The Guest Chef Trend: Crudobar at Breadbar
LA Weekly published one of Jonathan Gold's columns a few days early probably because the dining event, Crudobar at Breadbar in Century City, ends this week. When BB on Third Street hosted Ludovic Lefebvre's Ludobites last year, it was a treat. A snippet of why Gold thinks this also is one not to miss:
Sugie’s brand of fusion is subtle and sophisticated, from an aesthetic probably more influenced by French dudes like Alain Ducasse and Joël Robuchon than by the big flavors of local hero Nobu Matsuhisa. In a dish of raw scallops, bits of black seaweed provide the appearance, cauliflower crumbs the texture and truffle salt the flavor of fresh black truffles — an amazing feat of culinary trompe l’oeil. Raw sweet shrimp appear in a bowl of dashi manipulated to resemble a classic trembly-soft gelee. Crunchy slivers of the clam called mirugai bob with cucumber, boba pearls and shreds of baby coconut, textures rhyming, in a mildly citric broth...
Noriyuki Sugie was chef at Tetsuya, often considered the best restaurant in Sydney, and at Asiate in Manhattan. Crudobar ends this Thursday, May 15. Need more incentive:
A sample menu. Hurry.
·
Noriyuki Sugie guest stars at Breadbar [LA Weekly]
Classic Gold: The Love/Hate of Father's Office
Jonathan Gold takes a bite out of Father's Office 2.0 at the Helms Bakery complex in Culver City-adjacent, and the review (the food isn't quite there yet, but there are some interesting and delicious bites, and of course, the burger and beer are tops) is chock-full of classic Goldisms. To wit:
"With Father’s Office, which inspires the extremes of behavior often described by scientists studying overcrowded animal cages, there is no middle ground."
"Yoon could probably get away with serving his goat-cheese gratinée in telephone booths if he felt like it."
"...a table should be at least as easy to command as a parking space at the Grove the day after Thanksgiving — if you maintain the necessary levels of attention and aggression."
"I have heard from several sources that when Yoon visited Osteria Mozza and asked whether he could order the pasta tasting for just two people instead of for the entire table, as was printed on the menu, Nancy Silverton said: 'Only if you let me order a hamburger without cheese the next time I’m at your restaurant.'"
He's softened on the FO experience, maybe because finding a seat in the bigger, splashier location, though still difficult, isn't as bad as the SM original. From Gold's
2004 review: "Father's Office is a perfect analogue to Bush-era America, a closed, mean, inward-looking place where tyranny masquerades as freedom, cronyism is taken for granted, and the powers that be talk a lot about hamburgers but ultimately deliver pâté." Ouchers.
·
All Hopped Up at The New Father's Office [LAW]
·
Fight Club [LAW]
·
Eater Inside: Father's Office 2.0 Debut [~ELA~]
A Week in the Stomach of Jonathan Gold
It's a proven fact LA Weekly's Jonathan Gold has a stomach of steel. Did you ever wonder how much he dines out in a week and where? He probably doesn't even write about three-quarters of what he eats, until now: Gold opens his dining diary:
Tuesday: Irish whiskey lunch at Cafe Pinot
Wednesday: Spicy beef noodles at Mandarin Noodle Deli
Thursday: Mole and insects at Guelaguetza
Friday: A Lenten feast at La Casita Mexicana
Saturday: Afternoon paella at La Española, dinner ramen at Asah
Sunday: Deflate
· A week in the life of Jonathan Gold's stomach [LAW]
