Brisket Approval at Bludso's, The Goldster Spotted at Catch & Release, and More a.m. Intel

— The NY Times Magazine does some pot-stirring by asking Why Is It So Hard to Get a Great Bagel in California?

— The Braiser commends Ludo for staying true to his word when, last year, he told the publication that he’d rather open restaurants and win Best New Restaurant than do TV all the time. His upcoming Silver Lake project certainly fulfills the opening part, while today’s Petit Trois nod on the Best New Restaurants list from Eater’s own Bill Addison locks down the latter (in a way).

— Famous full-time barbecue critic Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly is traipsing around L.A., eating at all the usual suspects. So far, he’s been largely unenthused, but does offer this bit of high praise:

Bludso's BBQ in Compton has legitimately great smoked brisket. Even the lean has plenty of good fat. pic.twitter.com/bkK64pXNw0

— Daniel Vaughn (@BBQsnob) July 23, 2015

—Good news for Westside lunchers: Forma in Santa Monica has launched a daily lunch program from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with everything from housemade pastas to a ground rib eye burger. Also, Belcampo at Grand Central Market reformatted their dinner and brunch offerings, leaning on casual options like fried chicken at night and lard-fried doughnuts during brunch.

—Did Buzz Wine Beer Shop’s website briefly get taken over by religious extremists? So says one of the more intriguing emails we’ve gotten in a while. Either way, the site now is just a routine ‘under construction’ page, so something must have happened. Seriously, this is what it looked like for a while, according a tipster. If you have a restaurant website, make sure you watch who has access to the back end.

— Meanwhile, Jonathan Gold has been spotted at Catch & Release this week, prompting plenty of folks to wonder aloud if the Times critic plans to pen an equally Odyssean review of the Jason Neroni spot.

— Flores & the Ladies Gunboat Society, easily one of the strangest restaurant names in the city, has now simplified its moniker to "Flores & Sons," sort of like Charles Dickens' Dombey and Son. In the meantime, they have a nifty new happy hour, which should be great for Sawtelle denizens.

Check out our new happy hour menu! All drafts 5 bucks ~ 4:30-6:30 Tues-Sun

A photo posted by @floreslosangeles on Jul 23, 2015 at 9:29am PDT

— West Hollywood’s Nonna of Italy appears to have closed, according to tipsters. The Sunset Strip space was known for upscale trattoria fare in a lively space. Sad day

— Barrel Down has a new executive chef in the form of Jimmy Bustillos, who previously spent time at other gastropubby spots like Public School and 6th Street Tavern. Opening chef Derrick de Jesus has left after two and a half months.

— It’s National Hot Dog Day in the PR universe, which means places like Dog Haus and Fritzi Dog are planning to party. At Dog Haus, you can upgrade your regular haus dog to one of their signature snap dogs today at no charge! Better idea: just eat the entire menu.