Petrossian Lands The Twospot; Gold Tackles Basque in Bakersfield

1) West Hollywood: This week Petrossian upgrades from its 1.5 star review a year and a half ago under Ben Bailly's watch to two wholesome big ones now that Giselle Wellman has entered the kitchen. Right off the bat SIV gushes about "a gorgeous dish of scrambled eggs with caviar...The caviar is beaten in with the eggs and perched on top as well. It's hard to find proper scrambled eggs; I asked for them soft, and they were about as perfect as I've ever had." She comments that "Wellman is a minimalist...Her cooking is poised and direct...[she] is more the quiet, behind-the-scenes worker, whom you may or may not see in the dining room," and under her watch "Petrossian is a find." The caviar shop and restaurant "stays on track with casually elegant French food and a taste of luxury." [LAT]

2) Bakersfield: Gold picks the road less traveled as he searches for Basque cuisine in Bakersfield. No refinery at the Noriega Hotel, "the meals, set-price affairs, are communal, which means you are going to be passing the pepper to the dude next to you, and you are going to eat the same thing as everybody else. There is that cabbage soup, the beans with which you thicken it, salsa and bread; a bottle of cool, utility-grade red wine is included. If it is dinnertime, you will be offered slices of marinated tongue and maybe a spoonful of cottage cheese lightened with mayonnaise, which may be sort of an acquired taste; if lunch, a slab of blue cheese. There will be a lettuce salad, nothing fancy...The rest of the meal depends on the day at Noriega: If you come on a Saturday night, there will be oxtail stew, spaghetti in tomato sauce and, finally, a platter of fried chicken with french fries. (Unless you are 7, you probably won't be offered dessert.) I'm fond of Thursdays, which substitute beef stew and garlicky, impossibly crisp baked spare ribs. At lunch last Saturday, the mountain of beef stew was supplemented by an Alp of lamb stew." Finish that off with a scoop of ice cream and, Gold assures you, your "... ready for the long drive home." [LAW]

The Elsewhere: The Find discovers Taco Asylum in Costa Mesa, Eastside Food Bites lunches at Schodorf’s Luncheonette, The Minty discusses The Yard, Diana Takes A Bite at Forage, kevinEats at Playa, Gastronomy hits House of Basturma, and e*star LA talks beer at Beer Bar.