Central Coast wines and great tastes of L.A. at Wally's

There's still time to make plans for Wally's 5th Annual Central Coast Wine & Food Celebration, one of the best wine/tasting events of the year. It's not huge like some overwhelming tasting fairs, but it gets the best restaurants including Spago, Lucques, the Hungry Cat, Comme Ca and Pizzeria Mozza, not to mention amazing wine from Sea Smoke, Tantara and dozens of other Central Coast wineries. It benefits the Michael Bonaccorsi Scholarship Fund at UC Davis School of Viticulture and Enology, so that more winemakers can hone their craft. Wear a hat and sunscreen, and bring a designated driver if possible. And last time I went they auctioned actual puppies, too, just in case you need one. It's $110 if you buy tix online or $150 at the door --

Sunday, August 3
12 noon - 4 p.m., Wally's Wine, Westwood

Last 2 nights for Centeno at Lot 1

Lot 1 before the sign and sidewalk tables went in

Frankly, everything about Josef Centeno cooking at the hastily-thrown together Lot 1 in Echo Park sounded a little off from the start, from the erratic air conditioning to the lack of a liquor license to the inability to answer the phone. So perhaps it's not surprising that Centeno's last night at Lot 1 will be Thursday, according to EaterLA. Centeno tells Eater he's taking some time off from cooking before looking into opening his own restaurant.

Why don't Chinese desserts get more love?

wolf berry jelly at Sea Harbour

I think people who say there's no good Chinese desserts must not have tried very many of the wide range of desserts available around the San Gabriel Valley. It's true that chocolate is rarely (never?) seen, but there's a huge variety of tropical fruit flavors, green tea, coffee and other tastes available in forms ranging from delicate puddings to rainbow-hued gelatins, airy cakes and even peanut butter coconut pizzas (photo at right). Each time I go to Sea Harbour, there's always a few varieties of dim sum that are new to me -- this time there was an unusual fluffy barley bun filled with cooked milk that approached dessert territory. Also straddling the line between savory and sweet were crunchy, salty-sweet water chestnut cakes, crispy fried durian dumplings and flaky egg tarts.
The night before, we tried Tasty Garden in Alhambra. Although we only had typical dinner entrees such as shrimp and chicken with water chestnuts, Chinese broccoli in ginger sauce and addictive fried tofu with spicy salt, the Tasty Garden menu is full of junk food delights like Chinese waffles (photo bottom right), green tea pizza and the aforementioned peanut butter coconut pizza, as well as a more refined rose pudding with fresh peach. One of the Chinese desserts that doesn't do it for me though is that sweet, clear bean soup sometimes given at the end of the meal -- and I have a feeling the hot seaweed and green bean dessert might not be quite my thing either.
If you want to try something more interesting than those sticky fried pastries at the bakeries in Chinatown, here's a few good places to try:
Sea Harbour -- exquisite dim sum and a good selection of sweet dumplings, spongecake, egg tarts and gelatin desserts.
Tasty Garden -- a large menu of Hong Kong-style dishes as well as lots of juices, fruit slushes, puddings, mochi, dessert pizzas, hot desserts and waffles.
Phoenix Food Boutique -- freshly-made puddings (try the mango), jellies (love the espresso) and cookies.

What other Chinese desserts can you recommend?

L.A. Times news: Brenner leaving, new ad-driven mag

In its latest list of LA Times departures, LA Observed says former Food Section editor Leslie Brenner is leaving the paper -- not surprising, since the LA Times Magazine was killed and the food section has also been decimated. It's too bad, because she wrote the most deliciously mean reviews that were much more entertaining than S. Irene's.

The Times' new advertising department-managed publication LA (now that's imaginative!) will launch Sept. 7, with Annie Gilbar as editor. Food and wine editor is Lora Zarubin, who has some serious credentials as a restaurant owner and food editor at House & Garden. But all the credentials in the world don't make me feel any better about this sorry replacement for the failed Distinction magazine.

Asking Eating L.A.: Best Echo Park restaurant?

Liz and Nina ask, "Which Echo Park restaurant do you like the most? I know there are at least 3 new ones (15, Lot 1, Park) ? Do you have a preference?"

So far, I'd have to go with The Park. I also think Elf Cafe is awfully sweet, even if the cooking isn't the most sophisticated. However, I haven't gotten to Lot 1 yet -- I've been waiting for them to straighten out the air conditioning issues and get a liquor license. Columnist Joel Stein told me the other night that he had a wonderful meal there, but wasn't so crazy about the rest of the trappings.

I've been to 15 twice, and although it certainly provided a good alternative when it was practically the only decent restaurant in the area, the food isn't very original and it feels kind of bland and corporate. Oh, and the $15 before 7:00 special just went up to $19.

I reviewed The Park for the Los Feliz Ledger last month. Here's some of the review:

The Park strikes the right balance between funky Echo Park and gentrifying Echo Park, although decor verges on the overly minimalist. The bonus is that with free corkage, diners can bring good wine and eat lavishly for around $60 a couple.
While the menu ambitiously runs the gamut of pastas, Latin-inflected dishes, vegetarian selections and comfort food, it's remarkably successful for the range it covers.
Don't miss the mini cornmeal pancakes with seared shrimp as an appetizer; the chipotle butter pairs nicely with the gently sweet pancakes. A hamburger or homemade veggie burger is just $10 for the basic version; add cheeses, bacon or mushrooms for $1 per topping. Super-skinny fries are nicely browned. A special of duck confit is a meltingly tender portion paired with a soft tamale filled with rajas (mild chile strips) and savory onions. The chef pulls off the Southwestern-style dish admirably, and the duck falls away from the bone with no tiresome excavating involved. A peach cobbler special with vanilla ice cream is serviceable but could be more flavorful. Service is friendly if a little awkward -- one server enthusiastically announces "Ta-da!" each time she presents a dish to the table.
The Park has its finger on the pulse of Echo Park -- tasty but not pretentious, with a dash of Latin flavor and several nods to vegetarians.

As for the older spots, I used to like Barragan's but suffered digestive distress from the greasy tacos last time I went there. Freres Taix is a great historic spot but the food is blah, and Masa is terribly inconsistent, although it has its fans. Anyone brave enough to try Phnom Penh?

Ruby Jewel's ice cream sandwiches will rock your world

After extolling the joys of all things Portland, I heard from Lisa, who makes lovely ice cream sandwiches for Ruby Jewel treats. But unlike Portland's famous tamarind whisky sours and bacon maple doughnuts, Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwiches are available in L.A. at several Whole Foods markets (you can also order them online). I picked up two at the Pasadena location, Lemon cookie with Honey Lavender ice cream, and Dark chocolate cookie with Fresh Mint ice cream. I love how the delicate cookie didn't overpower the ice cream like some sandwiches with giant, dense oatmeal cookies. The light cookie provided a pleasant lemony counterpoint to the creamy, subtly lavender-perfumed ice cream. Matt termed that one a "ladies flavor" and grabbed the chocolate mint variety, immediately proclaiming "This ice cream sandwich rocks my world." There's also peanut butter ice cream with double chocolate cookies and cinnamon chocolate cookie with espresso ice cream. Ruby Jewel uses locally-sourced Oregon mint, lavender, honey and milk, plus, Lisa has offered a visit to where they're made next time I'm in Portland. Yum!
PRODUCT RATING: 5 spoons
(out of a possible 5)

El Parian's carne asada recipe in the NY Times

(photo New York Times)
For the poor, culture-deprived New Yorkers who only recently learned of Trader Joe's and still don't have a Target, Jennifer Steinhauer explains the joys of taco trucks and carne asada in the Sunday NY Times magazine story Carne Knowledge. She calls upon El Parian, certainly one of the finest places in L.A. for carne asada, to explain the recipe, which is simply sprinkled with salt, ground pepper and garlic powder. I'm not sure how El Parian makes their carne asada taste so deeply beefy, but I do love the homemade tortillas.

Will the trans-fat ban hurt ethnic restaurants?

Small restaurants have already been hit hard by the rising price of food. The days of great under-$5 lunches at tiny hole-in-the-walls are fast disappearing, with taco trucks and the food stands of Grand Central Market practically the only real bargains left. Although the trans-fat ban seems to be a good health move, I still fear for the struggling small restaurants. The L.A. Times article Schwarzenegger signs law banning trans fats in restaurants addresses this dilemma.

A local business owner vented his frustration in the story:
Rod White, the owner of Bertha's Soul Food in Los Angeles, estimated that it would cost him $30 more a week to buy cooking oil without trans fat, and he was angry.
"The government is infringing too much on the rights of people to even eat what they want," he said. "Are they going to outlaw salt next because it causes hypertension?"

This will certainly affect restaurants serving French fries and several varieties of baked goods, as well as diners using hydrogenated oils for frying up foods on the griddle. Ultimately we'll be better off without them, but we will certainly pay the price for higher-priced oils without transfats. At least tacos shouldn't be affected. What do you think? Are we getting too close to the nanny state, or will our arteries eventually thank us?

SLS Hotel puts on the glitz

The vertiginous infinity pool -- only one person has gone over the edge, Nazarian said

Even the most hard-core taco truck loving, Szechwan peppercorn-inhaling food blogger has to hang out once in a while on a patio overlooking the L.A. skyline, next to a terrifyingly cantilevered infinity pool, at the house immortalized as Vinnie Chase's pad in "Entourage." And I'm not even that hard-core anyway. So I couldn't turn down a cotton candy mojito (left) and the rest of the savory tidbits served at the launch of Sam Nazarian's SLS Hotel Thursday night. Ferran Adria-trained chef Jose Andres, who is creating the hotel's Bazaar restaurant, was there showing off some of his creations. It looks like L.A. will be seeing more molecular-style fancies here, such as a liquid olive -- a green gelatinous orb filled with olive essence, more fruity orbs that pair well with sorbet, and a heck of a lot of pure white cotton candy. The cotton candy also topped an unagi/foie gras/shiso leaf canape, while kobe beef "cheesecake" was served atop a mini-lawn (below). The SLS hotel, in the former Le Meridien hotel on La Cienega, will open in late October, and it looks like the food will certainly give the chattering classes something to chatter about.

Foodie tours taking off in L.A.

First Esotouric added dumplings and other delicacies to its offbeat historic L.A. tours; then TrekkingLA

started its cultural tours by delving into Thai Town.

Now Melting Pot has started up a series of tours devoted to discovering various eating neighborhoods in the city. Launched by sisters and chefs Lisa and Diane Scalia, they are kicking off with a tour of Farmer's Market and Third St. on Friday July 25 or Saturday July 26 for $49 including lots of samples.

Lots of other cities have food tours -- when I was in Portland, the Portland Epicureantours were selling out on weekends -- so it seems like a natural for L.A.'s bounty of eating experiences.

News in the hood

As Atwater Village Newbie pointed out recently, the renaming of Asia Los Feliz as Asia Bistro didn't long...it's now Kuma Sushi with new management. Asia wasn't that bad, but it was way overpriced and a little foofy for the neighborhood, and never really found its audience.
Coming to Sunset Blvd. next to the former Johnnie's Bar, which will be renamed Stinkers, is Local from chef Jason Michaud, formerly of Three Drunken Goats in Montrose. It looks pretty nice and almost ready to roll inside, but there's not a lot of parking along that stretch. Here's more from Zagat.

And it looks like Desert Rose on Hillhurst is also ready to go, but the phone number and email aren't working. I don't want to pass judgement before a place opens, but this concept also seems a little out of place for the neighborhood.

Events: Desserts, Belgian beer, champagne and sushi

Dessert decadence: Drink Eat Play, which sponsored the very decadent cupcake tasting I helped judge, is doing Dessert Decadence on Sunday, July 27 at Boulevard 3 from 5 pm to 8 pm. Dessert suppliers include: STK, One Sunset, Monsoon, Cafe La Boheme, Gonpachi, Sugar Jones (winner of the best original cupcake in this year's Cupcake Challenge), Flan King, Kiss My Bundt, Cannoli Kings, and a chocolate tasting from Smile Chocolatiers.

Beer tasting at a wine shop:Monday, July 28 at 55 Degree Wine: Wierd "Ale" Yankovic night with tastings of Belgian and Belgian-style beers, including: Rodenbach Original; Boelens Bieken Honey Beer; Silly Scotch de Silly; Van der Bossche Buffalo Stout; The Lost Abbey Lost and Found Ale. $15 for the tasting from 6-9:30.

And coming up at 55 Degrees: Champagne and sushi, Monday Aug. 11, $75.

Questions for Eating L.A.: Indian and cobbler

Shannon asks, "Do you know anything about the new Sila I have seen the new sign they put up."
Frank and Ray, who own Sila at Griffith Park Blvd. and Hyperion, are the same owners as the former Fritzie's. Their new menu is up at the Sila website, and there's some items like organic chicken and wild salmon that show that chef has helped spiff up the menu somewhat. Note to Frank and Ray: Might want to proofread the menu before publishing it.

C & R ask: "Indian in Pasadena? please."
My knowledge is not that up to date, because I've nearly given up on Indian food in L.A. I used to go to both All Indian Cafe and Akbar, they seemed pretty interchangeable and lackluster. As far as somewhat related cuisines, I haven't heard the best things about Tibet Nepal House and Azeen's Afghani either. Does anyone have a better suggestion?

and one more...
Esther asks: Where can a person find some really tasty Peach Cobbler, preferably closeish to Echo Park? Pasadena would be o.k., but the beach communities would be a drag to drive to. Looking for some yummy tips!"
I wasn't blown away by the cobbler at The Park, but the other food was good, and it's right in Echo Park, so that's the best place to start.
Your best bet might be The Gourmet Cobbler Factory in Pasadena, and also check the Atwater Farmers Market.

The Doghouse, and a confession

You guys probably think I'm some kind of tube steak connoisseur. I mean, not only does my profile photo show me chowing down on a unique New York System wiener in Rhode Island, but I appeared on national television judging Bobby Flay's hot dog against Pink's hot dog. Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Pink's isn't that good, so I feel like my judgement was correct in that case. But basically, hot dogs are not a priority for me when there's more Thai food and falafel still to be revealed. That's a pretty long disclaimer just to explain that there's a new stand in La Canada called The Doghouse. It's probably the only place in the tony suburb you can get lunch for $3.50. If you have a starving teenaged boy who just did two hours of advanced karate, as I do, he will be pleased with the chili dog. If you're me, you will remain largely neutral on the sauerkraut dog. But if you're a real dog hound and you're reasonably close to La Canada, then it's your duty to check out the Doghouse and report back.
The Doghouse
Foothill Blvd. at Young Dr.
La Canada

5 more reasons I'd move to Portland...

...if there were any jobs there and it didn't rain all the time.6. Bikini Coffee Co. -- Well, not really my thing, but I'm sure there's some people who would appreciate being served their lattes by a bikini-clad lass first thing in the morning on a cloudy day.
7. Mixology madness -- I actually didn't get to sample as much beer as I had planned because Portland is fully in the grip of cocktail fever. I met up with Chowhound poster and gastronome SauceSupreme, who's quite the cocktail fiend and we sampled some good stuff at Clyde Common. Bartender Justin mixed me up a Dequille (with bourbon, Chartreuse, grenadine and lemon), which was potent, refreshing and original, and the gastropub fare was also impressive. The tattooed barmaid in the photo above is at Teardrop Cocktail Lounge, where they mix up some really baroque and delicious concoctions with the arsenal of blue glass eyedroppers containing every type of herbal elixir. I got to try Austrian creme de lavender which was really cool, as well as a Love in the Afternoon with rye, muddled aprium and lemon basil soda. At the Whiskey Soda Lounge, which isn't just a bar but an ambitious Thai restaurant, I had the cocktail of my dreams: a Tamarind whiskey sour with tamarind, Buffalo Trace bourbon, lime juice and palm sugar.
8. Pok Pok/Whiskey Soda Lounge: Most everything is closed on Mondays in Portland, except the famous Thai snack shack Pok Pok and its adjoining restaurant Whiskey Soda. So there's a long wait for what might turn out to be a picnic table next to the takeout window, but no one seems to care, because this is Portland's best Thai food by all accounts. I'm not really used to eating Thai food in a non-Thai owned restaurant with no actual Thai people eating there, but with dishes like Muu Paa Kham Waan, boar collar meat grilled over charcoal with chili garlic lime sauce or Yam Samun Phrai, Northern Thai herbal salad with white turmeric, betel leaf, cashews, ground pork and Thai chilies, who cares who owns it. And not surprisingly, for a place called Whiskey Soda, the vast whiskey selection and cocktail menu are as good as the food.

9. Ken's Artisan Bakery: Apparently Ken also makes the best pizza in Portland at Ken's Artisan Pizza, but of course not on Mondays. So I had breakfast at the bakery, with the flakiest, fruitiest possible Oregon blackberry croissant that could have made the Backdoor Bakery weep in shame. Caution: The bakery is full of very white people doing stuff white people like, like the yuppie dad who asked his toddler whether he would like to sing nursery rhymes in English or Japanese.
The cozy lobby at the groovy Ace Hotel

10. Small town flavor: The restaurant community in Portland must be quite closely-knit: At Clyde Common, I ran into Daniel from Beast, who amazingly remembered my name. At Whiskey Soda, I saw the server from Simpatica who had comped my breakfast the day before when they forgot me in a corner for a while. At Teardrop Lounge, I saw bartender Justin on a busman's holiday from Clyde Common. And at Beast, I met a lovely couple, Sean and Kristy, who gave me a ride back to my hotel down a long Twin Peaks-ish boulevard lined with strip clubs, trailer parks and a butcher shop that will dress your moose or elk.
But I regret missing out on the bacon-maple bar at Voodoo Donuts, coffee from Ristretto Roasters and dinner at Lovely Hula Hands. I'm already planning a return trip to catch up on what I missed, and delve further into the beer scene.
If you want to see some more of my Portland snapshots, they're on Flickr.

5 reasons why Portland kicks L.A.'s foodie ass:

1. All different kinds of food carts and trucks, especially downtown. Not just tacos, but Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Middle Eastern, Czech, vegetarian and even soup dumplings. The Whole Bowl, in the picture serves some sort of burrito bowl.

2. With 28 breweries in the city limits, there's good beer on every corner, and even several pubs with childrens' play areas. Above are the copper kettles of the Deschutes Brewery in the Pearl district. Their Green Lakes organic brew is mighty tasty.
3. Prix-fixe restaurants with communal tables like Beast, serving exquisitely-prepared, locally sourced food. From the foie gras bon-bon on peanut shortbread to the Cointreau-brined pork chop with summer herb creme fraiche to Gathering Together farm greens with Red Haven peaches, everything showcased the fresh flavors of summer in Oregon. To the right, cheese plate with local honeycomb and candied hazelnuts.
4. Hearty lumberjack moderne breakfasts at Simpatica Dining Hall, another rustic spot with limited hours and an open kitchen. To the right, chorizo, fried polenta, eggs over easy and perfectly cooked greens.




5. Undoubtedly it rains plenty during the winter, but in summer, Portland's bars and restaurants really make the most of the outdoors. Newer restaurants feature garage-style doors opening to the street and every pub has picnic tables on the sidewalk. Above, the lovely garden dining area at McMenamin's Kennedy School, a renovated school with a movie theater, music club, restaurant, several pubs, hotel rooms and a soaking pool.

Portland, PDX, City of Roses, P-Town report coming soon

They don't call it the city of Roses for nothing...

Eating LA has been on a short eating tour of Portland...report coming soon.

Father's Office 2: Great bathrooms, but will I ever get my softshell crab?

beautiful bathrooms!

I popped in to Father's Office 2 on a Saturday afternoon for a quick bite and brew, but just like at Animal the week before that, there were no softshell crabs to be found. I wasn't in the mood for major burgerage so I tried a light raw albacore plate with olives and tiny yellow tomatoes. It was too early for the heady, hoppy beers I really like, so I went for a Great White from Lost Coast Brewery which went well with the fish. Love the bathrooms with the shiny red tiles, frosted glass doors and "sons" and "daughters" signage (get it, Fathers, sons, daughters?).
I sat right next to the cash register, where I felt kind of bad for the counterpeople.

They spend their days patiently explaining to one patron after another that no ketchup is available, no diet sodas are available, etc., and at least at one in the afternoon, they rarely get to actually explain the great selection of beers. I'd say at least 25% of people were ordering wine, 50% water or cane sugar-sweetened soda and only 25% or less actually seemed to care about the beer. I'm sure the percentages are different at night, but it's a little odd that the new Father's Office seems to be more about the burgers and sweet potato fries than the beer.

A love letter to the LA Times food section

La Cantina del Cielo, Long Beach (photo LA Times)

No, not my love letter, although I certainly enjoyed Leslie Brenner's recent skewering of Gladstone's -- she is so deliciously mean.

No, it's Adrienne Crew, who wrote Food Fright on LAObserved about possible changes afoot in the Food section. But it's true, the L.A. food community would certainly be a poorer place if the Food section were downsized. For my part, I'm also bummed about the shuttering of the print edition of The Guide, which was doing some really good restaurant coverage.

Today in the Guide:

David Lynch's favorite restaurants.

EatingLA's compatriot Kathy McDonald's story on Long Beach's La Cantina del Cielo Bar,

and Josh Lurie on five spots for Dumplings.

Lots of food-related events this weekend!

photo from Dessert Decadence

...and wouldn't you know it, I'm going to Portland. Anyhoo, here's stuff to do:

SATURDAY JULY 12:

• Esotouric's The New Chinatowns Tour from 11 am to 3 pm



• Trekking LA takes a BBQ tour of Thai Town with chef Jet Tila, 4-8 p.m.



• The Concern Foundation's Block Party at the Paramount lot features restaurants including All'Angelo, 3 on Fourth, Chaya and many more, and benefits cancer research. 6 p.m.

SUNDAY JULY 13:

• At 55 Degrees Wine in Atwater, Your Guide to Surviving Summer in L.A. with stand-up comic Tess Rafferty and six different wines and cheeses, at 7:30 p.m.

and planning ahead:

• WEDNESDAY July 16: Sake night at Tokyo Table in Beverly Hills with 20 different types of sake and food pairings for $45 (it's also July 23 in Arcadia).


• SUNDAY July 27, Dessert Decadence, from the folks who ran the cupcake contest I judged.

Garage Pizza revs up Silver Lake

This isn't the banana pizza, but it was tasty anyway

I checked out Garage Pizza last night on the way home, and it's a sweet little spot. Parking, naturally, is not always fun in the Tang Donuts mini-mall, but fortunately they have free delivery. There's a few tables and stools if you want to eat in before or after hitting nearby watering holes. (Slices are $3.) The garagey theme is carried out with some old-timey signs which play well off the modern furnishings. They were cooking up a banana pizza just for fun when I stopped in to pick up my pie and offered me a piece, and it worked surprisingly well. I recommended trying bacon with banana and the pizza cook was enthusiastic about the idea. They're also going to try a strawberry/chocolate dessert pizza (sans cheese) in coming days. And if you're one of those people who likes to order off the menu, try the special Garage pie, which pays homage to Malo's tacos across the street: It's a ground beef and pickle pizza. The pizza was solid, with a tangy sauce that packs more flavor than most pizza sauces. Thin crust had a nice chewy bite and good flavor. A little light on the cheese. This is not a revolutionary pie, but it will probably taste pretty damn good at 3 am, which is how late it stays open Thursday through Saturday. Other nights, they turn in at midnight.
Garage Pizza
4339 1/2 Sunset Blvd.
(323) 668-1190

What else is new in Silver Lake and Los Feliz?

Garage Pizza is open next to Saito Sushi in what is fondly dubbed "crackhead mini-mall" at Fountain and Sunset. The newest wave of pizza places is decidedly more attitudinal than the old-school spots...Garage's menu (pictured here) offers The Tree-Hugger (vegan, of course), the Cholo (ground beef and jalapenos) and the Whiteboy (a white pizza).
And Lucifer's, coming to Hillhurst, says it will offer "Damned Good Pizza!" Organic, too, of course.
Corx wine bar and shop at 2114 Hillhurst is still petitioning for its wine and beer license...
Barbrix on Hyperion is slowly working on construction and permits...
Reservoir on Silver Lake Blvd. seems to finally be looking more complete...
Michelangelo has shut down on Silver Lake Blvd. but the new Rowena location isn't quite ready yet...
and Herby asks "I noticed that the new Home Restaurant on Riverside Dr. has opened, but I can't find anything on it online (no menu) and no mention of the opening or early reviews. what do you know about this new satellite?"

Sorry Herby, but I have not heard too much about the food or anything else at Home's new location...has anyone been yet?

Carmela Ice Cream hits the news

The Carmela folks give out tastes in South Pasadena

After seeing this post on the LA Times Daily Dish about Carmela Ice Cream, I made sure to try some when I spotted their stand at the South Pasadena Farmer's Market. In fact, I considered having just ice cream for dinner, but thought better of it and took home a small cup of dense, rich cardamom ice cream which paired amazingly with the fresh strawberry shortcake I made on 4th of July. And today, the Times Business section is all over Carmela too, talking about how founder got a Jessica Mortarotti got a small business loan to start up the creamery. Carmela has some really cool flavors like strawberry buttermilk and raspberry thyme sorbet, so seek some out at the South Pasadena, Larchmont or Downtown City Hall farmer's markets, or order online.

Banh Mi My Tho: Tiny but worthy

I loved Baguette Express in San Gabriel, which closed a while ago, and was never very impressed with Lee's or Saigon Sandwich. A couple of Chowhound posters were evaluating the possible replacements, and TonyC put out the name Bahn Mi My Tho, so I decided to try it. Baguette Express was immaculate, modern, with several tables and a a pleasant air-conditioned atmosphere. Bahn Mi My Tho, on the other hand, is a tiny counter deli in an Alhambra strip mall. Vietnamese cakes, cookies and prepackaged spring rolls spill across the countertop, an annoying buzzer goes off every time a customer walks in the door, and there's no place to eat except a metal bench overlooking the lovely strip mall parking lot. But they do make a hell of a bahn mi, and for $2 yet. Of course, there's no creative variations like the Cajun shrimp bahn mi I loved at Baguette Express. But the bbq beef and bbq pork both had plenty of green matter, fresh bread and generally everything else you want in a $2 sandwich. Amazingly, the compact deli has a full menu of Vietnamese dishes, so you can get a full meal to go, or just a big 'ol bag of sandwiches at rock bottom prices. So thanks, TonyC.
Bahn Mi My Tho
304 W. Valley Blvd. (near Garfield)
Alhambra
626-289-4160

Travel to Italy for the Salone del Gusto...yum!

My friend Wendy has started a new blog Travelicious detailing the amazing food-focused trips she organizes to Italy and France. A world traveller and enthusiastic eater, Wendy's first trip is in October to Piemonte, Italy with a stop at Slow Food's Salone del Gusto. She'll be adding more info on travelling in Italy and France as well as info on an upcoming cooking trip to Puglia, and can also plan custom trips to just about anywhere. I really wish I could go to the Salone del Gusto... Buon apetito!

Village Idiot: a smart hideout on Melrose

The menu is divided into Two legs, Four legs and No legs...

There's no better refuge from the tacky parade of Melrose Ave. on a Saturday afternoon than a cool leather booth at the Village Idiot. I know it gets noisy and crazy later on, but at 6:00, it's a fine place for a cool beer. It's early for dinner, but I'll never rest until I taste the fish and chips at every pub in town, and the Village Idiot's have a terrific light and crunchy crust. Skip the tartar sauce and douse the whole plate with vinegar, and dig in -- you won't be able to stop, at least until the beer runs out.
Fish and chips batter is extra-crispy but not heavy

I loved my ESB beer but in the heat of the moment, I've forgotten the brewer. Matt was happy with his Craftsman lager but his oak-grilled sausage and Yukon mash with port sauce was fairly mundane. Despite the foodie buzzwords sprinkled throughout the menu, this is basically competently-prepared pub grub that goes down well with beer. Actually, the beer menu is smaller than I expected, and I would prefer more booths and fewer tables for that real pub ambiance, but hey, if you have to hit Golden Apple comics on a Saturday, it's a fine place to recover.

Cafe Bravo coming to Silver Lake: finally Middle Eastern for the hood

An offshoot of Glendale's kebab joint Cafe Bravo is mercifully opening next to Hard Times Pizza on Griffith Park Blvd. The manager at the original on Glenoaks Blvd. says they'll try to open mid-to-late July. This is good news indeed, as Cafe Bravo is one of Glendale's most popular Middle Eastern spots, and there's plenty of competition around there. Believe it or not, this will mark the first time there's been kebabs and hummus and such available in the immediate area, and I think it's going to be very, very popular.

Vintage L.A. book hits retro restaurants

The signing Saturday for Jennifer Brandt Taylor's new book Vintage L.A. was filled with lots of wonderfully dressed people -- she must know everyone who owns a vintage store in L.A. -- not to mention Rodney Bingenheimer. The book is a fun tour by neighborhood of vintage resources and sights including clothes shops, furniture stores, historic landmarks and restaurants. From Neptune's Net to El Coyote and Millie's, some of the restaurants are truly vintage, while others may be more recent but have some kind of retro cred. Taylor is now moving on to do Vintage New York, and these books would be a perfect introduction to newcomers to the city who want something more unique than a regular guidebook.