Lodge Bread Co. Answers Political Allegations Online, and More A.M. Intel

Lodging a complaint

Culver City bakery mainstay Lodge Bread Co. was forced to take to social media to defend themselves yesterday, after allegations from a freelance food writer online surfaced regarding the political affiliations of the owners. More pointedly, the writer called for a public boycott of the bakery because they (at the time) believed owners Or Amsalam and Alex Phaneuf to be Trump supporters — something the restaurant was forced to publicly play down in a Facebook post.

The writer has since deleted their original post and clarified the statements they made online, but the whole thing has put a bit of a spotlight on the intertwined nature of politics, food, and the notion of “voting with your dollar” — even in restaurant kitchens, which have historically been places for a come-as-you-are kind of ideological diversity.

The Sunset Strip’s hotel update

With the James Hotel backing out of a shiny new property up on the Sunset Strip, Curbed LA is now reporting that new brand 1 Hotel is stepping in to fill the gap. No official word on what that means for proposed on-site restaurants Farmspoke and Fi’lia yet though.

Trap Kitchen keeps rolling

South LA Instagram food stars Trap Kitchen earned some love from LA Weekly a few days ago, with a deep-dive into the company’s playful nature, delicious food, and quarter-million social media followers. Don’t be surprised if a fully-built restaurant comes next.

Lots of menus

Ventura Blvd. Magazine examines the new Red Maple Cafe, a multi-purpose spot along Maple Street in Burbank that seems to do a little bit of everything. That includes coffee, tea, savory stuff like sandwiches and waffles, and gelato. Wowzers.

Capriotti’s disappears

Capriotti’s is gone from Beverly Hills, reports Toddrickallen. The sandwich shop has pulled up stakes and moved on from the Golden Triangle, with no word on what’s next.

Ramen along Wilshire

A new name in noodles has come to the corner of Wilshire and Wilton, with the name Momota Ramen House. The option only opened at the end of last month, but is already drawing folks in with lunch-through-dinner hours. 4003 Wilshire Blvd., Koreatown.

Glendale’s got another lunch option

Up at the northern end of Glendale sits John Sparr Tavern. The Montrose-adjacent drink and dinner spot recently expanded into lunch hours, and is also doing a new happy hour starting at 2:30 p.m. as well.