Posted by Leah Greenstein, July 10, 2008 at 8:25 AM
We figured there'd be some Angelenos eager enough to get their hands on an iPhone 3G when it comes out tomorrow morning that they'd be waiting in line in front of the Apple Store to do so. We asked L.A. contributor Leah Greenstein for a rundown on serious eats near three Apple Stores here.
Apple Store, The Grove
The Original Farmers' Market: If waiting for your iPhone 3G at the Grove's Apple Store is starting to feel a bit like waiting for Godot, head on over here to refuel. Besides farm stands, where you can grab a piece of fruit, you can also grab tasty tacos from ¡Loteria! or a savory crepe from The French Crepe Company or even a po'boy with spicy Cajun-style shrimp that pop in your mouth from The Gumbo Pot. 6333 West Third Street, Los Angeles CA 90036 (map); The Original Farmers' Market
Apple Store, Third Street Promenade
Real Food Daily: The cool ocean breezes at Santa Monica's "Third Street" will distract your line cohorts as you dash over to RFD, where the food is organic, vegan, and amazingly good. Get the fresh juice, lentil walnut paté and any of the delicious wraps. (I love the Caesar with blackened tempeh and avocado). 514 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica CA 90401 (map); 310-451-7544; Real Food Daily
Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery: Use the cell phone you're about to replace to call and order the Godmother from Bay Cities for pickup. This amazing sandwich has Genoa salami, mortadella, coppacola, ham, prosciutto and provolone. It's not exactly healthy, but your garlicky breath may help you get to the front of the line faster. 1517 Lincoln Boulevard, Santa Monica CA 90401 (map); 310-396-8279; Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery
Jack n' Jill's: Somewhere between the super-healthiness of Real Food Daily and the carnivorous indulgence of Bay Cities are the tasty soups and salads at Jack n' Jill's. Take the Mandarin basil salad with grilled chicken with you if the weather is warm. If it's overcast, try the old-fashioned mac and cheese made from scratch with real cheddar. 510 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica CA 90401 (map); 310-656-1601; eatatjacknjills.com
Apple Store, Century City
Breadbar: The tastiest of options in Century City has to be Breadbar. Unfortunately, chef Noriyuki Sugie's Japanese-Spanish creations aren't for take-out, but regular menu items are. Try the fleur de sel baguette with emmenthal cheese, or grab a loaf of fresh bread and artisanal June Taylor jam and make a few friends in line. 10250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90067 (map); 310-277-3770; breadbar.net
Ummba Grill:Take turns tossing back caipirinhas while grabbing organic Brazilian churrascaria to go at Ummba Grill. Their express lunch includes hormone-free beef tenderloin or bacon-wrapped free-range chicken for only $8.95. The price might even leave a few extra bucks in your pocket to buy that sleek iPhone cover you were eying. 10250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90067 (map); 310-552-2014; ummbagrill.com
More iPhone Eats in ...
New York
Philadelphia
D.C. Metro Area
Chicago
San Francisco
Serious Eats Mobile
Now's a good time to mention that you can view this guide on Serious Eats Mobile: m.seriouseats.com. And because Serious Eats Mobile supports commenting, you can supply live eats intel from the field, from whatever device you're about to upgrade out of. It's as easy as thumb-thumb-thumb-Post a comment!
The La Flor de Suhayo truck in East L.A. was the first to get fined under a new L.A. County law that prohibits vendor trucks from parking or for more than 30 minutes in a residential area or 60 minutes in a nonresidential one. This law blows; our corazons go out to the truck's owners.
Posted by Ed Levine, May 15, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Photographs of Mozza taken by Kathryn Yu
Patric Kuh is the restaurant critic for Los Angeles Magazine and the author of The Last Days of Haute Cuisine: The Coming of Age of American Restaurants
. He's also one of the most thoughtful food writers I know, so I knew we would get a unique perspective on dining experiences in Los Angeles when I caught up with him a couple of days ago on the phone.
"What I look for when I eat in Los Angeles is an authentic LA experience, not a New York experience, not a Las Vegas experience. There's a certain kind of laid-back luxury that LA has perfected, that would seem forced and out of place in New York or some other place."
"I know it sounds kind of weird, but the fantastic produce grown in California year-round plays a significant role in the restaurant-going experience in Los Angeles. Because we have such great produce, I'm particularly interested in what a chef is trying to express or say through the produce he or she uses. Every chef knows the farmers and the farmers' markets inside and out, so really it's what they do with that produce that counts."
"As far as whole notion of restaurants as theater is concerned, the restaurant world in Los Angeles is one big theatrical experience, but it's not about star-spotting. The real Angeleno would not deign to notice a star, we're not going to craning our neck at the stars."
"Contrary to what many people might think, we're not health obsessed weenies. We eat lots of cheese and beef and ice cream when we go out to eat, so I would say the flavors derived from fat figure heavily into our restaurant experience. Finally, amateurishness and pretension bother Los Angelenos. This really is a company town (the company is Hollywood), so we don't like amateurish productions masquerading as restaurants"
"If the sommelier is a stuffed shirt with a windsor knot it's not going to work here because the guy ordering the 61 La Tour is wearing a t-shirt and jeans."
After the jump, some of Kuh's quintessential Los Angeles dining experiences.
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Posted by Ed Levine, May 10, 2008 at 11:00 AM
I asked some of my food critic friends and some of the correspondents from around Serious Eats where they would recommend taking your mom on Mother's Day. Intel poured in from around the country. And I added my own picks, too.
Atlanta
John Kessler, food columnist and feature writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, says:
We're going to Watershed, which has a great, often overlooked brunch with cream biscuits, lard biscuits, toad in the hole, poached eggs with spinach and country ham, house-cured salmon, candied bacon. 406 West Ponce De Leon Avenue, Decatur GA 30030; 404-378-4900; watershedrestaurant.com
A nice new choice might be Parish, a very cool-looking New Orleans cooking spot in an old bleach factory in one of the suddenly new in-town nabes that was all crack houses and kudzu just a couple of years ago. It had a fine roast beef debris sandwich with mustard and pickles, but I think Mother's Day brunch is more. 240 North Highland Avenue, Atlanta GA 30307; 404-681-4434; parishatl.com
[After the jump, some serious recommendations from D.C., Dallas, Chicago, New York, and L.A. that are worthy of that special lady in your life.]
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Posted by Ed Levine, October 3, 2007 at 7:32 AM
I lived in Los Angeles for a few years and have often gone there for business, but until I read Jennifer Steinhauer's article in the New York Times, I had no idea that it had become the grilled cheese (fancy-pants and otherwise) capital of the U.S. and maybe the world. She describes the grilled cheese sandwich in L.A. as "an object of outright mania." She makes it sound as if grilled cheese sandwiches are the closest thing Los Angelenos have to their own organized religion. But I, too, am a grilled cheese maniac, and I figure a lot of you are, so today I am soliciting entries for the Serious Eats Grilled Cheese Honor Roll. Why?
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Posted by Adam Kuban, July 20, 2007 at 10:00 AM
The chef's table—where you sit in or very near the kitchen to get a bird's eye view of the proceedings while a special meal is cooked for you—is a concept many serious food lovers find appealing. ForbesTraveler.com gives its list of the nine best examples in the U.S.
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Posted by Ed Levine, June 6, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Linda Burum's piece in the Los Angeles Times today on all the terrific Shanghai-style food being served in the L.A. Basin made me realize once again why Los Angeles is where we can all eat the best Chinese food served in this country. Are there any dissenters on this issue?
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Posted by Adam Kuban, May 16, 2007 at 12:30 PM
One of L.A.'s most noted burger joints celebrates its anniversary. As editor of A Hamburger Today, I'm ashamed to say I've never been to the Apple Pan, but I've read and heard plenty about the place. We even have a nice Serious Eats video about general manager Charles Collins and his own 50th anniversary of service there. But today's story in the L.A. Times brings some new, quirky info (at least to me):
- It's well-known that you can't get tomato on your burger, but "regulars know you can request an onion slice or even fried onions, when the grill isn't too busy."
- The Apple Pan has remained stubbornly old-school in terms of food prep and service: "Soft drinks are still poured in paper cones supported by stainless steel cupholders, in the 1940s lunch-counter way. Over time those bases began to disappear, and about a year ago it looked as if the restaurant would finally have to start using cardboard or plastic cups. 'But then a customer found a bunch of bases for us on EBay,' [owner Martha] Gamble says."
It's a loving portrait of a type of place that is sadly becoming all too rare these days. One that treats its customers and employees with respect (the "newest" kitchen member has been there 17 years) and doesn't try to meddle with a good thing or expand or chain itself out, thereby losing quality.
Related: The Apple Pan, Quality So Far
Photograph from Ilpo's Sojourn on Flickr
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 16, 2007 at 10:14 AM
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack—again and again and again.
I just read in the Wall Street Journal (in the paper version, as the online version of the story is, unfortunately, behind a paywall) that Dodger Stadium is offering all-you-can-eat hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, peanuts, and soda as part of a package deal in its cheap, right-field seats. "Tickets range from $20 to $40 apiece, depending on the allure of the match-up and whether they are bought by groups or individuals."
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