Without ice cream pioneers like Irvine Robbins and his brother-in-law Burt Baskin, we might not have someone like Tai Kim creating wacky deliciousness like pistachio/maple/riesling cherry or banana/peanut butter/bacon at Scoops. Robbins opened his first ice cream shop, Snowbird Ice Cream, in Glendale in 1945. He joined Baskin in 1948 to form Baskin-Robbins, which always offered 31 flavors, but Irv was always trying something new. From the LAT obit:
When the Dodgers came to Los Angeles in 1958, they were greeted with Baseball Nut, complete with raspberries for the umpires. Lunar Cheesecake was launched the day after man landed on the moon in 1969. At the height of Beatlemania in 1964, a reporter asked Robbins what flavor would salute the Fab Four; Baskin-Robbins had yet to invent one, but Robbins replied, "Uh, Beatle Nut, of course" and had it in stores in five days.
Baskin-Robbins had more than 40 stores by 1949; by the time Robbins retired in 1978, the company was selling almost 20 million gallons of ice cream a year in more than 2,000 stores around the world. People loves their ice cream, don't they. So did Irv: His pool was ice cream shaped, his boat was named the 32nd Flavor, and he was "known to start the day with a bowl of cereal topped with a scoop of banana ice cream." Robbins died on Monday at the age of 90. RIP ice cream dreamer. (Photo credit: Baskin-Robbins/LAT)
· Irvine Robbins, 90; co-founder of the Baskin- Robbins ice cream empire [LAT]
Who knew the hipster hordes would come knocking after the East L.A. taco truck ordinance was passed by the Board of Supervisors? Not the Board of Supervisors. Maria Cerdas, a deputy for Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, told the LAT "To me it is surprising that these young people are taking such an interest. I did not foresee it." And their interest sparked a media frenzy, covered in local and national magazines, blogs and newspapers, which must be making them all just a wee bit uncomfortable. Keep the wave going: A reminder that tonight is Taco Truck Night.
· An Outpouring of Taco Truck Love [~ELA~]
· For Love of LA Taco Trucks [LAT]
· Taco Truck Wars: Save the Tacos on May 1 [~ELA~]
Inflation, unemployment, a shattered housing market: People aren't going out to eat as much, and when they do, they're not tipping like they used to says the LAT. Luckily in California, the 1.1 million food service workers get minimum wage plus tips, but they're still feeling the crunch. So maybe that's why Crazy Fish started a new tipping policy? It's pissed off one regular customer (and Eater reader):
"I've been going to Crazy Fish Sushi on Doheny and Olympic for two years. Reasonably priced sushi...good portion size. We went the other night on Friday...and received the worst service....ever....we had to ask for everything. Granted...the server looked new....we hadn't seen him before in our monthly if not every three week visits. We were shocked that on the bill....which we asked three people for...that they add a 15% tip for themselves. I wouldn't have cared, except for the fact that this particular server (the busboys were great) did not deserve this. My bf brought the bill to the manager, pointed out the waiter and inquired about the surcharge. Her reply- yes...we've been doing that for a month now...sorry. Now...we always tip 15-20%, but to add it on for a party of two? Is this the norm now to just include it?"
The Server is an old short film but newly posted on The Angry Waiter. For anyone who's ever waited tables, the longish video about "superheroes" extorting money from bad tippers and ill-behaved restaurant customers will hit some funny bones---we're fond of sidekick Sancho The Busboy's peppermilling the French man---but it's also full of offensive stereotypes and bad editing. Still, with the LA shout-outs (Canter's, Roscoe's) and the ridiculousness of it all, we couldn't resist.
· The Server--Restaurant Humor [Angry Waiter]
The above picture exposes what is probably one of the worst tables in San Francisco. And as noted yesterday, LA has its fair share of bad seats (table #7 at Providence, for example). One we personally experienced: The table directly next to the sushi bar server station at the new Nobu; the banquette side is great, but servers carry away plates over the head of the nervous-looking preson in the chair. Depending on your perspective, the "kiddie room" tables at Osteria Mozza are either perfect or horrible. We tried this last year, but since our siblings to the north and east want to make a competition out of it: Send in your candidates for the worst tables in the city (with a picture if you can) to la@eater.com or leave it in the comments, and we'll put it to a vote next week. If this local primary goes well, expect a national election soon.
· Eater LA's Worst Tables [~ELA~]
· Dining in Solitude at Osteria Mozza: Good or Bad? [~ELA~]
· LA's Worst Tables [~ELA~]
· Bad Table Alert: Sidewalk Dining Gets Creative [~ESF~]
Food & Wine magazine throws LA a bone for not picking one of our local toques as Best New Chef (again). Several restaurants figure prominently in the new "2008 Go List":
10 Restaurant Cities to Watch
Los Angeles ranks #5, snuggled between Toronto and Athens
10 Best New Restaurants of the Year Osteria Mozza makes the cut (rank is irrelevant, listed alphabetically), but joins the Bubbles Bar at Guy Savoy in Vegas (not really a "new restaurant" but OK), O Ya in Boston, and ONE in Toronto
10 Best Restaurants With a View Catch at Casa del Mar shares company with restaurants in Dubai, Tel-Aviv and Istanbul.
Spotted in the Los Angeles Times today: a settlement notice for a lawsuit against Pinkberry for keeping its "swirly bliss" a secret. (Not that it matters much.) Filed last year, the plaintiff claimed Pinkberry is not frozen yogurt, healthy, all-natural, non-fat, nor did they disclose to the public exactly what's in the stuff. Pinkberry denies any wrongdoing, that they were already working with the California Department of Food & Agriculture to "reformulate" before this lawsuit. Of course, that was after they served the sketchy substance to millions, and after otherssued.
A rep for Pinkberry confirms that the suit is completely settled, and the company has to pay $750,000 to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Paras Los Ninos, attorney's fees of $250,000, and a $5,000 award to the woman who initiated the suit. Now that Starbucks invested in the swirly stuff, what's a cool $1 mil anyway. And so we all can find out what's going on, the court ordered this announcement be listed in the Los Angeles Times (got it!) and on the Pinkberry website, which it isn't. But bonus: As of only a month ago, the swirly ingredients---all the propylene glycol esters, guar gum, Yellow 5 Lake, monodiglycerides and other additives---are now listed. And to think it only took three years after the first store opened to learn what's in the stuff.
· What's More Scandalous: Pinkberry Non-Yogurt or Pinkberry Idiots? [~ELA~]
· Pinkberry Is Sorta Yogurt, Powder Still a Secret [~ELA~]
· Pinkberry Feels the Heat, Investigates Claims [~ELA~]
· Frozen Yogurt Wars Cont.; Pinkberry Gets Millions [~ELA~]
They're a diligent bunch at Los Angeles magazine, that's for sure. Widdling down a list of 300 of their favorite things to 64, and then asking the public to choose between beloveds like Roscoe's and Union Station or roof top neon and taco trucks to finally get to the "Sweet 16" sounded like quite the undertaking. But they unveiled the tailored list yesterday, and at a big to-do at City Hall with Council people on hand, no less. The 16:
Amoeba Music, which beat In-N-Out
Disney Hall, which beat Getty Center
Grauman’s Chinese, which beat Studio Back Lots Langer’s, which beat Central Library
Capitol Records, which beat Topanga Canyon
MOCA, which beat ArcLight
Huntington Gardens, which beat Palm Trees
Spaceland, which beat Trader Joe’s The Beach, which beat Farmers Market Pink’s, which beat Union Station
McCabe’s, which beat Griffith Park
Chateau Marmont, which beat the Hollywood Sign La Brea Bakery, which beat Venice Canals
Hollywood Forever Screenings, which beat KCRW 89.9 FM The Weather, which beat Taco Trucks
Pacific Coast Highway, which beat The Light
Voting continues each month until the winners are unveiled in the August "Best of" issue. And if you hate finding the positive in the world, there's always the 64 Worst Things in LA currently polling on Metblogs. You say tomato...
· LA Mag's Best in LA [~ELA~]
· Amoeba vs. In-N-out? [~ELA~]
· 64 Worst [Metblogs LA]
There's room in this country, nay, this world, for only one Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles, got that Rosscoe's? After some serious clucking from Roscoe's, a Chicago judge has ordered Rosscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles to change its name. The restaurant opened only a month ago, but Herb Hudson, owner of the original, the one-and-only Roscoe's, took the doppelganger to court, and it wasn't just for that extra "s":
· Both restaurants' logos feature a cartoon chicken standing in front of a waffle.
· Both include a drink called the "Sun Rise"—orange juice and lemonade. Both have drinks called "Sunset."
· Both feature like-sounding menu items. At Roscoe's: Carol C. Special, Natalie's Special, The Stubby. At Rosscoe's: Carol's Treat, Ed Hale Special, The Saint.
Blasphemy! But it gets trickier. Rosscoe's (double "s") owner Darnell Johnson once approached Hudson to open a Roscoe's (one "s") in New York, but the deal never came together. Johnson opened Rosscoe's East in Brooklyn anyway; Hudson said he didn't care because he never planned to hit the New York market himself. Plus it failed: Johnson closed Rosscoe's closed after eight years. Bu Chicago is another story. Hudson tells the Chicago Tribune that he has plans to open a Roscoe's in the Windy City by 2009, and he's not screwing around with any one "s"/two "s" business: "We'll be suing them to the hilt."
· Chicago owner agrees to change restaurant's name [Chicago Tribune]
We discover today via Eater NY, Major League Eating, has its website up with an incredible (and we don't use this word lightly) trailer. There's a rap song ("I'll be that top gurgitator extraordinaire...eat you out of house and home no thought or care"), it shows clips of real competitive eating and features shots from game of characters belching on each other and exploding. As for the game itself, it looks like it has some potential as the characters are real competitive eating stars (Kobayashi, Juliet Lee, Tim Janus), and we imagine it's more fun than Cooking Mama.
· Major League Eating: The Game [Official Site]
· Major League Eating Trailer Released [Eater NY]
· Video Trailer for 'Major League Eating: The Game [Serious Eats]
We did mention that April is Grilled Cheese Month, right? In addition to Clementine's grilled cheese madness, the Grilled Cheese Invitational is pretty much the end-all-be-all of gooey, cheesy, melty competitions. Please eschew the organizers' use of the word 'sammich' (too close to Rachael Ray's 'sammies'), but feel free to participate anyway you see fit: as grilled cheese creator, grilled cheese judge, and if all goes well, as king or queen of all grilled cheeses. There are four categories: From the basic white bread-yellow cheese model (The Missionary) to any kind of bread, cheese and lubricant (Spoons) to any kind of grilled item that is filled with at least 60% cheese (the Kama Sutra). Yes, they have a thing for sex and grilled cheese. Location is still under wraps at this point, but the date is April 19. The GCI website has all the details.
· Grilled Cheese Insanity at Clementine [~ELA~]
· EaterWire: Grilled Cheese Invitational 2007 [~ELA~]
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Eater LA is a blog that covers the Los Angeles restaurant, bar and nightlife scene. From the newest hotspots to the historic rock clubs on the Strip, Eater LA has you covered. Read more about Eater LA...
Tipping Is Customary
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Without ice cream pioneers like Irvine Robbins and his brother-in-law Burt Baskin, we might not have someone like Tai Kim creating wacky deliciousness like pistachio/maple/riesling cherry or banana/peanut butter/bacon at Scoops. Robbins opened his first ice cream shop, Snowbird Ice Cream, in Glendale in 1945. He joined Baskin in 1948 to form Baskin-Robbins, which always offered 31 flavors, but Irv was always trying something new. From the LAT obit:
"I've been going to Crazy Fish Sushi on Doheny and Olympic for two years. Reasonably priced sushi...good portion size. We went the other night on Friday...and received the worst service....ever....we had to ask for everything. Granted...the server looked new....we hadn't seen him before in our monthly if not every three week visits. We were shocked that on the bill....which we asked three people for...that they add a 15% tip for themselves. I wouldn't have cared, except for the fact that this particular server (the busboys were great) did not deserve this. My bf brought the bill to the manager, pointed out the waiter and inquired about the surcharge. Her reply- yes...we've been doing that for a month now...sorry. Now...we always tip 15-20%, but to add it on for a party of two? Is this the norm now to just include it?"
Food & Wine magazine throws LA a bone for 
Spotted in the Los Angeles Times today: a 
We did mention that April is Grilled Cheese Month, right? In addition to 
