Food FYI: Tomato's downfall, still more burgers, haute Israeli?

BETTER RED?

There a fascinating story from Gina Kolata at the New York Times about how the push for redness in tomatoes led to the downfall of flavor. A similar thing happened years ago with the Red Delicious apple, which was originally pink with pale green stripes and good flavor. As plant breeders focused on making the apples more red, the flavor deteriorated; it was found (too late) that the red pigment being produced actually had a bitter flavor.

MORE BURGERS!

Our great Battle of the Burgers wasn't enough? National Geographic has a book out on the 10 best of everything (yeah, I know, huh?), and it includes hamburgers. Local winners are In-N-Out (well, duh), and Apple Pan (have to confess, never understood the love). They also like the burgers at Gott's Roadside in St. Helena (used to be Taylor's Refreshers) and one of my personal favorites -- Blake's Lotaburger in New Mexico (the green chile cheeseburger is amazing).

IS ISRAELI THE NEXT THAI?

OK, maybe it's a stretch, but one of my favorite cookbook authors, Yotam Ottolenghi, has a book coming this fall on the cuisine of Jerusalem (look for an interview with him in the next couple of weeks from our own S. Irene Virbila). And one of my favorite food bloggers, Paris-based David Lebovitz, is positively paroxysmic over his meal at Haj Kahil in Tel Aviv. Do not look at his photos before lunch!

ALSO:

The French and their vegetables

Canned beer makes a comeback!

"Praise the Lard" aprons and T-shirts. Don't we all?

-- Russ Parsons

Photo credit: All-American Selections

The results are in! 2012 L.A. Times' Battle of the Burgers 5 favorites

The results are in! After testing, tasting and much deliberation, we officially have our five favorite burgers from the L.A Times 2012 Battle of the Burgers:

• The Buffalo Cambozola Burger from Debbie Pappalau of Westlake Village
• The Italian Turkey Burger from George Levinthal of Goleta, Calif.
• The BLT Burger from Christopher Lucchese of Echo Park
• The H-BOMB Burger from Richard Amiel of Cathedral City, Calif.
• The Howie Burger from Paul Lindsay of Pasadena

This year, we received more than 70 entries from readers and grill-masters nationwide. We asked you to vote for your top 20, and then we got down to testing. Over two days, we prepped, cooked and grilled our hearts out testing a whole host of burgers (our Test Kitchen went through almost 20 pounds of meat alone -- much of it hand-ground -- including rib-eye, brisket, short ribs, lamb, buffalo, turkey and pork).

We're planning on publishing the recipes in the Saturday section on June 30, but will feature one top recipe a day in our Daily Dish blog starting Monday, June 25. This way, you'll have plenty of time to nosh on ideas for your Fourth of July festivities!

We want to thank all of you who entered this year's Battle of the Burgers, and especially want to congratulate our Top 5 burgermeisters!

ALSO:

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

134 recipes for your favorite restaurant dishes

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

-- Noelle Carter
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

Photos: Noelle Carter / Los Angeles Times

Battle of the Burgers reaches voting round

The cooks have spoken, so now it's time for the readers to vote. We had more than 70 entries in our annual Battle of the Burgers, but your votes will cut that number down to the top 20. Visit our Facebook page to find out more.

After we've tallied the reader votes, we'll take the best recipes into the Los Angeles Times Test Kitchen to come up with our favorite burgers. The winners will be invited to visit the Test Kitchen, and their recipes will be published in the Saturday section in time for the Fourth of July.

Winners also will be invited to appear at our big food event, The Taste, over Labor Day weekend. Voting runs through June 11, and you can vote as often as you'd like.

Photo credit: Terry Way Photography

Burger kings (and queens), get ready to rumble!

Do you have a favorite burger recipe? We want it.

The Los Angeles Times Food section is holding its annual Battle of the Burgers. We want your recipe for that one mouthwatering burger that defines summer for your friends and family. Go to our Facebook contest page to find out how to submit your recipe (along with a brief essay about why it’s the best burger out there).

VIDEO: See last year's burger battle finalists

Readers will vote for their 20 favorites. After that, we'll test the recipes to come up with the top burgers. The winners will be invited to visit the Los Angeles Times Test Kitchen and their recipes will be published in the Saturday section before the Fourth of July. Winners also will be invited to demonstrate their recipes at our big Taste event over the Labor Day weekend. Recipes must be submitted by May 30, and reader voting takes place May 31 to June 11.

Photo: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Dinner tonight!: Nancy's burgers

Looking to do a little outdoor cooking tonight, or sometime this weekend? Have we got a burger for you, courtesy of Nancy Silverton. Best of all, you can make the toppings ahead of time, then just grill up the burgers to order. You can find the recipe here.

For more quick-fix dinner ideas, check out our video recipe gallery here. Food Editor Russ Parsons and Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter show you how to whip up a dozen dishes in an hour or less.

ALSO:

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

134 recipes for your favorite restaurant dishes

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

-- Noelle Carter
twitter.com/noellecarter

Photo: Crumbled blue cheese and cheddar top Nancy's burgers. Credit: Beatrice De Gea / Los Angeles Times

Meet Fuku Burger's Sumo burger

Sometimes you just need to roll up your sleeves, raise your elbows in anticipation of the chin drip, and dig into a monster burger. Especially this month, National Hamburger Month. 

To celebrate, Fuku Burger LA has launched the Sumo burger. It may not be stuffed into a traditional sumo mawashi, but the larger-than-life burger (the size of about six regular ones) is a formidable opponent for the biggest of appetites. During the month of May, Fuku Burger customers can "Sumo size" any burger on the menu. For $40, you can get your favorite burger sumo-sized to 2 1/2 pounds of meat, bun and all the fixings.

Don't want to shell out $40 for a burger? Complete the Sumo challenge and the burger is on them. If you can finish the entire burger in 20 minutes, it's free. You'll also receive a complimentary T-shirt and have a chance to win Fuku burgers for life.

1634 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 464-3858

ALSO:

Enter our Battle of the Burgers

First Impression: Beachwood Cafe

Open this weekend: Garagiste Festival satellite tasting room

-- Jenn Harris

twitter.com/jenn_harris

Photo: Fuku Burger's Sumo burger, left,  and the regular size burger. Credit: Fukuburger.

An Islands tribute means free burger and fries today

Islands, the popular Hawaiian-themed restaurant chain is giving away free Mavericks burgers and fries today at all Los Angeles locations until close -- a tribute to the Mavericks International Surf Contest. The surfing competition didn't actually take place this year, but the restaurant still wanted to celebrate by giving customers free Mavericks burgers and fries. 

The Islands Mavericks burger comes topped with BBQ sauce, Islands' signature crispy onion strings (Islands Reds), American cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickles, served with a side of fries. To receive the free burger, guests need to bring in a picture of any Maverick wave (big wave). You can find one on the Island's Facebook page. The limit is one burger per person.

ALSO:

Test Kitchen tips: Egg topper

Test Kitchen tips: Egg slicer

L.A. has a winner among Food & Wine's Best New Chefs

-- Jenn Harris
twitter.com/jenn_harris

Photo: The Islands Maverick burger. Credit: Islands.

U-Mini, a new Umami Burger, is coming to Westwood

UCLA students rejoice, Umami Burger -- the juggernaut of a savory burger chain -- is barreling toward Westwood Village, with a targeted opening date of "summer 2012." That could mean August, but when Umami owner Adam Fleischman moves, he tends to move fast. So it could be sooner.

The new Umami location is being called U-Mini because it's a compact version of the chain's regular restaurants. The 1,200-square-foot restaurant will have 45 seats and no servers, and Fleischman says it will focus mainly on to-go business for the fast-moving neighborhood. As such, the Westwood location will also be a testing ground for Web and app ordering and tablet-only customer service.

Customers can also expect U-Mini to be a place to try out new specialty burgers. The menu itself will be an edited version of the regular Umami menu, with these new options rotating in and out.

U-Mini, 1131 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles.

ALSO:

LA Mill, many others, coming downtown

Jonathan Gold talks birria on Taco Tuesday

Get your red hot James Beard Award nominees right here

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Plan Check opens today in West L.A.

West L.A.'s Little Osaka neighborhood welcomes a new addition to Sawtelle Boulevard with Plan Check, which opened its doors to the public Wednesday.

The restaurant incorporates architectural elements to make for an industrial appeal -- kudos to the neighborhood's culture bustling with architects, developers and designers -- and features communal tables, booths and a large outdoor patio.

Chef Ernesto Uchimura of Umami Burger takes the reins at this new joint alongside barmen Steve Livigni and Pablo Moix of Harvard & Stone, La Descarga and Black Market Liquor Bar.

The menu features American comfort food with dishes such as the blueprint burger ($11) with smoked blue cheese, pig candy bacon, fried onions and steak sauce; smoky fried chicken ($12) with gravy, yam preserves and spicy pickled okra; and short rib pot roast ($15) with red wine, bone marrow turnover pie and sweet n' sour mirepoix. The bar program includes cocktails like the godzilla ($10) and bento box ($10); craft beer, wine and a variety of Japanese whiskeys. The moonshine house soda, with flavors like yuzu and tangerine, is pretty good, too.

Plan Check is open 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

1800 Sawtelle Blvd., L.A., (310) 288-6500, plancheckbar.com.

ALSO:

California's Artisan Cheese Festival

Anthony Bourdain: A publishing magnate, too?

Test Kitchen tips: Crisp fish skin

--Caitlin Keller

Photo: Plan Check. Credit: Howard Wise

One-night Test Kitchen at Short Order on Feb. 25

The pop-up series Test Kitchen is back for one night at Short Order, the new upscale burger joint at the Original Farmers Market on 3rd Street. On Saturday, Feb. 25, five chefs, all Test Kitchen alumni, are coming up with five new burgers and four mixologists will create new cocktails. 

Kris Morningstar's Flavor Burger No. 6: beef, house-made mortadella bites, Moroccan beets with spiced pistachio crunch and yogurt and mint. Walter Manzke's Vietnamese Pork Burger: pork, pickled radish, spicy sauce (served with Taleggio beignets and vegetable crudites). Adam Horton's Korean BBQ Burger: galbi and kimchi aioli (served with quinoa croquettes and som tam slaw). Ori Menashe's Italian Burger: aged beef, porcini mustard, Parmesan aioli, wild arugula, crispy pancetta, oven-dried tomato (with crispy polenta fries). Christian Page's "Filet o' Fish": sand dab, tartar sauce, American cheese (with Scotch egg and spuds "poutine"). 

Guest mixologists joining Short Order's Julian Cox behind the bar are: Son of a Gun's Daniel Warrilow, Ray's & Stark Bar's Paul Sanguinetti  and Raphael's Chris Parke. 

Burgers are $14 to $18, and special sides are $5 to $12. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are suggested. For reservations email testkitchen@shortorderla.com, including requested reservation time, contact name and number, and number in the party.  
 
6333 W. 3rd St., No. 110, Los Angeles, (323) 761-7970, www.shortorder-la.com. 

ALSO: 

David Lebovitz's 'Paris Pastry Guide' ebook

134 recipes for your favorite restaurant dishes

Foundation grants first fellowships in organic plant breeding

 

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Short Order burger and spuds. Credit: Christina House/For The Times