Best of the week's food press

New York magazine weighs in on The Overrated List: Adam Platt's least-favorite food trends. Good idea, but I don't completely agree. I like edamame, and in L.A. they don't usually cost $8 a plate. I'm also fond of speck and romanesco, but maybe if you eat out as often as he does, they seem overused. I'd have to agree on cocoa nibs -- they're starting to seem pretentious.

Speaking of pretentious, the S.F. Chronicle has an article about kids in the kitchen, mentioning a 13 year old boy who's into vertical food presentation and others who are writing their own cookbooks. That's lovely. There's always hope that mine will finally attempt something beyond chocolate chip cookies. Peanut butter, maybe?

A few weeks ago, the Downtown News had some interesting items on the demand for new eating options Downtown: Fred Eric's new eatery/gourmet market Tiara, a new menu at Pete's and the revamped Banquette. The L.A. Times followed with a more pedestrian story about chain operations like IHOP and Roy's Hawaiian Fusion moving into Downtown.

And in restaurant news...Adieu, Moustache Cafe...When I was much, much younger, I used to enjoy this very '80s approximation of a French bistro on Melrose Ave. I took my boyfriend there for salade nicoise the night before I moved to Paris. I hadn't been back for more than 20 years, but for some reason I was a little sad they closed. The Melrose location will now be Chocolat Restaurant and Bar...wonder if they only serve dishes with chocolate nibs in them?