Vegans: Pedantic and pretentious, or just healthy?

Chowhounders nearly came to virtual blows recently over Echo Park's tiny Elf Cafe. Although most posters seem to like the vegan, vegetarian and raw food, debate rages over whether the owners and clientele are, variously, "a little too hip," "freak folk" and "hipstery pretentious." The owners have the local band Viva K, which does not seem particularly freak folk. I haven't gotten to Elf Cafe yet -- they're only open Wednesday to Sunday evenings -- but I'll try to report back soon.

Even Christ is not immune...

L.A. Observed posts the latest list of temporary restaurant closures from the health dept. -- among the victims, someplace in Compton called Christ's Restaurant as well as El Compadre in Hollywood, I Cugini in Santa Monica, the unfortunately-named La Poubelle (I wouldn't eat there if they paid me, anyway), the Kitchen in Silver Lake, Mandarin Deli in Chinatown and Musha in Santa Monica. They're all re-opened now, and probably cleaner than the places that weren't closed down.

Eater's Digest Sunday

Sorry, no long-form reviews this week...I can't decide where to eat next! So a few snacking and media notes of note...
Sunday New York Times: Annoying New Yorkers have children who are uber-foodies, of course, learning to sculpt foie gras and slice sushi practically in the womb. And of course there's a blog called Gastrokid, which includes a groovy interactive map of kid-friendly restaurants.
Also in the New York Times Magazine cover story (nothing much of interest in the L.A. Times, what a surprise): In Unhappy Meals, Michael Pollan tries to sort out whether it's worth listening to all the scientists and their various food pronouncements when deciding what's healthy to eat. I'm sorry to say, I read it while eating a cinnamon roll, but it's still a very valuable article.
We tried the pie at the new DuPar's -- the people at the bakery counter in Farmer's Market were utterly confused about how to sell one piece of pie. Sam liked the cherry pie; it seemed a bit gloppy to me, but that's what you get for ordering cherry pie in winter. The danishes and doughnuts looked pretty good, though.

If you haven't checked out the beer selection at Cap n' Cork on Hillhurst, you'll be very pleasantly surprised. We tried a Smoked Porter from Stone Brewery which was perfect for dessert. Their Belgian beer selection is quite amazing...and they have seven kinds of Unibroue from Canada, which I've been enjoying quite a bit lately. (Hint: they also have a few Unibroue beers at the otherwise-lackluster Ralph's on Glendale Blvd., at a reasonable price.)

Luscious food shots

Sarah from The Delicious Life has launched Tastespotting, where you can contribute photos of your most beautiful food shots. Well, she calls it food porn, but I'm not sure I need everything to be called porn this and porn that these days. Let's save porn for the real hardcore stuff, like sushi on naked girls! Anyway, if you've been thinking of taking pictures of your restaurant meals or homecooked creations, this is a great place to get some inspiration.

Eater's Digest, 1/22

I had a lovely lunch with Layne at Azami Sushi on Melrose the other day to talk about her budding Manifeasto blog. Azami is already much-beloved by the Chowhounds, and it's nice to know about another good sushi place striking distance from my office. The sushi chefs and waitstaff are all women, but I certainly couldn't tell whether their hands were too hot to make sushi! We ordered ultra-fresh nigiri including halibut, beautiful shiny tuna that seemed to be glowing, yellowtail, mackerel, a tempura mushroom dish that wasn't super-successful and spinach ohitashi. Everything was carefully and modestly garnished so nothing needed extra soy sauce. I hear the omakase is wonderful here, so hopefully we'll be back soon.
Update: As of mid-2008, Azami is under different ownership, so proceed with caution.

What have they done to Chowhound now?

Some of us are still getting over the massive redesign of Chowhound from last summer, and here they go and change the format again. Pros:

• You can see more posts on a page now
• There's finally a place to list one's blog on one's profile (no self-promotion, though, please!)
• You can post photos on each post.

Cons:

• It's been really slow and buggy since the changeover, but perhaps that will improve.
• The list of boards is a colorful jumble now instead of a neat list.
• Many readers are unhappy with the new format which seems to emphasize large areas of maroon background.

"I haven't felt this bad about a piece of media since Whole Earth Quarterly went belly-up in the middle of my subscription," says Chowhound poster Silverlake Bodhissatva.

Du-par's opens grandly

After two years of remodeling, Du-par's Restaurant at the Farmer's Market had its grand re-opening this morning. They've already been open a week or so, but today councilman Tom LaBonge showed up with some news cameras and his famous loaves of pumpkin bread to properly break the place in. In the interest of science, I had to try the French toast, the pancakes and the bacon. I liked the crispy old-fashioned diner style French toast and the medium-thick bacon (I don't really like the super thick variety). My pancake was a little soggy, but maybe I got one of the ones Tom LaBonge took a turn at flipping. There's no more counter with stools -- instead people can gather at a large communal table, the first I've seen in a diner. Otherwise, it barely looks like it's been changed at all, which is how it should be. It's a little disconcerting to see things like oatmeal brulee and sorbet on the menu, but although executive chef Jennifer Naylor is an alum of Granita, the menu sticks mostly to basic coffee shop fare, which is what it should do. The Naylor family seems to realize that you don't mess with tradition, and the late-night crowd is definitely going to welcome another 24/7 option. Later in the year, Du-par's is going to start making its own ice cream, which should go down just right with a slice of rhubarb pie. Du-par's, it's good to have you back.

Falcon for a day: Who me, judge beer?

Judge Dean , beer steward Diana and a big jug of porter

No sooner did I resolove to lay off beer this year than I was invited to be a guest judge at a homebrewing contest. Having long ago brewed a few batches of "Monsterbrau, fine beer of Hollywood" myself, I couldn't turn down the chance to taste some master brewers' entries in the experimental beers category for the Maltose Falcons brewing club. As I drove to the Home Beer, Wine and Cheesemaking Shop in Woodland Hills, a promo for KCRW's Good Food came on the air. "Beer for breakfast? It was a popular breakfast drink in the middle ages," said Evan Kleiman. Prophetic words, for the judging started at 9 am. The setup was a bit medieval too, with about 20 guys sitting at long tables and two wives fetching bottles of beer for the judges. There was just one other woman judging, and she was learning to be a real beer judge by taking the official exam. I was a rank novice, but after the initial shock, the experienced gent I was paired with took pity on me and explained the process. It's similar to coffee cupping, with a sheet to be filled out for each entry describing the aroma, appearance and taste of each entry.
Despite my lack of judging chops, my long beerdrinking experience served me well and I was able to more or less identify which entries had a chance, or at least whether I would want to drink them again. I'm not usually that wild about flavored beers except for really good lambics, but I got to judge blueberry, raspberry, pumpkin, ginger and even lemongrass entries. The lemongrass seemed astringent at first, but it grew on me and I realized it would be awesome with Thai food. There's no spitting in beer judging; but you don't really drink that much of each entry and a pile of bread rolls on the table helps sop up the suds.
Some were more successful than others, and it was a real test of the palate trying to taste individual ingredients like vanilla or nutmeg. My one slip-up was when I enjoyed the warm feeling one beer gave going down my throat; apparently the "warming effect" is a bad thing caused by overfermentation and too much alcohol. I also got to taste an amazing smoked porter that I would love to try with some aged cheddar cheese. However, I didn't get around to tasting the 1st runner-up, the crazy-sounding Gonzo Hemp Poppy Spirit beer with hemp, tequila, bourbon and mushroom flavorings, dedicated to Hunter S. Thompson. They ought to market that one! I wish I had time to get back into homebrewing, because it looks like they cook up some great food at the club meetings and homebrewers are really doing some creative beers these days.
The judge in the picture above is Dean from The Great Beer Company, brewer of Hollywood Blond ale, who told me there's a new microbrewery opening in El Monte this weekend called Skyscraper -- I'm not sure where they'll be selling it, but they're starting with two beers, Bulldozer Honeyweizen and Lug Nut Lager.

Taste test: Yai's on Vermont

For at least 20 years, Yai at Hollywood and Taft has been one of the more authentic restaurants in Thaitown. But redecorating was never at the top of management's agenda. Yai is located in a particularly sordid mini-mall with bad parking, a severe case of fluorescent glare and a kind of school-cafeteria effect to the packed-together tables. But they always had a killer beef salad and lots of untranslated specials that seemed to bear investigation.
After briefly opening and closing another branch further east on Hollywood, Yai's second location has finally opened in the giant strip mall at Hollywood and Vermont, with oceans of free, safe parking. The room is spanking clean and shows a slight nod to decor, although the lighting level remains just short of an autopsy chamber.
I know it's crazy to try a restaurant on opening night, but I love Thai food, and I can't resist. The waitress has clearly encountered her first group of non-Thais ever, but she muddles through -- it's a good thing I don't need any explanations. It seems curious that she only asks us about the heat level for the papaya salad, but I figure we'll see what they do with no guidance. First-night jitters result in a long wait for our dishes, but finally our papaya salad comes out. I'm a little disappointed that it just seems to be shredded papaya and carrot in a sour, spicy sauce -- they don't seem to have added any extras like peanuts to the dressing and it certainly didn't have any time to let the flavors meld. Nix the papaya salad. Next comes the beef salad (pictured above), always one of my favorites at the old Yai, and it's a good rendition with some carmelization on the beef. Pad thai khron khan is another of their specialities, and the more authentic version of pad thai proves too spicy for most of our party, although I like it. In addition to a nice garlicky plate of Chinese broccoli, our other dish is gai sup nok, described as ground chicken in a red dry curry and herbs (pictured at right). This tastes exactly like a fairly spicy version of mint leaf chicken, and it's rather oily, but for me, it hits the right spot of strong, spicy, minty flavors with the novelty of ground chicken instead of chicken pieces. I could eat this all day over rice, if they could drain off a bit of the oil perhaps.
Verdict: Overall, this meal was probably a little too authentic for some of our party, which included an out-of-town guest, but I'll certainly be back to try the barbecued duck salad, the fried whole trout with apple and chili dressing or the shrimp larb. And I'm sure the service will pick up once they get their sea legs. Now how do you say, "Turn down the lights please" in Thai?
Right now it's cash only, no alcohol and no delivery, but that could change. Open until 11 and maybe eventually until 2 am, according to the manager.
Yai's on Vermont
1627 N. Vermont Ave.
(323) 644-1076

Is there life west of Vermont?

Apparently the answer is yes, because there's lots going on in other parts of town. But first, allow me a brief Silver Lake digression: apparently Blair's opens for breakfast this weekend.

Moving westward, since apparently there can never be enough super-trendy expensive sushi bars in L.A., Katsu-ya will open another Philippe Starck-designed branch at Hollywood and Vine in the Broadway Hollywood lofts building.

An upscale Italian restaurant from Stefano Ongaro, All'Angelo, has opened at 7166 Melrose Ave. With the recent opening of the Village Idiot pub, the restaurant scene is heating up even on the cheesy section of Melrose.

Also on Melrose, Table 8 reopened today with a new "cocktail program" and lounge/small plates menu. I'll take a parnsip flan please, and a watermelon-jalapeno mojito.

Clementine in West L.A. is closing its outpost at the Hammer Museum (that's ok, it didn't work out for Joan's on Third, either), but is increasing the curbside pickup service to six days a week. Why don't they take over Silver Lake's Flor Morena, while they're at it?

In case you thought there was a cupcake shortage in L.A., Dainties Cupcakes at 11058 Santa Monica Blvd. in West L.A. is another recent entry into the cupcake wars.

Hans Rockenwagner is back in the restaurant business after a time with just a bakery, and has opened 3 Square Cafe & Bakery on Abbot Kinney in Venice.

Eater's Digest

On occasional feature in which I talk about places I've been that don't add up to a full review, or other food-related items.

• I took one of the steps in my food resolutions and ordered a bento-like lunchbox on the Internet from Laptop Lunches. I guess they're meant for kids to take their lunch to school, but it looked more practical than some of the Japanese boxes that don't close tightly.
• Eating L.A. finally stopped by La Maison du Pain on Pico to try the croissants. I had a decadent almond croissant and a rich raisin bun...both were quite wonderful and hard to put down, although there's something just a bit too greasy about them. I couldn't eat these every day, but boy, what an indulgence with a cup of coffee on a rainy, busy day. I didn't get to try the bread, but the whole wheat baguette looked intriguing.
• On Kathy's birthday, we stopped by Thai Patio for dinner with her son. This time the food was spicier than the first time, and it was all quite good, not to mention accompanied by a quietly kitschy Thai pop band. The steamed whole trout in lime broth is a winner, and even the plainer dishes liked the fried tofu with cashews were nice and zesty. So many good choices in that mini-mall now!
  

Media round-up

Me, first! My story "One Power Lunch, Hold the Guilt" ran in Variety's Showbiz Shapes Up issue today...apparently ordering "everything on the side" has gone slightly out of fashion, thank goodness.

L.A. will be bursting with brasseries, reports the L.A. Times, with new projects coming from David Myers (on Melrose), Michael Cimarusti (downtown) and Alain Giraud (on the Santa Monica Promenade).

The New York Times continues its fascination with L.A. specialties in this article on banana cream pie, and Janelle Brown take a comprehensive look at Beverly Blvd., the foodie center of Los Angeles.

And L.A. Observed pointed us to Mark Evanier's Great Los Angeles Restaurants That Ain't There No More, including some of my early childhood Beverly Hills favorites like Linny's and Wil Wright's. Don't miss the Whale's Tail on La Cienega, which you entered through the mouth of a giant blue-tiled whale.

Tuesday notes: Du-pars and Yai

Du-Par's has its grand reopening Monday morning, but unfortunately Eating L.A. has a doctor's appointment and won't be able to report on the festivities. I have a feeling it might be better anyway to show up later unannounced and see if there's still anything worth eating there. At left, the now-15 year old Chowteen waits for his pancakes at Du-Par's, circa 1992. (Update: Psych! Cancelled the appointment, couldn't stand to miss the festivities. Will report on Monday.)

Closer to home, Los Feliz and Silver Lake Thai food lovers are eagerly awaiting the grand opening of the new Yai Cuisine on Friday Jan. 19. The original Yai at Hollywood and Wilton is one of Thaitown's most authentic spots, but the neon and formica ambiance kind of sucks. Here's hoping this location (on Vermont in the giant strip mall just down from Jon's Market) combines the excellent incendiary beef salad with a slightly easier on the eye design and better parking.

Eating L.A. dropped by the Showtime celebrity gift mansion Saturday to visit Barrie Lynn, the Cheese Impresario. Our favorite cheese expert was giving tastes of several amazing cheeses to the starlets and other friends of Showtime invited to the swag-a-thon and benefit for the Make a Wish foundation.

The cheeses were paired with beautiful blooming flower teas as well as with great Italian wines from Folio Wine. Sophie loved the Canaria cheese from Carr Valley Cheese; unfortunately it's not available in L.A. Barrie Lynn and her Cheesettes were busy feeding the semi-famous, so we checked out the other offerings in the lovely Hancock Park house, including the intriguing rhubarb and lavender sodas from Dry and Jimi Hendrix Vodka, although they wouldn't tell us what made it Hendrix-flavored.

Taste test: Chichen Itza

I loved the little Chichen Itza stand in downtown's Mercado La Paloma, where office workers munch on inexpensive cochinita pibil tacos with a jicama salad and after lunch, you can get some smoked milk or tuna ice cream at the Oaxacan ice cream stand.
Now Chichen Itza's owners have gently gentrified with a new full-service restaurant in a two colorful, pleasant rooms on Sixth St. across from the Park Plaza Hotel, which should be a great option for Koreatown dwellers looking to branch out from Korean and Oaxacan food.
The food: Chichen Itza's Yucatan cuisine combines Mexican and Cuban flavors, with lots of meats marinated in orange juice and tropical twists on familiar Mexican dishes. Tuna chile rellenos (above) were slighty spicy with a mild tuna flavor -- not quite on the level of Mozza's stuffed zucchini flowers, but just as easy to gobble up. Kibi is strangely enough, the same as the ground beef and cracked wheat patties called kibbeh found in Middle Eastern restaurants, apparently brought to the Yucatan by Lebanese immigrants, according to the menu. A mild but deliciously smoky salsa served with the bread basket perks up the kibi and goes well with everything. Fried plantains are piled in a nice Lincoln Log stack and don't seem at all greasy. The cochinita pibil, which is basically what I'm there for, comes with black beans and rice. But it's a tad disappointing, as the large, tender chunks of pork don't get exposed to enough of the achiote/orange marinade to soak up that orangey, porky goodness. Fortunately a basket of corn tortillas is provided; we mush up the pork and make our own tacos, and by the bottom of the dish, it's starting to taste seriously good. But they might want to lose that super-spicy raw habanero pepper garnish -- when someone pops one into his mouth without thinking, he's going to be in for a big surprise.
The verdict: There's something just a touch gringo about Chichen Itza -- maybe because it's so new and clean, or because the manager rushes out to worry that the chile rellenos are too spicy just because we'd asked for water refills. But he's just trying to be nice, and despite a little lag in the kitchen for the main courses, everyone is very eager to please. Prices are slightly lower at lunch, and at dinner, main courses are mostly around $13-$16. And don't miss the cochinita pibil tacos.
Chichen Itza Restaurant
2501 W. 6th St.
(213) 380-0051

Bits and pieces

Where do you stand on trans-fats? L.A. county is thinking of enacting the same ban that recently passed in New York, writes the L.A. Times. I'm not sure, myself. On the one hand, I don't think anyone should consume artery clogging, cheap frying grease. On the other hand, I'd hate to see of the little ethnic gems in our city have to raise their prices or change their flavor. Yes, I know this is a contradiction. Maybe they could just ban them in large national chains and call it a day?

An irate L.A. Observed reader writes in about the decline of the Hamburger Hamlet chain. Until I was 12 or so, we at Hamburger Hamlet and Nate 'n Al's about once a week. But it's been a long downhill slide, and I guess it's time to put it to rest. I hate that not much lasts forever in L.A., but I guess if the town was still filled with Hamburger Hamlets, there would be no Lucky Devils or 25 Degrees.

T on Fairfax has closed before I ever managed to get there. Where did the 15-year old chocolate maker go?

And of course, Du Par's has finally re-opened in the Farmer's Market...Eating L.A. used to like the French toast there many eons ago, but Colleen Cuisine was not impressed with the redo.

The old Conga Room on Wilshire has turned into a new dance hall, and the restaurant is now called El Toro Cantina. Anyone been?

Food resolutions for 2007

This comes from a question on Chowhound, but I thought I'd share my list with you folks.

• Make more creative vegetable dishes and really enjoy them. Braised baby bok choy with shittakes, anyone?
• Learn to cook more meat dishes like my recent shortribs success for my carnivore son, especially with inexpensive cuts of meat.
• Buy a bento box and bring a bento box lunch to work a few days a week.
• Try more random restaurants without waiting for recommendatIons from others.
• Cuisines I need to try more of: Korean, Ethiopian

What are your food resolutions for the year?

Better late than never

Since I've been gone, everyone already knows, no doubt, that the Chowhound poll results for L.A.'s ultimate restaurants of 2006 have been released. Top 10 are Providence, Spago, A.O.C., Angelini Osteria, Lucques, Grace, Urasawa, Cut, Jar and Sona, with Langer's Deli, Hatfield's and perennial Chowhound favorite La Buca bubbling right under the top 10.

L.A.'s Thai restaurant world is in some flux right now...Garden Grove favorite Thai Nakorn was unfortunately destroyed by a fire Monday while Norwalk's popular Renu Nakorn remains closed for renovations. However, Hollywood's Ruen Pair has reopened, establishing some sort of Thai restaurant equilibrium. Eating L.A. recommends that while waiting for the Orange County places to re-open, take a Sherman Way Thai tasting tour in the valley and you won't be disappointed.

Lounging in Palm Springs

shrimp diablo -- muy caliente!

Eating L.A. has been in Palm Springs the last few days, hanging out at the Palm Springs Film Festival and as usual, trying to find something edible in the vast culinary wasteland of the desert. Even though dozens of new restaurants have opened there in the last few years, I think Variety editor Peter Bart's recommendation of a martini and some good bar snacks at the Falls is probably the safest way to go. Our first night we took the kids to El Mirasol, a nice Mexican place on East Palm Canyon that has been my fallback for the last few years. Their margaritas are large and potent, and I always order the shrimp diablo which comes with a stern warning: "this is really hot, we can't make it less spicy." I'm sure the fiery sauce overrides the subtle flavor of the shrimp, but I don't care, I can't stop eating that sauce spooned onto tortillas and mixed up with the rice and beans. The next day we finally tried Tyler's Burgers in downtown Palm Springs, which everyone says makes a great burger. Well, they make a good burger, a large burger, but great might be stretching it, since I needed to salt it repeatedly while eating it. The fries are pretty good though, they have fresh lemonade, and Matt was happy with his chili cheese dog. The quality ingredients don't come cheap though, especially when phantom $10 charges appear on the bill, so check your check carefully.
I also tried breakfast at eat. at my hotel, the Zoso, which is the Palm Springs outpost of the Hollywood Eat owned by the Patina Group. Our granola and omelette were fine, but the concept of frequent coffee refills, a no-brainer at any common diner, seemed to elude the rather spacey waitstaff at this more-trendy place. The rest of the time I ate at various film fest parties, but really, two or three restaurants in the desert is all a person can really take. A Chowhound recommended Simba's Soul Food, which is located in a rather dimly foreboding former Denny's type building -- I didn't get to try it out, but I guess it could be promising for next time.
In case there aren't enough "Berry" yogurt shops in L.A., you can try Cactus Berry, naturally, in Palm Springs. But instead, I highly recommend Lappert's Ice Cream on Palm Canyon Dr., one of the few Californian outlets of this excellent Hawaiian ice cream shops.