What do you think of kids' menus? and other press notes...

Everyone, even the resolutely kid-free, seems to have an opinion on the New York Times story Don't Point That Menu at My Child, Please. I basically agree that kids menus offer a horribly unhealthy selection of foods to children, although I don't think that means they'll never eat sushi either. But as the mother of the World's Pickiest Eater, I'm afraid I can't afford to be quite as smug as the rest of these yuppie parents forcing free-range organic edamame down their sprogs' little gullets. Is the ubiquitous kids' menu a curse, a boon, or somewhere in-between?

Just how fattening are those cupcakes? You'd probably rather not know, but NPR totalled up the calories at some top New York cupcakeries and found that some weighed in at a horrifying 780 calories and 36 grams of fat. Magnolia's famous cupcake was a slightly more reasonable 389 calories. Let the cupcake eater beware...

Taste test: Redwood Bar & Grill

I know L.A. Times staffers and other Downtown barflies were a little offended when nightlife impresarios took over the venerable Redwood Bar & Grill and outfitted it with a seagoing pirate vibe. But since I never hung there back in the day (Variety staffers, when they have time to drink, repair to Tom Bergin's), I can't say I was upset to check out the decently-priced menu of tasty bar food the new owners brought in. Kevin Roderick says the food was pretty basic back when he was at the Times, but while the new menu still covers the bar basics -- burgers, fish and chips, chicken wings -- it's all done with a good dose of flavor and care, plus more upscale items like mussels and fries or rock shrimp panini. Jeff's Kobe burger was huge, with a side of well-done sweet potato fries. Kathy and I shared the fish 'n chips -- not as crispy as the King's Head, but the fish was good and we loved the thick homemade potato chips that stood in for fries. I also liked the Redwood's modern take on a Waldorf salad, with frisee, apple slices, walnuts and roquefort and no Miracle Whip to be seen. The draft beer selection was merely adequate, so we split a hearty Arrogant Bastard ale -- there's a few good bottled beers, but the beer selection could be even better without much effort. The crowd was also far more to my liking than some of the other Downtown places we've tried. Chalk one up for the Redwood, even if it's not a dive anymore.
The Redwood Bar & Grill
316 W. 2nd St.
(213) 680-2600

Restaurant Historical Society rocks Clifton's

Brookdale Lodge near Santa Cruz, inspiration for Clifton's

There was a nice crowd for the Southern California Restaurant Historical Society meeting feturing Charles Perry, D.J. Waldie and Clifton's owner Robert Clinton. It even got a write-up headed Hungry for history at Clifton's in the Times, thanks to Larry Gordon. Since Larry summed it up pretty well, I'm not going to summarize the speeches...instead, I thought I'd pull out some relevant postcards from my collection. Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria, we learned, was inspired by the amazing Brookdale Lodge near Santa Cruz, which is said to be haunted. And I'm really sorry I missed Clifton's Pacific Seas cafeteria, above, which had a wild tropical theme. I also picked up a copy of Chris Nichols' new book, Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister, which is a great tour of California and Las Vegas restaurant and hotel history.

Sanjang Coffee Garden: best re-use of building award

Eating L.A. doesn't hand out awards, but if we did, the best re-use of building award would go to Sanjang Coffee Garden on Virgil and 1st. I drive by this corner every day, and for several years it harbored one of the smallest and scariest-looking private schools I've ever seen, the kind of place where you wanted to rescue the kids so they wouldn't be forced to go to school in a tiny pink stucco building surrounded by chain link fencing. All that is gone, and somehow from the stucco ruins has risen a Zen-like Korean coffee garden. The interior has soothing wood walls and glass jars lined with teas, while the outdoor area is large and attractive.

The sun-dappled courtyard will probably be hopping at midnight.

A wood-burning firepit is the focal point of a huge grassy patio. They're obviously expecting a crowd of, I imagine, young Koreans looking for an alternative to beer bars, so the coffee and tea drinks are priced high ($6-7) for maximum lingering, and it's open until 2 a.m. In addition to all the usual cappucinos and ice-blended drinks, there's apricot ice-blended, jujube tea, black bean and sesame soy milk tea, and the de rigueur plain-flavored non-fat frozen yogurt with toppings. There's also free high-speed wireless internet and lunch items including sandwiches, ramen, udon and grilled sweet potato. (Drinks are more reasonably priced for take-out and with lunch). Oh, and for a while, they're giving out free coffees to go in the morning, starting at 7 a.m.!
Sanjang Coffee Garden
101 S. Virgil Ave.
(213) 387-9190

What is it with you NELA folks?

OK, the comments are getting out of hand on the Highland Park post below, so I'm going to have to close them. I swear this happened the last time I wrote about Highland Park. I didn't realize there was so much simmering art rage, bike rage and ethnic pride rage going on over there. Take it off line, guys! Let's talk about food on Eating L.A.

And also from the simmering resentment file, apparently Fat Dog has withdrawn its application to open in Eagle Rock -- just too much neighborhood opposition. And why bother anyway, when it would probably take them five years to open? Anyone with the latest on Larkin's, Michaelangelo's, etc., who wants to chime in, please go ahead. Anyone else, fight it out elsewhere.

Highland Park heats up

Billy Boy aka Slowrider on Chowhound is keeping us updated with goings-on in Highland Park. Marty's, from Mia Sushi owner Rudy, has opened, with menu items like T-bone steak with green peppercorn sauce for $19, Kobe burger with garlic aioli (is there any other kind?) for $13 and a plank of charcuterie for $11. Valet parking is available (!) and it's on the North side of York between Ave. 51 & 52.
Down the street, Johnnie's Bar at 5006 York officially opens this Friday, he says. "It was open last Thursday as well and was giving out free beers. Nice little spot w/pool table and patio out back." And, the York is still not open, he reports.
And over on Figueroa, Dennis from Antigua Bread at Figueroa and Ave. 57 says they expect to open in July, after some of the inevitable permit problems are worked out.

Taste test: brunch at Lucky Devils

beer pancakes!

It was time for a belated Mother's Day brunch, and since I have not one but two little devils, Lucky Devils seemed like the perfect place. I had hoped to combine it with a trip to the Hollywood Farmer's Market or a hike in the hills, but due to the fire and the general laziness of teenagers, we combined it with browsing the wierdness of Hollywood Costumes instead. The brunch menu, served until 3:00, is pretty nice -- beer pancakes, which I wanted to try as soon as I heard about them, brioche french toast, lots of omelette combos and a spicy breakfast sandwich with eggs, sausage, peppers and potatoes (pictured below). The pancakes were crispy and rich, with a subtle yeasty flavor which couldn't really be identified as beer. But if you're up for it, you can have one of their great craft beers or a Devilish bloody mary with your pancakes or perhaps more fittingly with the spicy breakfast sandwich. It was already lunch time, so Sam had one of their excellent Angus burgers and fries.

The fries are extra crispy, which we all loved; Sophie said her bacon was "perfect": basically everyone loved their food. The only problem? Severe delays getting the food, and everything came out piecemeal, leaving some of us waiting far longer than others. Since it's not crowded at all for brunch, I'm not really sure what the problem was, but it's too bad since the food is all delicious in that decadent bacony syrupy sort of way. But without me saying anything at all, our server took 20% off the bill, which was a much-appreciated gesture. If they can just smooth out the kitchen glitches, this is a hell of a place for brunch. Delirium Tremens and eggs, anyone?
Lucky Devils
6613 Hollywood Blvd.
(323) 465-8259

Yuca's takes over Casa Diaz

Just days after Oprah's visit, Yuca's has branched out to a new, larger location on Hollywood Blvd. Owner Dora says the Hillhurst location will remain open, but as she gets to know the former Casa Diaz kitchen, she will start adding Yuca's signature menu items like the yummy cochinita pibil to the menu of standard Mexican fare. EatingLA already had some excellent avocado-lashed tacos and tortas from the new location, and it looks like Dora is already showing them how it's done. Best of all, the new location has sparkling clean indoor tables and will soon stay open as late as 10 at night.

A Salute to Cafeterias at the Restaurant Historical Society

Those food-loving historians at the Southern California Restaurant Historical Society are convening at Clifton's this time, for a salute to cafeterias. I was just there for Charles' birthday, but I'll try to get back to see what they offer for brunch and listen to speakers D. J. Waldie, Charles Perry and Chris Nichols.

Clifton's Cafeteria

648 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.

Saturday, May 26

10 a.m.

(free of charge)

Does Oprah cause inflation?

Eating L.A. hears that after Yuca's got a visit last week from Oprah, who was apparently lured to the unprepossessing taco stand by Grey's Anatomy actor Eric Danes, prices seemed to suddenly rise. The local high schoolers, who keep pretty close tabs on Yuca's prices, also report having spotted owner Dora checking out another Mexican restaurant somewhere in Hollywood, ostensibly with the idea of taking it over.
Which reminds me, whatever happened to Loteria Grill's Hollywood location?

A sea of wine glasses at Disney Hall...

Thursday night's tony Wine Aficionado dinner at Disney Hall featured some lovely wines (I was not familiar with Araujo Estates, but now I'm a fan) as well as Sandra Bernhard running off at the mouth about vampires giving head (watch your teeth!), how much the Republican debate sucked (this went over well with the Chanel-suited crowd), how reality television should be banned, which would somehow lead to curing cancer and finishing with, "So get drunk, because it's the only escape." Nice.

Anyhoo Joachim Splichal cooked up a wine-friendly spread including crab salad with preserved kumquats, black-trumpet stuffed quail and incredibly tender, almost soothing, beef tenderloin with morels. We finished with a pretty yuzu tart. It was also announced that Splichal's new restaurant going into the former Maple Drive space will be called Paper Fish. We don't know what this means, though...

More coffee in Silver Lake: Lamill coming to Silver Lake Blvd.

Thanks to SueBee and her Silverlakeblvd blog for confirming that Lamill Coffee is coming to the former Rubbish store on Silver Lake Blvd...good news for Silver Lake caffeine addicts, bad news for places like the Backdoor Bakery that have been getting away with substandard coffee for years. I had the best cappucino of my life at Lamill's roasting plant last year, so we are really lucky to get both Lamill and Intelligentsia in the hood. And apparently there's a liquor license in the works...booze and coffee both? Now that's a combo I could get into!

Speaking of Silver Lake, could a certain longtime Silver Lake restaurateur whose only restaurant at the moment is farther west be looking to return to the area...possibly to a shuttered spot that closed up but never really moved out? Developing...

Whoo hoo! Press club finalist!

After three years of blogging, Eating L.A. finally got it together and entered the L.A. Press Club awards, where the blog was chosen as a finalist in the Individual Weblog category. Congrats also to fellow bloggers and writers Ted Johnson, Monica Corcoran, Luke Y. Thompson, Jonathan Gold, Claude Brodesser, Amy Alkon, et al. Here's the list of finalists. This year's awards ceremony will be dedicated to Cathy Seipp.

Pinkberry slapped with lawsuit!

The ominous, vague threats made to this and other websites that we would "soon see if Pinkberry is what it claims to be" have come true! A lawsuit has been filed, writes the L.A. Times, claiming there are no live cultures -- in other words, no yogurt in Pinkberry yogurt. So for the time being, it's just Pinkberry. Hmmm...

Email of the day

"How about a blog entry on sauerkraut?" an emailed press release cheerfully asks. Please, if I'm ever out of work, save me from having to be sauerkraut's publicist.

Eater's Digest Wednesday

Frank Bruni of the NY Times journeys to L.A. to try Mozza...he likes.

Parched by the Santa Anas, I stopped in at Haus yogurt on Melrose yesterday as the Hollywood sky turned red with fire...the chatty owner touted the yogurt as "freshly made, with more live cultures" as opposed to the pre-made mix he says Pinkberry uses. It was nice and sour with a slightly odd but not unpleasant hint of something like walnut extract -- basically about the same as Pinkberry, perhaps a touch less expensive. So far, I'm liking ceFiore in Little Tokyo the best. Haus is opening soon on Sunset and on Sixth St.

When did Johnny's bar in Silver Lake close? Nobody tells me anything. And now, there's a Johnnie's in Highland Park instead? Very strange. Also, a reader writes that Marty's in Highland Park recently hosted a jumping party complete with valet parkers (how Westside!) -- perhaps they'll be ready to open soon.

Speaking of jumping parties, I guess our invite to the Intelligentsia Coffee opening party was lost in the mail, but it sure sounds fun. Silver Lake Wine writes: "Intellegentsia, the awesome Chicago based coffee company, threw down the opening party for their new roasting plant on San Fernando Road.... Six Kegs, a taco truck, and ten cases of wine. Their first L.A. shop will open soon next to Cafe Stella in the Sunset Junction."

Beard award winners: Congrats to L.A. mag!

Time to dig out the back issues of Los Angeles Magazine, because I can't actually remember reading Jesse Katz' article "Wheels of Fortune," on taco trucks, which won the MFK Fisher award for food writing at the Beard Awards last night. Maybe the magazine could give a shoutout to Katz by posting it online?
Leite's Culinaria (which has a nice story on the Cobb salad up right now, with a Brown Derby postcard) won for best food Web site, while "Diary of a Foodie," one of my favorite shows, won a TV award. L.A. chefs were pretty much shut out this time...former L.A. chef Michael Richard received Outstanding Chef award for Citronelle in Washington, D.C.

A Peach of a Party and famer's market tips

Oh no, I've been keeping my potatoes in the refrigerator! Well, just the Yukon Golds, but even this is a bad idea and will make them turn sweet, according to Russ Parsons' new book How to Pick a Peach. L.A. Times wine writer Corie Brown hosted a lovely book party for Parsons, the Times columnist who often writes on how to coax all the flavor out of fruits and vegetables. Lots of local food luminaries stopped by to taste some of the recipes from the book, including the Times' food editor Leslie Brenner, Timesians Steve Lopez and Kenneth Turan, chefs Mary Sue Milliken, Alain Giraud (pictured with Parsons) and Michael Cimarusti.
And strawberries? Don't take off the green hull before rinsing them, ok, because too much water will soak into them. You'll have to read the book to find out what you've been doing wrong with tomatoes all this time.

Take my survey, please!

Blogads has asked its clients to help survey its readers to get a better idea of who reads blogs. So if you have a minute, please click below and take the Blog Reader Survey.
Please take my blog reader survey!

It's actually pretty fun -- you get to answer questions like "Do you floss?" and "How many tattoos do you have?" (For the record, yes, and two.)

Not that you're interested, but one of my tattoos looks like this palm tree.

Froyo: When will it end?

I guess it's not enough that there's already a Pinkberry, a Snowberry and and, I don't know, Kiwiberry or something all within a few blocks of each other on Sixth St. in Koreatown. Haus -- or is it Yogurt Queen? -- which also has locations on Melrose and Sunset, is joining the Sixth St. fray. Refreshingly, there is no hint of berries, at least. Their website helpfully adds that the orange topping is good for constipation, while watermelon is good for "swollen bodies." Ok, then!

Monday notes and links

Monica Corcoran, who writes for both Variety and the New York Times, went to dinner at Opus with Jonathan Gold and his wife Laurie Ochoa...afterwards the group hit Korean tavern Dan Sung Sa. Now that's a step up from My Favorite Weekend, although last week's weekend with Charles Phoenix was certainly an improvement.

Note to Scoops Ice Cream: Check out Gourmet's show "Diary of a Foodie" for a great explanation of making coca ice cream in Peru, which supposedly gives you just a teensy buzz. This reasonably-paced, almost erudite show on KCET puts the Food Network to shame. I can't wait to try the recipe for Chicken Faux Gras, which Ruth Reichl swears is indistinguishable from foie gras -- not to mention much cheaper.

Taste test: Sri Siam , another Noho winner

For my money, there's absolutely no finer flavors to be had than in the desolate minimalls of North Hollywood. We had an amazing meals a few months ago at Swan Thai; last week it was time to try Sri Siam. Until you see the framed reviews from Jonathan Gold et al lining the walls, you would never realize this tiny, plain restaurant is one of the city's best Thai restaurants. Since the reviews were written a few years ago, more of the specials have been listed in English on the menu -- they must have realized that farangs who make their way to Vanowen St. probably don't just want the pad thai. It was just the two of us, so we started with Spicy BBQ Eggplant Salad with ground chicken, shrimp, a tangy, fiery dressing and soft, smoky pillows of eggplant. The Pad Kee Mao noodles were equally spicy -- they are happy to confer with you on exactly the spice level you prefer. I learned that the Thai word for my favorite level, which is pretty spicy for most people but not completely mouth-searing, is, I think, "pet kong." They might not have been the very best pad kee mao I've ever had, but it was up near the top, with a nice wok hey quality and just enough grease to be addictive. Another standout was the Kang Ped, red curry with little round Thai eggplants. We got it with tofu -- probably not the most authentic, but healthier and still an incredibly flavorful, multi-layered curry, heavy on the kaffir lime leaves. We were too full for much dessert, so we took home an order of sticky rice and mango. The next day, it made one of the best breakfasts ever. It's kind of hard to imagine that most people settle for the most mediocre Thai food when there's stuff like this within a 20 minute drive from almost anywhere in the city.
Sri Siam Cafe
12843 Vanowen St.
North Hollywood
(818) 982-6262
(free delivery in the area)

American Food Writing comes to L.A.

Last night's Redcat panel for "American Food Writing," edited by Molly O' Neill, was a stimulating meeting of chefs and writers reading from the weighty new book of literary non-fiction. Before the panel, there were welcome snacks from Downtown restaurants including gazpacho from Ciudad, coq qu vin from Weiland Brewery and ahi sliders from Cafe Metropol.
Angeli's Evan Kleiman read a wonderful passage from the early 1900's guidebook, "Bohemian San Francisco," about Grant Street's Italian sausage and cheese shops. Novelist Shirley Geok-Lin Lim read from her hilariously acrid memoir about the forbidden Chinese foods of her childhood. Lim also pointed out that the rather reasonable traditional Chinese approach to food is to look for foods that are healthy rather than to worry about foods that are bad, as seems to be the current American focus. There were even a few nods to the May 1 immigration issue, with Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger and Kleiman detailing that their kitchen workers tend to come from Guatemala and Oaxaca. Foodies might appreciate what these employees bring to local restaurant kitchens, but not everyone agrees with how they end up in L.A., Kleiman reminded the audience.

Opus alert! Tasting menu fades to shadows...

Apparently Opus couldn't keep up the $30 for three or more courses tasting menu any longer, not that we really expected it could go on forever. The tasting menu option isn't listed on the menu anymore, according to a Chowhound poster, but is available at $10 per course, four course minimum on request. I don't want to sound any alarms, but Opus never seems to be as full as it should be considering the quality of the food. I'm afraid it may be suffering from the Norman's curse: excellent food with a nice atmosphere in an odd location that for some reason puts people off.
Speaking of Norman's, does anyone know what's going into that Sunset Strip space? There appears to be some construction going on there.