Small Bites: Bistro LQ's Laurent Quenioux is now exec chef at Vertical Wine Bistro. Broadway Deli in Santa Monica shutters.

Vertical Wine Bistro in Pasadena announced that chef Laurent Quenioux, who has his own restaurant -- Bistro LQ -- over on Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood, will be its executive chef. Quenioux, the former chef of Pasadena's Bistro K, is splitting his time between Bistro LQ and Vertical Wine Bistro. "My roots remain in Pasadena," he said in a release. The new menu at Vertical features both small plates and larger dishes to pair with an extensive wine list. Some examples: Comte grilled cheese with zucchini flowers and tortilla soup; corn fritter with smoked salmon and crème fraîche; mussels with chorizo, saffron and coriander; and roast chicken with braised cabbage, chestnut purée and huckleberries.

70 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, (626) 795-3999, www.verticalwinebistro.com. 

In more restaurant news, the 20-year-old Broadway Deli closed for good on Monday, reports the Santa Monica Daily Press. The restaurant's long-term lease expired this summer, and landlord Promenade Gateway is making way for a new tenant. "It's sad. It's the end of an institution, the end of an era," general manager Marc Zeidler told the Daily Press. "It was like a family."

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Laurent Quenioux at Bistro LQ. Credit: Kirk McCoy / Los Angeles Times

 

Comments

[rjk]

SIZZLER.

[jimmyfargo]

I hope this will get Vertical back on track. I loved Vertical and frequented it often until they got a new manager, new chef and everything went to hell. Hopefully this will be the kind of good change that will bring people back.

[Dodger Fan]

Sad to hear about the Broadway Deli. I remember sitting at the bar on a rainy day enjoying a rich bowl of their mushroom barley soup with a thick slice of warm bread. Michel Richard was a partner, Marvin Ziedler was there with his dashing mustache and everything was fun. But nothing lasts forever and I'm sorry to see it go.

[Karen]

Maybe they'll out in a 'good' restaurant in place of the Broadway Deli, like a McDonalds or a Burger King.