The Knife

The Kindest Cuts: Bastide, The Buggy Whip and More

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.

Celebrate the 1st anniversary of The Knife and vote for The Kindest Cuts

I'm not big on formality, but (ahem) The Knife is a year old. (The official birthdate is/was November 13.)

To celebrate, I'm launching The Kindest Cuts, otherwise known as The Knife's year-end recognition/celebration of Los Angeles' best restaurants, chefs and wine/food stores.

Not the best that opened this year, just... the best. Your favorites. Casual, fancy, large, small -- I want to honor the people and places that would make The Knife's readers gnash teeth and rend clothing were they to close or move away.

To do this, I need your help. Badly.

Tell me what and who you love -- restaurants, chefs and stores -- and why. Leave your thoughts in the comments section (or, if you're feeling shy, email). I'll use your responses to create polls that will let you vote for your favorites.

The winners will be announced in The Knife and receive a formal recognition suitable for display (or, depending on temperament, storing in the garage).

On a similar note: The Knife's second cousin, Restaurants & Institutions (like Variety, it's part of Reed Business), is seeking nominees for its annual Top 100 Independent Restaurants, which are published in April. Says the editor in chief, Scott Hume:

"There never are any Los Angeles spots on the list and it makes me nervous and suspicious. SURELY there are hotspots there doing more than $12 million a year in F&B sales."

Surely he's right. Let's lay his suspicions to rest: If you own, or know of, a LA restaurant that fits the $12 million bill in 2007, tell me.

This was the R&I list for 2006 (published 4/15/2007). (Click through to see the full image.)