Eating L.A. goes on a diet

I'm not sure why I've had so much trouble staying at a good weight lately. It probably has something to do with the fact that I insist that everything I put in my mouth be delicious, and sticky rice and mango is surely a guilty party as well. It's really not fair, though. I never eat fast food; unlike scads of posters on Chowhound's recent Guilty Pleasures posts, I have absolutely no knowledge of the wonders supposedly available at Jack in the Box, Del Taco or the Cheesecake Factory. OK, I do cop to a perverse fascination with orange chicken, but at least it's Chinese. Nonetheless, simply exploring L.A.'s culinary goodness seems to be too much for my pathetic metabolism to handle, and so I've embarked on a kind of foodie Atkins plan. Unlike Jeffrey Steingarten, the first thing I did was not order a goose liver by mail. The last time I did Atkins, I found out you really can't have all that much cream and bacon if you want it to work. But I've found it is possible to have some very good meals that more or less fit the protein and veggies criteria. This week's highlights were a selection of sashimi at Sushi Gen downtown, and a salmon lunch at Luna Park. At Sushi Gen, I had an impeccably fresh albacore appetizer on a bed of tatsoi, an order of tuna sushi (couldn't pass up a tiny bit of rice), and a lovely order of intensely buttery toro. At Luna Park, although it took ages to arrive, (don't be in hurry at lunchtime) I had a crispy, perfectly medium rare salmon filet on a bed of green beans and fresh cut corn. I know, corn has carbs too, but it was so sweet and wonderful it assuaged my dessert cravings. Tomorrow night, I'll have Thai food -- probably spicy beef salad and maybe tofu larb or garlic pepper shrimp. I've found white rice to be the easiest thing to dispense with, and don't need it with most Asian food. Bread and pasta are harder, although the advent of Dreamfield's pasta is most intriguing. Progress updates to come.

News you can chew

New in Echo Park: A branch of La Compadre has moved into the old Saratoga/Nikola space on Sunset near Dodger Stadium. Those who mourned the loss of El Chavo can now move up Sunset for their fix of goopy enchiladas and sickly-sweet margaritas. But what do I know, I haven't eaten at El Compadre since my dad took me to see "The Hot Rock" at the Oriental Theater (now Guitar Center) across the street. And "The Hot Rock" came out in 1972, so maybe the food has changed since then. I doubt it, though.

New on Beverly: Cayenne Mediterranean Cafe has taken over the spot next to the New Beverly Theater which was Piper Club Cafe for just a few short months. Eating L.A. thought the Piper Club had expensive, overly fussy crepes, so we'll let you know soon whether Cayenne is an improvement or just a bait-and-switch tactic like when Electric Lotus on Third turned into Red Banana for about five minutes.

Trader Joe's find of the week: The Chocolate Traveler is a cute little round tin box (practically collectible, it's so clever), filled with bitter chocolate triangles. If you were in Europe, you could tuck this in your bag for sustenance on long train trips. In L.A., it could hide out in your top desk drawer instead.

mini reviews: Mei Long Village and The Wild Hare

It's funny about Chinese food -- once you get used to going with a group of people, you feel slightly cheated if you only get to try three things. Such was the case last night at Mei Long Village in San Gabriel, where we nonetheless had a nice light-ish and savory supper. I've been wanting to try their Shanghai dumplings for a while. We actually chose the crab and pork dumplings instead, but these too ejaculated a brothy mouthful as you slurp down the minced filling and slighty chewy wrapper. It's nearly the same thing as a potsticker or shu mai, but with a juicier finish. The fresh ginger slivered on top of the dipping sauce adds another good flavor note. Matt requested something with slivered pork, so we had slivered pork with bean sheets and chile. I was thinking it would be more of a red chile sauce, but instead slices of fresh green and red jalapenos livened up a hearty mound of shredded pork and tofu sheets. Our third choice was diced fish with pine nuts, which was so white and mashed-potatoey looking that that I thought it might be too bland. Although the predominant flavor was just salt or soy, the pine nuts and a little added chile paste proved to be suitable complements to the soft fish. Although tricky to pick up with chopsticks, I was happy I tried it. Next time I'd like to try an interesting looking dish of Chinese okra, which comes stuffed with various things. On the way out, we noticed people polishing off giant red pork pumps -- a Shanghai specialty which will have to wait until we return with more people.
Mei Long Village
301 W. Valley Blvd. #112
San Gabriel
(626) 284-4769

After a trip to the Chinese DVD store for Matt to pick up "The Grudge II," we took back roads home and stopped at The Wild Hare on the border of Highland Park and Eagle Rock for a nightcap. It was hard to spot at first on York Blvd., but eventually the scruffy white smoking guys out front gave away the presence of a trendish spot. (No trucker hats, thank god -- Eagle Rock is more working class chic -- mohawks, androgenous tatooed girls, and a wonderfully beehived Chicana lady. The Hare is trying hard to please, with several good beers and Belgian ales on tap, a decent wine selection, full bar and plenty of bar snacks. We were too full to taste anything but every other table bore a huge pile of well-cooked pub fries, and there's also fried calamari, sausage, pate, salad and dessert available. It was a promising place with an interesting crowd in a satisfyingly mysterious neighborhood -- but whoever compiled the jukebox didn't share my taste very closely. Lots of Beck, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Steve Miller and Peaches, but other than a lone Clash record, no '80s punk or new wave at all, and nothing of the Interpol/Strokes/Pavement/Pixies /Sonic Youth persuasion.
The Wild Hare
York Ave. between ae. 50 & 51
Highland Park

Rant of the Day: Food Nation

Last night the Food Network's "Food Nation with Bobby Flay" happened to visit Los Angeles. Yet another travelling food show seems to get it completely wrong. OK, I'll give him the obligatory pilgrimages to Pink's and Tommy's, even though there's better dogs and burgers to be found elsewhere. And I suppose a visit to Wolfgang Puck is de rigueur as well, although...yawn. But when Bobby attempts to visit Farmer's Market, he gets it all wrong. First he waxes on about the beauty of the produce, which unfortunately is no longer what FM is all about. Then he meets up with some ex-New Yorkers, who tell him barbecue in L.A. isn't that great. Then he manages to completely bypass Loteria, Banana Leaf, the crepe place, and anything else with a shred of flavor and uniqueness, only to end up with ...a bagel and lox? Where do you even get that at Farmer's Market? The ex-New York actress/model then tells him that bagels aren't that great outside of New York...duh. Oh, well, obviously the smarmy Bobby Flay doesn't deserve a Bob's Donuts apple fritter anyway. From Tony Bourdain's Kafkaesque Oki-dog visit to Rachael Ray's questionable choice of the Authentic Cafe, I just want to know, do the producers of these shows ever talk to anyone who actually lives in L.A.?

Autobar update

My neighborhood sources tell me that plans for the upscale steakhouse at the Autobar space on Rowena have fallen through...it's going to become a kind of gourmet market/cafe, possibly with a bagel component and a Latin flavor (jalapeno queso bagels, anyone?). The financing for the restaurant apparently didn't come through. Keeping our fingers crossed that the bagels will be good, anyway... I'm sure the neighbors are happy that it sounds like less late night bar action will be involved in this plan.

Mini-review: Alcove

I can't really review the food or service at Alcove Cafe on Hillhurst, because it was way too crowded on Sunday afternoon to ever get a table or get served. The line snaked out the door as if no one in Los Feliz had ever seen a brunch place before. But I am glad they finally put the interesting little brick house that houses Alcove to good use, instead of tearing it down. The patio is charming and the baked goods looked lovely, although Kathy said it wasn't a good sign that every single table bore a number and had not yet been served. I noted that $10 is the new minimum price point for sandwiches, burgers and omelettes at most cafes...it seems like there used to be such a thing as a $6.00 sandwich, but no more, apparently. We grabbed a few things from the Village Gourmet next door and took them home to my quiet, dogless patio. Kathy liked her curried chicken salad on a bed of baby greens. I was happy with my chicken apricot salad after dousing it with a little of Kathy's balsamic viniagrette -- it was dry at first, with a strong, yet not unpleasant, dose of rosemary. My Italian white bean salad with chunks of carrots was also nice. It's a good place to pick up a picnic for the Bowl or Griffith Park, if you don't mind paying dearly for stuff you could throw together in the kitchen in a few minutes.
Alcove Cafe
1929 Hillhurst Ave. (Los Feliz)

Mini-review: Pattaya

There's a guy on Chowhound who is always promoting Pattaya Thai on Vermont as a worthy alternative to dining in Thai Town, and a good delivery option for the Los Feliz area. So we headed over after being scared away from sin by the likes of Penn and David Cross at Hollywood Hell House just down the street on Hollywood Blvd. A few different-sounding dishes were on the menu, which unfortunately I forgot to grab, and some dishes had silly names to attract the Vermont hipster crowd. "Funky noodles" were the typical spicy flat noodles -- not transcendently greasy and flavorful like at Torung or Sanamluang, but not bad. Mixed seafood pot was a bunch of calamari, shrimp and scallops in a light yellow curry sauce -- fine but not too interesting. Red curry chicken was also standard but tasty. I convinced our foursome to try something I hadn't seen before, consisting of deep-fried squid pieces and cashews in a strong curry paste. It wasn't entirely successful, as the curry tasted raw and the squid was skimpy and chewy. But it was the only thing funky and wierd that intrigued me on the menu, so I had to try it. It's convenient if you're walking somewhere on Vermont or need delivery in the area, but otherwise I'd probably keep on driving a little farther down Hollywood Blvd.

Pattaya Thai
1727 N. Vermont
(323) 666-0880

Gelato-mania hits L.A.

It used to be hard to find a decent cup of gelato anywhere in L.A., except at the very respectable Al Gelato on Robertson. But seemingly overnight, it seems that gelato is everywhere. So far, the consensus seems to be that Massimo's in Venice is one of the best of the bunch -- I liked the pear and the espresso. Il Cono in Beverly Hills has one of the widest selections, with soy and sugar-free varieties available (although, why bother?). In more far-flung locations, there's Mrs. Freeze in Whittier and Hacienda Heights and the highly-touted Gelato Paradiso in Newport Beach. We haven't tried Gelato Italiano on Melrose yet. Eating L.A. stopped in at the new gelato bar at Monte Carlo Market in Burbank and we were unimpressed -- it seemed very runny and the flavors didn't seem clear, although the watermelon and lemon sorbettos were refreshing. It's not house made. The gelato bar at Whole Foods in Glendale is pretty good -- they sell the widely available Ciao Bella gelato, but it always seems to taste better when it's hand-scooped. The blood orange sorbetto and green tea flavors are nice. I've eaten quite a few vats of in gelato in Italy, though, and I have to say none of these places seem to quite capture the real essence of Italian gelato.

Taste test: The Stand, Encino

Eating L.A was invited to try The Stand in Encino by its publicist, Lewis Fein, who knows Cathy Seipp. While Eating L.A. generally believes in anonymous, self-funded dining, it was hard to pass up a reason to drive to Encino in 102 degree heat and stuff ourselves with hot dogs. And my boyfriend Matt, hereafter known as the Rhode Island Diner, has an affection for hot dogs that a lifetime of Pink's has somehow not instilled in me.
The room: The Stand is a cute, if corporate feeling, little place (photos below) with a retro, yet not over-the-top interior and a pleasant tree-lined patio.
The food: In addition to dozens of varieties of hot dogs and sausages, it offers beer and wine, hamburgers and salads and desserts. Toppings for the dogs include raisin-onions, green turky chili, and corn relish. For purposes of comparison, our colleagues at the Hot Dog Spot blog give The Stand three and half dogs...Skooby's and The Wiener Factory get four and a half, but I haven't tried either one.
I tried a Kraut dog with a Red Hot beef wiener, sauerkraut and mustard. Since they don't offer New York System style hot wieners like in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Diner had a Boston Dog with baked beans and swiss cheese, and a Big Blue Dog with blue cheese, onions and fresh tomato. I was skeptical about his choice of blue cheese, but he loved both his dogs and said it would be worth returning to try the beans as a side order. I was equally enamored of my Red Hot dog which had a nice little spicy kick. The fries were ok, but I prefer the grease-laden, slightly overcooked Oki Dog style or the crispy Benita's style fries. This would be a great place to take the kids -- the 'rents can linger over a beer while the rugrats tuck into a hot fudge brownie sundae or a distinctive-looking cream soda float. Everything was top quality -- we'll definitely be back with the kids to try the chili and the andouille sausage.

The news: Partner Richard Shapiro pioneered the Daily Grill concept and the Stand has a similar old-time feeling. Co-partner Murray Wishengrad explained that several more Stand locations are in the works, mostly on the Westside. The first location will be in Culver City, and they're in talks for a West Hollywood location on Santa Monica Blvd., which would stay open much later than the Encino location. I think it's great that entrepreneurs are trying to create a good experience for people who don't have $125 to spend on dinner -- now that I have a teenager, I'm happy to find places that can fill his seemingly-bottomless pit of a stomach.

The Stand
17000 Ventura Blvd.
Encino
(818) 788-2700

The Stand's pleasant (albeit sweltering) outdoor patio.

Fries, a blue cheese dog and a raspberry lime soda...what more could you want?

Matt chomps into a Boston dog at the Stand.

Food news this week

Anyone wondering what happened to chef Tomi Harase, who owned foodie mecca Cafe Blanc in Beverly Hills? He's resurfaced at Katsu-ya in the Valley, and will be introducing more Cal-Japonaise dishes there soon. And now, a moment's silence for the first Cafe Blanc as well, which inhabitated an unlikely little building on Beverly Blvd. just west of Virgil. (from Chowhound)

California ale...it's better than Bass. Not exactly breaking news, but a nice beer article for this weather. (L.A. Times, free registration required)

I'm planning on hitting Mandaloun soon for some Lebanese delicacies and a hit off those fine-looking water pipes... (L.A. Alternative Press)

Bangkok Hipster

This has nothing to do with L.A., but a new web site called Bangkok Hipster provides restaurant reviews and other Bangkok news for armchair or aspiring travelers. With the weather in L.A. lately, it feels like Bangkok anyway.

Bikes and Ice Cream...a great combination

The local chapter of Slow Food is teaming up with a bike organization to visit several ethnic restaurants and ice cream parlors on a 20 mile bike ride Sunday Sept. 12th...sounds like an excellent way to sample some rose petal ice cream at the new Glendale Mashti Malone's and burn calories at the same time. One caveat: temperature forecast for Sunday is 80 degrees. I think I'll join the organization anyway, in hopes a less strenuous outing comes up.
Great Chowhound exchange about Slow Food:
"Slow food...does that mean Fred 62?"
"No, they said slow food, not totally inert food."

Taste test: Masa of Echo Park

As the L.A. Times detailed today, Echo Park is littered with more designer shops than ever these days. But the restaurant scene has still been fairly quiet until the recent arrival of Masa of Echo Park, a new bakery/cafe on the same block as the Echo nightclub. Masa took over a former Mexican bakery, and a few nods to the largely Hispanic-but-gentrifying neighborhood still remain in the Cuban sandwich on the menu and the name -- Masa -- which means "dough" in Spanish. They will soon start serving full breakfasts, so for now we were only able to try the baked goods. They are all made on the premises and my almond croissant was on the heavy side, but fresh and not too sweet, perfect with a cup of their Sumatra coffee. The pastries remind me somewhat of the Backdoor Bakery -- probably not made by a pastry expert, but homey and fresh. They are obtaining a beer and wine license and will have Belgian ales and French wines to go with their deep dish pizza, panini, salads and crepes. There are a few intriguing things on the menu -- mussels can be added to the pizzas, for example. A mango, shrimp and salmon salad sounds like a good alternative to the other dough-intensive items. The familiar arugula/walnut salad comes with Manchego cheese, apples and dates, might be a welcome change from beets and Roquefort.
Masa of Echo Park
1800 W. Sunset Blvd.
(213)989-1558

Roxie enjoys a chocolate chip muffin at Masa.

Tom welcomes visitors at the bakery counter of Masa of Echo Park.