My Sweet Cupcake: a sweet detour in South Pasadena

My Sweet Cupcake opened this week on Mission St. in South Pasadena, just a few doors down from The Little Parlor pizzeria and convenient to the Gold Line station. It's mostly cupcakes, but they'll be adding a few other items when they get settled in and will also make custom cakes. The shop is done up in homey red and white polka dots, and the adjoining gift shop has some ever-so-cute cupcake-themed gifts as well.
Cupcakes are $2.50 each, with rotating flavors each day. Today's selection was mostly classic flavors like Red Velvet, Simply Chocolate and Oreo Delight. I'm a little cupcaked out, so I'll let my tasters describe the cupcakes:
Sophie: "The Simply Chocolate had a surprise pudding center, with sweet, creamy frosting. It tasted homemade, in a good way. It wasn't a fancy bittersweet chocolate frosting, just very homemade and yummy."
Matt: "The Oreo Delight was all about the frosting, which really did taste like Oreos with its cookie topping. The cake was a supporting player, but was nicely moist."
On other days, flavors like Berry Blues, Coconut Snowball, the Java Fix and Dulce de Leche will make an appearance.
My Sweet Cupcake is open Tues. - Sat. at 954 Mission St., South Pasadena.

(and let's go easy on the comments this time please -- please post a comment only if you've tasted them at the new shop or are a regular commenter, and are are not friends of the owners, or the comments will go away!)

Kogi gets a new truck; Silver Lake and Melrose tonight

Kogi BBQ got a second truck to fill Angeleno's near-insatiable need for Korean-flavored tacos. They're getting it up and running, according to their website, the better to cover all of L.A.
Tonight, they're on Sunset at Manzanita in Silver Lake at 6 pm and then at 9 pm will move to the StampedLA Shoe pop-up shop party at 7700 Melrose.

Golden State on tap for February

From the Blackburn and Sweetzer blog, we get lots of photos of Golden State in progress, although they're still estimating mid-February for the opening. I'm obviously excited about this sausagey, burgery beer bar on Fairfax, because around January 15 I started planning to go check it out and then realized it was only mid-January, not mid-February yet!

Aun Deli, Fritelli's Doughnuts close

I hate doing these closed posts, but both of these are places I reviewed and liked, so it's particularly sad. Aun Deli in Pasadena was a sweet little Japanese cafe, but hidden on a side street, it seemed a bit forgotten when I had my wonderful healthy salmon bowl there a few months ago. This place could have used a bit more marketing and a better location.
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And Fritelli's Doughnuts in Beverly Hills, located in what should be renamed the sugar triangle instead of the golden triangle, had what must have been a very pricey Canon Dr. storefront for its gourmet doughnuts and excellent coffee. I liked Fritelli's sophisticated doughnuts, but maybe between Madame Chocolat, Sprinkles, Boule, Fulfilled, etc., Beverly Hills was just getting a little too sugary.

Twohey's Alhambra: The classics series

Twohey's bacon blue cheese burger with sweet potato fries

Twohey's Diner is the sort of place you would probably never hear of unless you're within striking distance of South Pasadena or Alhambra. Unlike Fosselman's, which draws curious ice cream eaters from all over L.A., or Pie 'n Burger, Twohey's charms are known mainly to those who went there for ice cream sundaes after their high school football games at various San Gabriel Valley schools. Twohey's underwent an unfortunate remodeling in 1977, which wiped out all the oldschool carhop charm it undoubtedly had since 1943 when it opened. Now it's a barn of a coffee shop filled with kitschy faux-antique signs and many customers who undoubtedly remember its first year in business. Twohey's is famous for the "little stinker" burgers with onions, its onion rings and homemade hot fudge sauce. My patty melt was pretty lackluster, with a tasteless overcooked patty and sweet potato fries that can't hold a candle to Gus's BBQ. But Matt liked his bacon/blue cheese burger, and Sam seemed happy with his onion ring-topped burger and apple pie. I think the trick is to order a half pound burger instead of a quarter pound one to achieve a little more juiciness. We'll probably be back to try the sundaes, the slushy limeade and the onion rings, but if I just want a simple burger, I'll probably go to the In 'n Out next door instead.

New Chowhound finds: Open Door Izakaya, Jitlada's new-new Southern Thai menu

Here's a few places that are going on my restaurants-to-try-next list. Thanks to Chowhounds Slomosi and Oldiebutfoodie for posting about them.

Open Door Izakaya is in Monterey Park, an unlikely spot for a Japanese restaurant, but one cannot live by dim sum alone, right? Slomosi says the food is beautifully presented, with beer and sake and high quality ingredients like real wasabi and "premium Kuro edamame." Truffle tater tots? I'm so there.
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The unstoppable Jazz has added a whole new addendum to Jitlada's famous Southern Thai menu that you may have first heard about on EatingLA. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but Oldiebutfoodie reports it features dishes like Morning glory shrimp salad and sator bean/pork belly stir-fry. This is Thai food on a whole other level, and I can't wait to try it.

Why doesn't L.A. have a hospital-themed restaurant?

Here I am working at a hospital-themed restaurant in Latvia during my summer internship. Ok, not really, but it looks like I look enough like the waitresses to get a job at the wacky place featured on BoingBoing. L.A. just doesn't have enough themed restaurants these days, I feel. Sure, there's Royal T., and the Indian in San Gabriel, and a few piratey places in Koreatown, but it's crazy that the Latvians are beating Hollywood at its own game.

Artisanal cheese evening next Tuesday at Lou

If you're not busy with Restaurant Week, here's a terrific chance to try unusual cheese and wines at Lou on Vine.

Artisanal cheeses and oddball wine: an evening with the Cheese Impresario

Who: Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Sid Cook. Sid's earthy and unique cheeses reflect their place of origin and an experimental, individual take on contemporary American artisanal cheese making, and Barrie Lynn, The Cheese Impresario.
What: An evening dedicated to Sid Cook's Carr Valley cheeses. Barrie Lynn will talk a bit about the cheeses and Lou will pair them with exotic condiments from Cory Baehr Imports and a tasting flight of oddball, neigh extreme cheese wines, some sweet, some oxidative, all 100 percent groovy.
When: Tuesday, February 3, 6:30-8 pm
Where: Lou on Vine, 724 Vine St., Hollywood
How much: The cost for the evening is $25, wine included.
If you've ever found yourself pondering if Carr Valley Virgin-Pine Native Blue would work with a nutty tasting oxidative white wine from the Jura, here's your opportunity to find out!, say Lou Amdur and Barrie Lynn.

A Mitsuwa employee's response

The L.A. Times did a nice story on the last day of Mitsuwa. My post about the market's closing got a lot of comments (some verging on race-baiting!) and I'd thought I'd republish this one so more people could see it. It's from a longtime employee named Ken.

"I worked at Mitsuwa. My name is Ken and I worked at the Fish department and as a cashier. I was laid off last Thursday and want to say thanks to everyone that shopped there and had a wonderful experience.
I read a couple of articles by the LA times, RAFU Shimpo, and Downtown LA news and agree with a lot of things people had to say. Although these are all perspectives, we should never takes these views as the absolute truth. I guess my voice would be an opinion but I wanted to give you my thoughts since I've worked there and live in Little Tokyo. Yaohan was a great place to mingle. yeah it had the bowling alley, and the game center during the mid 80s but the times have changed. A lot of Japanese people moved out towards the valley and the beach cities and besides, the area around 1st to 5th street really became a dump during the early to late 90s.
Most of the Japanese Americans went to school outside of LA and a lot families and business moved out of little Tokyo: some even went back to Japan during the 80s/90s boom in Japan. During this period, Mitsuwa started branching out to other locations like Costa Mesa, San Diego, Santa Monica, Torrance, etc. in or around predominantly affluent areas.
Now the language of racism seems to be a topic since most people or those blogging suspect that Koreans and Japanese people/cultures tend to clash. Well, I think it's a matter of perspective.
I met a lot of nice Koreans and met a number of inconsiderate Japanese and American customers. Although I've noticed that the Japanese customers tend to say konichiwa and the typical greetings or propriety of arigato or domo (thank you kindly, welcome) after the end of the purchase or a conversation. With other cultures: I remember seeing a smile and some times no response.
Maybe the Japanese customers felt comfortable knowing that I'm Japanese and spoke it fluently although I would say the same phrase to everyone regardless of their ethnic appearance because I know there are white or American people that speak Japanese so I don't want to pigeonhole customers by their appearance. There is a universal understanding of feeling welcomed or valued as a customer.
This is the Japanese etiquette of politeness and expected service and propriety or the endless pursuit to define my culture with a modest disposition and a distinction of class.
At any rate, There were a number of non-Japanese people that worked at Mitsuwa which was very common since most of the Japanese speaking clients were limited to tourists or seniors citizens(less than a 1/3. I know there were two Chinese employees working there named Mr. and Mrs. Cheng. They hardly spoke any English and a few words in Japanese and managed to be very polite, hard working, and courteous to everyone although they worked in a Japanese supermarket in the United States.
So...then it made sense to me. Little Tokyo doesn't really need to have a large Japanese Supermarket with Japanese speaking clients but embrace the Japanese personality. But the food will be missed. I mentioned to various customers that we will have an International market and some people were interested while some were disappointed with groaning and negative face gestures. Some Korean and American customer knew that Koreans bought the mall and they don't want to see Korean sushi or Koreans taking over little tokyo and they should go back to Koreatown and keep the food and restaurants in little tokyo Japanese.
But in my experience and daily observation, there aren't that many ethnically Japanese people left to keep a traditional large scale Japanese supermarket in operation.
Even some of the sushi chefs in Little Tokyo that I talked with agree that the customers don't order the traditional stuff on the menu and want a lot of the unhealthy deep fried stuff or even ask for tempura in their sushi rolls. The demand doesn't correlate with the supply. The popular vegetarian and good Japanese home (soul) foods that remain a mystery to the eyes of the non-Japanese.
I'm just glad that I live near the Marukai so I can find the good stuff and make it at home while everyone is eating crap and becoming another statistic of the U.S. Surgeon General.
Well, I see Little Tokyo slowly changing, like the movie "ghost world"...soon McDonalds will line up against the pastagina and starbucks near the Office Depot on 2nd st. The Nijiya Market will stock up on heaps of Pocky, hello kitty snacks, and Calpico drinks while the other stuff begins to disappear.
Well, "the times are a changing"...
bob dylan"

Where are you going for Restaurant Week?

The SLS menu features their wonderful bonbons, above

It looks like a lot of places are already booked up for DineLA Restaurant Week(s) which runs tomorrow through Jan. 30 and Feb. 1-6. The Bazaar at SLS, for example, which has one of the more interesting looking menus, only has 6:00 or 9:30 next Tuesday. It's pretty much the same story at BLT Steak and Comme Ca. The second week is probably more open at the moment. I'm dillydallying about reserving...has anyone already made reservations, and for which restaurants? It's a chance to try set meals at places you might not ordinarily try, everything from Roy's to the Tam O'Shanter to Grace and Maison Akira.

Barista competition Downtown: For real coffeelovers

Intelligentsia Coffee hosts the 2009 Western Regional Barista Competition today through Sunday at 453 S. Spring St. There's free coffee, and a chance to watch espresso-pulling competitors from Intelligentsia, Cafe Luxxe, Lamill, Redrock, Ritual, Groundworks and more. United States barista champion Kyle Glanville of Silver Lake's own Intelligentsia is one of the emcees.

Beer Blast debuts from Food GPS

Food blog Food GPS has launched the L.A. Beer Blast Weekly newsletter to let beer fans know what's on tap at beer-centric bars around town. The first edition details selections at El Prado, Laurel Tavern and Library Bar, with more to come each week. Find out how to subscribe on FoodGPS. Bottoms up!

Locali is open in Hollywood

Locali carries products to help you go green, including cool glass flasks

Locali is like the opposite of Famima: instead of all the convenience items imported from Japan, the emphasis is on locally-sourced products from some of our favorite producers. There's Carmela Ice Cream, La Guera Tamalera tamales and beer from Dales Bros. and The Bruery. Although located in a compact minimall space, Locali packs in a lot of interesting products that are either sustainable, organic and/or local, including wine and beer, sandwiches and salads from M Cafe, prepared food from several vegan suppliers, frozen foods, coffee and snacks.

The shop stocks a good selection of California beers.

Books, shopping bags, water bottles and other tchochkes for the green lifestyle are stocked as well -- even a handy countertop compost bin. Soon, there will be sandwiches, salads and soups made fresh on the premises, promises owner Melissa Rosen. Locali almost seems too good for Hollywood -- it's like a shop from Portland or Santa Monica -- but hopefully Hollywoodites will support all the delicious local products found at Locali.
Tip: Don't miss the Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwiches. They may come all the way from Portland, but they rock.
Prepared foods come from several local suppliers, both vegan and omnivore.

Locali
5825 Franklin Ave.
Hollywood
open 7 am - 11 pm seven days a week

David Haskell becomes GM at STK

It looks like David Haskell won't be opening his own place for the moment. He sent out an email saying he's taken the GM job at STK and will be working on pumping up the wine list. Here's what he had to say:

I have not, yet, gotten my hands on the wine list, but the food is very nice and the vibe is amazing. I hope you will all come in and say hi. I will make sure you all enjoy the experience.
--David Haskell, former owner of Bin 8945 in Weho

More linkage; J. Gold goes to Moles la Tia, Teenage Glutser ages out

Jonathan Gold stops in at Moles la Tia and says it has immediately leapt to the top of L.A.'s best Mexican restaurants. He gives a shoutout to Teenage Glutser for helping to spread the word.
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Speaking of Javier, the Teenage Glutser just turned 20 and celebrated with a meal at Lunasia...so does that mean that now he's just the Glutser? Anyway, Happy birthday Javier!
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Also, congratulations to former L.A. Times food section editor Leslie Brenner, who will be moving to Dallas as restaurant critic for the Dallas Morning News. (Via LAObserved.com)

Locali opens Thursday

Whoops, I had this scheduled to post today, but the folks at UrbanDaddy, who probably actually get paid to write this stuff, got it out first. Locali opens Thursday at 5825 Franklin Ave. with organic tamales from La Guera Tamalera, ostrich burgers, microbrew beers and convenience items like...vegan condoms. I don't want to know why, or how about that one.

Around the blogs: Gourmet ice, Sang Yoon's noodle bar

Here's more info...in fact, an entire Q&A with gourmet iceman Michel Dozois who I met at Barkeeper the other night. There's no photo of Michel, but let's just say that if some blog was having a hot mixologist contest...
The Iceman Cometh in L.A. Times' Daily Dish.
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Ok, I admit I've never checked out the Food & Wine blog, but the Daily Dish apparently does, and found an interview with Father's Office's Sang Yoon, who says he's opening an Asian noodle bar near Father's Office II. Stay tuned...
An L.A. Noodle Bar scoop from Foodandwine.com
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Siena Restaurant closes in Pasadena, reports FoodGPS. I never even got there, but I heard it was a good alternative to the corporate old-town Pasadena spots. Pasadena seems to have a particularly brutal restaurant climate right now, it seems.


New York's gourmet banh mi from Seriouseats.com

And on the other coast, those sophisticated Gothamites now have a chef-driven banh mi shop. Sounds a little foofy, and yet I suspect I would not complain were one to open at say, Wilshire and Fairfax.
Baoguette from SeriousEats.com

Comme Ca enlarges cocktail menu

David Myers' Comme Ca, which already had a tightly-edited menu of excellent drinks, is enlarging its cocktail menu with about two dozen tantalizing additions. Mixologist Joel Black seems to be in overdrive, with a gin-heavy list of unusual cocktails and revived classics like the Aviation. Reading about drinks like the seasonal Toasted Marshmallow Punch with a graham cracker rim, or the El Matador with tequila, lemon juice, ginger and violet liqueur are making me very thirsty indeed.
Cocktails, anyone?
(photo: an Aviation from Father's Office, via the L.A. Times.)

Alice Waters: from food arbiter to film fest judge

Anthony Bourdain may be tired of Alice Waters, but the tireless Berkeley chef-activist continues to forge into new waters. This time, it's the film world, as Waters has been named a juror for the upcoming Berlin Film Festival, reports Variety. I guess if you've got a good palate, you've got good taste in film...maybe. Of course, the Berlin Film Fest is one of the few to offer a culinary films sidebar, which will open this year with Food, Inc., with Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan attending. Sounds like a tasty fest!

Preggatinis... for all your teetotalling friends

You don't even have to be pregnant to enjoy a preggatini, as we observed at a launch party at Barkeeper for Natalie Bovis-Nelsen's new book Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-to-be. If that name makes you gag, you might want to skip this post. But the book is a fun collection of drink recipes perfect for a pre-baby gift, with recipes like Pants on Fire, which features chili-infused simple syrup, or a Mamarita for enjoying with Mexican food. There's also advice on how to order the best virgin drinks at bars, and a chapter on actual cocktails with alcohol for husbands and other non-pregnant people. I wish there had been sophisticated sodas like Dry when I was pregnant -- they make great mixers for some of the recipes in the book.
All the cocktail cognoscenti came out to toast Natalie, and we talked to several fascinating mixology geeks like gourmet icemaker Michael Dozois from Neve Ice, Chuck Taggart from the Gumbo Pages, and Matt, the Rum Dood.
But I think I'll have to pass on the mocktail called "Release Me," which says it will "get things moving in the right direction," featuring figs, lavender honey and prune juice.

Inaugural night festivities around town

Just a few as most have been covered elsewhere...here's a few specials for Tuesday. Happy inauguration!

Spitz Downtown is offering $3 beers from Oskar Blues, an interesting Colorado craft brewery. This might be an every-Tuesday night thing.

Bottle Rock in Culver City is offering bottles to drink at the winebar for retail prices...in other words, a $30 bottle will be $15. Also, there's 25% off lunch tomorrow from 12 to 4 pm.

55 Degree Wine celebrates with a flight of six carefully-selected champagnes for $32 from 6-1 p.m.

and I'll be drinking my bottle of Ale to the Chief beer I've been saving!

Bamboodles: Silly name, luscious Chinese noodles

Fresh spinach handmade noodles with pork

I like the name Bamboodles, because it's easier to remember than most Chinese restaurant names. ("Do you want to go to Best Szechuan?" "No, I want to go to Szechuan Best!") But while the name might seem kind of gimmicky, Bamboodles is a serious temple to noodle artistry. It took over a San Gabriel Valley Blvd. strip mall space that I believe might have housed a fairly dubious Hunan place last year, and it's a great improvement. Here's the drill: Bamboodles makes handmade thin noodles, using a huge bamboo log (left) to shape them. Green tea noodles are sort of a signature flavor, but they also make spinach, carrot, plain, extra egg and black sesame (below right). You can get them in a rich pork soup, for a similar effect to pork ramen; in beef or chicken soup or on a plate with spicy beef, shrimp or pork lo mein. To start, we tried the garlicky cold seaweed and potatoes, recommended by Exilekiss, who first wrote about this place in an enthusiastic Chowhound post. It was nice to have a cold dish to return to between bites of noodles. Then we chose spinach noodles in pork soup, which came out in a wonderful green color, since they use fresh spinach. The pork was tender, the broth lightly perfumed, perhaps with anise -- this was a nice bowl of noodles with a good bite to them. Carrot noodles ( bottom left) came on a plate with a cup of spicy beef on the side -- the beef sauce was a bit greasy and the beef could have been a bit more tender. But this dish really came alive when a dash of soy sauce and a dash of red vinegar was added to the mild carrot noodles, and we scooped up every bite. Although there were just two of us, we also managed to down an order of House special dumplings. Matt liked their rustic, homemade wrappers and pork filling. They aren't the very best dumplings in the area, but even ok homemade dumplings can be pretty good.
Verdict: Bamboodles wasn't nearly as crowded as most of the other places on Valley Saturday night, perhaps because the menu is fairly small and specialized. But we had an amazing quantity of nicely-crafted noodles and sides for $27, and I'd say this place is definitely worth trying. Also, it's very user-friendly, with a helpful waiter who shows you the different types of noodles and explains how the menu works.
Bamboodles
535 Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel

Fresh & Easy Alhambra: An early visit

Alhambra's new Fresh & Easy wasn't relatively uncrowded compared to the first few days when I visited early Saturday morning. Just as she predicted, the first person I saw was Pam from the late and lamented Daily Gluttony blog. She and her baby and husband were taking advantage of the "Adults with children" spaces right up at the front of the parking lot, which is a nice touch, as are the hybrid parking spots. But I'm still having a slightly hard time getting my mind around Fresh & Easy's product selection. I was surprised to see several cheeses from Cypress Grove -- they were in stock on the wonderful Humboldt Fog and it looks like they'll be getting Midnight Moon and a few others, which is reason enough to shop there, since the prices will probably be lower than Whole Foods. The rest of the cheese selection is uninspiring though, while the meats are generally better. Is there a big demand for bresaola in Alhambra? I hadn't realized. Somehow the prepared and frozen foods didn't really appeal to me, but I'm sure they're helpful for people who can't cook. I noted a few interesting products I hadn't seen before. Crispbakes are some kind of breaded amalgam of potatoes, bacon and chicken, or a breaded chili beef patty...is this some kind of British invention?
I'll also be surprised if they sell a lot of salmon croquettes. Nature's Nosh looks more promising -- it's a refrigerated plastic box with either chopped fruit or edamame that you top with nuts for a healthy snack. It seemed a little pricey at $2.99 since you could easily throw this together yourself, but a nice idea anyway. I also liked the "grill pack" which is a big plastic box full of burgers and sausages -- you'd be the hit of the BBQ if you showed up with that. There were people helping put the items through the automated checking machine as well as bagging, which I'm sure won't last long, but they were very friendly. I could see going back from time to time, since it's more convenient for me than the Glassell Park one. Which of the prepared items are decent?

Goodbye to Lesley at EaterLA

Lesley Balla from EaterLA is moving on next week...she was the first to work for the blog when the New York-based Eater branched out into L.A., and she set the bar high. We wish her luck with her next gig!

Eat: Los Angeles signing and tasting in Echo Park Thursday

The new Echo Park bookstore Stories will hold a signing and tasting Thursday night for Eat: Los Angeles, the new guidebook to L.A.'s best taco trucks, ice cream shops, wine stores, restaurants and so much more. The book's editor/publisher Colleen Dunn Bates and moi will be there to answer questions about local spots or to hear you complain about what we left out. The good news is, the book will be updated next year and we'll put in all your suggestions we deem worthy. The other good news is, there will be snacks from local spots Andiamo and Allston Yacht Club.
Where: Stories, 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Echo Park
When: Thursday, 7 pm
What: signing, chatting, snacks
Why: So you can finally get your copy of the most current, opinionated, yet comprehensive food guide to L.A.

99 Cent Chef on KTLA TV Thursday morning

More relevant than ever, L.A.'s own 99 Cent Chef will be on KTLA's morning show Thursday morning between 9 and 10 am talking about dishes he creates from 99 Cent Store ingredients, including Pita Pizzas, Eggplant Hummus, Ragu alla Bolognese and Mini-banana puddings. And to think we knew him before he was even blogging!

Where did XIV's half a star go?

hazelnut milk, frosted flakes and whiskey dessert at XIV (L.A. Times)

When I read S. Irene Virbila's snarky-for-her review of XIV last night on LATimes.com, I thought two and a half stars seemed pretty generous for food she described as cliche and cloying. So in today's printed edition, prophetically titled "XIV's high concept doesn't quite add up," it gets just two stars -- still "very good" but without that extra je ne sais quoi meriting an extra star. Did Michael Mina's extra half star float off into cyberspace?

Around the blogs: Golden State, Yxta

FoodGPS tells about the opening of beer-ific Golden State in the old Nova Express space on Fairfax. Expect burgers, sausages, coffee and plenty of beers...opening around Feb. 15.

Angelenic describes Downtown's Yxta from the El Arco Iris people, also opening in mid-February. Yes, they'll have margaritas, and probably a little less expensive than the other nuevo Mexicans Downtown.

EaterLA has the menu from John Sedlar's Rivera -- yum, chicharrones with romesco, $3 -- and a tequila sommelier. Grand opening is this Thursday.

And for you Indonesian food-craving Westsiders, Gourmet Pigs says Simpang Asia will now stay open until midnight...with a late night discount!

Cole's: Re-do brings historic spot into the 21st century

I'm glad I got to see the old Cole's French Dip before it was re-done by Downtown nightlife impresario Cedd Moses with a menu update from Grace's Neal Fraser. Two years ago, it looked every bit of its 100 years old, in a cool but dusty way. But Moses was sensitive to fears that he would ruin the whole vibe, and wisely left the front room pretty much the same while subtly spiffing up the bar area. The main difference is that there's no more musty, kitschy back room -- it's now a swank separate bar, The Association, but more on that later. The menu is even simpler than Philippe's, which also claims to be the originator of the French dip. There's beef, pork, lamb and turkey sandwiches for $8; cheese toppings for $1 more, a few sides, and grilled cheese sandwiches for the meat-intolerant. A few German beers on tap are $6 and $7 a glass, and classic cocktails are $10 each. Matt tried the lamb with blue cheese, which is invariably touted as the thing to get at either Philippe's or Cole's, while I had a more purist pork with their spicy horseradish-intensive housemade mustard.Pork sandwich with au jus and coleslaw

What can I say? It's an American meat sandwich -- the meat is top quality, hand-sliced, no fat or gristle, but it's just -- plain, no matter how much mustard you slather on and amount of au jus you dip it in. Maybe it was too close to my revelatory trip to Cook's Tortas, but it's hard for me to get very excited about a pile of plain meat on a bun. The coleslaw side was a healthy portion but could use a bit more zing. Matt is more of an American food fan than I am -- he loved his lamb and blue cheese and his bacon potato salad too. I'd go back to Cole's again with my meat-loving son, and I'm glad it wasn't wrecked in the re-do, but I guess I like my sandwiches with more layering of flavors.
After dinner, we checked out The Association next door. It's dark, cavernous and atmospheric with a '70s feel, not to mention a dj spinning the likes of Elton John and Carly Simon. The cocktail list is full of things like lavender liqueur and absinthe; I asked for something citrusy with bourbon, and the bartender mixed me up a sour with hand-squeezed lemon juice; Matt had something like a mojito topped with a splash of champagne. Served in narrow champagne flutes, cocktails weren't huge but at $10, but seemed like a relative bargain for the quality of the mixology and juices. "This seems like it would be a great place to get drunk," Matt said, and I'd have to agree.

Fresh & Easy opens in Alhambra Wednesday

The newest Fresh & Easy opens at 2121 Main St. in Alhambra Wednesday, with an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. I never got in the Fresh & Easy habit since Glassell Park isn't on my regular route, but those $5 off coupons are pretty tempting, so maybe I'll give it another try since I seem to go to the Target across the street, like, every weekend. It's also convenient to King Hua and Fosselman's Ice Cream.

LA Weekly adds food blog next week

The LA Weekly is losing film critic Ella Taylor and its theater editor, but gaining a new food blogger, according to this memo published by LAObserved. We saw the ad for a blogger a few months back but haven't heard yet who got the job -- but it's certain he or she will have quite a job working alongside Jonathan Gold, who apparently is too busy eating to blog.
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Just four years or so after the debut of EatingLA, Deep End Dining and a few other pioneers of L.A. foodblogging, the L.A. Times Daily Dish and Los Angeles magazine's Eat blog have also been looking good lately.

Making sauerkraut is easy, says Boing Boing

It's not mold, it's "bloom"! (via BoingBoing)

Although EatingLA only manages to cook an actual meal about once a week, we encourage readers to do better than that and also learn to make stuff yourself, darnit.
Here's Boingboing editor Mark Frauenfelder, who helped organize Machine Project's picklemaking, on making your own easy sauerkraut. I think I'm going to try kimchee soon, anyone done it?

Cook's Tortas: Why aren't they everywhere?

It's a shame that nasty-tasting places like Samurai Sam's and Subway are spread out all over the city, but you have to go to Monterey Park to try the wonderful Cook's Tortas. My favorite kind of sandwich is probably the banh mi, but tortas as good as these will have to run a close second. Cook's, which opened last spring, is a whole different kind of torta place -- they have the typical torta varieties like carne asada and chorizo, but the menu changes regularly, rotating in a galaxy of other types. There's bacalao with cod and roasted peppers, several vegetarian selections and my instant favorite, chicken with mole verde. The mole was creamy and tangy -- maybe there was some aioli in there too -- but it elevated the chicken to a perfect combo of soft bread, creamy sauce and avocado and grilled chicken. The house-baked torta rolls are soft enough to not tear your mouth apart while chewing, a pet peeve of mine with sandwiches on French bread, but still have flavor and body. Matt's Mojito pork sandwich was also delicious, but lacked the tanginess that put mine up there into sandwich nirvana. We had housemade cucumber-lime and jamaica aguas and for dessert, I tried Grandmother's corn cake. I love corn in desserts, but it was a touch too reminiscent of canned creamed corn to really work for me. I had a side of yams, and Matt had potato salad. There's also coffee drinks, pastries and BBQ on Sundays from 12-4.
If Cook's was in Silver Lake or Los Feliz, it would probably be constantly packed, but in a rather far-off part of Monterey Park, near East L.A., Saturday afternoons are pretty mellow. Now if they would just open a few more...
Cook's Tortas
1944 S. Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park

Let's Be Frank heads to Silver Lake Wine each Thursday

Hail food carts, food trucks and all nimble, mobile food conveyance systems! After a test run, the Let's Be Frank cart heads to Silver Lake Wine for each Thursday's tasting from now on. Thursday wine tastings are usually very well attended and they run from 5-11 so there's plenty of time to catch a grass-fed dog in Silver Lake. (Last time I wrote about Let's Be Frank, some commenter said that there's "no such thing as a guilt free hot dog." I'd be interested to hear his explanation of why not -- but then I'm not a big believer in food guilt anyway.)

(photo from Flickr user jslander)

La Guera Tamalera: Insanely good tamales from a white girl

A ginger-peach sweet tamale and a wrapped fignana tamale

I wrote about La Guera Tamalera, the White Girl Tamale Maker right after I met her at a tamale making class so that people could order tamales in time for Christmas. I finally got to try them when she kindly dropped some off the other day. Deborah learned how to make tamales from a family in Veracruz, Mexico, and that's why her tamales are tied on the ends, because that's the Veracruz style.
Maybe it's because I'm a white girl too, but these are my favorite tamales, like, ever. Don't get me wrong -- I love all the traditional pork tamale fillings, masa made with lard and all that, but I don't often eat those kind of tamales because they're just too filling and heavy for this white girl. These tamales are completely different -- the organic, non-GMO masa is light and has its own distinctly nutty flavor, rather than just being an enclosure for the filling. I tried:
Chicken: this flavorful filling is made with free-range chicken in a tomatillo sauce,
Spinach and shitake mushroom: A vegan variety that I liked even better than the chicken; have one of each for a complete meal of veggies and meat.
Sweet tamales were even better, and made a wonderful breakfast fresh out of the steamer.
Fignana: The fig part is subtle; this one is basically like the best super-moist piece of banana bread you've ever had.
Peach/ginger: This was my favorite, since it had that tangy thing going on with the sweet, earthy masa. It's like a fruity gingerbread.
La Guera's other flavors include locally-raised pork in red sauce, jalapeno & cheese and butternut squash.
While Deborah makes appearances everywhere from The Verdugo to the Atwater Christmas Festival, right now home delivery is the best option, at $58 a dozen. They will also be available at Locali on Franklin when it opens in the next few weeks.

This weekend: Little Dom's at Silverlake Wine, Be the dj at Palate, Freight by Night, Duvel tasting

Some weekend events:

Silver Lake Wine's Sunday tasting features Italian wines and food from The Deli at Little Dom's. $20 from 3-6 Sunday, call for reservation.

Palate's Wine Bar is open from 12-5 on Sundays and this week features Bollito Misto for $15 and an Italian tasting flight for $10. Next Sunday, Jan. 18, bring your records or CDs and sign up for a dj set during the wine tasting. I don't think they'd appreciate my vintage post-punk records though, it's more of a worldbeat feel.

We wrote about Freight by Night at Zanzabelle the other day, but in case you missed it, it's a $20 prix fixe supper on Friday and Saturday night, with this week's menu including pozole and cochinita pibil.

Also, if you're more beer than wine, 55 Degrees in Atwater is doing a Duvel Belgian beer tasting Sunday from 5-10 pm. $17 for five brews.

The Park cracks down on BYOB...will others follow?

(photo from LATimes.com)

The Park in Echo Park has gotten some grief from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control board for their BYOB policy, and is asking that patrons do not bring alcohol starting after this weekend. That's a real shame as this was what made the restaurant so friendly and affordable, but it begs the question of whether this will be a problem at several other local places that encourage BYOB.
The owner of Michelangelo, for one, says he hasn't been contacted and that it's ok until you receive the window posting from the ABC.
Is it our fault as bloggers and Chowhounds that the ABC caught on to this practice, or would they be policing these restaurants anyway? Hopefully The Park will get a license soon and put this issue to rest, but in the meantime, the restaurant is introducing a new winter menu to help ease the pain. There's some tempting-looking things on the new menu: Bourride, a French seafood soup; braised Kurobata pork belly with Vietnamese caramel sauce and orecchiette with roasted cauliflower, capers and fennel. They also plan to open soon on Tuesday nights with a family style dinner and for lunch as well.

Spitz Downtown grand opening: Under $5 for a night

Add to the under-$5 list next Thursday's grand opening for Spitz Downtown, when all menu items will be half price...that means under $5 for a doner kebab sandwich, sweet potato fries and a drink. Beer and sangria are also $2 from 7 to midnight on Thursday, Jan. 15.
Spitz Downtown
371 E. 2nd St., Little Tokyo

Sad press release of the day: Pancake recession relief

IHOP would like everyone to know that they're doing their part for the recession: yes, all-you-can eat pancakes are back with bottomless coffee for $4.99 until Feb. 22.
Thanks, but first of all, no one should really be eating more than one portion's worth of pancakes no matter how bad the economy is.
And, there's got to be better things to eat out there for $4.99...
1) One hot dog from Let's Be Frank
2) Two hot dogs from most hot dog carts around Echo Park and Highland Park
3) Three tacos from most taco trucks
4) Two tacos from the Kogi Korean BBQ truck
5) Full breakfast at several places such as Rick's on Riverside and Penny's on York
Got more?

Meet Anne Willan: French country food and signing

This one's a little pricey, but if you'd like to meet cookbook author and La Varenne cooking school proprietor Anne Willan, she'll be doing a signing with samples from the book Thursday Jan. 15 at Algabar on La Brea. Algabar is an unusual hybrid of a tea shop, tea catering service and home decor shop. The evening is $65 without her book Country Cooking of France and $115 including a signed copy.

Deli at Little Dom's: sweet focaccia of your dreams

This sweet focaccia made FoodGPS' 10 best dishes list and I can definitely see why. I've never had rosemary paired with fruit before, but the yeasty, slightly salty crust topped with tangy grapes, blackberries and blueberries was the best pastry I've had since Ken's Artisan Bakery in Portland. Little Dom's Deli also has coffee, interesting-sounding sandwiches and pasta and sauce to go. Also, cake in a jar -- wherein chocolate cake is baked in a Mason jar and topped with sugary pecans. You can even get roasted Brussels sprouts to go, sadly, though without the bacon they serve it with at the restaurant, as well as bean salad and eggplant caponata. It's a cute spot, like everything else new in the neighborhood, a little pricey...but the focaccia is totally worth it.

Talesai take two: Venerable Strip spot changes it up

A new wine wall shows Talesai's more serious committment to the wine list

A quartet of independent producers discusses their next project; an elderly bleached blonde dines with her wheelchair-bound companion; a few agent types belly up to the bar, while next to us, two Beverly Hills couples return to check out one of their faithful spots.
It's a typical Sunset Strip crowd at Talesai, which chef Kris Yenbamroong says was considered cutting edge when his parents opened it 25 years ago -- when he was just one year old. Kris recently decided it was time to freshen up the menu, with stronger flavors and higher quality ingredients as well as a makeover for the room. We were invited by the chef to try some of the new dishes, so this isn't a real review -- but the manager told us they spotted S. Irene each time she came in, so I'm guessing she was treated well, too.
The new menu and look is all a bit much for the BH couples, who requested their old favorite mee krob off the menu and were not thrilled with the changes. Change is difficult for some folks, to be sure, but those who aren't clinging to 1980s Thai food should see a vast improvement in Talesai's dishes. We started with mushroom fries, similar to mushroom tempura -- I love mushrooms and I love anything well-fried, so these hit the spot.Larb made with filet mignon had just the right spice level to not scare away the regulars but still provide a little zing, with none of the gristle you sometimes get in cheaper restaurants. Zingy housemade pork Thai sausage was probably my favorite taste of the evening, although the sticky rice it's served with probably doesn't need to be made with sweet coconut milk. Fried chicken with housemade nam prik sauce had a delicious crust, but it might be a good idea to offer a spicy sauce and a mild one for different tastes. A duck "tamale" steamed in a banana leaf is basically haw mok but with duck instead of seafood -- the delicate custard is fragrant with kaffir lime, and the duck makes a nice change of pace. Subtle oxtail noodle soup (above) was nicely perfumed with anise. Most Thai restaurants don't have much of a choice of wine, but Talesai's new list has several good choices -- I had a glass of spicy Allimant Laugner gewürztraminer.
Fans of Ruen Pair and the like won't need to rush over here, but those looking for flavorful, well-prepared Thai food with interesting wine and cocktails and those who need a restaurant near the Strip will find it a welcome update.
BTW, chef Kris told us that some of his favorite local Thai spots include Ord Noodle and Palms Thai in Thai Town, Sri Siam in North Hollywood (ours too!) and Bua Siam in North Hollywood, although he wasn't sure if it's as good as it used to be.

Times turns Thai at Talesai: S. Irene goes ethnic

Thai sausage from the L.A. Times

Where to get "upscale" Thai food is a perennial Chowhound question, with possibilities including Nakkara and Naraya. Add to these the 25-year old Talesai on the Sunset Strip, which S. Irene Virbila reviews in Wednesday's L.A. Times, giving it 1 1/2 stars (between good and very good). Talesai has undergone a Jitlada-style makeover with new regional dishes and the likes of filet mignon larb -- I'm trying it tonight, and it's entirely possibly I've eaten more Thai food than Virbila, so I'll let you know how it goes.

Freight by Night: affordable supper club at Silver Lake's Zanzabelle

I'd like to eat in an octopus's garden, with you...Zanzabelle's whimsical garden

After taking over the lunchtime menu at Zanzabelle five months ago, Freight Foods' chef Matthew Roberts has started a supper club with different regional themes each weekend. (Remember, we predicted more affordable prix fixe dinners and informal supper clubs!)
This weekend, Freight by Night is held on Friday, Jan. 9 and Saturday Jan. 10 from 6-9 p.m. while next week's menu will likely be Italian-flavored. This one is really affordable: $20 for this week's menu, which includes:
- Tomatillo and Yellowtail Ceviche
- Sapotes Dulces
- Pozole Blanco
- Cochinita Pibil

Roberts started as a line cook, graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and then cooked at local restaurants including Canele until he and his wife Jackie, who who is experienced in food marketing and advertising, decided to open their own place within Zanzabelle.

Reservations are recommended at 626-243-3686, or email info@freightfoods.com.
Silver Lake Wine is informed of the menu in advance and offers suitable wine pairings, and corkage is free -- but dress warmly, as seating is on Zanzabelle's cute front patio.