[Updated] Get in the game Super Bowl Sunday with a custom burger bar

Chips and dip, hot wings and plenty of beer tend to make their way onto the list of usual Super Bowl party suspects. This year, the Counter restaurant is mixing up the traditional Super Bowl game day fare with a custom burger bar.

For $9.95 per person, the Counter will deliver a custom burger bar to your choice of venue (call local stores for delivery and pick-up options) for the big game. The bar includes beef, chicken, turkey or veggie patties and assorted toppings. Party guests can mix and match their own toppings with a selection that includes horseradish cheddar, marinated artichokes and ginger soy glaze. The Counter also got creative with their bun selection, offering a classic hamburger bun, multigrain bun and English muffin. Sides, drinks and extra toppings are also available for an additional charge.

Starting the week of Jan. 30, all U.S. locations, except the Miami airport, will offer the burger bar.

The Counter is also making customers a game wager. If the second-half kickoff is returned for a touchdown, all burger bar orders placed for Sunday, Feb. 5 from the Los Angeles and Orange County locations, are free.

Here's hoping for that second-half kickoff touchdown return. Go, Giants! Go, Pats!

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Photo: Assorted burger creations by the Counter. Credit: The Counter Custom Built Burgers

[Updated at 9:44 AM Friday January 27, 2012. More information was added regarding the customer wager, delivery options and store availability.]

Short Order: The burger's promised land to open Nov. 18

The buzz surrounding Short Order, Nancy Silverton and the late Amy Pressman's new burger restaurant, has been as sustained as a motion in a courtroom drama and just as riveting. Since word first leaked out to food bloggers several years ago that the two revered chef-friends would be collaborating to bring seasonal gourmet burgers to the Original Farmers Market, tongues have been wagging in speculation -- and anticipation -- of what the partnership would reap.

Now the time has come to taste the meats of their labor. Pressman recently died of esophageal cancer, but her legacy and love of farm-fresh ingredients will live on through the new restaurant and in the guise of a bakery called Short Cake that will soon open alongside Short Order.

Short Order is serious about using only local, sustainable and artisanal ingredients, and to that end most of the meat is sourced from Sonoma County. The animals are all free range, humanely treated and produced without the use of antibiotics or hormones.

Short Order chef Christian Page immediately gained the trust of Pressman when the two met at Test Kitchen and bonded over a shared love and knowledge of gathering natural ingredients for fresh and creative preparation of wholesome comfort food.

Hotel Erwin's newest addition, Barlo, opens Thursday

The Hotel Erwin has opened its newest restaurant addition, Barlo, located on the ground floor of the Venice hotel. Barlo offers hotel guests and locals a laid-back setting to sip on refreshing cocktails and munch on reasonably priced eats before or after heading to the beach.

Executive chef Jason Wiggin and food and beverage director Ryan Wingo have created a seasonally changing menu with not comfort food per se but comforting food using organic ingredients. The menu includes plates such as a purple kale salad, shrimp and grits, pork belly buns and beet pickled "deviled" eggs; bar snacks include anchovy puffs, truffle frites and bacon caramel corn; daily changing desserts; house-made ginger ale; and seasonally driven libations including the Porch Swing with Hendricks gin, gooseberry preserves, watermelon juice and lemon and the Disappear with Tito's vodka, Clear Creek pear brandy and house-made sour syrup.

A brunch menu is in the works, and winter-inspired drinks -- Bourbon with apple butter -- are expected to pop up on the cocktail menu come November.

Barlo at Hotel Erwin, 1697 Pacific Ave., Venice, (424) 214-1063, barlovenice.com.

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Photos: From top, Barlo at Hotel Erwin and shrimp and grits. Credit: Caitlin Keller / Los Angeles Times

Spice Table expands lunch, adds rice bowls and cheeseburger

Spice Table chef-owner Bryant Ng, who serves banh mi at lunch at his downtown Singaporean-Vietnamese restaurant, says that because so many people have requested dinner items for their noontime meal, he's fired up the grill and added his cheeseburger to the menu. The Spice Table cheeseburger is ground prime short rib, curried pickled cucumbers, sambal, mustard aioli, fried shallots, iceberg lettuce, tomato and American cheese. It's $7.50, and for an additional $3.50 comes with French fries and a side of curry dipping sauce. 

Also new to the lunch menu are Ng's rice bowls ($7 to $11): chicken curry rice bowl with pickled cucumbers, scallions and laksa leaf; beef rendang rice bowl with sambal, peanuts and coconut; pork rice bowl with ground pork, lap chong, mustard greens and fried shallots; veg rice bowl with mushrooms, bok choy and mushroom sauce; and fried egg rice bowl with char siu pork belly, fresh soy beans and Sriracha. Two to three of the rice bowls are on the menu daily. 

114 S. Central Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 620-1840, www.thespicetable.com.

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Photos: Spice Table

Wendy's pins hopes on Dave's Hot 'N Juicy burger

 

Over at the Money & Company blog, Tiffany Hsu writes about Wendy's remake of its classic burger:

Battered by ho-hum sales and intense competition, Wendy’s has pulled out the big buns: the new Dave’s Hot 'N Juicy burger.

By updating its 42-year-old classic, now available at 6,500 Wendy’s locations nationwide, the fast-food chain hopes to ditch its staid image.

Named after Dave Thomas, late Wendy’s founder, the burger features buttered buns, crinkle-cut pickles and extra cheese. Instead of white onions, the veggies are now red. The beef patties are thicker and still square, though burger designers considered shaking up Wendy’s tradition and going round.

Read more about Dave’s Hot 'N Juicy here.

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Photo: Wendy's

Vegas' Fukuburger comes to Hollywood

Fukuburger, the year-old Las Vegas food truck that set that city's Twitter feed on fire, is opening its first bricks-and-mortar location in Hollywood on Oct. 1. Owners Colin Fukunaga and Robert Magsalin have partnered with restaurateur Harry Morton to get the job done.

By February or March they hope to open a second location in a space they recently secured near Little Tokyo. The idea is to open five to 10 locations in L.A., as well as a few in Las Vegas. The truck will stay in Sin City for now.

To address the elephant in the room: It's pronounced foo-koo, and it means "lucky" in Japanese. But we would be amiss to imply that the Fuku team doesn't have tongue firmly planted in cheek. Especially since the truck's logo includes the catchphrase "Get Lucky."

Need to find an In-N-Out burger fast? Get the official iPhone app

Sitting in front of Santa Barbara deli Metropoulos Fine Foods Merchant, where we’d made a pit stop for pasta, beans, olives and such on our way up to Big Sur, the question of In-N-Out burger was raised.

He wanted one.

"It’s only 11 o'clock," she said. "Too early for a burger."

He insisted that it was their only chance. Santa Barbara is the last In-N-Out stop on the 101 before we turn off for Big Sur. 

"I'm not so sure," she said, pulling out her iPhone. She found the In-N-Out site, but didn't have a ZIP code to plug in to find a location. 

Aha! In-N-Out has a free iPhone app: the In-N-Out Burger locator app, which uses Google maps to plot locations.

She downloads it, opens the app, which spots where the car is sitting right away and shows several locations north of Santa Barbara — Santa Maria, Arroyo Grande and Atascadero among them. The app reveals how far away each location is, how long it should take to get there, and shows both the address and a detailed map. Nifty.

In the old days (not so long ago), I used to call an 800 number and someone would give directions to the nearest In-N-Out. While I appreciated the courtesy and attention, this is better because you can anticipate what's ahead on your route.

In the end, we tried Arroyo Grande, but the place was mobbed and so drove on to Atascadero. This one's a winner: great workers, really crispy fries (ordered that way) and a burger with good texture, toasted bun and not too much sauce. 

The app does have one little problem: locations that I know have drive-thru windows are listed as not having any. Does there even exist one without?

And in case you're wondering, no, the app does not include a guide to the "secret" menu. 

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Photos: Screen shot of the In-N-Out app in action. Credit: In-N-Out

Sam Nazarian's SBE teams up with Umami Burger's Adam Fleischman

Sam Nazarian, chief executive of SBE hospitality group, has placed a major bet on the future viability of Adam Fleischman and his Umami Burger chain.

The nightlife and hospitality kingpin said Friday that his investment makes him a 50-50 partner in all of Fleischman's future restaurant endeavors, including Umami Burger; a modern downtown deli called Umamicatessan; and a new place called U-Ko that Fleischman describes as a "progressive fast-food place, with compostable containers" and a DIY ordering system on an iPad that lets you swipe your own credit or debit card.

Fleischman has secured a high-profile 3,000-square-foot space for that project, the location of which will be announced next week.

"We made a sizable commitment to his company," Nazarian said. "As fast as he wants to execute expansion plans, we'll be there, not just with equity but with back-of-the-house support."

Nazarian has been on a spending spree of late, having recently purchased David Judaken's Syndicate Hospitality and nearly doubling the amount of clubs he owns in L.A. to make himself the most powerful operator of clubs on the West Coast.

7 Food Events You Should Know About: 4th of July edition

 

Red, white and blue ... fish: The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is extending its hours for the Fourth of July, allowing guests to browse the aquarium at night, watch fireworks from its lawn and dig into some BBQ featuring homestyle grilled entrees and desserts. Admission to the aquarium is $12 and dinner is $35 per person. 320 Golden Shore, Long Beach, (562) 590-3100, www.aquariumofpacific.org.

Stars, stripes & syrah: July 2 and 3 pairs an Independence Day celebration with wine education in the Santa Ynez Valley. The wine-tasting event allows guests to guide themselves through various wineries nestled in the area, and is a leisurely way to spend the holiday weekend. Tickets are $35 per person. For more information and to purchase tickets go to santaynezwinecountry.com.

Ferry it over: Watch fireworks shimmer over Avalon on Catalina Island from the balcony of the Casino Ballroom on July 4. After the island’s golf cart parade, the Ballroom will feature a BBQ dinner accompanied by live music from the USC marching band, which is sure to complement the patriotic mood. (310) 510-1520, www.catalinachamber.com.

Celebrating summer: Rush Street is kicking off Independence Day with new summer cocktails including a Spicy Watermelon Margarita, as well as a New England-style seafood clambake and a backyard beer pong block party. Chef Dave Northrup’s summer menu was crafted to satisfy your Fourth of July weekend cravings and features a Western bacon-bison burger with melted white cheddar, candied bacon, Southern slaw, onion rings and savory BBQ sauce. 9546 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 837-9546, rushstreetculvercity.com.

All aboard! The Queen Mary in Long Beach hosts an Independence Day celebration with a good ol’ American BBQ on July 4. There will be live blues and swing music throughout the day, followed by a fireworks show. Ticket prices range from $13 to $22. 1126 Queens Hwy., Long Beach, (877) 342-0738, queenmary.com.

Americana inspired: On July 4, CHAYA Venice’s executive chef Shigefumi Tachibe will prepare an American-themed menu with lunch and dinner specials for Angelenos to munch on while listening to the sounds of the Gumbo Brothers band. 110 Navy St., Venice, (310) 396.1179, thechaya.com.

Bang-bang: Before the annual La Jolla Cove Fireworks Show, San Diego’s Brockton Villa Restaurant will host a Fourth of July party that will include a "Brocktail" reception on the patio with passed hors d'oeuvres followed by a BBQ dinner. Tickets are $100 per person. 1235 Coast Blvd., La Jolla, (858) 454-7393, brocktonvilla.com.  

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Photo: View of fireworks at Dodger Stadium from Elysian Park. Credit: Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times

Follow the Butchers

I’ve recently started following L.A.’s artisanal butcher shops on Twitter, a brilliant use of the social media for the home cook.

If I open my Twitter account, between tweets on the developing Syria crisis, José Andres’ travels in Spain, Scrivener and iA Writer updates, and our own Food section's tweets, McCall’s Meat & Fish Co. notes they've got in “Wild Black Grouper, Skate Wing, Black Cod, Salmon, Tuna, Scallops, Halibut, Black Bass, Branzino, Clams, Mussels." Not to mention Berkshire pork and fresh calves’ liver. I read the post and my mind instantly switches over to planning the weekend's menu. 

Amelia Posada and Erika Nakamura, the two women behind Lindy & Grundy Meats have used social media to churn up a frenzy of anticipation for their new Fairfax Avenue butcher shop. Via Twitter, they might report that the butcher case is now stocked with “beef & bacon grind, rack of lamb, lamb loin chops, pork chops, fresh chickens, bone marrow, sirloin tip steaks, london broil, rancher steaks” or “fresh Mexican chorizo and have just made a batch of espresso chili with marrow.”

Then comes a flash from Grindhaus, the little sausage shop that could, trumpeting “Spicy Beef w/Garlic, Bratwurst, Kielbasa, Pork w/Grn Chilis, Spicy Italian, Wild Boar, Chkn Chorizo."

By the time I get to the farmers market, I’ve already got a main course in mind and can build my shopping around it. Sweet.

To note: Both butcher shops and sausage shop are open Sundays.

McCall’s Meat & Fish Co., 2117 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Angeles; (323) 667-0674; www.mccallsmeatandfish.com. Twitter handle @mccallsmandf 

Lindy & Grundy, 801 N. Fairfax Avenue (at Waring), Los Angeles; (323) 951-0804; www.lindyandgrundy.com. Twitter handle @LindyGrundy

Grindhaus, 5634 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; (610) 906-2677; www.GrindhausLA.com. Twitter handle @GrindhausLA.

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Photo: Butchers Amelia Posada, left, and Erika Nakamura of "Lindy & Grundy's" on Fairfax Avenue. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times