Larchmont Grill in the Los Feliz Ledger

Check out my review of the Larchmont Grill in the latest issue of the Los Feliz Ledger (scroll down on the page). Here's an excerpt: "The Larchmont Grill fills that space that every neighborhood needs: a restaurant where diners chat with their neighbors, where parents can have a nice glass of wine while the kids have their burger, where the service is affable and competent. Like your mom’s dining room, these kind of restaurants aren’t supposed to be cutting-edge — they’re supposed to make their patrons feel at home while dishing out some hearty food." In brief, not a very inspiring menu, but a handy place for a business lunch or an early dinner with the young 'uns.

Taste test: El Cochinto

Ever since the revolution or thereabouts, Silver Lake has had a major concentration of Cuban settlers. I'm not sure if the old men still sit around puffing cigars at Cafe Tropical like they did when I first moved to Silver Lake, but it practically felt like Little Havana around here back then. You can still get a taste of Cuba at El Cochinito on Sunset. Since I last ate there 16 or so years ago, the room has been freshened up. It's still simple inside, but with fresh paint and new tables, the small space is pleasant and clean. It's such a neighborly place that there's an autographed headshot of our old neighbor, Dominican actor Juan Fernandez, on the wall.
The server helpfully explains all the specials, which include red snapper, swordfish, halibut and grilled shrimp. I get the shrimp with an ultra-garlicky sauce, which is rather salty but balances out a bit after mixing it with some rice and black beans. Matt has a healthy-sized portion of ropa vieja and we're both happy, snacking on some fried tostones as well.
Although we set off looking for Mexican food, we're both glad we tried something different, and we'll be returning soon for the breaded steak and some more fish or chicken dishes. The service is super friendly, and all the dishes are around $10-$12 including rice and beans. They even have beer.
Verdict: I like the food at Alegria, but after several bad experiences with the service I just don't have the energy for it anymore. Save the stress and the wait and go next door to El Cochinito instead for a down-home Cuban feast. Get there before 8:30 though, as they close up pretty early.
El Cochinito
3508 W. Sunset Blvd.
323-668-0737
(thanks to Cuban Food USA for the picture of the tostones!)

Zagat is out: sayonara Matsuhisa

The 2007 Zagat guide for L.A. comes out tomorrow, and Matsuhisa is back in the number one spot for best food -- not for long, of course, as it's closing in a few months when Nobu opens in the L'Orangerie space. Also in the top five for food are Melisse and Sushi Nozawa, Leila's and Saddle Peak Lodge. Other new additions to the top food list (usually about 40 spots total) are Piccolo and Shiro. There's always a "Huh?" on the list and I guess it's Leila's this time -- I don't even know where Oak Park is, let alone know anyone who goes to Leila's.
Other interesting tidbits: top newcomers are Petros, the contemporary Greek restaurant in Manhattan Beach; La Botte in Santa Monica and The Crepevine in old town Pasadena. And surprisingly, Southern California residents eat out 3.8 times per week, more than New Yorkers and San Franciscans. Only Texans eat out more frequently...but why?

Backdoor Bakery, revisited

Eating L.A. was hoping to bring you a report on Netty's new brunch menu, but when we arrived at Netty's to meet Chris and Deborah Sunday morning at 10, we realized that Netty's doesn't open until 11 on weekends. So we decided to join the line of dogs and their owners at the Backdoor Bakery and see how this little cafe has weathered the last 10 or 12 years. Like many dogless longtime Silver Lake residents, I normally avoid the Backdoor because 1) when dogs outnumber people, there's a fairly high chance a dogfight will occur right under your table 2) some of the baked goods I've tried have been constructed with variations of rotten fruit or raw fruit that left a bad taste in my mouth 3) for the first several years of their existence, they inexplicably refused to make me an ice tea, which I found annoying and lastly, 4) once I was taking a picture of the sidewalk tables for an article I was doing on Silver Lake and someone came out and threatened me, trying to demand I give them the film from my camera.
But ok, let's let bygones be bygones -- the line moves at a decent clip, we order up some coffee and egg dishes and find an outside table. Admittedly, the tables have seemingly not been cleaned since my daughter's nursery school class decorated them in 1996 or so, and the "B" health rating reflects the rather leisurely approach to hygiene. But Matt's egg and cheese sandwich, Deborah's eggs and herbed toast with fruit and Chris's and my bagels were all perfectly fine. The coffee has improved a bit in the last 10 years, too. And everything arrived much more quickly than I remembered.
Verdict: If you need a convenient place to meet someone, and especially if you want to take your dog, the Backdoor Bakery offers a competent if not inspired menu. But with Netty's working on a reconception, maybe it's time to give the place a good cleaning and spiff things up like the rest of the neighborhood. I'm still not sure if you can get an ice tea, however.
Backdoor Bakery
1710 Silver Lake Blvd.
(323) 662-7927

More Eastside news

I try to stay away from the flood of Pinkberry news, because everyone else seems to talk about it endlessly and for some reason I can't get at all interested in frozen yogurt. But for those who love their yogurt, Pinkberry is coming soon to Vermont Ave. near Vermont restaurant, which is nearly as hard to park in as West Hollywood, but not quite.

Early reports of eating at Canelé are filtering in...read reviews here and here.

In addition to vegetarian Mexican food (soy ceviche, what will they think of next?), Highland Park is getting a new coffee house cleverly dubbed Highland Perk on York...too bad about the demise of Mudpuppy though, it always looked so cute.

Silver Lake Wine has applied for a full liquor-selling license which should come through in around six weeks. But it's a sales-only license, so there won't be crowds of people swilling artisanal absinthe and such at the Thursday night tastings.

Prasadam, the healthy cafe on Sunset in Silver Lake has closed, with some sort of vegan cafe taking its place...anyone have more info?

The old Cinnabar space on Glendale is apparently available once again, after Rocca and Acacia failed to materialize. C'mon, folks, let's put that bar to use!

Black Dahlia at Scoops

The suggestion board at Scoops -- I'll add a vote for mango sticky rice!

Saturday was definitely Black Dahlia day for Eating L.A. First we tried the Black Dahlia ice cream at Scoops, and then we saw the movie. The movie wasn't quite as bad as we had heard -- it was actually pretty entertaining trying to lose yourself in 1940s L.A. for a little while (even if it was partly filmed in Prague). It's no "L.A. Confidential," though.
OK, I'm no Meredith Brody, so on to the ice cream. Scoops owner Tai Kim told us the special deep lavender colored Black Dahlia flavor (pictured at left) was made from a type of yam and rosewater -- so it tasted pretty much like taro ice cream. Matt also had the brown bread flavor, while I tried the pomegranate poppy seed and the white chocolate with black salt. I loved the idea of putting salt in ice cream, and although it was pretty salty, it was a good counterpoint to the rich white chocolate. The pomegranate was really nice with just a little tartness, although I confess I find the Sheer Bliss pomegranate ice cream from the supermarket to be richer and more flavorful. I love the idea of all the crazy flavors at Scoops, but like Little Tokyo's Mikawaya, the ice cream is made in the subtle Asian style that for the most part doesn't pack the flavor punch of the best gelatos.
Kim also said that Brad Pitt had recently stopped by the store with some of the Jolie menagerie to sample the kooky flavors! That guy gets around...first the Banksy exhibit, and now Scoops.
Scoops
712 N. Heliotrope Dr., just north of Melrose
East Hollywood
open Monday-Saturday, 12pm-9pm

Cobras, Matadors and art, oh my!

Friday night's Silver Lake art walk drew a huge crowd for the bubble exhibit at the always-imaginative Materials and Applications. The sidewalk was packed as people stumbled around the sandy surface, engulfed by huge fabric bubbles. So we adjourned first to other art stops, including Steve Melendrez's Living Room furniture store, where he had snacks from Porto's and an interesting Ed Ruscha-esque display of panoramic photos of Sunset Blvd. But hunger called, so we struck out for Cobras and Matadors at the end of the gallery line. For some reason the Chowhound crowd absolutely hates C & M, and I hadn't been there in a year or so, so I wanted to see if it was worth all the vitriol. It was a bit crowded when we arrived, but we talked to friends eating there while we waited and soon enough a table on the patio was available.
It's true that the service is rather flustered -- the people next to us got the wrong bill; the waiter seemed convinced we had ordered artichoke croquettes, but we hadn't; and our table sat empty for a while before I asked whether we could sit there. But it was friendly enough and no slower than you would expect given the crowds.
Kathy pronounced our Spanish red wine choices "very young." We ordered the ubiquitous lentils, prawns al ajo and grilled asparagus with manchego. The lentils seem to get crispier and greasier each time, and yet even tastier -- at this point, perhaps they should call it lentil candy, like Lou's pig candy. The shrimp and asparagus were just ok, but each could have been really good with a little more attention in the kitchen. The bill was $40 for two glasses of wine and three plates. I don't see any reason to hate this place -- it fills the need for a lively spot in the area, the food is flavorful, if not expertly prepared, and the prices aren't outrageous. Except that the music is way too loud, and the boring Clash-meets-The Who soundtrack certainly doesn't merit the volume. The lackluster music is surprising, since the music at Malo (same owner) is usually excellent.
The waiter told us that owner Steven Arroyo's new South Pasadena wine bar will be called Church and State, but permit delays have delayed the opening past the planned October date.

Action in the hood

The Atwater/Silver Lake area is buzzing about the impending opening of Canelé in the old Osteria Nonni space. It's supposed to open Friday the 15th, but it might be best to wait a few days before descending. I've heard that new owner Corina Weibel worked at places like Lucques and Campanile and plans a Cal/Mediterranean menu, so it all sounds promising, as long as it doesn't cost an arm and a leg for the privilege of eating down the block from the casket shop.
A canelé, of course, is the French carmelly/custardy pastry which has recently captivated Angelenos, and it's pronounced Can-a-lay.

Over in Highland Park, they're buzzing about Cinnamon, a new vegetarian Mexican restaurant on Figueroa opening Sept 23. "All the plates are meetless," proclaims the website, but the menu lists items like chorizo sopes and chicken tacos...I guess it must be soyrizo.

Further down the pike, Rick Cardone, who makes the tasty Cardone's mozzarella available at the Silver Lake farmer's market, will open an Italian deli at 3206 Sunset, a few doors down from Dusty's. Paninis, meats, Italian cheeses and salads will be on the menu, and Rick may add a few more types of cheese to his repertoire -- he's working on perfecting the tricky burrata style.

The mid-Wilshire area is mourning the (hopefully temporary) closure of Posh on Pico. Posh's website says it plans to relocate, but no news of where as yet. That stretch of Pico is hot, hot, hot, with another new place opening next door to Posh's old space and the excellent Maison du Pain bakery down the street.

A bounty of veggies from the Farmer's Cart

I know I really should eat more vegetables, and I should try to cook more. Really, I should. So when I saw an ad in the Los Feliz Ledger for the Farmer's Cart organic delivery service, I decided to try it out. The service delivers a big box of fruits and vegetables every week or every other week to Silver Lake, Downtown and surrounding areas. The service didn't really work out for me -- partially because I barely cooked at all and partly because of the "surprise" aspect of the service. The main problem was that the selection was just too mundane...baby carrots, apples, bananas, potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, etc. The quality seemed pretty good but since my normal selection includes things like broccoli rabe, avocados, strawberries and shitake mushrooms, I'd have to pick these things up at the store anyway, plus find a use for the radishes which I would never normally buy. This service would be convenient if you live in a loft Downtown and have a hard time getting to organic produce...and if you actually had time to cook it. But for me I guess it's back to a combo of boxed produce from Trader Joe's and occasional speedy forays to the Silver Lake and Atwater farmers markets. If you live in a different part of town or want to try a service which has a few more customizable options, there's also Organic Express and L.O.V.E. (Los Angeles Organic Vegetable Delivery).

Yikes, crab poisoning!

Several diners who ate raw freshwater crabs on a dare at Orange County sushi restaurants became ill six to 10 weeks later from a parasite, reports the Orange County Register. International Marine has stopped selling the offending critters, which weren't meant to be eaten raw anyway. But there's always someone who has to play Fear Factor...

Craft still coming to L.A.

Earlier I posted that Jay Weston had reported that the deal for a Craft outpost to open in L.A. had fallen through...a Craft rep assures me that the info was incorrect and that construction will begin in Century City in October with a planned opening in the spring.

Please give us a decent Mexican restaurant!

The great Silver Lake Mexican food paradox is that there are dozens of Mexican restaurants between Los Feliz and Downtown and yet barely one that serves a selection of well-prepared dishes and makes a good margarita. It doesn't seem that much to ask for, and yet... In the early 90s, we liked Mexico City, but it's become pretty tired. Now we usually go to Malo, but we always get the same thing, and I haven't found it worthwhile to branch out much on the menu.
Carter reports that the kitschy, ancient El Chavo has been bought by Melanie Tusquellas of the Edendale Grill. Let's hope she can elevate the menu a bit and freshen up the margaritas...

Taste test: A Cow Jumped Over the Moon

smoked salmon crepe and mesclun salad

A Cow Jumped Over the Moon is an unlikely delight: a completely kosher cheese shop and French cafe hidden in the bowels of a Rodeo Drive shopping complex. It's on the lower level of the Rodeo Collection, adjacent to the valet parking stand. With construction on the collection (a new restaurant is going in) and some of the escalators under repair, it's tricky to find, but worth the search. The modern orange and chrome cafe with tables outside reminds me of eating at the cafes in Les Halles shopping center in Paris -- not much of a view, but authentic nonetheless. There's a small but judicious selection of kosher French cheeses, kosher chocolates, wines and of course, He' Brew gourmet kosher beer. The cafe menu is the real treat though -- everything from salade nicoise to a raclette plate, fondue, smoked salmon salad and pan bagnat. I tried a crepe with raclette cheese, pickles, potatoes and smoked salmon. For just $8, I got a nice sized crepe made with hearty buckwheat, a big mesclun salad and half a just-baked yeasty baguette. Such a deal!
The patrons provide some choice people-watching too: a man whose head is covered in hairdye wanders in wearing a robe, asking for his usual smoked salmon sandwich to be delivered to the hair salon; a group of young Orthodox college men wonders whether smoked salmon is the same thing as lox and orders a cheese plate; a French lady doctor who works upstairs tells me she's thrilled to find a healthy cafe nearby with good food. Indeed, anyone looking for a reasonably-priced quick lunch in Beverly Hills should be happy with A Cow -- you don't have to keep kosher to like it.
A Cow Jumped Over the Moon
421 N. Rodeo Dr. (in the Rodeo Collection)
Beverly Hills
(310) 274-4269

Loads of news (updated at bottom)

Larchmont Grill is now open in the former House space on Melrose...we'll try to review it soon. The menu includes steamed mussels with chorizo, Belgian fries, double-cut grilled pork chop with creamed corn gratin and a children's menu.

Jay Weston's restaurant newsletter reports that the deal for Tom Colicchio's Craft in Century City has fallen through...it's too bad Jay has so many typos in his newsletter since he's such an L.A. institution. UPDATE: SEE POST ABOVE. Craft says the deal is still on.

Speaking of showbiz connections, producer Sid Krofft has turned from the Banana Splits to fine dining with Eleven. The restaurant/nightclub opens in West Hollywood in October in the historic First National Bank of Sherman space at Larrabee and Santa Monica Blvd. The very ambitious project includes 32 interconnected plasma screens over the bar, a fountain with flames encapsulated in spheres of water, a co-ed mosiac restroom and "dynamic bursts of entertainment every 15 minutes." Chef Vincent Manna has cooked at Spago, L'Orangerie and Melisse and the menu sounds fusionish.

A Chowhound poster reports that Highland Park's The Wild Hare is for sale...it seems like a nice pub, one of the few places to get a good beer and some decent food. But perhaps the concentration of gentrified folks in Eagle Rock and Highland Park isn't quite high enough to support it...unfortunately it's a little bit off the beaten path for us.