Small Bites: Chaya Brasserie turns 25; Forty Deuce burlesque at Cafe Was; raclette on Balboa Island

Chaya celebrates: Chaya Brasserie in Beverly Hills launches a new menu for its 25th anniversary, still focusing on its mix of French and Japanese cuisine (heavy on the French): fruits de mer, rillettes served en cocotte, daily specials such as cote de boeuf and entrees such as boudin blanc. A new bar menu, titled "La Petite Chaya," in honor of the first restaurant that the Tsunoda family opened in California in1982, features small plates, sushi and dessert. Executive chef Shigefumi Tachibe also is offering a $25 prix-fixe dinner special for the month of October served with anniversary-edition wines by the glass from Au Bon Climat Winery. Proceeds from $25 tickets for an Oct. 25 celebration will benefit the Careers through Culinary Arts Program. 8741 Alden Drive, Los Angeles, (310) 859-8833, www.thechaya.com.

Forty Deuce Fridays: Starting this week Ivan Kane brings back his Forty Deuce burlesque show. Kane's Cafe Was will host Forty Deuce Fridays with shows at 10 p.m. and midnight. 1521 N. Vine St., Hollywood, (323) 466-5400, www.cafewas.com.  

Balboa Island raclette: Raclette night returns to Swiss-French restaurant Basilic on Tuesday. For $21.50, all-you-can-eat raclette is served with fingerling potatoes, cornichons and pickled onions; for an additional $7, a selection of Bundnerfleisch (Swiss air-dried beef), prosciutto and saucisson sec. 217 Marine Ave., Balboa Island, (949) 673-0570, www.basilicrestaurant.com.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo credit: Chaya Brasserie.

Official details on Hollywood's Mercantile and District emerge

George Abou-Daoud is on quite a winning streak. With the Bowery, Mission Cantina and Delancey under his belt, the N.Y.C. transplant has created some of Hollywood’s most inviting taverns. Now, he's poised to strike again with Mercantile, slated to open at 6600 Sunset Blvd. in early September. And this time he’s bringing along critically acclaimed chef Kris Morningstar (Blue Velvet, A.O.C., Patina) along for the ride.

“It’s equal parts gourmet marketplace, daytime café and nighttime wine bar,” says Abou-Daoud, who describes the space as having an “urban-country, old-world feel with high ceilings, original brick walls, raw wood accents and a carbon steel-topped bar.” There are also glass cases displaying charcuterie, cheese, salads and sandwiches as well as shelves stocked with wine, dried pasta, olives and mustard.

Expect a menu of classics with an “artisanal spin.” For example: a pumpkin-seed butter and preserves sandwich served on country white bread; or a Reuben made with pastrami, Gruyère, house-made sauce and sauerkraut slaw on Russian rye bread.

In addition, Abou-Daoud promises a global selection of wines, with glasses starting at $7.

What about District, the restaurant opening next door to Mercantile? Abou-Daoud and Morningstar are opening that together too, and they say to expect seasonal bistro fare and creative cocktails. We’re especially curious to taste the sea urchin and bay scallop gratin.

-- Alexandra Le Tellier

Photo: Abou-Daoud's Delancey and Mission Cantina reside next door to each other, just as Mercantile and District will. Credit: DeeDee DeGelia for Metromix

Makin' bacon — and making sardines palatable

Times staff writer Jason Song's piece last week about taking on the Food Stamp Challenge was a hit with readers — it was one of the most viewed and e-mailed stories of the week — and generated plenty of reader e-mail. Almost all of it asked Jason about his recipe for making bacon. Here's Jason's response:

Since many readers have asked for the homemade bacon recipe, here it is, adapted from “Charcuterie” by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn:

5 pounds of pork belly, skin on

The cure

2 ounces (50 grams) of kosher salt (about ¼ cup)

2 teaspoons (12 grams) pink salt (a preservative, not the Hawaiian kind. It’s available via mail order or from specialty stores like Nicole’s in South Pasadena)

¼ cup (50 grams) maple sugar or packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup (60 milliliters) maple syrup

Mix the dry cure ingredients together, then add syrup. Rub the mixture over the meat and put it skin side down in a plastic bag slightly bigger than the meat and put it in the refrigerator for a week. Turn it over every day. Remove the meat from the bag and rinse clean, then pat dry. Put it back into the refrigerator on a rack over a baking sheet and let it dry for 12 to 24 hours. Smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees. Remove the skin while the meat is hot. (Discard skin, or cut into pieces and save for other uses.) Let the bacon cool, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

I happen to have a smoker, but if you don’t have one, you can bake the meat at low heat.

I buy my pork belly at 99 Ranch where it’s frozen and is pretty cheap. The meat can be a bit fatty, but it is pork belly, so what do you expect.

You can also mail-order meat from places like Heritage Foods, http://www.heritagefoodsusa.com/, which has a variety of pork breeds. I’ve had Heritage Farm pork belly and while it’s expensive — $85 for 9 pounds — it’s amazing.

During the Food Challenge I also ate a lot of sardines because I read a book called “Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood” by Taras Grescoe. Sardines are cheap and good for you and the environment. I would put them on fresh baked bread, but my wife refused to eat them.

Photo credit: Courtesy of W.W. Norton & Co.