A quick showcase of a few great spots in LA that you should, nay, must, visit on a regular basis:
1. Bacaro. I don't know why the LA food press isn't giving this place more love. Great food. Great wine. Simple stylish space. And fucking amazing prices. Each "small" plate is $7 or 3 for $19. And from 5-7PM each plate is $5. They've also started doing a stellar brunch on Sundays. www.bacarolosangeles.com
2. Allston Yacht Club. Another great little spot off the beaten path. Or rather, off the path where people are beaten. That path being Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park. But they're usually beaten well after the restaurants are closed. Just kidding. Nobody gets beaten in Echo Park. I don't think. But another great wine-oriented eatery with inexpensive small plates and a small eclectic wine list. www.allstonyachtclub.com
3. Wurstkuche. So this place isn't really a hidden gem, but it's out of the way and awesome. Sausages, beers, and fries in a friendly industrial Arts District space. I just had the Austin Blues sausage, which was fucking great--made from smoked pork it tasted like some Texas barbecue in sausage form. www.wurstkucherestaurant.com
4. CitySip. Not the cheapest wine bar in town, but it easily has the best selection (40+ wines by the glass) and a slowly expanding food menu. And as great as the wines are, the draft beer selection just might be the best small selection of California craft brews around. www.citysipla.com
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Oven
In our push for bigger, better, and more complicated experiences, certain commonplace pleasures get pushed aside and we forget about them in favor of their flashier, smoother, and tighter counterparts: four door sedans; potatoes; pornography with vaginal sex and pubic hair.
But you know what? Sometimes those simple gifts really are the best gifts, especially when styled into a photorealistic likeness of Mickey Mouse.
Naturally, what I'm referring to is using the oven to cook.
In our excitement over enamelware, grills, pressure cookers, and All-Clad frying pans, we forget that just roasting something in the oven is a beautiful thing.
Sure it takes longer than stove top cooking, but it's largely unattended work. For instance, I took out a roasting pan, poured in some frozen vegetables and a couple chicken breasts and poured a can of tomato soup over it all. It's now in the oven at 400 degrees and will be my dinner for a couple days.
Yeah it's going to take a good hour plus to cook (because all the components are frozen), but I'm sitting on my ass drinking wine, watching the Oscars (which were so fucking tame and lame--maybe next year there'll be burlesque shows), and writing this while it cooks. A tiny bit of advanced planning means dinner is cooked while I do whatever the fuck I want. It's like having a 1950's housewife without the closet lesbianism.
So don't neglect your oven. It's there and waiting for you. Just keep tabs on what's cooking so it doesn't dry out and serve whatever you're cooking with whole wheat couscous.
But you know what? Sometimes those simple gifts really are the best gifts, especially when styled into a photorealistic likeness of Mickey Mouse.
Naturally, what I'm referring to is using the oven to cook.
In our excitement over enamelware, grills, pressure cookers, and All-Clad frying pans, we forget that just roasting something in the oven is a beautiful thing.
Sure it takes longer than stove top cooking, but it's largely unattended work. For instance, I took out a roasting pan, poured in some frozen vegetables and a couple chicken breasts and poured a can of tomato soup over it all. It's now in the oven at 400 degrees and will be my dinner for a couple days.
Yeah it's going to take a good hour plus to cook (because all the components are frozen), but I'm sitting on my ass drinking wine, watching the Oscars (which were so fucking tame and lame--maybe next year there'll be burlesque shows), and writing this while it cooks. A tiny bit of advanced planning means dinner is cooked while I do whatever the fuck I want. It's like having a 1950's housewife without the closet lesbianism.
So don't neglect your oven. It's there and waiting for you. Just keep tabs on what's cooking so it doesn't dry out and serve whatever you're cooking with whole wheat couscous.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Permit Maze
Good article in the LA Times today about Los Angeles' notoriously complicated permitting process for restaurants.
Nobody's denying that regulations are crucial for public health and safety but when a restaurant can be told to move forward and then be told they shouldn't've moved forward by a different city agency that didn't talk to the first city agency, that's lame. That's lame and it holds up hundreds of potential new jobs for restaurant workers.
Nobody's denying that regulations are crucial for public health and safety but when a restaurant can be told to move forward and then be told they shouldn't've moved forward by a different city agency that didn't talk to the first city agency, that's lame. That's lame and it holds up hundreds of potential new jobs for restaurant workers.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Latin America in LA: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
As pan-ethnic as the Bay Area is, Los Angeles is indisputably the epicenter of of Latin-American, Hispanic, and (especially) Chicano life in California and (maybe) the country. From eastside taco trucks, tamale carts, and traffic island fruit salesmen, to the scores of taquerias and that indisputed king of fusion cuisine, the Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog, LA is home to a wide variety of authentic regional Hispanic cuisine and contemporary Cal/Mex dining.
So it's surprising that the Nuevo Latino dining movement that took hold on the east coast (primarily in Miami and New York) never really reached California in any major way. There're a handful of places in the Bay Area: Fonda, Limon, and Platanos jump to mind immediately, but none of these restaurants really developed the reputation of some of the powerhouses in New York.
But with the recent openings of Rivera, Casa, and Provecho in downtown Los Angeles, as well as the lone Nuevo Latino attempt from the late 90's, Ciudad, still hangint around. are we finally seeing Nuevo Latino in LA?
The answer is.... Not really.
The Good:
Rivera, the new restaurant from pioneering American Southwestern chef John Sedlar, is pretty freakin' great. Stellar, impeccably prepared food (the highlight was a piece of black cod that was one of the freshest pieces of fish I've ever had), innovative wine list featuring selections solely from Spain, Portugal, and Latin-America, and cool cocktail selections at reasonable (for LA) prices. We went soon after the restaurant opened and they were being conservative with their menu, so it wasn't taking the risks that I think I think the restaurant intends too, but Rivera will grow with the neighborhood and the talented kitchen and knowledgeable service staff will grow too. The best meal I've had in LA so far.
The Bad:
Ciudad's food felt as dated as the space: a holdover from an era before there was a Chevy's on every block and mango salsa with corn was a novelty. The concept is cool enough, bringing signature cuisine from all over the Spanish-speaking world to one location, but the execution was less than great. The empanada tasted like something one might buy frozen from Costco and reheat at home; not bad, just boring. My fish entree was nicely done but the tres leches dessert was just a pile of sugar-loaded sponge cake with sugar on top and some sugar on the side. Service was very friendly and knowledgeable but the wine and cocktail list was unremarkably mainstream, and the general vibe that of an expense-account lunch/happy hour cash cow. Which I suppose is fine if that's what they're going for, but with the pedigree of their chef-owners I would think they'd be looking for something a bit more cutting-edge.
The Ugly:
Did lunch at Casa, the new place downtown helmed (until recently) by Kris Morningstar. Didn't do their dinner fare (where the place turns a bit more chic) and instead had the taqueria-style lunch. Once again, a pretty cool concept: pick your vehicle (taco, burrito, huarache, ensalada) and pick your meat (pollo asado, pulled chicken, carne asada, chile colorado, al pastor, cochinita pibil, Baja fish, or veggie) and then tweak your accompaniments as desired. Receive your food. Pay. Simple in theory, but with lines out the door and time-consuming freshly prepared food, there are massive backups in more than one location, and lots of things are forgotten, so don't count on your special requests being fufilled. Once you get your food, there's often nowhere to sit, the box your food is in is difficult to eat from, and additional condiments are hard to come by, including the offered "additional salsa on the side" which never came with any plate I saw come out of the kitchen. They really need to tighten up the ship on the service/logistics end because the food is really fucking good. My cochinita pibil burrito was rockstar and pretty authentic to my gringo palate. But although fairly-priced for the quality of ingredients offered, Casa is still close to double what you'd pay for in a taqueria or taco truck, and if you're not offering any extra amenities (prompt service, easy seating), then there's a lot of competition out there.
Didn't do Provecho yet. I'm intrigued and I'll let you know when I do.
So it's surprising that the Nuevo Latino dining movement that took hold on the east coast (primarily in Miami and New York) never really reached California in any major way. There're a handful of places in the Bay Area: Fonda, Limon, and Platanos jump to mind immediately, but none of these restaurants really developed the reputation of some of the powerhouses in New York.
But with the recent openings of Rivera, Casa, and Provecho in downtown Los Angeles, as well as the lone Nuevo Latino attempt from the late 90's, Ciudad, still hangint around. are we finally seeing Nuevo Latino in LA?
The answer is.... Not really.
The Good:
Rivera, the new restaurant from pioneering American Southwestern chef John Sedlar, is pretty freakin' great. Stellar, impeccably prepared food (the highlight was a piece of black cod that was one of the freshest pieces of fish I've ever had), innovative wine list featuring selections solely from Spain, Portugal, and Latin-America, and cool cocktail selections at reasonable (for LA) prices. We went soon after the restaurant opened and they were being conservative with their menu, so it wasn't taking the risks that I think I think the restaurant intends too, but Rivera will grow with the neighborhood and the talented kitchen and knowledgeable service staff will grow too. The best meal I've had in LA so far.
The Bad:
Ciudad's food felt as dated as the space: a holdover from an era before there was a Chevy's on every block and mango salsa with corn was a novelty. The concept is cool enough, bringing signature cuisine from all over the Spanish-speaking world to one location, but the execution was less than great. The empanada tasted like something one might buy frozen from Costco and reheat at home; not bad, just boring. My fish entree was nicely done but the tres leches dessert was just a pile of sugar-loaded sponge cake with sugar on top and some sugar on the side. Service was very friendly and knowledgeable but the wine and cocktail list was unremarkably mainstream, and the general vibe that of an expense-account lunch/happy hour cash cow. Which I suppose is fine if that's what they're going for, but with the pedigree of their chef-owners I would think they'd be looking for something a bit more cutting-edge.
The Ugly:
Did lunch at Casa, the new place downtown helmed (until recently) by Kris Morningstar. Didn't do their dinner fare (where the place turns a bit more chic) and instead had the taqueria-style lunch. Once again, a pretty cool concept: pick your vehicle (taco, burrito, huarache, ensalada) and pick your meat (pollo asado, pulled chicken, carne asada, chile colorado, al pastor, cochinita pibil, Baja fish, or veggie) and then tweak your accompaniments as desired. Receive your food. Pay. Simple in theory, but with lines out the door and time-consuming freshly prepared food, there are massive backups in more than one location, and lots of things are forgotten, so don't count on your special requests being fufilled. Once you get your food, there's often nowhere to sit, the box your food is in is difficult to eat from, and additional condiments are hard to come by, including the offered "additional salsa on the side" which never came with any plate I saw come out of the kitchen. They really need to tighten up the ship on the service/logistics end because the food is really fucking good. My cochinita pibil burrito was rockstar and pretty authentic to my gringo palate. But although fairly-priced for the quality of ingredients offered, Casa is still close to double what you'd pay for in a taqueria or taco truck, and if you're not offering any extra amenities (prompt service, easy seating), then there's a lot of competition out there.
Didn't do Provecho yet. I'm intrigued and I'll let you know when I do.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Alice Waters Hate
So I'm in the process of retooling the purpose of HFF. Without having decided anything specific just yet, I think it's going to involve more frequent and much shorter posts, focusing on trying to give you quick breaking news or my short takes on events and articles in the food/wine/restaurant world. Fewer restaurant critiques, still some long-winded diatribes.
In the mean time, check out this commentary on one of the NPR blogs.
While I appreciate the author for taking Alice Waters' hegemony to task, I am disappointed that he so off-handedly dismisses the idea of local eating. In fact he conflates being a "locavore" with the real target of his contempt, California Cuisine. Locavorism is just eating food that is grown/produced within whatever arbitrary rule you decide (most say 90 miles) a reasonably noble objective. California Cuisine is about using the best local ingredients and preparing them simply. Simple to the point of dull. But there are plenty of restaurants doing weird, wacky, innovative things with food while still using local or regional ingredients.
Case in point, the fabulous lunch I had at Redd a while back definitely was not short on innovation and cross-cultural influences, but it was still made from largely local (or at least California/Pacific coast) ingredients. And of course French Laundry has built a global reputation on its cuisine produced largely from very local ingredients but drawing on diverse classic and modern influences for a wholly unique culinary experience.
In the mean time, check out this commentary on one of the NPR blogs.
While I appreciate the author for taking Alice Waters' hegemony to task, I am disappointed that he so off-handedly dismisses the idea of local eating. In fact he conflates being a "locavore" with the real target of his contempt, California Cuisine. Locavorism is just eating food that is grown/produced within whatever arbitrary rule you decide (most say 90 miles) a reasonably noble objective. California Cuisine is about using the best local ingredients and preparing them simply. Simple to the point of dull. But there are plenty of restaurants doing weird, wacky, innovative things with food while still using local or regional ingredients.
Case in point, the fabulous lunch I had at Redd a while back definitely was not short on innovation and cross-cultural influences, but it was still made from largely local (or at least California/Pacific coast) ingredients. And of course French Laundry has built a global reputation on its cuisine produced largely from very local ingredients but drawing on diverse classic and modern influences for a wholly unique culinary experience.
Monday, January 26, 2009
The more things change, the more things stay the same.
I've been blogging for a long-ass time. Here's something I dug up from my old blog when I was a student at UC Berkeley. Enjoy.
Just because I graduated in the top 5% of my high-school, scored pleasantly high on my SAT, am holding down a 3.7+ here at Cal, and hope to graduate with honors and go to grad school, doesn't mean I didn't take time to learn how to wipe my own ass.... To use hyperbole, of course. I'd like to think that I could get by if all of a sudden I was without a computer for a week, that I could cook my own food over an open fire that I started myself with maybe one match..... That I know not to walk in front of moving cars, or that at the very very least I can hold a conversation with a girl and not automatically think that she wants to jump my bones. Seriously though, there are some people at this school who couldn't do one or all of those things. There's something about prestigious academic institutions, where our future leaders are made, that bring out some of the most utterly ignorant and self-absorbed people in our fair state; whether they be student, faculty, administration, or staff. Or even city councilmembers.
Berkeley kids, by and large, lack something I call common sense, or even practical sense. I don't know whether that's because their parents sheltered them too much because they were "gifted" or because they just have no interest in worldly knowledge, but there are certain things that you'd expect college-age people to know. If the light is red and there is a car driving down the road at a pretty good speed, DON'T WALK IN FRONT OF THE CAR. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. I wish people would stop protesting for a minute to learn how to change a flat tire or sew up a hole in one's pants.
My life is too complicated. Too much shit to do, too much shit that I own. I need to get a job where I live out of a suitcase; quantify my life into a couple of bags and just travel, maybe stay in a hotel here and there. That's the one thing I miss about my drum corps days, just getting on a bus for a week, sleeping on gym floors, nothing but one suitcase, a sleeping bag, mattress pad, and a bugle. Man that was great. Whenever I'm in Berkeley I'm a slave to the internet, to cable tv, to homework, to social life.... I'm not complaining, but it's just not streamlined....
Good news is after work tomorrow I'm going to head down to San Jose, catch the No Doubt concert with a friend of mine and the she and I are going to head down to San Luis Obispo/ Santa Barbara. Visit some friends, hit the beach if the weather's good, and just generally simplify. One suitcase, a sleeping bag, and a pillow.... Good times.
Catch you when I get back, fuckers. I should be in a better mood.
Godspeed.
Monday, March 25, 2002
I swear, I need to get the fuck out of this town. Too much to do around the SAME GODDAMN PEOPLE EVERY DAY. I don't know what it is, but every 6 weeks or so I just get fed up with Berkeley and need to hit the road somewhere for a few days just to relax, unwind, and drink a whole fuckin' lot. I've never been more fed up with this town than I am now. I'm seriously annoyed, peaved, bordering on downright angry.Just because I graduated in the top 5% of my high-school, scored pleasantly high on my SAT, am holding down a 3.7+ here at Cal, and hope to graduate with honors and go to grad school, doesn't mean I didn't take time to learn how to wipe my own ass.... To use hyperbole, of course. I'd like to think that I could get by if all of a sudden I was without a computer for a week, that I could cook my own food over an open fire that I started myself with maybe one match..... That I know not to walk in front of moving cars, or that at the very very least I can hold a conversation with a girl and not automatically think that she wants to jump my bones. Seriously though, there are some people at this school who couldn't do one or all of those things. There's something about prestigious academic institutions, where our future leaders are made, that bring out some of the most utterly ignorant and self-absorbed people in our fair state; whether they be student, faculty, administration, or staff. Or even city councilmembers.
Berkeley kids, by and large, lack something I call common sense, or even practical sense. I don't know whether that's because their parents sheltered them too much because they were "gifted" or because they just have no interest in worldly knowledge, but there are certain things that you'd expect college-age people to know. If the light is red and there is a car driving down the road at a pretty good speed, DON'T WALK IN FRONT OF THE CAR. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. I wish people would stop protesting for a minute to learn how to change a flat tire or sew up a hole in one's pants.
My life is too complicated. Too much shit to do, too much shit that I own. I need to get a job where I live out of a suitcase; quantify my life into a couple of bags and just travel, maybe stay in a hotel here and there. That's the one thing I miss about my drum corps days, just getting on a bus for a week, sleeping on gym floors, nothing but one suitcase, a sleeping bag, mattress pad, and a bugle. Man that was great. Whenever I'm in Berkeley I'm a slave to the internet, to cable tv, to homework, to social life.... I'm not complaining, but it's just not streamlined....
Good news is after work tomorrow I'm going to head down to San Jose, catch the No Doubt concert with a friend of mine and the she and I are going to head down to San Luis Obispo/ Santa Barbara. Visit some friends, hit the beach if the weather's good, and just generally simplify. One suitcase, a sleeping bag, and a pillow.... Good times.
Catch you when I get back, fuckers. I should be in a better mood.
Godspeed.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Is a recession slowing down the food blogs?
As a food blogger and a hospitality professional, I used to read a lot of food blogs. Now I don't, but I read "EaterLA" several times a day. It's sort of a meta-blog, offering pithy commentary on and links to interesting articles in newspapers, blogs, message boards. I read it to keep up on the openings and closings in the LA restaurant scene.
When I first started reading Eater, back in May, there were 4-6 postings a day. In the last few days it has gone down to 1-3. And 1-2 of those are typically "Board Watch" or a photo with a quick caption.
My theory is slowed economy=fewer openings=fewer things to write about. Though you think there'd be lots of closings to write about. (Un?)fortunately we're not there quite yet.
Actually, the real truth is that with layoffs happening at the drop of a hat, people are actually buckling down at work instead of reading and/or writing food blogs and message board posts during the work day. That's my guess.
When I first started reading Eater, back in May, there were 4-6 postings a day. In the last few days it has gone down to 1-3. And 1-2 of those are typically "Board Watch" or a photo with a quick caption.
My theory is slowed economy=fewer openings=fewer things to write about. Though you think there'd be lots of closings to write about. (Un?)fortunately we're not there quite yet.
Actually, the real truth is that with layoffs happening at the drop of a hat, people are actually buckling down at work instead of reading and/or writing food blogs and message board posts during the work day. That's my guess.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Yelp! User Faces Lawsuit
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, an area Yelp! user is facing a lawsuit over his negative review.
He criticized a chiropractor over his billing practices calling him dishonest and alluding to insurance fraud. The chiropractor insisted that he was practicing standard medical billing procedures, claims he attempted to educate the Yelp! user and asked him to reconsider or change his review. The Yelp! user instead posted a second review accusing the chiropractor of manipulating his reviewers into giving him positive reviews.
Of course we all know that this lawsuit shouldn't exist because chiropractics shouldn't exist, but that's just one man's opinion.
I think the chiropractor faces a tough battle on this one, but at least he's attacking the principal Yelp! problem head-on: what liability does an individual have when he or she writes (or continues to have posted) VERIFIABLY FALSE information that can be shown to have a PROVABLY NEGATIVE effect on a business.
Thoughts?
He criticized a chiropractor over his billing practices calling him dishonest and alluding to insurance fraud. The chiropractor insisted that he was practicing standard medical billing procedures, claims he attempted to educate the Yelp! user and asked him to reconsider or change his review. The Yelp! user instead posted a second review accusing the chiropractor of manipulating his reviewers into giving him positive reviews.
Of course we all know that this lawsuit shouldn't exist because chiropractics shouldn't exist, but that's just one man's opinion.
I think the chiropractor faces a tough battle on this one, but at least he's attacking the principal Yelp! problem head-on: what liability does an individual have when he or she writes (or continues to have posted) VERIFIABLY FALSE information that can be shown to have a PROVABLY NEGATIVE effect on a business.
Thoughts?
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Yelp! Hate (again)
Here's a Yelp! review of a California business of my acquaintance. I've removed the name of the business:
Reviewed by XXXX X.
I don't even know where to begin. I guess the beginning.
I was running late and meeting some of my friends to shop at XXXXXX XXXXXX. They had been talking the place up and I was excited to get some new threads. Anyways, as I said, I was running late and my friends had already been shopping for awhile. I walked in alone and
immediately a woman working there gave me a look of fear and quickly closed the register. Then, she came over to me and asked me why I was there and if I had an "legitimate" business or if I was merely there to shop lift. I couldn't believe it. I guess XXXXXX XXXXXX doesn't want
business from a black man. I didn't know what to say. I tried to ignore the hateful comment and just walk over to my friends who were trying on hats. I kept walking into the store and the woman working register stepped in my path and tried to block me. Again, I tried to
ignore it and just get over to my friends but she pushed her arms out to stop me. When she shoved me, she lost balance and fell over screaming that I was responsible for shoving her. My friends shot me a look of "What's your problem, why would you shove a shop girl?" I tried to explain to my friends that she shoved me and merely lost her balance, but the shop girl told the complete opposite story and my friends didn't believe me.
Things have never been the same for me since I lost my social circle. I know it's not the shops fault that they employee a racist woman or that my friends were so fair weather. But I can never walk by XXXXXX XXXXXX without being reminded of the racism that still lingers behind the pretence of our equality.
And now commentary from the proprietor of the establishment:
some fake person put a review up for the XXXXXX XXXXXX that is totally made up and false. you can tell by reading the review that it is false. there has never and would never be any type of incident like this at the XXXXXX XXXXXX. we run our business based on respect for
everyone and do not tolerate racism, sexism and homophobia and hate. we have NEVER had anything like this happen at the store. I need your help to flag this review based on slander and false accusations of racism and violence. it is interesting that the persons name or face
is anonymous. anyone who knows me and the store knows this is not true, but i fear that people reading this on YELP will believe it. I have tried to address yelp and they actually responded with flagging my review of my own store stating that " an owner of a store can't
write a review of their business" and suggested " i pay for a business account" where i can monitor my reviews. WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?
Without getting into this too much, a couple comments:
1. Even if the complaint by the reviewer is true, where does Yelp! get off attempting to extort money from a business owner in response to their complaint?
2. Why does Yelp! operate under this pretense of unbiased reviews? The review of a business by the business' owner is not necessarily any less biased than any random reviewer who has it out for a business.
Keep on keepin' on with the Yelp! hate. Send me more evidence.
Reviewed by XXXX X.
I don't even know where to begin. I guess the beginning.
I was running late and meeting some of my friends to shop at XXXXXX XXXXXX. They had been talking the place up and I was excited to get some new threads. Anyways, as I said, I was running late and my friends had already been shopping for awhile. I walked in alone and
immediately a woman working there gave me a look of fear and quickly closed the register. Then, she came over to me and asked me why I was there and if I had an "legitimate" business or if I was merely there to shop lift. I couldn't believe it. I guess XXXXXX XXXXXX doesn't want
business from a black man. I didn't know what to say. I tried to ignore the hateful comment and just walk over to my friends who were trying on hats. I kept walking into the store and the woman working register stepped in my path and tried to block me. Again, I tried to
ignore it and just get over to my friends but she pushed her arms out to stop me. When she shoved me, she lost balance and fell over screaming that I was responsible for shoving her. My friends shot me a look of "What's your problem, why would you shove a shop girl?" I tried to explain to my friends that she shoved me and merely lost her balance, but the shop girl told the complete opposite story and my friends didn't believe me.
Things have never been the same for me since I lost my social circle. I know it's not the shops fault that they employee a racist woman or that my friends were so fair weather. But I can never walk by XXXXXX XXXXXX without being reminded of the racism that still lingers behind the pretence of our equality.
And now commentary from the proprietor of the establishment:
some fake person put a review up for the XXXXXX XXXXXX that is totally made up and false. you can tell by reading the review that it is false. there has never and would never be any type of incident like this at the XXXXXX XXXXXX. we run our business based on respect for
everyone and do not tolerate racism, sexism and homophobia and hate. we have NEVER had anything like this happen at the store. I need your help to flag this review based on slander and false accusations of racism and violence. it is interesting that the persons name or face
is anonymous. anyone who knows me and the store knows this is not true, but i fear that people reading this on YELP will believe it. I have tried to address yelp and they actually responded with flagging my review of my own store stating that " an owner of a store can't
write a review of their business" and suggested " i pay for a business account" where i can monitor my reviews. WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?
Without getting into this too much, a couple comments:
1. Even if the complaint by the reviewer is true, where does Yelp! get off attempting to extort money from a business owner in response to their complaint?
2. Why does Yelp! operate under this pretense of unbiased reviews? The review of a business by the business' owner is not necessarily any less biased than any random reviewer who has it out for a business.
Keep on keepin' on with the Yelp! hate. Send me more evidence.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Wurstkuche - Los Angeles, Ca
I recently watched "Milk" and what I found most intriguing was that thirty years ago people had the decency to display their bigotry, homophobia, and hatred right out in the in the open instead of couching it in rhetoric about "preserving family" or "I love gays but..." Because let's be honest there are fewer bigots and homophobes now then in 1978, but the bigots and homophobes today are bigots and homophones for the exact same reasons as then: fear and ignorance.
Wurstkuche, in the downtown LA Arts District, is neither a bigot nor a homophobe, but it does have the decency to present itself in an honest way: we grill gourmet sausages, top them with a few things, and give you some french fries with dipping sauces. Simple, honest, elegant.
Had the pleasure of eating at Wurstkuche last week and it was freakin' great. As you walk through the windowless storefront of the converted warehouse and stand in line to order your sausage in the spare entry room you feel like you're back in east Berlin circa 1983. The friendly smiling staff and the somewhat bourgie prices are the only indicators that Stasi operatives probably aren't pouring your beers. Probably.
Wurstkuche sells a couple dozen varieties of sausages broken down into three price tiers including "classics" like brats and hot italians ($6), "gourmets" like mango jalapeno chicken and Filipino marharlica ($6.75), and Wurstkuche's big draw, the "exotics," featuring such originals as buffalo, beef, & pork with chipotle, alligator & hickory smoked pork, and rattlesnake & rabbit with jalapeno ($7.75).
All sausages come on a nice torpedo roll with your choice of two toppings (sweet peppers, hot peppers, caramelized onions, sauerkraut) and an array of mustards. My duck and bacon sausage with jalapeno (topped with onions and hot peppers) was stellar. Rich, flavorful, moist, and well-balanced. My only complaint was the ultra-thick casing that was a bit tough to bite through. Girlfriend Charlie's sun dried tomato & mozarella with smoked chicken & turkey sausage was also fabulous (with a similar complaint).
Your only other menu option are thick cut frites in two different sizes ($3.50 or $5.50), available with your choice of two dipping sauces from a menu of about a dozen (soon to be two dozen). Sauces include housemade ranch, walnut blue cheese, and chiptole ketchup, as well as white truffle oil for a $0.75 premium.
The fries were great, unlike any thick cut fry I've had. They were fully cooked yet still firm in the middle, crisp, and lightly caramelized on the outside.
Beverage wise you have a choice of a couple dozen German, Belgian, and domestic draughts, another dozen bottled beers, and a pretty freakin' cool selection of artisan soft drinks.
Sure two beers, two sausages, and a large frites will set you back about thirty bucks for two people, but you'll be a helluva happier doing that than dropping $80 on dinner for two at 95% of Los Angeles restaurants.
Wurstkuche's open 11AM-10PM every day, soon to stay open until 3AM on weekends.
Wurstkuche
800 E. 3rd St.
Los Angeles, Ca 90013
213-687-4444
www.wurstkucherestaurant.com
Wurstkuche, in the downtown LA Arts District, is neither a bigot nor a homophobe, but it does have the decency to present itself in an honest way: we grill gourmet sausages, top them with a few things, and give you some french fries with dipping sauces. Simple, honest, elegant.
Had the pleasure of eating at Wurstkuche last week and it was freakin' great. As you walk through the windowless storefront of the converted warehouse and stand in line to order your sausage in the spare entry room you feel like you're back in east Berlin circa 1983. The friendly smiling staff and the somewhat bourgie prices are the only indicators that Stasi operatives probably aren't pouring your beers. Probably.
Wurstkuche sells a couple dozen varieties of sausages broken down into three price tiers including "classics" like brats and hot italians ($6), "gourmets" like mango jalapeno chicken and Filipino marharlica ($6.75), and Wurstkuche's big draw, the "exotics," featuring such originals as buffalo, beef, & pork with chipotle, alligator & hickory smoked pork, and rattlesnake & rabbit with jalapeno ($7.75).
All sausages come on a nice torpedo roll with your choice of two toppings (sweet peppers, hot peppers, caramelized onions, sauerkraut) and an array of mustards. My duck and bacon sausage with jalapeno (topped with onions and hot peppers) was stellar. Rich, flavorful, moist, and well-balanced. My only complaint was the ultra-thick casing that was a bit tough to bite through. Girlfriend Charlie's sun dried tomato & mozarella with smoked chicken & turkey sausage was also fabulous (with a similar complaint).
Your only other menu option are thick cut frites in two different sizes ($3.50 or $5.50), available with your choice of two dipping sauces from a menu of about a dozen (soon to be two dozen). Sauces include housemade ranch, walnut blue cheese, and chiptole ketchup, as well as white truffle oil for a $0.75 premium.
The fries were great, unlike any thick cut fry I've had. They were fully cooked yet still firm in the middle, crisp, and lightly caramelized on the outside.
Beverage wise you have a choice of a couple dozen German, Belgian, and domestic draughts, another dozen bottled beers, and a pretty freakin' cool selection of artisan soft drinks.
Sure two beers, two sausages, and a large frites will set you back about thirty bucks for two people, but you'll be a helluva happier doing that than dropping $80 on dinner for two at 95% of Los Angeles restaurants.
Wurstkuche's open 11AM-10PM every day, soon to stay open until 3AM on weekends.
Wurstkuche
800 E. 3rd St.
Los Angeles, Ca 90013
213-687-4444
www.wurstkucherestaurant.com
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Two Easy Things to Cook
I decided that it was time to be helpful instead of vitriolic. I love to cook. I've been cooking for myself pretty regularly since I was 19 or so. I was pretty shitty at it for a while. But here's the thing: you get better. The more you're around food, read about food, and cook stuff, the better you get at it. It's not a switch you turn on or off, it's a skill set that gradually evolves.
Some basic rules:
1. Cookbooks are your friend. But they're your friend in the context of giving instruction on cooking and the basic framework of recipes, they aren't procedural dogma for working toward the Platonic ideal of "spotted dick," no more than reading the Joy of Sex will make you f like a pro.
2. Be cautious with recipes. It will behoove you much more to learn how to cook, say, a chicken, or a pork loin, or a tomato sauce in the general sense and experiment with accompanying flavors than to just grab a recipe card and make "Grandma's Crazy One-Pot Chili" or "Tex-Mex Party Drumettes" or "Creepy Uncle Joe's Boob-Shaped Meat Loaf." A notable exception to this is baking, where ratios and measurements are much more integral to the chemical process of cooking.
3. Pay attention. The price of good food, just as it is for democracy, is vigilance. Under-set kitchen timers by at least 20% and keep tabs on what's cooking. Don't just toss it in the oven and go watch "The Hills."
4. When in doubt, use more fat and use less heat for longer. This'll prevent burning, sticking, and drying out. You'll be less likely to overcook and you'll retain a lot more flavor. By no means a universal rule, but a good reference.
And now.... two easy things to cook.
Roast Pork Tenderloin
Perhaps the tastiest (and most suggestive) cut of meat you can find at a reasonable price. Roast pork tenderloin will turn heads and get you laid. The best part? Even if you're just cooking for one, cold leftover tenderloin thinly sliced on a sandwich is also freaking delicious.
The basics:
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Trim excess fat or any weird hang-y bits from the tenderloin (shouldn't be too much). Rub tenderloin with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Place in a roasting pan and put the pan in the oven. That's it. A basic one-pound tenderloin will take about 40 minutes to cook. Take it out of the oven when there's just a sliver of pink left in the center, or if you're using a thermometer, when it reaches about 160 degrees in the center.
The variations:
Pork tenderloin is pretty damn flavorful on its own, but it also takes well to bastes and marinades. A freakin' awesome one is to just put the tenderloin in a ziploc with a brine of water, salt, and fresh rosemary and/or lavender for several hours (do it in the morning or even the night before). Rub the tenderloin with olive oil and more fresh rosemary/lavender before roasting. Another good option is to make a rub out of mustard, olive oil, pepper, and French herbs (herbes de Provence or fines herbes). Mix everything together (use enough olive oil to dilute the mustard and go heavy on the herbs) and slather.
You'll see a lot of recipes online for tenderloin that involves orange juice, Coca-Cola, or other sweet marinades. Give it a go if you want but those sound pretty gimmicky to me. Pork tenderloin doesn't need to be all whored up like that. It's classy.
The ultimate variation:
Mix cherry or plum preserves with salt, pepper, vegetable oil (the one instance where I suggest a neutral oil like canola instead of olive), and enough vinegar to temper the sweetness of the preserves without being harsh. Just add a little bit at a time and taste as you go.
With a sharp knife, cut the pork tenderloin lengthwise, about 2/3 of the way through. Spoon the fruit mixture into this cavity and truss the tenderloin back up either with twine or toothpicks. Brush the outside with oil, salt, and pepper and roast as above. It might take a little bit less time.
Added bonus? Simmer the leftover fruit mixture for a few minutes and spoon hot over slices of tenderloin when you plate it.
The accompaniments:
Keep it simple. Cook some wild rice or rice pilaf (see below) and steam some broccoli (drizzle with olive oil or melt a little butter on the broccoli prior to serving). Easy, plug and play, healthy, and sexy.
Pilaf
Pilafs in various forms exist in the cuisines of dozens of cultures. There's a reason for that. It's a simple way to make rice (or quinoa or couscous or teff or whatever) extra tasty.
The basics:
Chop up some onion (about one whole small onion or 1/2 a large one) and a clove or two of garlic.
Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a thick-bottomed saucepan. When the oil's hot, add onion, garlic, and a bit of crushed red pepper. Saute until translucent and aromatic. Add a cup of rice (or any grain) to the oil and saute until lightly browned, maybe about three minutes or so. There's no harm in cooking more than you need, as pilaf is great the next day either cold or reheated.
Add a splash of white wine and deglaze the pan (this means scraping the bottom of the pan with your spatula [make sure to use plastic/wood if it's a nonstick pan]) to get all the tasty bits off the bottom. Give the alcohol a minute to cook off and then add chicken or vegetable stock. Different grains use different amounts, so check the instructions. For white rice you'd add two cups liquid to every cup of rice. For couscous, add equal volume liquid to grain.
Cook according to the grain's instruction. For rice, bring the liquid to a boil and then let simmer, covered, until the liquid is absorbed (~20 minutes). For couscous, bring the liquid to a boil and then turn off the heat, leaving the pilaf covered for 10 minutes or so.
Fluff with a fork and serve.
The variations:
Pilaf takes to pretty much anything you want to add to it. In most cases I'd recommend cooking any vegetables separately and stirring them in at the end. Most will cook much quicker than the pilaf mixture requires.
For extra-fancy pilaf, chop some fresh parsley. Stir in about 2/3 of the parsley when you fluff the pilaf and top with the remaining parsley when serving.
For extra-delicious pilaf, stir in a couple tablespoons of butter right before serving.
The ultimate variation:
Instead of using olive oil, chop up some bacon, prosciutto, sausage, or other fatty pork product and cook in the saucepan until the fat is rendered. Remove the meat and set aside on some paper towels to drain. Cook everything else as instructed, but using the pork fat instead of the oil. Also, instead of using stock, use water and add salt and pepper to taste. When done cooking, stir back in the meat along with some fresh rosemary and sage.
The accompaniments:
Pilaf makes an excellent side dish for any protein. I also like to use it as a base on which to serve soups or stews. For something semi-homemade that actually is semi-homemade, serve a good canned soup, stew, or Tasty Bite Indian meal, on a bed of homemade pilaf.
Pilaf can also be a meal on its own. Just stir in more vegetables (broccoli, carrots, and squash are all good options) and top with a sliced chicken breast, salmon filet, or, hell, stir in some of that leftover pork tenderloin all diced up.
Enjoy.
Some basic rules:
1. Cookbooks are your friend. But they're your friend in the context of giving instruction on cooking and the basic framework of recipes, they aren't procedural dogma for working toward the Platonic ideal of "spotted dick," no more than reading the Joy of Sex will make you f like a pro.
2. Be cautious with recipes. It will behoove you much more to learn how to cook, say, a chicken, or a pork loin, or a tomato sauce in the general sense and experiment with accompanying flavors than to just grab a recipe card and make "Grandma's Crazy One-Pot Chili" or "Tex-Mex Party Drumettes" or "Creepy Uncle Joe's Boob-Shaped Meat Loaf." A notable exception to this is baking, where ratios and measurements are much more integral to the chemical process of cooking.
3. Pay attention. The price of good food, just as it is for democracy, is vigilance. Under-set kitchen timers by at least 20% and keep tabs on what's cooking. Don't just toss it in the oven and go watch "The Hills."
4. When in doubt, use more fat and use less heat for longer. This'll prevent burning, sticking, and drying out. You'll be less likely to overcook and you'll retain a lot more flavor. By no means a universal rule, but a good reference.
And now.... two easy things to cook.
Roast Pork Tenderloin
Perhaps the tastiest (and most suggestive) cut of meat you can find at a reasonable price. Roast pork tenderloin will turn heads and get you laid. The best part? Even if you're just cooking for one, cold leftover tenderloin thinly sliced on a sandwich is also freaking delicious.
The basics:
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Trim excess fat or any weird hang-y bits from the tenderloin (shouldn't be too much). Rub tenderloin with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Place in a roasting pan and put the pan in the oven. That's it. A basic one-pound tenderloin will take about 40 minutes to cook. Take it out of the oven when there's just a sliver of pink left in the center, or if you're using a thermometer, when it reaches about 160 degrees in the center.
The variations:
Pork tenderloin is pretty damn flavorful on its own, but it also takes well to bastes and marinades. A freakin' awesome one is to just put the tenderloin in a ziploc with a brine of water, salt, and fresh rosemary and/or lavender for several hours (do it in the morning or even the night before). Rub the tenderloin with olive oil and more fresh rosemary/lavender before roasting. Another good option is to make a rub out of mustard, olive oil, pepper, and French herbs (herbes de Provence or fines herbes). Mix everything together (use enough olive oil to dilute the mustard and go heavy on the herbs) and slather.
You'll see a lot of recipes online for tenderloin that involves orange juice, Coca-Cola, or other sweet marinades. Give it a go if you want but those sound pretty gimmicky to me. Pork tenderloin doesn't need to be all whored up like that. It's classy.
The ultimate variation:
Mix cherry or plum preserves with salt, pepper, vegetable oil (the one instance where I suggest a neutral oil like canola instead of olive), and enough vinegar to temper the sweetness of the preserves without being harsh. Just add a little bit at a time and taste as you go.
With a sharp knife, cut the pork tenderloin lengthwise, about 2/3 of the way through. Spoon the fruit mixture into this cavity and truss the tenderloin back up either with twine or toothpicks. Brush the outside with oil, salt, and pepper and roast as above. It might take a little bit less time.
Added bonus? Simmer the leftover fruit mixture for a few minutes and spoon hot over slices of tenderloin when you plate it.
The accompaniments:
Keep it simple. Cook some wild rice or rice pilaf (see below) and steam some broccoli (drizzle with olive oil or melt a little butter on the broccoli prior to serving). Easy, plug and play, healthy, and sexy.
Pilaf
Pilafs in various forms exist in the cuisines of dozens of cultures. There's a reason for that. It's a simple way to make rice (or quinoa or couscous or teff or whatever) extra tasty.
The basics:
Chop up some onion (about one whole small onion or 1/2 a large one) and a clove or two of garlic.
Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a thick-bottomed saucepan. When the oil's hot, add onion, garlic, and a bit of crushed red pepper. Saute until translucent and aromatic. Add a cup of rice (or any grain) to the oil and saute until lightly browned, maybe about three minutes or so. There's no harm in cooking more than you need, as pilaf is great the next day either cold or reheated.
Add a splash of white wine and deglaze the pan (this means scraping the bottom of the pan with your spatula [make sure to use plastic/wood if it's a nonstick pan]) to get all the tasty bits off the bottom. Give the alcohol a minute to cook off and then add chicken or vegetable stock. Different grains use different amounts, so check the instructions. For white rice you'd add two cups liquid to every cup of rice. For couscous, add equal volume liquid to grain.
Cook according to the grain's instruction. For rice, bring the liquid to a boil and then let simmer, covered, until the liquid is absorbed (~20 minutes). For couscous, bring the liquid to a boil and then turn off the heat, leaving the pilaf covered for 10 minutes or so.
Fluff with a fork and serve.
The variations:
Pilaf takes to pretty much anything you want to add to it. In most cases I'd recommend cooking any vegetables separately and stirring them in at the end. Most will cook much quicker than the pilaf mixture requires.
For extra-fancy pilaf, chop some fresh parsley. Stir in about 2/3 of the parsley when you fluff the pilaf and top with the remaining parsley when serving.
For extra-delicious pilaf, stir in a couple tablespoons of butter right before serving.
The ultimate variation:
Instead of using olive oil, chop up some bacon, prosciutto, sausage, or other fatty pork product and cook in the saucepan until the fat is rendered. Remove the meat and set aside on some paper towels to drain. Cook everything else as instructed, but using the pork fat instead of the oil. Also, instead of using stock, use water and add salt and pepper to taste. When done cooking, stir back in the meat along with some fresh rosemary and sage.
The accompaniments:
Pilaf makes an excellent side dish for any protein. I also like to use it as a base on which to serve soups or stews. For something semi-homemade that actually is semi-homemade, serve a good canned soup, stew, or Tasty Bite Indian meal, on a bed of homemade pilaf.
Pilaf can also be a meal on its own. Just stir in more vegetables (broccoli, carrots, and squash are all good options) and top with a sliced chicken breast, salmon filet, or, hell, stir in some of that leftover pork tenderloin all diced up.
Enjoy.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Food Disneylands; or Why LA Live will be a Disaster
That massive grey behemoth adjacent to the Staples Center has finally opened its doors, kinda.
For those of you unfamiliar, it's LA Live, a massive dining and entertainment complex developed by AEG, the operator of the Staples Center.
LA Times architecture critic Christpher Hawthorne savaged the design and concept in a recent review. His disdain is justifiable: while paying lip service to downtown revitalization the complex is in fact just another destination shopping center, blocked off from the surrounding community. You drive there, you park your car, you stay inside the complex, and you leave. You don't integrate yourself with the surrounding community. You don't patronize businesses in the neighborhood. Drive. Park. Shop. Leave. That's it.
The financial backing for LA Live is enormous. It will become ESPN's de facto HQ as every SportsCenter will be broadcast from its new studios there, though it will keep its official offices in Bristol. The Ritz-Carlton is putting a hotel in and there will be apartments and extensive convention space.
LA Live could indeed be a success as a destination, akin to the Anaheim Convention Center/Disneyland megasprawl in Orange County. But that's just it, it'll be a place that people go to for whatever business/pleasure purpose they might have and then leave. It won't "revitalize downtown" anymore than Disneyland "revitalized" Anaheim. Disneyland created jobs and provided tax revenue, but it didn't turn Anaheim into a new San Francisco, or even a new Long Beach.
Revitalization is a process that is largely organic. All that cities can do is provide good soil and enough water and sunshine, everything else will grow out on its own. When commercial monoliths get into the revitalization business you get terrariums, not gardens.
Downtown Culver City became a revitalized restaurant mecca in a largely organic way. The city renovated the buildings, made sure to build lots of parking, and provided incentives to businesses to relocate, but it didn't allow for any large scale redevelopment by any one particular group. It also mostly maintained the basic integrity of its street layouts, keeping the area open and vibrant with a sense that you're still in a city.
The Culver City restaurants are primarily independent operations and are set in the midst of a community of retailers, production companies, city offices, Sony Pictures, and Culver Studios with architecture firms and art galleries on its eastern fringe. People often patronizing three or four different businesses in the course of an evening out. Most importantly, this downtown core is surrounded by housing, whether it's the single-family bungalows of Culver City to the south or the working class (but gentrifying) multi-family dwellings of Los Angeles along Venice Blvd. to the north. In short, it's a downtown the way downtowns used to be and Culver City deserves credit for providing a welcoming environment for developers without letting them crap all over the community (c.f. 3rd St. Promenade, The Grove).
This is what makes for revitalization: a reason for people to get out of their house and be in the community. The Culver City resident can walk to Trader Joe's, Albertson's, a dozen great restaurants, dry cleaners, printers, two movie theatres, two houses of the legitimate stage, a post office, City Hall, hospitals, schools, and several parks. The same can't yet be said for the Downtown resident and LA Live isn't going to change that.
A quick look at LA Live's tenants reveals a who's who of major chains and restaurant groups: Fleming's Steakhouse, Wolfgang Puck, ESPNZone, Trader Vic's, Yardhouse, and Katsuya. With LA Live's no doubt skyhigh rents these are the only businesses that can afford to move in. These aren't businesses that are going to attract foodies or culinary tourists. They aren't businesses that will attract LA residents on any regular basis. These are businesses that will be patronized by out of towners who are at LA Live for conferences, concerts, or sporting events. If I live in Beverly Hills and want to eat dinner before a Lakers game, why would I do it at LA Live instead of at one of the scores of better restaurants between my house and downtown? And if I live in Beverly Hills, why would I go to Wolfgang Puck in LA Live when I could go to a Wolfgang Puck down the street?
The revitalization of downtown by LA Live is either a lip service lie or a pipe dream. True revitalization of downtown means more art walks, more grocery stores, and more businesses open after 9PM, not a mini-Vegas destination bubble for Lakers fans from Torrance and out of town conventioneers.
For those of you unfamiliar, it's LA Live, a massive dining and entertainment complex developed by AEG, the operator of the Staples Center.
LA Times architecture critic Christpher Hawthorne savaged the design and concept in a recent review. His disdain is justifiable: while paying lip service to downtown revitalization the complex is in fact just another destination shopping center, blocked off from the surrounding community. You drive there, you park your car, you stay inside the complex, and you leave. You don't integrate yourself with the surrounding community. You don't patronize businesses in the neighborhood. Drive. Park. Shop. Leave. That's it.
The financial backing for LA Live is enormous. It will become ESPN's de facto HQ as every SportsCenter will be broadcast from its new studios there, though it will keep its official offices in Bristol. The Ritz-Carlton is putting a hotel in and there will be apartments and extensive convention space.
LA Live could indeed be a success as a destination, akin to the Anaheim Convention Center/Disneyland megasprawl in Orange County. But that's just it, it'll be a place that people go to for whatever business/pleasure purpose they might have and then leave. It won't "revitalize downtown" anymore than Disneyland "revitalized" Anaheim. Disneyland created jobs and provided tax revenue, but it didn't turn Anaheim into a new San Francisco, or even a new Long Beach.
Revitalization is a process that is largely organic. All that cities can do is provide good soil and enough water and sunshine, everything else will grow out on its own. When commercial monoliths get into the revitalization business you get terrariums, not gardens.
Downtown Culver City became a revitalized restaurant mecca in a largely organic way. The city renovated the buildings, made sure to build lots of parking, and provided incentives to businesses to relocate, but it didn't allow for any large scale redevelopment by any one particular group. It also mostly maintained the basic integrity of its street layouts, keeping the area open and vibrant with a sense that you're still in a city.
The Culver City restaurants are primarily independent operations and are set in the midst of a community of retailers, production companies, city offices, Sony Pictures, and Culver Studios with architecture firms and art galleries on its eastern fringe. People often patronizing three or four different businesses in the course of an evening out. Most importantly, this downtown core is surrounded by housing, whether it's the single-family bungalows of Culver City to the south or the working class (but gentrifying) multi-family dwellings of Los Angeles along Venice Blvd. to the north. In short, it's a downtown the way downtowns used to be and Culver City deserves credit for providing a welcoming environment for developers without letting them crap all over the community (c.f. 3rd St. Promenade, The Grove).
This is what makes for revitalization: a reason for people to get out of their house and be in the community. The Culver City resident can walk to Trader Joe's, Albertson's, a dozen great restaurants, dry cleaners, printers, two movie theatres, two houses of the legitimate stage, a post office, City Hall, hospitals, schools, and several parks. The same can't yet be said for the Downtown resident and LA Live isn't going to change that.
A quick look at LA Live's tenants reveals a who's who of major chains and restaurant groups: Fleming's Steakhouse, Wolfgang Puck, ESPNZone, Trader Vic's, Yardhouse, and Katsuya. With LA Live's no doubt skyhigh rents these are the only businesses that can afford to move in. These aren't businesses that are going to attract foodies or culinary tourists. They aren't businesses that will attract LA residents on any regular basis. These are businesses that will be patronized by out of towners who are at LA Live for conferences, concerts, or sporting events. If I live in Beverly Hills and want to eat dinner before a Lakers game, why would I do it at LA Live instead of at one of the scores of better restaurants between my house and downtown? And if I live in Beverly Hills, why would I go to Wolfgang Puck in LA Live when I could go to a Wolfgang Puck down the street?
The revitalization of downtown by LA Live is either a lip service lie or a pipe dream. True revitalization of downtown means more art walks, more grocery stores, and more businesses open after 9PM, not a mini-Vegas destination bubble for Lakers fans from Torrance and out of town conventioneers.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Why I Hate Yelp! Part X (I've lost track)
Instead of going on yet another tirade, let me introduce an actual story from an independent businessperson of my acquaintance:
I am mad at Yelp. First they called me incessantly and after repeatedly telling them I had no money to advertise they insisted on still talking to me because "there were ways I could promote my business with them that didn't cost money." So I did, I sat on the phone with the guy for an hour only to end up with a sales pitch for a $300 a month advertising plan and him basically calling me dumb for not wanting it.
Now mysteriously 3 of my 5 star reviews have been removed. When I looked into it, this is the response they give:
Reviews may come or go for a few different reasons:
1. A user may have removed his or her review.
2. Yelp may have removed the review for violating our Review Guidelines or Terms of Service (in which case we will typically notify the reviewer).
3. Yelp has a system which automatically determines which reviews show for a given business. Just as your Yahoo or Gmail email account doesn't deliver every email (spam, etc.), we don't show every review. This protects both business owners (by suppressing reviews that may have been written by a malicious competitor, for example) and consumers (by suppressing reviews that may have a definitive bias, having been written by owners or their friends). It's important to note that these reviews are not deleted (they are always shown on the user's public profile) and may reappear on the business listing page in the future.
Note: Our support team cannot manually restore reviews that are not currently displayed, should you contact us about missing reviews you will receive the information above.
And now, a mini-tirade:
It's amazing that a site that operates so disingenuously can be as popular as it is (though financially untenable). It's another example of Yelp!'s remarkable business model: gain traffic at all costs, be obstinate to the point of insulting toward businesses, turn around and ask those same businesses for money.
What's with the disjointed logic in the Yelp! form letter above? "Just as your Yahoo or Gmail account doesn't deliver all email." What the hell? Of course it does! There's a folder full of offers for "V1codin" and entreaties to "give her the gift she's always wanted: your dick" that I can read through if I want to. I self-censor my emails, Gmail just makes it easier to do with the spam folder. Yelp! censors its reviews, plain and simple. It decides for you which reviews you should read for a business.
And, based purely on original research, Yelp! is a helluvalot more likely to remove a perceived "pro" bias review than it is to review a "malicious" review. Notice, once again, that there's no mention of removing "factually inaccurate reviews." If the ultimate goal is to have a functional, effective resource for information on businesses, shouldn't this be the first thing you correct?
Blergh.
If you're a decent human being, don't use Yelp!, please.
I am mad at Yelp. First they called me incessantly and after repeatedly telling them I had no money to advertise they insisted on still talking to me because "there were ways I could promote my business with them that didn't cost money." So I did, I sat on the phone with the guy for an hour only to end up with a sales pitch for a $300 a month advertising plan and him basically calling me dumb for not wanting it.
Now mysteriously 3 of my 5 star reviews have been removed. When I looked into it, this is the response they give:
Reviews may come or go for a few different reasons:
1. A user may have removed his or her review.
2. Yelp may have removed the review for violating our Review Guidelines or Terms of Service (in which case we will typically notify the reviewer).
3. Yelp has a system which automatically determines which reviews show for a given business. Just as your Yahoo or Gmail email account doesn't deliver every email (spam, etc.), we don't show every review. This protects both business owners (by suppressing reviews that may have been written by a malicious competitor, for example) and consumers (by suppressing reviews that may have a definitive bias, having been written by owners or their friends). It's important to note that these reviews are not deleted (they are always shown on the user's public profile) and may reappear on the business listing page in the future.
Note: Our support team cannot manually restore reviews that are not currently displayed, should you contact us about missing reviews you will receive the information above.
And now, a mini-tirade:
It's amazing that a site that operates so disingenuously can be as popular as it is (though financially untenable). It's another example of Yelp!'s remarkable business model: gain traffic at all costs, be obstinate to the point of insulting toward businesses, turn around and ask those same businesses for money.
What's with the disjointed logic in the Yelp! form letter above? "Just as your Yahoo or Gmail account doesn't deliver all email." What the hell? Of course it does! There's a folder full of offers for "V1codin" and entreaties to "give her the gift she's always wanted: your dick" that I can read through if I want to. I self-censor my emails, Gmail just makes it easier to do with the spam folder. Yelp! censors its reviews, plain and simple. It decides for you which reviews you should read for a business.
And, based purely on original research, Yelp! is a helluvalot more likely to remove a perceived "pro" bias review than it is to review a "malicious" review. Notice, once again, that there's no mention of removing "factually inaccurate reviews." If the ultimate goal is to have a functional, effective resource for information on businesses, shouldn't this be the first thing you correct?
Blergh.
If you're a decent human being, don't use Yelp!, please.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Biodynamics: Worthwhile Geomancy
I'm no believer in biodynamics. I wouldn't've been in the 30's when it originated and I'm decidedly not now in an age where slapping on a Demeter Biodynamic label increases the value of your vineyard's acreage a squizillion-fold.
That being said, Joe Eskenazi is seriously missing the point in his SF Guardian article.
I encourage you to read it. It's somewhat enlightening as to the history of biodynamics and sheds some light on a largely occult-based practice that has gained considerable traction in grape growing (and, actually, agriculture in general in many parts of Europe). But for those of you not interested in reading, he essentially decries biodynamics as"voodoo on the vine" and no better than organic farming (at best) and an eerie occult practice whose adherents are a half-step away from Heaven's Gate members (at worst).
Here's the thing: everything he says in the article is, as far as I know, 100% true.
1. Biodynamics does involve a lot of elaborate "preparations" for vineyard management that do involve things like cow blood dilutions and mouse ash dilutions and on and on. However this is little different than the widely-accepted (in Europe) practice of homeopathic medicine, the basic premise that like treats like. Homeopathy does involve the human consumption (in heavily diluted doses) of, amongst other things, crushed up honey bees, arsenic, and belladonna (better known as poison nightshade). Basically, if you have a mouse problem in your vineyard, douse your vineyard in a dilution of mouse ashes; if you have a bee sting, ingest a dilution of powdered honey bees. Is it bullshit? More than likely. Does it have its psychological, procedural, and placebo value? Sure.
2. Biodynamics is not "ultra-organic." It's decidedly not. In some technical ways biodynamics isn't organic since biodynamics (rightfully) allows for the use of sulfur dioxide in the wine-making process, something which the USDA does not. Biodynamics is simply a schedule of generally accepted procedures whose adherents submit for evaluation by a third party regulatory board to receive certification. Just like organic produce, the MPAA ratings system, the State Bar, and on and on and on and on.
3. Most people don't know what biodynamic means. This is true. The vast majority of wine drinkers, waiters, sales reps, and even retailers have little if any understanding of biodynamics. This should change. It should change specifically because it's misleading (as is organic labeling in wine). Virtually all quality small production wineries practice relatively sustainable farming practices. Many producers, organic or otherwise, practice some degree of dry-farming. Many farmers plant cover crops. Almost all use only non-chemical pesticides, though they'll keep the big guns on hand if something should severely threaten their vineyards. Think of it as the homeowner with the shotgun above his bed. He's not out shooting folks every night, but if there's a threat to his home and family, it's coming off the wall.
4. Biodynamics is no better than organic. Sure, that's true. And hell, just to repeat it, biodynamics is no better than simple sustainable low-yield grape growing practices.
But my response to Mr. Eskenazi is, "So what?"
Other than the ignorance of consumers, there's nothing damning in his article. So that's my response. So what? So some people believe in something weird and mystical based almost entirely in occult speculation. That sounds like, well, any religion. Or societal convention. Is believing that having an union between two people that is recognized by state or religious institution somehow a more legitimate expression of love any different than believing that harvesting on the full moon yields fuller fruit flavors?
Only within their respective contexts. It's all constructs, so go along with it. Love is what's in your heart and tastiness is what's in your face, everything else is just a label.
Eskenazi's doing the journalistic equivalent of saying, "pssh, you believe in God? That's stupid. You believe in an omnipotent creator living in a palace in the sky? You're a retard." He's simply missing the point.
What if I were to tell you to free your mind from your worldly ties, spend a good amount of time each day sitting silently, breathing deeply, and clearing your mind, and wearing comfy pants? Sounds good, but would you do it? But what if I tossed you a copy of the Tibetan Canon and "Richard Gere's Zen for Dummies." Startin' to sound a whole lot more appealing, no? I mean, did you see American Gigolo?
And sure you could just decide to lead a good life, try to be a net positive for the world, and enrich the lives of those around you, but being a Christian just has a better ring to most people. And hell, if believing in a magic spaceman who's going to throw the mother of all massives in the next life for true believers is a deal breaker for you to be a decent human being, than I guess I'll roll with it. No skin off my back,
My point? If ascribing to biodynamics is what it takes to get consumers to purchase responsibly farmed produce and growers to pay closer attention to their crops then, well, I'm okay with that. Most things are 80% crazy, but if it takes 80% crazy to produce 20% quality and the 80% crazy doesn't get in the way of others living their lives, then fuck it.
Great expose Joe Eskenazi. Way to attempt to show that ascribing to a belief system that's a net gain to the world is a sham. I think that makes you a net drain. Cheers.
Though I still won't see anything that's been within ejaculation distance of Mel Gibson. I have my own belief constructs to stick to.
That being said, Joe Eskenazi is seriously missing the point in his SF Guardian article.
I encourage you to read it. It's somewhat enlightening as to the history of biodynamics and sheds some light on a largely occult-based practice that has gained considerable traction in grape growing (and, actually, agriculture in general in many parts of Europe). But for those of you not interested in reading, he essentially decries biodynamics as"voodoo on the vine" and no better than organic farming (at best) and an eerie occult practice whose adherents are a half-step away from Heaven's Gate members (at worst).
Here's the thing: everything he says in the article is, as far as I know, 100% true.
1. Biodynamics does involve a lot of elaborate "preparations" for vineyard management that do involve things like cow blood dilutions and mouse ash dilutions and on and on. However this is little different than the widely-accepted (in Europe) practice of homeopathic medicine, the basic premise that like treats like. Homeopathy does involve the human consumption (in heavily diluted doses) of, amongst other things, crushed up honey bees, arsenic, and belladonna (better known as poison nightshade). Basically, if you have a mouse problem in your vineyard, douse your vineyard in a dilution of mouse ashes; if you have a bee sting, ingest a dilution of powdered honey bees. Is it bullshit? More than likely. Does it have its psychological, procedural, and placebo value? Sure.
2. Biodynamics is not "ultra-organic." It's decidedly not. In some technical ways biodynamics isn't organic since biodynamics (rightfully) allows for the use of sulfur dioxide in the wine-making process, something which the USDA does not. Biodynamics is simply a schedule of generally accepted procedures whose adherents submit for evaluation by a third party regulatory board to receive certification. Just like organic produce, the MPAA ratings system, the State Bar, and on and on and on and on.
3. Most people don't know what biodynamic means. This is true. The vast majority of wine drinkers, waiters, sales reps, and even retailers have little if any understanding of biodynamics. This should change. It should change specifically because it's misleading (as is organic labeling in wine). Virtually all quality small production wineries practice relatively sustainable farming practices. Many producers, organic or otherwise, practice some degree of dry-farming. Many farmers plant cover crops. Almost all use only non-chemical pesticides, though they'll keep the big guns on hand if something should severely threaten their vineyards. Think of it as the homeowner with the shotgun above his bed. He's not out shooting folks every night, but if there's a threat to his home and family, it's coming off the wall.
4. Biodynamics is no better than organic. Sure, that's true. And hell, just to repeat it, biodynamics is no better than simple sustainable low-yield grape growing practices.
But my response to Mr. Eskenazi is, "So what?"
Other than the ignorance of consumers, there's nothing damning in his article. So that's my response. So what? So some people believe in something weird and mystical based almost entirely in occult speculation. That sounds like, well, any religion. Or societal convention. Is believing that having an union between two people that is recognized by state or religious institution somehow a more legitimate expression of love any different than believing that harvesting on the full moon yields fuller fruit flavors?
Only within their respective contexts. It's all constructs, so go along with it. Love is what's in your heart and tastiness is what's in your face, everything else is just a label.
Eskenazi's doing the journalistic equivalent of saying, "pssh, you believe in God? That's stupid. You believe in an omnipotent creator living in a palace in the sky? You're a retard." He's simply missing the point.
What if I were to tell you to free your mind from your worldly ties, spend a good amount of time each day sitting silently, breathing deeply, and clearing your mind, and wearing comfy pants? Sounds good, but would you do it? But what if I tossed you a copy of the Tibetan Canon and "Richard Gere's Zen for Dummies." Startin' to sound a whole lot more appealing, no? I mean, did you see American Gigolo?
And sure you could just decide to lead a good life, try to be a net positive for the world, and enrich the lives of those around you, but being a Christian just has a better ring to most people. And hell, if believing in a magic spaceman who's going to throw the mother of all massives in the next life for true believers is a deal breaker for you to be a decent human being, than I guess I'll roll with it. No skin off my back,
My point? If ascribing to biodynamics is what it takes to get consumers to purchase responsibly farmed produce and growers to pay closer attention to their crops then, well, I'm okay with that. Most things are 80% crazy, but if it takes 80% crazy to produce 20% quality and the 80% crazy doesn't get in the way of others living their lives, then fuck it.
Great expose Joe Eskenazi. Way to attempt to show that ascribing to a belief system that's a net gain to the world is a sham. I think that makes you a net drain. Cheers.
Though I still won't see anything that's been within ejaculation distance of Mel Gibson. I have my own belief constructs to stick to.
Monday, November 17, 2008
These Things Must End
1. "What kind of martinis do you have?"
There are two kinds of martinis, gin and vodka. Or rather, there's one kind of martini, made with gin, and then there's also a "vodka martini." You can then request your martini to any degree of dryness and, grudgingly, I'll let you order a dirty martini. But not a filthy martini. Filthy martinis are for whores.
But just because a drink is in a cocktail glass, that does not make it a martini. And that's right, it's a cocktail glass, not a fucking martini glass. I know that cocktail glass is oh so exciting and reminds you of those old "don't drink and drive" ads from your childhood but it's really mostly an historically anomaly with little functionality.
Now what's my opinion on cocktails appended with the suffix "-tini?" I'll allow it, because it really sounds breathtakingly stupid.
A martini is a drink that puts hair on your chest. It's gin lightly diluted with ice and tempered with a splash of vermouth. That's it.
2. People over the age of 22 who can't cook.
I'm not expecting you to make a perfect souffle or an unbroken aioli. But if you can't make an okay omelette, a respectable pasta sauce, a flavorful roast pork tenderloin, or a not too-dry poached salmon, what the hell have you been doing with your time?
This isn't the 1950's where you lived at home with mom and dad, then lived for four years in a dorm, and then lived in a boarding house for the year or two before you got married and had a wife to cook for you and beat. And women, you're no longer part of a generation who basically spends most of her childhood learning to cook and most of her young adulthood finding a husband to cook for and beat you.
Most of us are going to be unmarried well into our thirties and if you don't know how to cook simply and healthfully for yourself you're going to get fat, doughy, and/or spend a lot of money going out to eat. The best way to get better at cooking? Do it more often.
To further this end, stay tuned for simple cooking tips in future installments of HFF.
3. The Food Network
Briefly, very briefly, the Food Network was a compelling channel about cooking, food, and food history. Now it's a collection of annoying white women (and a few ethnic women who all look remarkably like Rachel Ray) giving tips on how to open up cans and mix ingredients up in a pot mixed with shows starring fat reactionary white guys screaming about how you should love eating a fried mayonnaise sandwich topped with bacon.
Actually that sounds pretty good, but you get my point.
With the enlightening food shows moving over to the Travel Channel or back to their roots on PBS, the Food Network has outlived its usefulness, becoming the cable television equivalent of recipes on the back of Knorr dehydrated broth packets.
Once again we've shifted to taking the path of least resistance, presenting programming that serves not to educate but instead to validate ignorance and laziness.
And there you have it! Join us next time on Horny for Food for the harrowing conclusion of "The Adventures of Bronco Daisy and the Curse of the Wizard's Staff."
There are two kinds of martinis, gin and vodka. Or rather, there's one kind of martini, made with gin, and then there's also a "vodka martini." You can then request your martini to any degree of dryness and, grudgingly, I'll let you order a dirty martini. But not a filthy martini. Filthy martinis are for whores.
But just because a drink is in a cocktail glass, that does not make it a martini. And that's right, it's a cocktail glass, not a fucking martini glass. I know that cocktail glass is oh so exciting and reminds you of those old "don't drink and drive" ads from your childhood but it's really mostly an historically anomaly with little functionality.
Now what's my opinion on cocktails appended with the suffix "-tini?" I'll allow it, because it really sounds breathtakingly stupid.
A martini is a drink that puts hair on your chest. It's gin lightly diluted with ice and tempered with a splash of vermouth. That's it.
2. People over the age of 22 who can't cook.
I'm not expecting you to make a perfect souffle or an unbroken aioli. But if you can't make an okay omelette, a respectable pasta sauce, a flavorful roast pork tenderloin, or a not too-dry poached salmon, what the hell have you been doing with your time?
This isn't the 1950's where you lived at home with mom and dad, then lived for four years in a dorm, and then lived in a boarding house for the year or two before you got married and had a wife to cook for you and beat. And women, you're no longer part of a generation who basically spends most of her childhood learning to cook and most of her young adulthood finding a husband to cook for and beat you.
Most of us are going to be unmarried well into our thirties and if you don't know how to cook simply and healthfully for yourself you're going to get fat, doughy, and/or spend a lot of money going out to eat. The best way to get better at cooking? Do it more often.
To further this end, stay tuned for simple cooking tips in future installments of HFF.
3. The Food Network
Briefly, very briefly, the Food Network was a compelling channel about cooking, food, and food history. Now it's a collection of annoying white women (and a few ethnic women who all look remarkably like Rachel Ray) giving tips on how to open up cans and mix ingredients up in a pot mixed with shows starring fat reactionary white guys screaming about how you should love eating a fried mayonnaise sandwich topped with bacon.
Actually that sounds pretty good, but you get my point.
With the enlightening food shows moving over to the Travel Channel or back to their roots on PBS, the Food Network has outlived its usefulness, becoming the cable television equivalent of recipes on the back of Knorr dehydrated broth packets.
Once again we've shifted to taking the path of least resistance, presenting programming that serves not to educate but instead to validate ignorance and laziness.
And there you have it! Join us next time on Horny for Food for the harrowing conclusion of "The Adventures of Bronco Daisy and the Curse of the Wizard's Staff."
Monday, November 10, 2008
Beaujolais-fest '08!
It's November, despite the 80 degree heat, and nothing says November like the annual retreading of the mind-numbing topic of "what wine to drink with Thanksgiving dinner."
The three wines most often written about are:
1. Beaujolais Nouveau
2. Rose (of all kinds)
3. Pinot Noir
I don't disagree with the three recommendations above, though I think that the Beaujolais Nouveau response is more a matter of gimmicky coincidence than any real quality inherent in the wine. In fact, Beaujolais Nouveau is pretty much garbage and always has been.
A bit about Beaujolais. It's a region in France adjacent to Burgundy (some actually consider Beaujolais to be a part of Burgundy). Unlike Burgundy's pinot noir, Beaujolais produces the grape gamay noir. True gamay is produced very little outside of Beaujolais and most domestic wine that is billed as "gamay" is actually one of a few mediocre late-ripening pinot noir clones used primarily in jug wine. There are a few acres of authentic gamay in California and there's starting to be some remarkable domestic gamay in a Beaujolais style.
The gamay grape shares something of a similar flavor profile as pinot noir, with nice plush fruit, good acidity, and soft earthiness. Gamay tends to ripen more, presenting more fleshy berry fruit and doesn't take to the minerality that pinot noir can. Beaujolais will never produce wine as elegant as top Burgundies, but wines from Beaujolais-Villages or one of the Cru Beaujolais villages present fabulously complex wines for a fraction of the price of a comparable Burgundy.
But what of Beaujolais Nouveau? It's what's called a "vin de primeur," a harvest wine that's quickly fermented and consumed within a matter of weeks with virtually no aging. It's a vin ordinaire from the crappiest grapes in the region (you're not going to subject your top vineyards to such treatment). Something simple and quick to celebrate the end of the harvest while you wait for the good wine to be released the next year. Until after World War II it was only ever consumed locally. Seeing an increasing number of tourists from Paris and London coming out to Beaujolais to take part in the harvest festivities, a few savvy negociants came up with the marketing ploy of the "freshness race" for Beaujolais, codifying the worldwide release date for the third Thursday in November. The wine saw a massive surge in popularity in the 1970's and 1980's, particularly in Germany, Japan, and the United States, where light fruity wines were particularly popular. And where people love a good gimmick.
It should be noted that environmentalists are calling on a boycott of the Beaujolais Nouveau, and not just on taste grounds. It reaches world markets on the same day because of costly air shipping, producing a much higher carbon footprint than the more conventional transit method of container ship. I support this.
If you do insist on drinking the Beaujolais Nouveau, then chill it a bit and guzzle with turkey and stuffing. Hell, pour it on your freaking plate. It's like cranberry sauce and gravy in one!
I would recommend highly foregoing the nouveau and get a nice Beaujolais AOC or Villages wine which will also be stellar with your Thanksgiving dinner.
I will be having an 06 Wild Hog Pinot Noir, which I've deliberately held onto from last year's release. Should be good.
Other good nouveau alternatives? Roses are always nice, particularly something in a more lean Old World style in the manner of a Bandol. Crisp aromatic whites in the vein of a southern Rhone or sweetly minerally wines from Germany and Austria. Non-fruit bomb zinfandels from the Russian River or a well-made plush merlot from pretty much anywhere will also be good fits.
Drink up, eat well, boycott Beaujolais Nouveau.
The three wines most often written about are:
1. Beaujolais Nouveau
2. Rose (of all kinds)
3. Pinot Noir
I don't disagree with the three recommendations above, though I think that the Beaujolais Nouveau response is more a matter of gimmicky coincidence than any real quality inherent in the wine. In fact, Beaujolais Nouveau is pretty much garbage and always has been.
A bit about Beaujolais. It's a region in France adjacent to Burgundy (some actually consider Beaujolais to be a part of Burgundy). Unlike Burgundy's pinot noir, Beaujolais produces the grape gamay noir. True gamay is produced very little outside of Beaujolais and most domestic wine that is billed as "gamay" is actually one of a few mediocre late-ripening pinot noir clones used primarily in jug wine. There are a few acres of authentic gamay in California and there's starting to be some remarkable domestic gamay in a Beaujolais style.
The gamay grape shares something of a similar flavor profile as pinot noir, with nice plush fruit, good acidity, and soft earthiness. Gamay tends to ripen more, presenting more fleshy berry fruit and doesn't take to the minerality that pinot noir can. Beaujolais will never produce wine as elegant as top Burgundies, but wines from Beaujolais-Villages or one of the Cru Beaujolais villages present fabulously complex wines for a fraction of the price of a comparable Burgundy.
But what of Beaujolais Nouveau? It's what's called a "vin de primeur," a harvest wine that's quickly fermented and consumed within a matter of weeks with virtually no aging. It's a vin ordinaire from the crappiest grapes in the region (you're not going to subject your top vineyards to such treatment). Something simple and quick to celebrate the end of the harvest while you wait for the good wine to be released the next year. Until after World War II it was only ever consumed locally. Seeing an increasing number of tourists from Paris and London coming out to Beaujolais to take part in the harvest festivities, a few savvy negociants came up with the marketing ploy of the "freshness race" for Beaujolais, codifying the worldwide release date for the third Thursday in November. The wine saw a massive surge in popularity in the 1970's and 1980's, particularly in Germany, Japan, and the United States, where light fruity wines were particularly popular. And where people love a good gimmick.
It should be noted that environmentalists are calling on a boycott of the Beaujolais Nouveau, and not just on taste grounds. It reaches world markets on the same day because of costly air shipping, producing a much higher carbon footprint than the more conventional transit method of container ship. I support this.
If you do insist on drinking the Beaujolais Nouveau, then chill it a bit and guzzle with turkey and stuffing. Hell, pour it on your freaking plate. It's like cranberry sauce and gravy in one!
I would recommend highly foregoing the nouveau and get a nice Beaujolais AOC or Villages wine which will also be stellar with your Thanksgiving dinner.
I will be having an 06 Wild Hog Pinot Noir, which I've deliberately held onto from last year's release. Should be good.
Other good nouveau alternatives? Roses are always nice, particularly something in a more lean Old World style in the manner of a Bandol. Crisp aromatic whites in the vein of a southern Rhone or sweetly minerally wines from Germany and Austria. Non-fruit bomb zinfandels from the Russian River or a well-made plush merlot from pretty much anywhere will also be good fits.
Drink up, eat well, boycott Beaujolais Nouveau.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Local - Los Angeles, Ca
In my limited experience in LA, I've found that there's a dearth of simple honest, restaurants that still have an air of refinement and distinction in execution. I'm talking restaurants like 900 Grayson in Berkeley, Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, or the Chow consortium in San Francisco. A place where I can get simple home-y food made from top quality organic ingredients without absurd prices or getting elbowed in the face by absurdly skinny blonde women in ten-inch heels and misappropriated DVF dresses.
I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds right.
Local, a new-ish nouveau diner on Sunset Blvd. about a half-block from Silver Lake Blvd, fills that void. Offering burgers, sandwiches, and a salad bar using almost entirely sustainable, organic, and "local" ingredients.
The restuarant's uber-casual and almost all the seating is outside, either at sunny tables along Sunset or seating under the covered side patio. Most importantly, in an area rife with chic hole-in-the-walls staffed by gloomy hipsters, Local is pretty damn friendly.
I had the vegetarian Reuben, a delightfully messy pile of sauteed mushrooms, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and dollops of Russian dressing, grilled and served with a pile of spiced thin-cut fries. Girlfriend Charlie had the BLTAC, a grilled BLT with avocado and cheddar on brioche. Also awesome.
Other menu items that looked compelling included the "albondigas" pork burger, egg-less tofu egg salad, and a heritage pork "sloppy joe."
Of note is that Local has a pork burger, turkey burger, quinoa burger, and goat cheese stuffed portobello croquette burger, but no beef burger. In fact there's no beef on a menu that, while offering lots of vegetarian options, is by no means animal-shy. I support this wholeheartedly.
The real highlight looks like it might be the organic by-the-pound salad bar which includes their house curry chicken salad and many other items that go beyond iceberg lettuce and flavorless tomatoes.
Local's open daily for breakfast and lunch (including a great-looking weekend brunch menu) and is open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday, offering dinner entree variations on their lunch staples still for very reasonable prices hovering around $11-$12.
Simple, interesting, tasty organic food in a casual and friendly space for not a whole lot. Go there.
Local
2943 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angles, Ca 90026
323-662-4740
www.silverlakelocal.com
I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds right.
Local, a new-ish nouveau diner on Sunset Blvd. about a half-block from Silver Lake Blvd, fills that void. Offering burgers, sandwiches, and a salad bar using almost entirely sustainable, organic, and "local" ingredients.
The restuarant's uber-casual and almost all the seating is outside, either at sunny tables along Sunset or seating under the covered side patio. Most importantly, in an area rife with chic hole-in-the-walls staffed by gloomy hipsters, Local is pretty damn friendly.
I had the vegetarian Reuben, a delightfully messy pile of sauteed mushrooms, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and dollops of Russian dressing, grilled and served with a pile of spiced thin-cut fries. Girlfriend Charlie had the BLTAC, a grilled BLT with avocado and cheddar on brioche. Also awesome.
Other menu items that looked compelling included the "albondigas" pork burger, egg-less tofu egg salad, and a heritage pork "sloppy joe."
Of note is that Local has a pork burger, turkey burger, quinoa burger, and goat cheese stuffed portobello croquette burger, but no beef burger. In fact there's no beef on a menu that, while offering lots of vegetarian options, is by no means animal-shy. I support this wholeheartedly.
The real highlight looks like it might be the organic by-the-pound salad bar which includes their house curry chicken salad and many other items that go beyond iceberg lettuce and flavorless tomatoes.
Local's open daily for breakfast and lunch (including a great-looking weekend brunch menu) and is open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday, offering dinner entree variations on their lunch staples still for very reasonable prices hovering around $11-$12.
Simple, interesting, tasty organic food in a casual and friendly space for not a whole lot. Go there.
Local
2943 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angles, Ca 90026
323-662-4740
www.silverlakelocal.com
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Fresh & Easy - Trouble for Trader Joe's?
Sorry for my delay in posting. It's been a flurry of activity this October.
First, an interesting little review of the unassailable Father's Office burger. The most notable quote here is "When you have meat of this quality it should be served as a steak or at least a steak sandwich."
I can't agree more. A burger is a fucking burger. It's ground up and flavored and just, well, it's just not the best showcase for top quality product. That's where burgers came from, a chance to extend and improve mediocre or questionable meat. A spicy tuna roll is made from the mediocre scrapings of tuna mixed with a spicy sauce to mask its shitiness. You wouldn't make spicy tuna from o-toro. Basic chuck is all that you need for a good burger. Anything else is a waste of quality meat. Kobe burger? What the fuck! Hell, a sirloin burger is retarded. All that these products do is allow us to indulge in the exotic and/or conspicuously consumable under the protective layer of easily accessible food. It's like putting foie gras on a burger or caviar on a pizza. It's just silly. These things are best on their own. Great beef is best seared rare with a little salt and pepper. That's the point. That's what cows die for.
Moving on.
I'd heard of these markets called "Fresh & Easy" but had yet to visit one. Fresh & Easy is Tesco's attempt to enter the U.S. market. If you don't know Tesco, then you're one of the many Americans who doesn't realize that there are many many multinational corporations that aren't based in the United States. Tesco is the world's fourth largest retailer, being a major supermarket chain in Britain and having a significant presence throughout Europe.
Fresh & Easy launched last year in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. They took an interesting approach. Rather than launching flagship stores in major cities, Fresh & Easy slipped its way in to the country in the sprawling suburbs of Orange, San Diego, Riverside, Imperial, and southern Los Angeles counties. Even now, stores are barely present north of Manhattan Beach. Hell, its first store was in Hemet and if you didn't have to look up Hemet on the internet when you heard that you're a better man than me.
I found myself on a semi-spontaneous road trip east on I-10 with girlfriend Charlie to the desert town of Indio and in so doing found myself stumbling into what I've decided is my new favorite grocery store, Fresh & Easy.
It is unfortunate that I have to drive through the shitbox that is the Inland Empire to get to California's Desert Cities. The desert is a stunningly weird and beautiful place and the only thing keeping me from visiting it more is that ninety minutes of driving through continuous sprawl. We passed six Targets. Six! And that's just what was visible from the freeway.
Fresh & Easy sort of floats in a void of its own. It's way smaller and cheaper than Whole Foods but decently bigger and more comprehensive than Trader Joe's (and in some instances cheaper). Like both those places, Fresh & Easy offers a large selection of premade and semi-prepared foods, but is much less reliant on the freezer section. I dig this. I like fresh pre-made stuff, but not so much frozen/canned. I think this is a perfect match for what busy young families and professionals want. I love to cook. I like to cook from scratch if I can. That being said if I can compliment my meal with a pretty tasty fresh pre-made side of creamed spinach for $1.50, why not? Plus, Fresh & Easy sells food of this type in quantities that can reasonably be consumed by two adults in the course of a meal, as opposed to Trader Joe's which sells food in quantities that're way too much for one but not enough for two.
Fresh & Easy offers a large organic selection while not making it the focus of their operations. It also offers largely store-branded items coupled with some specifically selected name-brand products (much like Trader Joe's).
The most interesting thing that I found about Fresh & Easy is that they openly sell their late-dated products at a discount. What was once the bastion of grocery outlets can now be purchased in the store in which it was intended. And you can get a helluva a deal on food that's still quite fresh. Basically, Fresh & Easy has a section where food a day or two away from its sell-by date is sold for 50% or more less than its retail price. It's still perfectly fine, it just can't sit in a fridge for a week before you eat it.
I like this a lot as it presents some great money-saving options for people who are buying dinner for that evening. Basically, it encourages frequent shopping for fresh food.
The last very cool thing about Fresh & Easy is that they're opening stores in "food deserts." They're becoming the only retailer in neighborhoods devoid of quality grocery stores, including Compton and Glassell Park in Los Angeles and (soon) Bayview/Hunter's Point and East Oakland in the SF area. When you present fresh, wholesome, unpretentious food at very good prices in neighborhoods underserved by quality retailers, you're helping the world in readily appreciable ways.
So find the Fresh & Easy nearest you (it's probably Manhattan Beach) and shop. Shop I say!
P.S. The Salton Sea is fucking creepy as hell. It's like a giant meth lab full of pelicans. I highly recommend a visit.
First, an interesting little review of the unassailable Father's Office burger. The most notable quote here is "When you have meat of this quality it should be served as a steak or at least a steak sandwich."
I can't agree more. A burger is a fucking burger. It's ground up and flavored and just, well, it's just not the best showcase for top quality product. That's where burgers came from, a chance to extend and improve mediocre or questionable meat. A spicy tuna roll is made from the mediocre scrapings of tuna mixed with a spicy sauce to mask its shitiness. You wouldn't make spicy tuna from o-toro. Basic chuck is all that you need for a good burger. Anything else is a waste of quality meat. Kobe burger? What the fuck! Hell, a sirloin burger is retarded. All that these products do is allow us to indulge in the exotic and/or conspicuously consumable under the protective layer of easily accessible food. It's like putting foie gras on a burger or caviar on a pizza. It's just silly. These things are best on their own. Great beef is best seared rare with a little salt and pepper. That's the point. That's what cows die for.
Moving on.
I'd heard of these markets called "Fresh & Easy" but had yet to visit one. Fresh & Easy is Tesco's attempt to enter the U.S. market. If you don't know Tesco, then you're one of the many Americans who doesn't realize that there are many many multinational corporations that aren't based in the United States. Tesco is the world's fourth largest retailer, being a major supermarket chain in Britain and having a significant presence throughout Europe.
Fresh & Easy launched last year in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. They took an interesting approach. Rather than launching flagship stores in major cities, Fresh & Easy slipped its way in to the country in the sprawling suburbs of Orange, San Diego, Riverside, Imperial, and southern Los Angeles counties. Even now, stores are barely present north of Manhattan Beach. Hell, its first store was in Hemet and if you didn't have to look up Hemet on the internet when you heard that you're a better man than me.
I found myself on a semi-spontaneous road trip east on I-10 with girlfriend Charlie to the desert town of Indio and in so doing found myself stumbling into what I've decided is my new favorite grocery store, Fresh & Easy.
It is unfortunate that I have to drive through the shitbox that is the Inland Empire to get to California's Desert Cities. The desert is a stunningly weird and beautiful place and the only thing keeping me from visiting it more is that ninety minutes of driving through continuous sprawl. We passed six Targets. Six! And that's just what was visible from the freeway.
Fresh & Easy sort of floats in a void of its own. It's way smaller and cheaper than Whole Foods but decently bigger and more comprehensive than Trader Joe's (and in some instances cheaper). Like both those places, Fresh & Easy offers a large selection of premade and semi-prepared foods, but is much less reliant on the freezer section. I dig this. I like fresh pre-made stuff, but not so much frozen/canned. I think this is a perfect match for what busy young families and professionals want. I love to cook. I like to cook from scratch if I can. That being said if I can compliment my meal with a pretty tasty fresh pre-made side of creamed spinach for $1.50, why not? Plus, Fresh & Easy sells food of this type in quantities that can reasonably be consumed by two adults in the course of a meal, as opposed to Trader Joe's which sells food in quantities that're way too much for one but not enough for two.
Fresh & Easy offers a large organic selection while not making it the focus of their operations. It also offers largely store-branded items coupled with some specifically selected name-brand products (much like Trader Joe's).
The most interesting thing that I found about Fresh & Easy is that they openly sell their late-dated products at a discount. What was once the bastion of grocery outlets can now be purchased in the store in which it was intended. And you can get a helluva a deal on food that's still quite fresh. Basically, Fresh & Easy has a section where food a day or two away from its sell-by date is sold for 50% or more less than its retail price. It's still perfectly fine, it just can't sit in a fridge for a week before you eat it.
I like this a lot as it presents some great money-saving options for people who are buying dinner for that evening. Basically, it encourages frequent shopping for fresh food.
The last very cool thing about Fresh & Easy is that they're opening stores in "food deserts." They're becoming the only retailer in neighborhoods devoid of quality grocery stores, including Compton and Glassell Park in Los Angeles and (soon) Bayview/Hunter's Point and East Oakland in the SF area. When you present fresh, wholesome, unpretentious food at very good prices in neighborhoods underserved by quality retailers, you're helping the world in readily appreciable ways.
So find the Fresh & Easy nearest you (it's probably Manhattan Beach) and shop. Shop I say!
P.S. The Salton Sea is fucking creepy as hell. It's like a giant meth lab full of pelicans. I highly recommend a visit.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Two Follow-Ups
#1. Here's an old article from the LA Times I stumbled across that deals with the finer points of BYOB laws in California: http://articles.latimes.com/2003/nov/12/food/fo-matters12.
Some of the points are a bit out of date, for instance the ABC changed its policy and license-holders can NOT be held responsible for damages caused by patrons leaving drunk from their establishment, provided that the patrons are of a legal drinking age. This rule was changed because it put a restaurant in the catch-22 of neither being able to have a drunk patron on their premises nor being able to send him on his way.
It does highlight the basic ridiculousness of our liquor licensing system and how it can spell the death of an otherwise prosperous business. It also puts too much in the hands of one little douche bag with a grudge or a hatred of alcohol.
#2. I don't know in what esteem the OC Register's food section is held, but in an indicator of the bizarreness of the LA Times review of Charlie Palmer, the Register gave it nothing but plaudits in its review. This goes to show nothing other than that you should ignore fucking restaurant reviews and decide for yourself. Critics are no better or worse evaluators of dining than the average intelligent consumer. Strike that, they're usually worse.
Some of the points are a bit out of date, for instance the ABC changed its policy and license-holders can NOT be held responsible for damages caused by patrons leaving drunk from their establishment, provided that the patrons are of a legal drinking age. This rule was changed because it put a restaurant in the catch-22 of neither being able to have a drunk patron on their premises nor being able to send him on his way.
It does highlight the basic ridiculousness of our liquor licensing system and how it can spell the death of an otherwise prosperous business. It also puts too much in the hands of one little douche bag with a grudge or a hatred of alcohol.
#2. I don't know in what esteem the OC Register's food section is held, but in an indicator of the bizarreness of the LA Times review of Charlie Palmer, the Register gave it nothing but plaudits in its review. This goes to show nothing other than that you should ignore fucking restaurant reviews and decide for yourself. Critics are no better or worse evaluators of dining than the average intelligent consumer. Strike that, they're usually worse.
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