at 8:50 AM on Grub Street NY
Video Feed
Comment

Watch This Magician Make a Baguette Appear Out of Nowhere

By Hugh Merwin

This Yif guy really knows his way around viennoiserie. Even if you're one of the few people out there who doesn't appreciate street magic, you'll probably want to see this Paris-based, Taiwanese guy turn dough into flaky pastry, then transmogrify a little more flour and water to produce a three-foot-long loaf from, well, nowhere. We're wondering if Yif can make other food magically appear, but in any event, "bread magician" sounds way better than "charcuterie magician." What you are about to see may not be gluten-free, but it is no-knead. Prepare to be amazed.

Nice score marks.

11/29/12 at 7:00 AM on Grub Street NY
Video Feed
Comment

Watch a Gangbanging Latke-Making Video

By Alan Sytsma

Just in time for Hanukkah comes the first episode of what's apparently going to be an online series, "Bubala Please." And the premiere finds our two Jewish gangster hosts frying up some latkes. Stir this motherfucker up.

Or Search By:

Neighbhorhood

Cuisine

Feature

Advertising

Recent reader reviews on MenuPages

Sandbag's See the menu

“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 :)
26 Beach See the menu

“Yummie delivery”
Nice selection, good food, and fast service. I like it.
Cafe Gratitude See the menu

“Amazing vegan food.”
Delicious even if you're a carniverous veggie rejecter.