L.A. loves to eat on the cheap; dineLA says fall Restaurant Week sets record

DineLA announced that its fall 2010 Restaurant Week has set a record, "providing the city a $5.2-million economic boost" during Oct. 3 to 8 and Oct. 10 to 15. The prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus offered by participating restaurants drew 158,000 diners, according to a release. 

Nearly 300 restaurants offered three-course lunch and dinner deals (priced at $16 to $44), making dineLA -- now in its sixth season -- the largest restaurant week in the country. 

"The program increased the number of participating restaurants by 28% and still increased the average estimated revenue for participating restaurants by 5.6%," says Mark Liberman, president and chief executive of L.A. Inc. (the Los Angeles Visitors and Convention Bureau).

Estimated sales of $5.2 million are based on the number of dineLA-specific covers reported by each participating restaurant.  

"It was a great success for us," says chef Eric Greenspan of the Foundry on Melrose. "We had a full house every night ... And I'll tell you, it ain't like that every night. It was a great turnout."

The next Restaurant Week is scheduled for Jan. 23 to 28 and Jan. 30 to Feb. 4, 2011. 

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: A salmon dish by Eric Greenspan of the Foundry on Melrose. Credit: Mark Hanauer/For The Times.

2 food events you should know about: EStarLA and FoodGPS judge DineLA challenge; Church & State celebrates birthday

Happy birthday: Church & State is celebrating its second anniversary tonight. Jeremy Berlin, who recently succeeded Joshua Smith as executive chef, will create several of his first new specials for the occasion, and the downtown bistro is preparing a special cocktail as a toast and thank you to each diner. 6 to 10 p.m. 1850 Industrial St., Los Angeles; (213) 405-1434; www.churchandstatebistro.com. 

The 'cold soup' challenge: DineLA presents its second "Quickfire Challenge" to kick off restaurant week, hosted by Petrossian West Hollywood on Thursday. This round's contestants are chefs Akira Hirose (Maison Akira) and Celestino Drago (Drago Restaurant Group). The challenge? Cold soup. Each will utilize one of Petrossian's signature items — pressed caviar, Alverta President caviar or goose foie gras with black truffle — for his interpretation of cold soup. Judges include Petrossian West Hollywood executive chef Benjamin Bailly (known for his borscht), Joshua Lurie from FoodGPS and Esther Tseng of EStarLA. Diners get to watch it all go down while snacking on happy hour specials: $10 caviar-tinis and $5 beers; $10 chips and dip; $8 cauliflower panna cotta with caviar; $2 borscht shooters; $8 shrimp en papillotes; and $10 salmon rillettes. Thursday 6 to 8 p.m. 321 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 271-6300; www.petrossian.com.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Cold cantaloupe soup and borscht at Petrossian West Hollywood. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times

Restaurant deals ahead: It's dineLA, the winter version; plus a 'family tree' of L.A. chefs and restaurants

When you dine at Beacon in Culver City, maybe you also get a little piece of the legendary restaurants Spago, Ma Maison and L’Ermitage – all places Beacon’s Kazuto Matsusaka has worked.

And that’s true at many restaurants, as newcomers make their way from entry-level positions to chefs and owners of their own spots. To mark its winter 2010 restaurant week promotion, dineLA is highlighting those relationships in a “family tree”.

“There is just so much inter-connectedness between the chefs and the restaurants of Los Angeles. We wanted to show how far back the lineage really goes,” said Carrie Kommers, director of dineLA.

Viewers can look by restaurant at which chefs cooked there, or by chef to see all the places a person worked. Take a look at Spago, for example, and you’ll see that its alumni include Mark Peel of Campanile, Neal Fraser of Grace, Matsusaka and Govind Armstrong of 8 oz. Burger Bar. Look at Fraser, and you’d find his resume includes not only Spago but Rox, Checkers and Pinot Bistro.

Patina, Kommers said, “lights up the whole tree,” with such alumni as Eric Greenspan of the Foundry on Melrose, Joe Miller of Joe’s Restaurant, Octavio Becerra of Palate Food + Wine, Josiah Citrin of Cache, Mark Gold of Eva and David Myers of Comme Ca.

Kommers said there are some anecdotes and biographical information, too, as well as photographs planned for the page, including some posted here.

DineLA has more than 200 restaurants offering specially priced three-course lunches and dinners Jan. 24 to 29 and Jan. 31 to Feb. 5 (two weeks minus Saturdays). Among them are Jar, Ortolan, Eva, the Foundry on Melrose and the Bazaar by Jose Andres.

With tiered price categories – from $16 to $44, depending on the meal and the place – restaurants hope to attract diners who might not otherwise show up,  especially in light of the economic woes many face. The participating restaurants are listed on dineLA’s website.
 
The family tree is a work in progress, Kommers said, and people and places will be added. Let us know if you find some missing links or some names that should be added.

-- Mary MacVean

Photos:  Top, chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken; middle (from left) Jonathan Waxman, Michael McCarty, Mark Peel and Ken Frank in 1979; bottom, Josie Le Balch. Credits: Center photo courtesy of Michael McCarty. Top and bottom photos courtesy of dineLA.

 

It's baaaaack: dineLA Restaurant Week returns in January, no food truck this time

It's starting to feel like "Restaurant Week" all year long. The next dineLA Restaurant Week is set for Jan. 24 to 29 and Jan. 31 to Feb. 5, in which participating restaurants offer special prix fixe lunch and dinner menus.

"With strong support from the restaurant community and an increasing demand from diners across the city, this special dining program has now become a twice yearly event," according to a statement from organizer LA Inc. the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, in partnership with American Express.

Participating in the inaugural fall "Restaurant Week" in October were 260 Los Angeles-area restaurants and dineLA's Restaurant Week Food Truck, featuring a rotating roster of chefs such as Alain Giraud of Annisette and Eric Greenspan of the Foundry on Melrose (pictured above). But don't expect a Restaurant Week food truck come January. "That was just a promotional event for the fall, we'll come up with something else for next time," a dineLA representative said.

Sampler Platter: Fat is the new normal, Eating Valley Blvd, XIV's vegan tasting menu, protecting Kentucky bourbon

Food art, bourbon, red onions and fat acceptance lead today's food news roundup.

-- Alton Brown says he doesn't see "Good Eats" lasting much beyond next year. Show Tracker
-- Chef Michael Mina’s vegan tasting menu at XIV. To Live and Eat in L.A.
-- Fat as the new normal: Saying no to diets, fat acceptance and questions about whether extra pounds really equal extra risk. Los Angeles Times
-- If you like art with your food, don't miss Wayne Thiebaud's iconic cupcakes on display in a retrospective at the Pasadena Museum of California Art until Jan. 31. Eating L.A.
--New food blog, Eating Valley Blvd, devoted solely to 8 miles of Asian eateries on Valley Boulevard between the 710 and 605 freeways, goes live.
-- Congressman Ben Chandler urges his fellow Kentuckians to protect the state's signature bourbon and horse industries. Lexington Herald-Leader
-- Gourmet Pigs declares Spago one of dineLA's best deals.
-- What to eat at Tanzore's Diwali party in Beverly Hills this week. Grub Street LA
-- Ma'Kai (Santa Monica) may close and be replaced by a Red Onion. Eater LA

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Wayne Thiebaud's "Four Sandwiches" (1965) puts its own spin on the theme of uniformity. Credit: Hackett-Freedman Gallery

Sampler Platter: Baja Fresh to franchise Calbi BBQ truck, 1,500-calorie Craz-E Burger, world's largest cupcake

Angry dairy farmers dousing police officers in milk, a franchised nouveau food truck and fake restaurant receipts top today's food news roundup.

-- Baja Fresh has acquired the Calbi BBQ truck and will franchise the concept. Nation's Restaurant News
-- Fresh & Easy is expected to end the year with a loss. Fast Food Maven
-- 1,316-pound Guinness World Record cupcake is unveiled at a breast cancer benefit. Breitbart
-- Farmers spray police officers with milk -- from live cows! -- at a protest against falling milk prices in Brussels. New York Times
-- Need to generate a fake restaurant receipt for your expense report? Expense-a-Steak will do it for you. Wall Street Journal
-- Meet the 1,500-calorie Craz-E Burger: beef patty, bacon and cheese on a Krispy Kreme doughnut. New York Daily News
-- Although banning fast-food eateries probably won't reduce obesity rates, some people love the soda tax idea. Los Angeles Times
-- Can an anthropomorphized pickle with skinny legs, high-top sneakers and a baseball cap make frozen pickle-juice popsicles seem cool? Bob's Pickle Pops
-- Can a 20-minute Web-only "rock opera" featuring the exploits of fake rocker White Gold get people to drink milk? Los Angeles Times
-- Six tips to get you the most out of dineLA 's Restaurant Week. LAist
-- The Obamas spend their 17th wedding anniversary at Blue Duck Tavern. Positively Barack

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: A farmer sprays riot police with milk from a cow's udder during a demonstration in front of European Union headquarters in Brussels. Dairy farmers drove hundreds of tractors into the center of Belgium's capital on Monday in the hope of pushing farm ministers into backing more funds to help them survive the milk price crisis. Credit: Yves Logghe / Associated Press