This may or may not happen when Open Table isn't available for a restaurant, or if you're bosses are these guys: "When I called Animal to make a res, I felt like I was talking to a sorority bimbo. When she called me back, she was giggling to someone else when I answered the phone and put me on hold---even though SHE CALLED ME. She got my name wrong. Twice. And got the date wrong. She said, 'OK, I have you down for two tomorrow.' I replied: 'My request was for Wednesday. Next week.'" Now, we love us some Animal but, dudes. Come on. [EaterWire Inbox]
J. Gold found some divine inspiration for his First Look at Animal, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo's new meat-lover's paradise on Fairfax: "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And God said, let there be bacon, and there was bacon. And God saw the bacon, that it was good, and God divided the bacon from that which was not bacon. And the Food Dudes, having brought forth their restaurant Animal, brought forth all that was bacon, even in dessert, for as surely as God loveth the great whales that he hath created, he loveth also crunchy chocolate bars paved in bacon, and fried quail and grits with juicy slab bacon, and wilted heirloom spinach with poached eggs and bacon, and whole grilled branzino with pancetta vinaigrette, for what is pancetta but a fancy Italian word for fancy Italian bacon?" [LAW; previously]
FAIRFAX DISTRICT: The former Nova Express on Fairfax will become a restaurant and wine/beer bar called Golden State, per the The Guide. Owners Jason Bernstein and James Starr say it will feature "the best from all over the state": Cali-made food, beer and wine, and locally made sausages, cheese and more. Target date is August. With the newly opened Animal across the street, and the pending Mec Restaurant and Bar a few doors away, looks like the neighborhood is definitely changing. [PLYWOOD]
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo---often referred to as the Food Dudes, owners of Carmelized Productions, the catering company recently featured on the Food Network's 2 Dudes Catering---will debut their first restaurant Animal on Wednesday, June 11 if all goes according to plan. They invited us in for a sneak peek over the weekend and we found a fairly raw space with cement floors, a small bar at one end, high ceilings, no art (yet), burnt wood tables and unfinished wood banquettes. Nothing resembling the former T on Fairfax. Being so full of friends, clients and family for dinner on Friday, the din was almost deafening---truly, it's loud---which may be fixed over time. For a couple of young guys doing their own thing, there's only so much money to go around: It was more important to get good stemware, plates and cutlery than sound-absorption panels for the debut.
Some Plywood updates for what's shaping up to be a busy June and July.
FAIRFAX: The Food Dudes—Carmelized Productions' caterers Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo—are putting the finishing touches on their first restaurant Animal, set to debut mid-June. [POST-PLYWOOD]
WEST HOLLYWOOD: A tipster sent a drive-by snap of Crudo Bar & Ristorante, Antonio Alessi's new Italian spot in Norman Van Aken's former restaurant on the Sunset Strip. Per the email, there's a lot of activity and looks close. Mid-June being tossed around as the opening date. [POST-PLYWOOD]
FAIRFAX DISTRICT: Now that Largo at the Coronet opens on La Cienega this coming Monday, the question is what will happen to the old Largo space on Fairfax. This little LAT nugget had us intrigued: "It's not yet known what style of bar (or restaurant) will go into the space…just that the venue has been looked at by everyone from the owners of the nearby Dime bar to famed chef Mario Batali over the last month." Ok, so we know the guys behind the Dime are looking for new locations, and we don't think they or Batali actually took this space. But just stop for a minute: Is Batali looking to do something else in LA? Something without Silverton? Something with? Another Mozza? Oh…the wheels. are. turning. [LAT]
DOWNTOWN:Angelenic has full-on details about Seven Restaurant and Bar opening later this month at the corner of Seventh and Grand, an area first-time restaurateur Joseph Trahanian calls "the next La Cienega Boulevard." He's trying to bring a Westside or Hollywood vibe downtown, which means tufted leather booths, mirror-topped tables, "elaborate muli-tonal lighting displays," a lounge, DJ booth. Still waiting on a full liquor license, and although the menu isn't set yet, expect modern Italian cuisine. [POST-PLYWOOD]
PASADENA: It looks like the Union Cattle Company packed up its mechanical bull and left Old Town about two weekends ago. Something called Dena House will replace it, which, as we understand, will still brew beer. The best thing that location has going for it is that it's right across from one of the parking garages, and yet nothing seems to work there. Union Cattle replaced the sub-par Pasadena Brewery in 2005, which only lasted about two years. Before that, it was Jerry's Famous Deli, which only lasted a few years. [EaterWire]
FAIRFAX DISTRICT: The LAT music blog has all the deets on the pending Largo move. Owner Mark Flanagan will close the intimate live music venue in May and reopen at the Coronet Theater on La Cienega by June. The new space is larger, will continue to host Jon Brion every Friday night, and Flanagan will have extra space for up-and-comers and comedians. [Soundboard]
MARINA DEL REY: There was some controversy when Marina del Rey's Harbor House and Edie's Diner shuttered last fall, but we now have a few details on the replacement, Organic Panificio. The "organic Italian" restaurant will have a bar, wine lounge, two dining rooms, banquet facilities, pastas, pizza, salads, sandwiches, and will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Owners are Charles Colby and John Tennant. No opening date announced yet. [EaterWire]
We're so glad our day with the Food Dudes, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, did not entail their friend Lou trying to bulls-eye his mouth with his own, um, stream. As wrong (but funny) as that is, we still have a soft spot for those crazy cooking kids. A lot has happened since our visit: 2 Dudes Catering came and went on the Food Network; execs said they were "too wild" and the show wasn't renewed after the five-episode run. Their long hair has since been shorn and donated to Wigs for Kids. They named their forthcoming restaurant Animal, and it's on the fast track for a May opening. The concept is still a work in progress--but big dreams for a "weed dispensary slash really great restaurant" were bandied about. Dude.
· Food, Dude! Stoner Caterers [LA Weekly]
· The Food Dudes: From Food Network to Fairfax [~ELA~]
A faithful Fairfax District watcher sent a tip about the Carmelized Productions' (AKA Food Dudes, AKA Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo) catering kitchen/future restaurant on Fairfax: "The Food Dudes seem to have given their lime green storefront a black paint job, and peeled the paper off the windows. Up top is some slogan like "Censorship ain't worth a f**k" -- or something close to that. And inside it looks like the walls are adorned with rows of painted skateboards. Curious how this bodes for a restaurant opening?" Can't you just see these guys choosing a restaurant name like that, something that belies the tasty, sophisticated food within? Alas, no. Dotolo told us it's for an art exhibit that's currently in the space, which will come down this week. No new details on the restaurant, but they're still hoping for spring/summer '08.
· The Food Dudes: From the Food Network to Fairfax [~ELA~]
Oh, the Plywood Report is looking very fresh today. Might we suggest grilled, medium rare, sans sauce? Don't forget to hit the tip jar on your way out. Thank you. Come again.
FAIRFAX DISTRICT: We finally caught up with Larry Rudolph, former manager at Dominick's, who confirmed our fancy-footwork track-down about the forthcoming Mec Restaurant et Bar, his French bistro in the former Black Sea space. He says things are moving along but not much to tell yet: "Designing with architects, digging my very high ceilings." Don't expect moules frites on that block any time soon; we'll guesstimate at least January or February. Isn't it ironic that "mec" means "dude" in French, and it's right across from the Food Dudes space? Let's just call it Dude Avenue. [Eaterwire]
CALABASAS: The Brentwood bakery SusieCakes is multiplying. The second outpost will be on Calabasas Road in the courtyard mall across from The Commons, and will probably open early December. Cupcakes, puddings and molasses snap cookies, just in time for the holidays. Another will open somewhere in Newport Beach, probably in the spring. [Eaterwire]
If there was any question why Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo are called the "Food Dudes," just sit and talk with them for five minutes. The long hair, the unshaven faces, the tattoos, T-shirts, the constant use of the word dude: Jon, Vinny, and their offbeat team of chefs and prep cooks, are the very definition of 'dude'. We met up with the duo at the former T on Fairfax to talk about their new show Two Dudes Catering, which premieres tonight on the Food Network at 10:30pm. The show is just one project on their plate. A cookbook (tentatively titled "Cooking in One Pan With Jon and Vinny") will publish by the end of this year or the beginning of next; they're catering eight to 15 events a week, from 10-person sit-down dinners to parties for 300; and hopefully by spring '08, the still unnamed space on Fairfax---which serves as their catering facility for now---will open as their new casual, neighborhood restaurant. And that's all before either one turns 30.
When the two start talking together, it's like hanging out with a couple guys at a bar: Everything's all at once, it's excited, it's banter. There's a lot of, "Dude, check this out…" One starts riding the skateboard left on the floor by a prep cook. The other moves his clothes from the banquette: "Sorry, it was kind of my bed last night." It's what you'd expect. But then they start talking about their projects, the kind of food they love to eat and cook, the parties they plan, how much they put into their work, and these aren't just a couple of dudes anymore.
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PASADENA: It looks like the Union Cattle Company packed up its mechanical bull and left Old Town about two weekends ago. Something called Dena House will replace it, which, as we understand, will still brew beer. The best thing that location has going for it is that it's right across from one of the parking garages, and yet nothing seems to work there. Union Cattle replaced the sub-par Pasadena Brewery in 2005, which only lasted about two years. Before that, it was Jerry's Famous Deli, which only lasted a few years. [EaterWire]
We're so glad 
FAIRFAX DISTRICT: We finally caught up with Larry Rudolph, former manager at Dominick's, who confirmed our 
