Posts for January 14, 2013 -- Grub Street Los Angeles -- Restaurant News, Openings, Chefs

Posts for January 14, 2013

1/14/13 at 3:30 PM
Coming Soon
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David LeFevre Does Not Endorse Actual Fishing With Dynamite

LeFevre at the Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival 2012Photo: Tatiana Arbogast

Following last week's news that M.B. Post's David LeFevre is opening a new 30-seat seafood restaurant called "Fishing With Dynamite," the chef finds himself with just a little splainin' to do. Easy Reader reports that only a very ~~stupid~~ small crowd is expressing concerns about the name, but still the LeFevre explains, "I take food very seriously and our guests very seriously but not myself seriously. Fishing with dynamite is used sometimes to say something is a no-brainer, an obvious choice. If you look at my previous and current bodies of work, you will see that I am incredibly concerned about sustainability...so I'm not saying anybody should fish like that."

1/14/13 at 2:05 PM
Next Door by Josie
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Duck Confit Banh Mi Coming Back to Next Door by Josie

By Hadley Tomicki

2012 was a troubling year for lovers of chef-driven banh mi. A breakdown in the kitchen of Spice Table took Bryant Ng's Vietnamese sandwich out of the lunch game and Josie LeBalch's excellent duck confit banh mi ceased being available at Next Door by Josie in Santa Monica. Fear not, for LeBalch tells Grub Street she's planning on bringing the luxe sandwich back on February 10th and every week thereafter for what she's labeling "Banh Mi Sundays." The chef also promises "other special dishes to coincide with the Lunar New Year." As LeBalch herself said about the sandwich last year, "Watch out - flavor central!" 2420 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica.

1/14/13 at 1:20 PM
Openings
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Hostaria del Piccolo Now Open in Venice

By Hadley Tomicki

Hostaria del PiccoloPhoto: Tatiana Arbogast

Hostaria del Piccolo, the more casual off-shoot of superb Piccolo in Venice, is now open on Rose Avenue in the beach-side neighborhood, giving Superba a run for its pasta dollars come evenings. The menu of 28 pizzas, salads, pasta, fish, and meat is the same as one will find at the Santa Monica original. The major difference here is the look.

1/14/13 at 12:30 PM
Look Who's Popping Up
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BierBeisl Welcomes 14-Year-Old Wunderkind Chef, Flynn McGarry

By Hadley Tomicki

McGarry in the kitchenPhoto: Eureka

Flynn McGarry, the fourteen year-old chef who should probably be doing his homework instead of cooking you dinner, will bring his pop-up restaurant, Eureka, to BierBeisl in Beverly Hills for one night this month. On January 30, catch McGarry cooking a $160 eight-course menu (ah, the impudence of youth!) of "progressive New American" dishes inspired by his chef heroes, which could include Grant Achatz, Daniel Humm, and John Sedlar, all of whom he's worked under in the past. What else?

1/14/13 at 11:20 AM
Openings
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Check Out Gino Angelini's Menus at RivaBella, Open Tonight in West Hollywood

By Hadley Tomicki

RivaBella's cozze fritte con salsa alla birraPhoto: RivaBella

Food being the new rock and all, Gino Angelini's linking up with Innovative Dining Group (Boa, Sushi Roku) is a little like Jane's Addiction signing to Warner Brothers back in the day. The partnership will expose the cooking of this Emilia-Romagna-raised master-chef to a bigger, more mainstream audience, while also raising the possibility that the intimacy and homey exclusivity of dining at Angelini Osteria could somehow be watered-down. Nonetheless, these two strange bedfellows are now in cahoots together, opening RivaBella tonight in West Hollywood's former Hamburger Hamlet space.

1/14/13 at 10:30 AM
Closings
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Henry's Tacos Closes After 51 Years in Studio City

By Hadley Tomicki

Henry's Tacos

Despite the best efforts of hobbits and men, Studio City's 51-year-old taco stand, Henry's, has served its last ground beef-stuffed tortilla. The restaurant lost the battle with its landlord, Mehran Ebrahimpour, who refused to renew Janis Hood's leases after the second-generation owner sought Historic Landmark status for the business.

1/14/13 at 9:50 AM on Grub Street Chicago
Video Feed
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Video Feed: Get Ready For the Carnivorous Pleasures of The Hunt

By Michael Gebert

You don't actually see Next chef Dave Beran bag a pheasant in the new video for The Hunt menu, running now, but you see plenty of other things in the latest, beautifully-put together work from resident filmmaker Christian Seel that leave you in no doubt that The Hunt is about the carnal pleasures of carnivorousness. Heads are cut off, bones are sanded down for eating marrow out of, red meat is trimmed and even pureed... all these things happen in fine dining, but this meal isn't about keeping them behind the kitchen door. Check out two minutes and forty-four seconds of red-blooded meat below, and speaking of red, according to Twitter, this is the first Next video shot on their latest toy— a Red Scarlet 4K digital video camera. So be sure to watch it in 1080p as large as you can— and apparently it even comes in a 3D version (we haven't actually tested that out, especially on these vivid images).

1/14/13 at 9:45 AM
Crime Scenes
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Sunday Stabbing Outside of Church & State

Police are searching for three suspects still on the loose after the stabbing of a former employee of Church & State, outside of the French bistro on early Sunday morning. According to ABC, a man said to be in his twenties was knifed in the abdomen while taking out the trash around 1:00 A.M., and is currently in stable condition following the assault. Right now, police have no motive and continue to investigate the crime. Hopefully the assailants are caught. Until then, let's hope they're at least getting a stern talking-to about violating the Sunday truce. [ABC; Related] UPDATE: Amy Prenner, a PR rep for Church & State, tells Grub Street the victim had not worked at Church & State for several months and was not at the restaurant that night. "He was stabbed on Mateo Street and came into the restaurant for help," she writes.

1/14/13 at 9:00 AM
Taco Town
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Mariscos Jalisco Starts Serving Downtown in New Truck Today

By Hadley Tomicki

Raul Ortega of Mariscos JaliscoPhoto: Javier Cabral

Mariscos Jalisco is undergoing mitosis, splitting into a second vehicle that will serve its same lauded menu in Downtown's Fashion District, starting today at noon. The Boyle Heights taco truck won the distinction of "L.A.'s Favorite Taco" last year for its addictive shrimp tacos dorados, splitting the honor with Guisado's. Owner Raul Ortega confirms that he'll start serving at Standford and 10th Streets seven days a week, parked on the street Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M., and the rest of the time from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. in a private parking lot at that same intersection. The truck will take off Sundays.

1/14/13 at 7:15 AM on Grub Street NY
Save Hostess
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Tastykakes-Maker Is Buying Hostess Bread Brands: Will Twinkies Be Saved?

By Sierra Tishgart

It's a miracle!

If you've been living in a nuclear fallout shelter packed with Ho Hos and Ding Dongs since news broke of Hostess filing for bankruptcy, it's time to come out and see the light. Flower Foods Inc., a company in Georgia that produces Tastykakes, Nature's Own, and Cobblestone Mill, is buying six of Hostess's bread brands for $390 million. The deal isn't finalized yet because the bankruptcy court must approve it, but it looks like Wonder Bread will be back in your bodega soon (did it ever really expire, though?). Maybe consider starting a prayer group for Twinkies. [Earlier, AP]

1/14/13 at 6:10 AM on Grub Street Boston
TV Land
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Wahlburgers Reality Show Begins Filming

By Kara Baskin

Mark Wahlberg, reality star.Photo: Getty Images

That reality show we told you about featuring Wahlburgers' chef Paul Wahlberg and his celebrity siblings Mark and Donnie begins taping tomorrow, according to the Boston Globe. The show is all about what it takes to run a successful restaurant — despite recent woes. Wahlburgers has been in the news lately thanks to a lawsuit alleging that ex-manager Ed St. Croix did an "abysmal" job and the arrest of CEO Rick Vanzura for midday drunk-driving. This series could be juicy!

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