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Heartfelt thanks to the fellow food bloggers who have painted my fence over the last week with their edible bests. Now, as promised, here are my year-end polls for The Kindest Cuts. Vote early, vote often. (NOTE: Firefox doesn't like the polls; it won't let them load. I'm trying to fix the glitch, but in the meantime IE works fine.)
Arancini from Tasca. Photo by Eater LA's very talented photographer, Alen Lin.
Finally, the foodie wisdom of of Eater LA's Lesley Balla:
For me, 2007 was simplicity. I want things simple and pure. Give me a dish with too many sauces or towers -- oh, yes, still found -- and my disgust is quite audible. Every day I find a new favorite, so here goes:
My favorite find in '07 (or what I'm happy to eat all the time but probably shouldn't): Arancini. Discovered the fried cheesy rice balls at Tasca, Dominick's, Mozza, and each place was just a little different but all delicious.
What I'm craving right now: The lamb dish with homemade ricotta gnocchi at Fraiche. I went opening night and had it, and I haven't been able to make it back since (so many new restaurants, so little time). But I still think about it.
The best open: Osteria Mozza. Not because it's Batali and Nancy, not because of the hype. But because we so desperately needed a restaurant that serves that caliber of food at 10 or 11pm. I love a restaurant that attracts restaurant people, not just foodies.
Another newbie I'm glad opened: Comme Ca. I'm a fan, what can I say. I love the vibe, David's enthusiasm for it all. I adore the cheeses, the cocktails, the onion soup. And the escargots. Wait, and the coq au vin.
What I wish could stay for a while longer: Ludobites. I feel like Ludo really got to shine at his nightly stint at Breadbar. I'm so glad I got to go with a group; we had tons of wine, tasted so many dishes. The food was surprising, but not in an overt way. Not like caramelized popcorn-covered chicken. It was still very rustic and pure. Hopefully when he opens his own place, this is what he'll be doing which, to me, is much more compelling than what he did at Bastide.
Sushi: Asanebo or Hiko when I actually have a chance to go. Hiko was such a find for me. This is one of those things: it was just pure, simple, good quality. That's all it takes.
Favorite bar: The Bowery. Owner George Abou-Daoud is one of my new favorite people in LA. You know a bar is good if you can comfortably go in alone, order a martini, talk to the bartender or the strangers to the side and it's not smarmy or someone trying to pick up someone. I haven't found a place like that since I lived in Baltimore. It's just a good bar.
Favorite wine store: I love Silverlake Wine. I love the laid-back attitude, the selection, the price point. I can walk in without knowing what I want, and walk out with a few bottles of some exciting things to try. And actually like them. That's hard to find in a wine store.
Tasca, 8108 W. 3rd St. (323) 951-9890
Dominick's 8715 Beverly Blvd. (310) 652-2335
Osteria Mozza 6602 Melrose Ave. (323) 297-0100
Fraiche 9411 Culver Blvd. (310) 839-6800
Comme Ca 8479 Melrose Ave. (323) 782-1178
Ludobites at BREADBAR, 8718 West Third St. (310) 205-0124 ENDS DEC. 21
Asanebo 11941 Ventura Blvd., Studio City (818) 760-3348
Hiko Sushi, 11275 National Blvd. (310) 473-7688
The Bowery, 6268 Sunset Blvd. (323) 465-3400
Silverlake Wine 2395 Glendale Blvd. 323-662-9024
Govind Armstrong made her cry: The infamous sandwich at Table 8.
The delicious dozen of 2007, as experienced by Sarah J. Gim at The Delicious Life.
1. Grilled cheese: A short-rib grilled cheese sandwich at the bar at Table 8 made me weep.
2. Outdoor ambience: patio at The Foundry
3. Working dinner in the office: Joe's Pizza
4. Sushi: Kiriko
5. Cheese: The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills
6. Wine: The Wine House (with a recommendation from Mr. Todd)
7. New Overall: Rustic Canyon
8. Best celebrity-chef stalker Sighting: Mario Batali with REM, among others, at Mozza
9. Cupcakes that make a trend-hater think twice: Red velvet from Yummy Cupcakes
10. Best breakfast/brunch for the morning after: Toast
11. Best trashy Chinese food: Chow mein at Chinese Gourmet Express, extra Hot Cock on the side, please
12. Best cocktails with a view: The Penthouse
Continue reading "The Kindest Cuts/Best of 2007, according to The Delicious Life" »
This is not your Father's Office: What's To Eat LA's pick for best burger
Aubrey Torres at What's to Eat LA offers his edible opinion:
David Myers for chef of the year for his treatment of food as art at Sona and Comme Ca.
Kings Road Cafe for best all-around cafe.
The Burger Stand for best burger. A complex, simple beefy burger.
Caffe Carrera for best Italian. Armando has been consistently impressing with his wonderful Sicilian home cooking for years.
Sona 401 N. La Cienega Blvd. (310) 659-7708
Comme Ca 8479 Melrose Ave. (323) 782-1178
Kings Road Cafe 8361 Beverly Blvd. (323) 655-9044
The Burger Stand 3413 Crenshaw Blvd. (323) 733-3133
Caffe Carrera 235 S. La Cienega Blvd. (310) 652-5992
Exhibit A: Meltdown Etc.
Caroline on Crack weighs in on the food and drink that makes her lay down the pipe.
Meltdown Etc. This is genius. Campanile is famous for its grilled cheese sandwich nights and Meltdown is a whole eatery dedicated to the grilled cheese sandwich. Absolute faves include the Classic 3 Cheese with Ham and the cheddar, ham and apple-butter sandwiches.
Boule Atelier. Gotta love the delectable macarons, plus I think I'm over cupcakes and this offers a satisfyingly cute and tasty alternative.
Milk. The ice cream by itself is meh but, damn, that coffee toffee ice cream sandwich is to die for. And I especially love the double-chocolate croissant pudding with its Jack Daniels sauce and side of vanilla ice cream.
The Wine House. Awesome selection, helpful staff and you gotta love that wine sampling room (a la Vinum Populi) where you can sample from more than 32 wines, depending on how much you put on your pay card.
Wally's Wine & Spirits. If only for the whiskey/bourbon/Scotch aisle, where employee Max was more than happy to tell me why I should stop drinking Jameson and start drinking the good stuff. They're a lot smaller than the Wine House, so you're sure to get help from someone who can spend a lot of time with you to help you decide.
Meltdown 9739 Culver Blvd. (310) 838-6858
Boule Atelier 408 N. La Cienega Blvd. (310) 289-9977
Milk 7290 Beverly Blvd. (323) 939-6455
The Wine House 2311 Cotner Ave. (800) 626-9643
Wally's Wine & Spirits 2107 Westwood Blvd. (310) 475-0606
Javier Cabral, the stripling epicurean better known as Teenage Glutster, creates a best-of list that goes for the cheap, comforting and exotic, preferably all at once.
Organivegosher cuisine: Soul Vegetarian.
1) Bahn Cuon Tai Ho. Finding Pho is one thing; you can find this Vietnamese staple almost anywhere in L.A now. (Ed. note: Unless you live on the westside.) However, it's tedious work trying to find one that serves banh cuon -- the flesh-like, freshly steamed rice sheets served either rolled up, or cut up, with things like sweet potato shoestrings and shrimp to "vegetarian shredded pork." If that's not enough, the synthesized Lambada background music will haunt for the rest of the day, just like their 40oz bottles of of house-blended nuoc cham (fish sauce).
2) Elite Restaurant. Dim sum deluxe. Unique, full-flavored dishes no matter what time I've gone there, consistent quality in the ingredients and nothing but the best service always: This place is just plain good.
3) Soul Vegetarian. Creamy mac & cheese, an even creamier confetti-colored coleslaw, tender strips of "pot roast" served with dark, savory juices, even a crispy rendition of crab cakes that will make you forget that it's all kosher, organic and vegan. (Ed. note: Based in LA, but part of a nationwide chain. A market for vegan soul food in Tallahassee -- who knew.)
Bahn Cuon Tai Ho 1039 E. Valley Blv. #103, San Gabriel. (626) 280-5207
Elite Restaurant 700 S. Atlantic Blvd., Monterey Park. (626) 282-9998
Soul Vegetarian 4067 W. Pico Blvd. (323) 734-4037
Cactus Taqueria. Credit: Ron Dollete.
Ron Dollete, otherwise known as Taste-Buzz, hearts him some Hollywood:
I live in Hollywood and I love it. The foodie and alkie in me makes me a regular at the Hungry Cat and the Bowery. Late at night, I’ll go to 25 Degrees or Bossa Nova. I get caffeinated at Groundwork. Star Shoes was fine and Beauty Bar is good, but for me it’s all about Boardners. And Selma is the new Fountain.
Sometimes, though, I just want to feel like I’m nowhere near the 323.
My favorite places in Hollywood (the place) to escape Hollywood (the idea):
CeFiore. This yogurt shop is almost always empty and it’s so amusing to stare out toward the Chinese Theater at the huddled masses.
Cactus Taqueria. I love the al-pastor rig, but my favorite here is the chorizo. The stewed pork-skin taco is a close second. I don’t know why, but the tables that face Barton Avenue have a totally different feel from the tables that face Vine Street.
Sapp Coffee Shop. Jitlada is the current darling and the Ruen Pair/Red Corner Asia mini-mall gets all the crowds, but my favorite is Sapp and not for their famous boat noodles, but for the (noodle-less) beef tendon soup.
Doughboys. There’s nothing pretty about ordering a breakfast burrito known as the Fat Boy. Nor is there anything trendy about the grilled cheese sandwich in the After School Special. And yes, it’s BYOB, and you’ll be sipping out of a plastic cup.
Sushi Ike. Kabuki is mass-produced. Katsuya is over-produced. Sushi Ike is at the opposite end of the spectrum, where a minimalist approach lets the sushi run the show. I especially like to go at lunch, where I might be the only one there.
CeFiore 6922 Hollywood Blvd., #107. (323) 465-9097
Cactus Taqueria 950 Vine St. (323) 464-5865
Sapp Coffee Shop 5183 Hollywood Blvd. (323) 665-1035
Doughboys1156 Highland Ave. (323) 467-9117
Sushi Ike 6051 Hollywood Blvd #105 (323) 856-9972
Back to the lists of the things that made the foodie life worth loving in Los Angeles 2007... this list comes from H.C., of the blog LA & OC Foodventures.
Scoops ice cream in action: Foie gras & onion. Photo credit: Dave L.
For me, my fond favorites are:
1) Scoops. What's not to love about this cute hole-in-the-wall ice cream joint? (Well, except the parking.) Adventurous-flavor gelatos (the famous brown bread, pear-caramelized pecan-gorgonzola with chunks of the cheese mixed in, even a coulda-fooled-me vegan chocolate) and pretty easy on the wallet. You can even suggest your own flavors and see them become reality, for better or for worse. I also love that owner Tai Kim is very involved with community & charity efforts, from using his walls to auction off goods of local artists to hosting fundraisers like the Great American Bake Sale.
2) Artisan Cheese Gallery. Although not as big as the Cheese Store in Beverly Hills, this intimate place boasts a very unique (and seasonal) selection of cheeses, with a friendly, down-to-earth and passionate (about cheese) owner Melanie who just gushes about any dairy-related topics you want to discuss with her and the staff is very helpful in finding the "right cheese" for the occasion. They have pretty fun events too (I was at their cheese/vodka tasting with Modern Spirits; they also recently hosted a cheese/gelato tasting in collaboration with Scoops).
3) Azami Sushi Cafe. Yes, L.A. has Urasawa, Hide & Sushi Gen, but this less-well-known spot is my favorite place for sushi. Run by female chefs (don't let that fool you) (ed. note: huh?), they serve delicious seafood in a simple but elegant manner: a splash of ponzu here, sprinkling of sesame there, freshly grounded wasabi on the side. Definitely go for the omakase the first time around.
4) O-Bar. It's on the Eater Deathwatch and yes, I find some of their events (e.g Time Warp Wednesdays) gimmicky, but in the early evenings it's usually a classy yet mellow place to get a potent cocktail and fun chit-chat with bartenders or fellow drinkers. Made even better by their everyday 6-8 p.m. half-off-drinks happy hour. (PS: "classy" may not be as applicable on Thursdays when they do their 5-minute open bars.)
Scoops, 712 N Heliotrope Dr., (323) 906-2649
Artisan Cheese Gallery, Studio City. 12023 Ventura Blvd. (818) 505-0207
Azami Sushi Cafe, 7160 Melrose Ave. (323) 939-3816
O-Bar, 8279 Santa Monica Blvd. (323) 822-3300
Mr. Ford seems like a nice guy and it's probably not a bad way to spend a Wednesday evening. And I'm curious to see who he has in mind as guests. However, he is apparently unfamiliar with The Food Snob's Dictionary and with Wikipedia.
The word has floated around for some time now without much clarification. Foodies and those in-the-know aside, most people, at best, have an ill-conceived notion of what exactly a gastropub is. Ben Ford of Ford’s Filling Station will end the confusion and clear up discrepancies on January 23, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. by hosting the first lecture in a series planned for 2008.
During the “What the Hell is a Gastropub?” lecture and dinner – at $75 per person – Ford will discuss what typical gastropub fare is, what makes an establishment a gastropub, and various other sub-topics. He will be joined in discussion by special guests to be determined at a later date.
For what it's worth, the lectures are "planned to bring community together at Ford’s Filling Station in the spirit of lively discussion, and great food and drink.... Each event will feature special guests and an original menu created for that evening." Other topics include “Snout to Tail,” “Artisan All-Stars,” “Cooking by Hand,” “Heartland Dinner” and “Pig Out Night.”
Light duty today at the Food Sectional.
In the LA Times, Corie Brown turns in a fine piece about the rise in LA's sommelier culture with a look at those who meet weekly at Cut to study for tests that would allow the possibility (however unlikely) of membership in the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Los Angeles has long struggled to attract top sommeliers. But now as the area's restaurant scene matures and restaurateurs elevate wine service to match the standards of their cuisine, salaries for sommeliers are soaring. And a new generation of ambitious wine professionals eager for a leg up in a suddenly competitive industry is seeking membership in the Court of Master Sommeliers, an elite organization that selects its members through a series of rigorous examinations.
[snip]
The evolution of a serious regional wine culture relies on senior sommeliers willing to teach those less experienced. An entry-level course with 40 students at Disneyland's Napa Rose restaurant looks ultra-democratic. But the highly politicized Court of Master Sommeliers invites just some students, not all, to advance through the process. Even then, the London-based organization's final exam has a 97% failure rate. (emphasis mine)
With that ratio, we can expect one of the six sommeliers photographed for the piece to have... a very, very small chance of being inside that three percent. (Anyone want to help on the math?) In any case, those are nice portraits. (Credit: Bob Chamberlain for the Los Angeles Times)
Also noted: Irene S. Virbilia is duly impressed by the interiors at Tanzore (which won a Restaurant Design Award from the American Institute of Architects/Los Angeles ) but leans toward meh on the Cali-Indian fusion cuisine.
Some of the crossover dishes work, but others are less successful, sometimes due to concept, other times to flawed execution. I liked seared yellowfin tuna revved up with toasted coriander and set on a soothing avocado raita that's really an unemphatic guacamole. Velvet lamb kebab is delicious too, minced lamb streaked with paprika and cumin wrapped around a skewer and grilled. But what's with the mashed potatoes?
She also mentions something about Philly cream cheese in the paratha and cheddar with the chicken tikka.
Apologies for radio silence, all. I am managing two blogs for the forseeable future and occasionally will get bogged down. Blame the writers the studios the deity of your choice for not knocking heads together and chanting, "Abracadabra! Strike over!" (If anyone has pull with said deities, please send them my email.)
It's Wednesday already, which means a Food Sectional is on the way. In the meantime, here's another year-end best of -- this one from Jeff Miller, my bloggy colleague and LA editor at Thrillist.
Best meal: Hands down, the multi-course dinner I was served at Amarone Kitchen and Wine, the new Italian restaurant in a very, very tiny space on Sunset. Their grilled calamari's the perfect consistency -- not rubbery at all -- and the pastas and meats are rich without being overbearing. I can't wait to go back. (Ed. note: The Knife liked it, too.)
Best sushi: Though I'm a longtime Sasbune fan, I've become an Ike convert: sit at the sushi bar and order seared salmon, but be prepared to eat it immediately (you're not allowed to put it on your plate first); the fish melts the second it hits your mouth. Also phenomenal: toro, which is not overpriced, either.
Best under-$10 meal: Pita Kitchen, on Van Nuys and Ventura in Sherman Oaks, has a $9 plate with Chicken Kafta just powerful enough to live with its memory all day. You can choose three sides; I'm a fan of the eggplant salad, which oil-y offsets the chicken when you make your own pita sandwich.
And less poundage. Here's a Spanish commercial for the mass-market sparkling wine Freixenet, which Scorsese directed as an homage to Alfred Hitchcock's "North By Northwest" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much." This is the extended version, dubbed for your enjoyment. (Major props to Josh Friedman at The Food Section.)
And now, in the interest of equal time, here's Mr. Welles and Paul Masson:
Oh, the scandal! The PR opportunity for all involved (except maybe the waiter, who is certainly out of a job if he made it up)! The Donald says he didn't do it, wasn't even in California -- but why would someone create a story that risks making Donald Trump look like a good guy? Another possibility: There's a Donald Trump impostor! One who exists solely to give waiters $10,000 tips! Actually, that's not a bad idea; The Knife chooses option C.
NOT OUR DONALD [Page Six]
I don't care if he did it out of oneupmanship. A $10,000 tip on an $87 check at Santa Monica's The Buffalo Club is impressive.
From Derober.com (via Defamer):
Donald ordered an ice tea and his friend showed up 10 minutes later. When I was telling them about the specials, I felt like an airline steward must feel giving instructions before takeoff. They just talked over me.
I finally brought them out the check. Trump grabbed it and actually spoke to me from the first time.
“What’s the biggest tip you ever got?”
“Jerry Bruckheimer comes in a lot. He tipped me $500 on a $1000 check once.”
Trump nodded his head.
“You’re very good at your job.”
“Thanks.”
Trump and the other guy got up to leave, said thanks again and left.
I went back to the table to grab the check but didn’t have time to look at it until later. When I did, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Honestly, at first I thought he had tipped me $1000. But when I looked a second (and twentieth) time, it was actually $10,000. I was speechless.
Us, too. He may be a self-aggrandizing boor with questionable hair, but never let it be said that he isn't a generous self-aggrandizing boor with questionable hair.
Derober exclusive: Donald Trump leaves waiter a $10,000 tip! [Derober]
Have you sent your nominations for The Kindest Cuts? The deadline is December 15, at which point I'll descend to the workshop to build the polls you so richly deserve.
As a reminder -- it can be any restaurant, store or chef, whether it opened this year or a decade before, as long as it represents a eating experience that enriches your life and generally makes your planet a better place. I've asked local food figures to provide their lists, which I'll be posting in the coming days.
Case in point: Here's 10 places, in no particular order, from restaurant producer Jerry Prendergast -- including, yes, some that he had a hand in creating, but I told him that was OK. But as you'll see, his selections range all over the place.
Leave your nominees in the comments or email them to dana.harris@variety.com. And now, Mr. Prendergast -- take it away.
Continue reading "The Kindest Cuts: Bastide, The Buggy Whip and More" »
And you thought small plates were a trend? Nay, they're a nefarious plot! Or, as Kim Severson says in "Is the Entree Heading for Extinction?," "The entree, long the undisputed centerpiece of an American restaurant meal, is dead."
Upstarts like the snack menu, with its little offerings of polpettine and deviled eggs, are encroaching from the flank. Crudi, salumi plates and cheese boards have piled on. The appetizer, once a loyal lieutenant, is demanding more attention on menus. Side dishes and salads, fortified by seasonal ingredients and innovative preparations, are announcing their presence with new authority.
But the gravest threat may be the dining public, which seems to have lost interest in big, protein-laden main dishes.
“I think the entree has been in trouble for a long time,” said the chef Tom Colicchio. “Eating an entree is too many bites of one thing, and it’s boring.”
Of course, as the purveyor of a menu that specializes in nothing but bits and pieces that, once assembled, become entree-ish, Colicchio would say that. But it doesn't mean he's wrong. (My dinner at Lucques last night: a beet-carrot salad and a slice of sheep's-ricotta tart. Both appetizers, both delicious.)
Frank Bruni's one-star review of loungeatery Grayz suggests that if the entree isn't dead, no restaurant wants to be caught dead serving one.
“We don’t serve dinner,” said a woman who answered the phone late one afternoon when I called to check if Grayz, a new venture from the justly acclaimed chef Gray Kunz, had its full menu in effect that night. It was Thanksgiving weekend, so I wanted to be sure.
And bar snacks didn’t await me when I showed up several hours later. In fact, my companion and I ordered a five-course tasting menu that began with quail, proceeded through venison and ended with a chocolate soufflé. It cost $85 per person.
In my book that’s dinner. And Grayz’s reluctance to call it that — or to cast itself as a full-scale restaurant — opens a window into the befuddled and befuddling soul of the place.
Also noted in Florence Fabricant's Off The Menu: A "Top Chef" contender (Dave "I'm not your bitch, bitch" Martin, Season One) is opening Crave on 42nd on the deepest west side; restaurant magnate Jeffrey Chodorow is closing Wild Salmon Jan. 1, and Jason Neroni, former petty larcenist/Porchetta chef, will join forces with Katy Sparks at 10 Downing in Greenwich Village.
Bastide, post-Chairgate.
First up! Irene S. Virbilia reviews Bastide. And it's a flat-out, full-throttle rave.
It's Bastide, unbuttoned. ...Service is as good as it gets in Los Angeles... All this at a price that's a bargain by European standards. The result is a restaurant unlike any other, certainly in L.A., and probably anywhere else in the country. This is restaurant as art form.
And so on. However, there's something missing, at least online: Where's the friggin' stars? They're missing, along with the little box that tells you the address, phone number and hours. On that note, Virbilia mentions that Bastide owner Joe Pytka is thinking about opening for lunch and breakfast. Who knows if that will happen -- Pytka thinks about a lot of things -- but brunch at Bastide? Bring it on.
Also, Restaurant Journal returns with some truly tasty scoopage: Providence's Michael Cimarusti will open a restaurant on the second floor of Beverly Blvd. clothing boutique Lords, in the old Le Colonial space. And already, Lords has a foodie retail counter: Espresso (and Clover coffee!) from LA Mill and bready goodness from Providence pastry chef Adrian Vasquez. All in advance of the coffee boutique that LA Mill's Craig Min is opening with Cimarusti. (Betty Hallock's source was Lords' owner; Providence reps declined comment and LA Mill was weird about it, too.)
The rest of the Food section, as often happens this time of year, is devoted to holiday-minded recipes, although Amy Scattergood has a nice piece about the Foundry chef Eric Greenspan cooking for Hanukkah with his mom. "Use a box grater, Ma!" "Ma, it's a latke!"
Please click on the image (or on the Achewood site) for high-resolution enjoyment. Your life will be better for it.
Our Bad: Funny Comic Leads to Betrayal, Auction [Gawker]
The question of why LA is perpetually absent from the Top 100 list published by Restaurants & Institutions has hit a nerve. It seems that not only is it a huge ask, it also may be more, literally, than our traffic can bear.
First off, R&I considers any "concept" with more than five locations a chain, which is why Nobu ranks among R&I's Top 400 Chains (#212 last year, a ranking that placed it just above Furr's Cafeterias but well below Cinnabon).
However, as anyone in Hollywood could tell you, it's hard for an indie to be a blockbuster. Restaurant producer Jerry Prendergast (Tower Bar, Melisse, The York) writes:
$12 million is a big nut. It translates to $36,000 per day average. With a $100-per-head check average, that is 360 dinners a night.
Gladstone's has always been the largest grosser, but that is with a much lower check average and a much higher head count (in summer). Spago probably does that number with a reasonable check average and good cover counts every night of the week, as opposed to most restaurants in LA that have low counts earlier in the week. LA is not a market that traditionally has supported high check averages or large head counts. Those restaurant with high check averages have low head counts (i.e. Melisse, Valentino, Bastide).
It is tough for a place here to generate enough gross to get on the list. LA does not eat early in the week, does not spend a lot for dinner and does not have many large venues (200 seats and more). A restaurant like Smith & Wollensky in NYC not only has a large lunch market but a large dinner crowd seven days a week, at a high check average. Nine hundred dinners on a Saturday night at $100 per person certainly makes a big contribution (90,000 x 50 weeks = $4 million). It is possible that Lawry's is capable of the $12 million.
I, for one, do not know that many places here with that many seats; the parking would kill them.
And publicist Arlene Winnick (L'Ermitage) chimes in with a reminder that bigger is not always better:
You have just given me the biggest laugh of the week.
Glancing through the list of top restaurants (revenue-wise), my eyes lit upon #38 -- The Milleridge Inn, a blast from my childhood on Long Island. I have few food memories before the age of 10, but I do remember going to this old house and having chickenless fried chicken, tasteless mashed potatoes and soggy green beans. The best parts of the place were the adjoining, colonial-style shops, where you could always hit your parents up for some useless, overpriced item. I cannot believe they are still thriving.
Getting over the $12 million threshold usually requires either a lot of seats or a high check average. But Gibsons Steakhouse here in Chicago (#6 on the top 100) has neither: The dining room has 170 seats and the average dinner tab is $60, but it did $20 million+ in 2006 because it's just never, never not packed with people. Reputation goes a long way.
Saturday night felt very much "fooled again!" driving down Olive and looking for the just-opened, 24-hours-a-day-from-here-on-out-we-swear restaurant otherwise known as Mode. And drove right past it, because the block's only sign of life was Club Galaxy, the place that promises 100 BEAUTIFUL GIRLS.
A second pass found Mode pitch black without so much as a sign saying oops, our bad, see you Monday or any hours at all. (Calling Sunday, the line rang and rang. Ostensibly a 24/7/365 establishment won't need an answering machine, but maybe throw AT&T the extra $3 a month just in case?)
8th Street between Olive and Hill, 3/23/2006. Photo by Jeff Seltzer.
I'd probably still be bitching if it weren't for what was around the corner: Colori Kitchen. There was a review that made it sound not too bad. And by "not too bad," it still shares the block with the venerable Golden Gopher -- and Club El Gaucho, the former Hotel Bristol and the current (?) Hotel Lindy.
Turns out, not too bad is sort of great.
Colori is owned by a chef who spent 13 years at Ca'Brea. He's still working on a wine/beer license. (In the meantime: No corkage!) But spaghetti and meatballs and a penne puttanesca were terrific (pasta the right kind of al dente, sauces that tasted of herbs and garlic and sauteed tomato and onion), as were a thick minestrone (with shell beans!) and a (huh?) tortilla soup. (The free-ranging menu, touching on hamburgers and kebabs, suggests Colori knows its neighborhood. So does the schedule: lunch only M-Th, lunch/dinner Friday, dinner only Saturday, closed Sunday.)
But I'm burying the lede: We get the check. And it's $20.08.
Yeah, pasta's not expensive, but twenty bucks for two people is rare -- and for anything like a memorable dinner, all but unheard of. It was better than any lunch I'd eaten at Ca'Brea (of which there have been too many) and one person can't eat there for that price. Certainly not after valet was thrown in.
We tipped well and walked back to our street-parked car, making plans to find Colori on purpose.
Colori Kitchen, 429 W. 8th St. (213) 622-5950.
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