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Chaya Brasserie, New Venue Downtown – Los Angeles

Monday, December 1st, 2008

Chaya Downtown LAAbove: Chaya Downtown

525 S Flower St
Los Angeles, CA 90071-2200
Tel. 213-236-9577
Website: www.thechaya.com/downtownlosangeles/

Chaya BrasserieAbove: Chaya Brasserie Los Angeles

8741 Alden Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90048
tel: 310.859.8833
Credit Cards: Amex, Visa, MC
Prices: Expensive

Chaya Venice
110 Navy Street, Venice, CA 90291
tel: 310.396.1179
Credit Cards: Amex, Visa, MC
Prices: Moderate-Expensive

Chaya Brasserie San Francisco
132 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105
tel: 415.777.8688
Monday-Friday Lunch: 11:30am-2:30pm
Monday-Thursday Dinner: 6:00pm-10:30pm
Friday-Saturday Dinner: 6:00pm-11:00pm
Sunday Dinner: 6:00pm-10:00pm
Brunch served every weekend
Saturday 11:00am-2:30pm
Sunday 11:00am-3:00pm.
Credit Cards: MC, Visa
Prices: Moderate-Expensive

I met Yuji Tsunoda, owner of Chaya Group, for the first time when he came to my restaurant, Au Petit Cafe, for dinner with Hoki Miller in the 1980’s, shortly before he started planning his first venture in the restaurant business in Los Angeles, a place called La Petit Chaya. After this restaurant had opened successfully he started construction on Chaya Brasserie in West Hollywood off of Robertson Blvd., which since its inception has always been a fashionable spot to dine and have cocktails in the early evening, featuring one of the best Happy Hours in town. Later, they launched the ever-popular Chaya Venice, an all time favorite of mine, also with a great Happy Hour offering sushi rolls at very good prices and the drinks are extremely well-made. Ask for Tim, one of the capable bartenders, although his schedule is becoming shorter every year, and I am afraid that one day he will not be working at all. He makes the meanest Margarita in town, know-how that he brought with him from The West Beach Cafe and Rebecca’s where he worked years ago.

Yuki Tsunoda, also controls the franchise on all Starbucks in Tokyo, and employed the very clever marketing technique of placing each new Starbucks Coffee Shop as close as possible to its strongest competitor Doutor Coffee Houses, is scheduled to launch Chaya Brasserie, the Chaya Restaurant Group’s third Los Angeles-area restaurant, early next year downtown. However, the new Chaya will offer a broader menu, including more moderately priced pasta dishes and options for bar dining, said Lawrence Moore, Chaya’s director of marketing.

The original Chaya Brasserie will go through a face lift and entrées will be adjusted in range from $15 to $33 to combat the flagging economy. The group also plans to open its third M Cafe, a macrobiotic concept, in Beverly Hills early next year.

Executive Chef Shigefumi Tachibe is in charge, who first introduced Los Angeles to Franco-Japonaise cooking at the legendary La Petit Chaya in the 1980s and is famed for his distinctive renditions of East/West cuisine.

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Drago Centro Restaurant – Los Angeles

Saturday, November 29th, 2008


525 South Flower Street, Suite #120, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Tel. 213-228-8998
Fax: 213.228.0028
Website: http://www.dragocentro.com
Credit Cards: All major
Prices: Expensive

Celestino Drago’s new Drago Centro Restaurant opened in downtown Los Angeles, at City National Plaza and opened officially on Tuesday December 2, 2008. The restaurant is now open and has received rave reviews not only for their highly acclaimed cuisine and accomodating service staff but have also received customer satisfaction with the cutting edge and yet comfortable surroundings. Following are the sample menus:

menu degustazione

six course tasting menu  75

beverage pairings  40

fiori di zucca
squash blossoms, ricotta, balsamic vinaigrette

pra soave, classico, veneto  2007

agnolotti
corn & ricotta agnolotti, summer truffles

feudi della medusa, vermentino, albithia, sardenga 2006

ippoglosso
alaskan halibut, grapes, almonds

castello di ama, sangiovese rosato, toscana  2007

anatra
duck, foie gras, cherry tomato
gulfi, nero d’avola, nerojbleo, sicilia  2005

guanciale di vitella
veal cheeks, fava bean risotto

grifalco lucania, aglianico del vulture 2004

panino di cioccolata
hazelnut ganache, bananas, bacon, brown sugar gelato

rooibos zaya

antipasti

per cominciare “to begin”

la burrata 13
burrata, tomatoes, olive oil, crostino

il fegato d’anatra 16
foie gras crème caramel, arugula puree

il carpaccio di langostino 18
langoustine carpaccio, blackberries, micro herbs, citrus dressing

le cozze n’pepate  13
sautéed mussels, cracked black pepper, olive oil, garlic, lemon

il carpaccio di capriolo 16
venison carpaccio, walnuts, sherry vinaigrette

il tagliere di affettati con gnocco fritto 16
house selection of charcuterie, gnocco modena style

la zuppa 10
tuscan green lentil soup

le insalate “the salads”

i carciofi 15
grilled artichoke, belgian endive, candied pistachios, evoo sabayon

le verdure e lattughe novelle 14
assorted baby vegetables, young lettuces, white balsamic vinegar

le lattughe miste 10
mixed baby lettuces, red onions, brioche crisp, lemon vinaigrette

la panzanella di bietole 14
market beets, focaccia croutons, baby spinach, truffle pecorino

primi piatti

le paste all’ uovo “fresh egg pasta”

gli spaghetti alla chitarra con pesto alla trapanese 18
basil spaghetti, tomato-almond pesto

le fettuccine all’aragosta, stile carbonara 29
fettuccine, lobster, espelette crème, “carbonara style”

le pappardelle al fagiano 19
pappardelle, roasted pheasant, morel mushrooms

i cavatelli di ricotta e spinaci  17
house made spinach ricotta cavatelli, venison-mushrooms ragout

le paste di grano duro “hard durum wheat pasta”

i paccheri 20
paccheri, spot prawns, puttanesca sauce

i rigatoni all’amatriciana 17
rigatoni, smoked pork jowl, onions, tomatoes, pecorino

i pizzoccheri della valtellina 18
buckwheat pasta, cabbage, potatoes, fontina, sage cream

i garganelli 17
garganelli, pork sausage, parmesan, fennel seeds

e paste ripiene e al forno “filled and baked pasta”

i cannelloni di piselli 17
bufala ricotta cannelloni, peas, almond butter

i ravioli al gusto di coda alla vaccinara 18
oxtail ravioli vaccinara style, celery root, broth

lasagna di vegetali 17
grilled vegetable lasagne, bechamel

i risotti “italian rice dish”

il risotto “vialone nano” con finferli e gorgonzola 19
risotto, wild mushrooms, gorgonzola

il risotto “vialone nano” con barbabietole rosse e gamberi 18

il risotto “arborio” al salto con ragu’di polpo e aglio orsino 19
crispy risotto cake, octopus, young garlic sauce

secondi piatti

i pesci “fish”

l’ ippoglosso con piselli 30
alaskan halibut, peas, salsify, cherry tomatoes

il branzino 33
branzino, cioppino broth, shellfish

la trota salmonata 30
ocean trout, asparagus, tomatoes, salsa piccante

le carni “meat”

la quaglia 29
focaccia stuffed quail, cannellini beans

la lombatina di vitella 36
grilled veal, sweetbreads, green lentil ragout

l’osso buco d’agnello 29
lamb ossobuco, hazelnut rosemary gnocchi, fava beans

il pollo ruspante 27
truffle crusted chicken breast, forest mushrooms

la bistecca di bue piemontese 37
piedmontese ny steak, fingerling potatoes, basil crème

la bistecca “piemontese” per due, con zabaione di bagna cauda 80
grilled piedmontese porterhouse for two, panelle fries, mushrooms

chef: celestino drago              chef di cucina: ian gresik

direttore: matteo ferdinandi

a service charge of 20 % will be included on parties of six or more
They will feature an Enomatic Wine System, an automated and improved version of the first rudimentary system,  introduced to the United States by the original Cruvinet Company in Santa Monica in 1980 not to be confused with the cheaply built knock-off in existence today. The original design was patented by Jacques Foures in Bordeaux, France in the late 1970’s. I am so pleased that the original system that has now been automated and vastly improved through new technology will have a new resurgence. I think that the time is right for wine lovers to finally understand how useful this device can be, to preserve wines and dispense them by the glass without spoilage, as if they had never been opened.

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Edison Bar & Lounge – Los Angeles

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

108 West 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel. (213) 613-0000
Opening Hours: Wed-Fri 5:00pm-2:00am
Sat 6:00pm-2:00am
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Moderate-Expensive

If you have had enough of makeovers of huge industrial complexes transformed into frenzied nightspots, and there are many around the world, than this is not the place to spend your time after dark. Although, if you appreciate the planning and effort of the individuals involved, spearheaded by Andrew Meieran (Mercury Liquors), to maintain the original structure of the Edison Power Plant (the first building to have electricity in Los Angeles) as it was, wherever possible and still windup with a reasonably comfortable space, sprinkled with old Edison Company murals and touches of art deco here and there.
The target market for this venue—bar, lounge, music, and dancing is—up scale loft residents in the immediate area. It seems that L.A. is now obsessed with renovating formerly seedy areas such as LA’s downtown and Hollywood’s Hollywood Boulevard and adjacent neighborhoods. There is massive on-going demolition to build more loft spaces. My guess is; do it or its out to the desert!
If all of this has not peaked your interest, then maybe a 35-cent martini will, every Thursday evening between 5-7pm.
The Edison Drink: lavender-honey infused Woodford Reserve Bourbon with pear liqueur accented with fresh pear juice, a selection of rare Bourbons, an extensive Scotch menu, hand-made cocktails to everyone’s requirements; all are available in the various bar lounges. They even have a dance floor but don’t get electrocuted—the static is extremely high.
There is a small menu of bar fodder and a very poor wine list; stick to alcohol selections.

The entrance that leads into the Edison Lounge is located in the alley off 2nd Street, between Main Street and Spring Street.
They have had the good sense to enact a strict dress code prohibiting athletic wear and sports shoes of any kind, regardless of the designer label or the cost. Shirts with collars are preferred for men; women should dress accordingly.
You should definitely take advantage of the “Happy Hour”: Save 40 percent on classic drinks during the “cocktail hour,” which takes place Wednesday through Friday from 5pm to 8pm, and Saturdays from 6pm to 8pm.

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Robata-Ya – Los Angeles

Wednesday, October 1st, 2008

2004 Sawtelle Blvd, West Los Angeles
Tel. 310-481-1418
Opening Hours: Lunch 11:30am-2:30pm; Dinner: 5:00pm -10pm
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Moderate

Robata-Yahas been opened by Mako Tanaka from Restaurant Mako, Beverly Hills who has joined Dennis Mao, known for his Jidori chicken. The location is on Sawtelle Blvd. in West L.A. and is a grilled skewer restaurant for chicken and beef, with a grill man brought in from Japan who will cook over Japanese charcoal. They will also have seafood, sashimi and grilled fish and shellfish. This concept has been lacking in the Los Angeles area and it is about time that someone did it. However, from what I have observed in Japan, robata is not what materialized on Sawtelle, it is quite different, although I am fond of skewers and really enjoy good Yakatori. I will check this operation out as soon as it stabilizes and give an update. The restaurant is quite small with only 15 seats at the robata bar and six or so tables. It has an excellent selection of Sake and Shochu as well.

Update – A reader has left a comment that this is not a new concept and that the restaurant Nam Ban Kan on Sawtelle has been doing it for years. I agree, (my freind Hoki Tokuda opened Nam Ban Kan in downtown Los Angeles years ago and later sold it) if it is, in fact, only grilled chicken and meat on skewers that they are serving, this is certainly nothing new! Although, what I meant is; it would be new if they followed the true Robata concept, which originated in Sendai town in Miyagi prefecture in northern Japan, then it would be new to Los Angeles. Meaning: the chef or chefs sit on a tatami mat with fresh ingredients spread around them, the customer then chooses what he wants cooked, usually  fish and vegetables on a hibachi over hot charcoal, the diner sits at the robata bar in front of the chef and is then handed his selections on a long-handled wooden paddle after they have been grilled.

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Pizzeria Mozza – Los Angeles

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

641 N Highland Avenue
Los Angeles, Ca 90036
Tel. 1-323-297-0101
Website:  www.mozza-la.com
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm-12am
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Moderate-Expensive

Nancy Silverton appears to be the main influence in this operation on the fringes of Hollywood, since she resides in Los Angeles, and partners Mario Batali along with Joseph Bastianich are delivering their input from afar.
Today the whole subject of pizza in America is a puzzling discussion that may turn quickly into a disagreement, due to so many different styles of pizza and, which one you personally prefer. Some of the best are basically inspired by the thin-crust pizza of Naples that usually are round and measure about a foot in diameter although I remember a place near Napoli that sold rectangular pizza by the meter.
Some restaurants making pizza may have a certified pizzaioli who cook them at intensely high temperatures in Italian wood-burning ovens, which is certainly the best way to do it. Or there are less expensive ways to finish them. Whether people think that Pizzaria Mozza makes the perfect pizza or not, is incidental, they flock there in droves to taste the many different pizzas and antipasti along with many other tempting dishes. Personally, I prefer the thin crust to Silverton’s thicker overlapping crust, which at least to me, infringes into the central area of the pizza, however, as I have tried to confirm it is all a matter of individual taste.

In any case, this small, noisy pizzeria was to be a prelude to what was to be the main-event, Osteria Mozza. What happened unexpectedly was a Hollywood phenomenon, as the place became a huge overnight success with the small room booked over one month in advance and local power-players fighting for tables, and when the Osteria opening was delayed, no one particularly cared. It probably might be one of the hardest reservations to obtain right now in Los Angeles.

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Luau – Beverly Hills (CLOSED)

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Above and left photo and menu are from the original Luau on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Below is a photo of the new Luau on Bedford Drive in the same city.

LUAU CLOSED

The New Luau opened to the public for dinner on Friday night October 24th.
369 North Bedford Drive
Tel. 310-274-0090 (reservations advisable)

A new Luau is open on Bedford Drive in Beverly HIlls however, it will not be a 100% tiki-type operation and will lean more to Balinese decor laced with Asian-influenced cooking with a menu put together by Mako Tanaka from Mako, Beverly Hills. There will be, I am happy to report, some tropical drinks based loosely on old recipes from the original Luau. There is no relationship whatsoever to the original Luau on Rodeo Drive that was opened in 1953 and was a popular celebrity hangout throughout the 50’s and 60’s, which closed in 1978. The Luau was owned by Steve Crane who was one of Lana Turner’s husbands. Their daughter Cheryl Crane became infamous due to stabbing her mother’s boyfriend gangster, Johnny Stompanato to death, although it was deemed justifiable. According to latest reports Ms Crane (an admitted lesbian) is currently a real-estate broker living with her female companion in Palm Springs.  A decade earlier the same Rodeo location housed “The Tropics” owned by Harry Sugarman also popular with celebrities in the 40’s.

Regarding the comment below from Susie: flattery will get you everywhere! No, not really, but I do think the cause she is plugging is a good one so I allowed it to fly. K.M.

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Elmer Dills L.A. Restaurant Critic, Dies at 82 – Los Angeles

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Longtime restaurant and travel critic for KABC TV and Radio dies at 82 in Pasadena, California where he resided for many years. Elmer and his wife Lynne loved to drink Champagne and in times past, he sometimes paid unofficial visits to my restaurant, Au Petit Cafe in Hollywood because he liked it, and he also reviewed it many times: http://www.au-petit-cafe-hollywood.com

It was not commonly known that Elmer Dills worked for the CIA for 20 years and when he could find time he was also an avid water-skier. His son Peter Dills has a website and a TV program on KJLA on Sunday evening at 8:00pm called “The Chef Knows” http://www.peterdills.com

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Spago – Beverly Hills

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

176 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Tel. (310) 385-0880
Website: www.wolfgangpuck.com
Opening Hours:
Lunch: 11:30am – 2:15pm, Monday – Friday
Noon – 2:30pm, Saturday
Dinner: 5:30pm – 10pm, Sunday – Thursday
5:30pm – 11pm, Friday & Saturday
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Expensive

I began to dine at Spago from its very beginning when it was located on the “Sunset Strip” and I go even farther back with Wolfgang Puck, to the days when he was the chef at Patrick Terrail’s very successful Ma Maison Restaurant on Melrose Blvd. Patrick was having a hard time when he first opened to find a good chef. I happened to be there one evening when he had a big problem because he had no chef and to make it worse a full house, and among the guests, two of Los Angeles’ top restaurant critics and Patrick had no other choice then to cook himself. His problems in that department ended when he found Wolfgang Puck.
While Wolfgang was working at Ma Maison he met former A&M Records receptionist, Barbara Lazaroff whom he married. The two were a good team, Wolf as an excellent chef with proper French training and Barbara a born promoter with a keen sense of business acumen.
They eventually put together a formula that was startling at the time, an incongruous mix that fell somewhere between Alice Waters Chez Panisse and Prego in San Francisco. It became an instant success with the film business power brokers. Irving “Swifty” Lazar was famous for throwing his post Academy Awards parties that began at Romanoffs and moved on to the Bistro Gardens and finally Spago until his death in 1993.
A few years ago they moved Spago from the premises on Sunset to the former Bistro Gardens location on Canon Drive; it necessitated closing down the entire street to deliver a huge olive tree for the patio, which replaced the row of poplar trees that previously lined the terrace.
Wolf told me it takes him anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes to complete the rounds of all the tables in the dining room at Spago, Beverly Hills, chatting with this table and joking and laughing with another.
The cooking still remains good and Wolfgang is dedicated to Spago, so much so, that when he returned from his wedding and honeymoon in Capri to Gelila Assefa, he still turned up at Spago to greet the Saturday night crowd, even though he must have been exhausted.

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Cut Restaurant – Los Angeles

Saturday, September 13th, 2008

Beverly Wilshire,
A Four Seasons Hotel
9500 Wilshire Blvd.,
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Tel. 310-276-8500
Fax. 310-276-8502
www.wolfgangpuck.com/
www.fourseasons.com/beverlywilshire/dining.html
Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Friday and Saturday: 5:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Closed Sunday
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Expensive-Very Expensive

The best steak that I had ever tasted in America was while traveling cross-country many years ago from California to New York, to sail aboard the S.S. France where we would spend five days of wining and dining in the First Class dining room of the “France” where the ratio was 85 kitchen staff to about the same number of diners and was considered one of the world’s top restaurants at the time. It just happened that we stopped for dinner in a restaurant in a town called Grand Island, Nebraska and after tasting just one bite of the incredibly good steak that I ordered, I told the waitress to bring an order of every cut of beef on the menu.

When I perused the menu at Cut and found that they included beef from Nebraska along with the more exotic foreign imports, of course, that is what I ordered. I had the opportunity to sample many other steaks as well from other guests at the table and the Nebraska version held up very well.
I have to thank Wolfgang Puck for booking the table for me at Cut with just a day or two notice for a party of eight, when the normal wait at the time was a month or so and when I showed concern that there might be problems for other diners. He told me, ” I have told reception that we have to be a little bit flexible with the reservations as sometimes I have friends coming from overseas and we have to find some space.”

Wolfgang Puck and prominent architect Richard Meier, who designed The Getty Center, were chosen to make the space one-of-kind at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire Hotel.  It was to be a steakhouse concept although with the option to choose from many accompanying sauces. Raw cuts of meats are brought to the table, although not a new concept, it is helpful to shop with your eyes. There are also other non-meat choices as well. Cut is rated 1 star by the Michelin Guide for Los Angeles.

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Players, Imperial Gardens Location Sadly, Goes to Dodd Mitchell

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

Defunct Miyagi Restaurant

8225 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood

In the 1940’s this historic building was the famous club called the Players owned by writer/director Preston Sturges , then in the 1970’s it became the Imperial Gardens where I first met Hoki Tokuda while she performed playing piano and singing in the downstairs bar, she later married well known author, Henry Miller. It then morphed into the Roxbury and finally Miyaki. It has now fallen into the grasp of designer, Dodd Mitchell as his personal project to turn Miyagi into a venture called Ming & Mi. This is really sad, and a great pity that he now has the opportunity to destroy, once again, another establishment with a history and inflict his atrociously bad taste upon it. What is the point. The establishment usually fails after he finishes his redesign.

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