Sampler Platter: sushi fraud, Paula Deen hit with flying ham, Portland's food carts, 11 restaurants in 11 hours

The TV queen of Southern food gets whacked with a ham at a charity event while Food Marathon leads intrepid gluttons on an epic restaurant crawl. More in today's food news roundup.

-- Sushi fraud! DNA tests reveal that "tuna" is often fake or endangered species. Wired
-- 13 restaurants in 11 hours: the 11 in 11 Food Marathon 
-- Portland's food carts, from New Mexico to poutine. Los Angeles Times
-- Hershey needs over $17 billion to top Kraft's offer for Cadbury. Wall Street Journal
-- Salon launches a food section
-- Paula Deen hit by a flying ham! WHEC
-- Police drop theft charges against two students who didn't tip. The Morning Call
-- Ben & Jerry's makes Maple Blondie ice cream in honor of Olympian Hannah Teter
-- Gift suggestion for beer lovers: "The Naked Pint." Brand X
-- OpenTable unveils list of 70+ L.A. restaurants that offer private dining services
-- The four acts of Ondal's spicy crab soup. Eat, Drink & Be Merry
-- Six reasons bacon is better than true love

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Celebrity chef Paula Deen. Credit: Dr. Billy Ingram / Getty Images

Sampler Platter: Mignon coming to downtown L.A., Santa Monica resists food trucks, loads of contests

How is it possible that Farrell's is opening a location in Orange County before opening another location in Los Angeles? I have no idea, but it's true. This and more in today's food news.

-- Mignon, from the owners of Bacaro LA Wine Bar, is set to open this winter next to Cole's/Varnish. Eater LA
-- Santa Monica resists nouveau food trucks. California Taco Trucks
--Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour makes its Orange County return on Wednesday, opening a new location in Mission Viejo. Fast Food Maven
-- The New Yorker profiles Jonathan Gold (and mentions local food blogger Teenage Glutster!).
-- With the demise of Gourmet magazine, Jane and Michael Stern will now be e-mailing their Roadfood newsletter once a week. Eating LA
-- Mattatouille has some lovely pictures from his recent foodventures in Japan, Indonesia and Korea.
-- New York firm recalls ground beef due to possible E. coli contamination. Safe Tables
-- Challenge Butter recently launched its "Taste of the West" contest. Prizes include a seven-day / six-night trip to Montana and an $850 kitchen package from Spice Islands and OXO.
-- Check out this infomercial, supposedly the first one ever, made in 1949. It's from Vita-Mix and features founder William G. “Papa” Barnard and a blender. Make your own absurd video and you could win Vita-Mix's Pitch Me! contest.
-- Marly Billings of Newport Beach, Shelly Mayo of Brentwood and David Walter of Los Angeles won Wahoo's Fish Tacos' recent naming contest with the three following dishes: Power Chopper Salad, Wafu Bowl and Baja-ladas Platter.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: 28-year-old Justin Dervaes (right) secures a smoothie being blended as his sister Jordanne pedals in the backyard of the family's urban homestead in Pasadena. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times.

Mooi restaurant to open in Echo Park's Jensen Rec Center

A raw, vegan and organic restaurant called Mooi is in the construction phase in the lovely corner space of the Jensen Rec Center at Sunset Boulevard and Logan Street. Fortunately for the swiftly changing neighborhood with its increasingly vital bar and restaurant scene, owner Stephen Hauptführ beat out a bid by a corporate contender to sign the lease.

Hauptführ, who was one of the progenitors of the L.A. rave scene in the late 1980s and also a successful party promoter, began a raw, vegan catering company after hosting a series of dinner parties and realizing that his talents were in demand. As the business grew, he also began selling packaged products to restaurants and health food stores around town, including Elf cafe and Naturewell. It wasn't long before he began contemplating opening up a restaurant. He considered a number of spaces in Echo Park before settling on the current location.

The ground floor and main dining room of Mooi (there is also a mezzanine for private parties) will be designed to resemble an old-time ice cream parlor, with a vintage cooler, an old-fashioned dessert bar with vintage stools and antique ice cream parlor chairs. There will be a coffee bar at the dessert bar as well.

Desserts are one of Hauptführ's specialties, and he'll be offering a variety of cakes and pies alongside his well-loved "snickrz" bars and about 11 flavors of raw-vegan ice cream, including chocolate peanut butter swirl, ginger cinnamon cookie dough, pumpkin pie and caramel fudge ripple.

Sampler Platter: Find L.A. food trucks, pet-friendly restaurants and win 52 free dinners

Finally, an easy way to keep up with all of Los Angeles' fancy new food trucks. Plus, a cooking lesson from Christopher Walken.

-- Finding it difficult to keep up with L.A.'s burgeoning nouveau food truck scene? Ever wish someone would collect their locations into a handy website? Now some mad genius has! Find LA Food Trucks
-- Christopher Walken cooks a chicken. YouTube
-- The 50 best things to eat in the world, and where to eat them. L.A.'s one mention: Fosselman's Ice Cream in Alhambra. Guardian
-- Pittsburgh welcomes world leaders with open-faced sandwiches. And pirogi and spaetzle. Los Angeles Times
-- BLD's chef de cuisine Diana Stavaridis is now Tweeting about her nightly plat du jour at @BLDchefD.
-- The Virginia Avenue Project, an after-school program that provides one-on-one mentoring to help kids, is sponsoring a sweepstakes in which the winner receives 52 free meals at a variety of L.A. restaurants: Fig, La Grande Orange, Mastro's Steakhouse and more.
-- OpenTable releases a list of the top top 10 most pet-friendly restaurants in the U.S. including the Farm of Beverly Hills.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: DeAnna Pappas of "The Bachelorette" and then-fiance Jesse Csincsak enjoy a meal with their pet. Credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

Small Bites: Eva restaurant opens next week; Dominick's and Lil Dom's to celebrate Feast of San Gennaro; Syrup Desserts is open downtown

 

Eva's official debut: Eva restaurant in the former Hatfield's space on Beverly Boulevard officially opens  Tuesday, with chef-owner Mark Gold's market-driven menu and a featured tasting menu each night. Sunday-night dinner parties offer family-style dinners for $35 per person; there's no menu -- instead, Gold cooks "what he feels like cooking" and serves it up on platters for the table. 7458 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 634-0700.

Feast of San Gennaro: You may be gearing up for Labor Day weekend, but Dominick's in West Hollywood and it sister restaurant, Lil Dom's in Los Feliz, are getting ready to celebrate the Feast of San Gennaro. Both restaurants will offer a special menu, featuring chef Brandon Boudet's take on Italian American street fare, such as bracioli (stuffed, roasted pork), stiglioli (grilled steak with smoked mozzarella), sausage and peppers sandwiches, fried clams, arancini and gelato. Sept. 15 to 18, at dinner service only. Dominick's, 8715 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 652-2335, www.dominicksrestaurant.com. Lil Dom's, 2128 Hillhurst Ave., L.A., (323) 661-0055, www.littledoms.com. 

Sticky sweet: Syrup Desserts has opened downtown in the Hayward Hotel at Spring and 6th streets, serving crepes, waffles, ice cream, frozen yogurt and coffees and teas. Today's special, according to its Twitter feed: "BLACKBERRY JASMINE ice cream from Scoops! Mention this tweet and get a LARGE two scoop ice cream for $2.00 with a choice of fruit topping." 611 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, (213) 488-5136.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Feast of San Gennaro celebration in New York's Little Italy. Credit: Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times.

 

 

 

Sampler Platter: stinky tofu, vegan desserts, congee & tensions in Mid-City West

Congee, vegan desserts, surreal McDonald's commercials and gay ice cream lead today's food news roundup.

-- Rancid soy bliss at Mama's in San Gabriel. Sinosoul
-- Who profits from inflated fears about food allergies? Slate
-- Hector Vazquez earns a YouTube following with his cooking show "Hood Chef." New York Daily News
-- Ben & Jerry’s celebrates gay marriage by renaming “Chubby Hubby” ice cream “Hubby Hubby” for September. You can still get Chubby Hubby at shops and stores around the country, but in Vermont you can get special Hubby Hubby sundaes.
-- Sugar Plum Vegan bakery from Sacramento comes to L.A. Quarrygirl
-- Tensions run high at Mid City West Land Use Committee meeting meeting re: four new restaurants: Allora, Eva, Lan, Dusty's. Blackburn + Sweetzer
-- Guest list for the annual White House Ramadan dinner. Los Angeles Times
-- If McDonald's hired Salvador Dali to oversee its advertising, it might look something like this surreal TV spot. YouTube
-- Store brands usually taste as good as national brands. Consumer Reports
-- Jook a.k.a. congee a.k.a. porridge: the next best thing to a hug from a Chinese mama. Rants and Craves

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Lai Wan-style congee at Silver & Gold Amazing in Monterey Park. Credit: Nancy Pastor / For The Times.

Sampler Platter: Warm ice cream, canned bacon, secret fast-food menus and West Coast vs. East Coast barbecue wars

Cali-style burgers in Philly, secret fast-food menus, a new barbecue joint in Mid-City West and more in today's food news roundup.

--Unilever is working on producing "ice cream" that can be sold at room temperature. Popsop
--The Smokin’ Joint barbecue restaurant opens at 3rd Street and La Cienega Boulevard. Sweetzer + Blackburn
--Food Marathon visits -- and likes -- New York BBQ on La Brea Boulevard.
--Need a bacon fix but too lazy to cook it? Enjoy some Tac Bac - Tactical Canned Bacon. Think Geek
--How to order off the secret menus from In-N-Out Burger, Fatburger, Jamba Juice, Kogi BBQ and Starbucks. Squid Ink
--Gizmodo says Chipotle's new iPhone app, which allows you to build your meal, add special instructions, send your order to any Chipotle outlet and pay for it, "sets the standard for deliciously unhealthy fast food convenience."
--The New York Times hops on the Mexican hot dog bandwagon.
--Food She Thought reviews Ortolan's Bourdeaux dinner, held Aug. 26.
--Pat Saperstein of Eating LA reviews Allston Yacht Club. Los Feliz Ledger
--P.Y.T., the hot new burger joint in Philadelphia, has people raving about their "California-style burgers" -- even Roots drummer Questlove. Burgatory
--The winner of Ben & Jerry's "Do the World a Flavor Contest" is Toni Gunnison of Mount Horeb, Wis., who invented a caramel ice cream with almonds and a caramel swirl.

--Elina Shatkin

Photo: Pecan-crusted spareribs with Kentucky bourbon barbecue sauce. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Sampler Platter: Fried chicken, type-A sandwiches and summer salads

Thank goodness it's Friday's food news roundup...

• Guests taking the 10-finger discount at restaurants. Squid Ink
• The secret to your inner self is located in a sandwich. Chicago Tribune 
• "If the human tongue has a secret password, then [the McGriddle] is the code. How the preference for bacon wrapped in sweet pancakes is an unfortunate side effect of human evolution." We're doomed. Science Blogs 
• KyoChon's fried chicken is coming to the Glendale Galleria. Tropico Station 
• 101 summer salads. (To eat after your McGriddle.) New York Times 
• Cocaine-laced Skittles. News4Jax
• Comedian Michael Ian Black shills for Klondike with a series of amusing videos.
• Invent your own potato chip in Kettle's Create-a-Chip Challenge.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Fried chicken wings with cabbage salad and pickled radish. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Small Bites: sorbet, milkshakes and ice cream sliders

Because it's Friday, because July is National Ice Cream month, because it’s hot and not about to get any cooler: a trio of ice cream-themed deals for your cooling pleasure.

Streetside sorbet: POP Champagne & Dessert Bar in Pasadena recently began scooping chef Emily Earhart's house-made sorbets and ice creams on the sidewalk in front of the venue. Swing by daily from 4 to 7 p.m. for flavors such as Prosecco, Brachetto and Plum Ancellotta. Three scoops for $7. POP Champagne & Dessert Bar, 33 E. Union St. Pasadena. (626) 795-1295, www.popchampagnebar.com.

$3 milkshakes: Too hot on terra firma? Head to the underground food court at the corner of 5th and Flower streets in downtown L.A. for a towering milkshake in flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, Oreo, chocolate peanut butter and Peet's coffee. Rowdy Red Wine and Burger Bar, 505 S. Flower St., L.A. (213) 627-5511.

Ice cream sliders: As part of Reservoir’s summer menu, chef Gloria Felix is offering a pair of house-made ice cream sliders on sweet Hawaiian buns alongside crispy puff pastry fries and sides of "ketchup" and "mayo" made from white chocolate and strawberry puree. ($8) Reservoir, 1700 Silver Lake Blvd., L.A. (323) 662-8655, www.silverlakereservoir.com.

[Update: An earlier version of this post stated that the ice cream sliders at Reservoir came as a trio.]

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Carrot cake ice cream in the Los Angeles Times test kitchen. Credit: Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times

Mobile vendors recruited in service of the new film "(500) Days of Summer," mad tweeting to ensue

The 21st of June (this Sunday) is the first day of summer, which proved a handy promotional tie-in for the upcoming Fox Searchlight film "(500) Days of Summer," starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. To celebrate this summer synchronicity, Fox Searchlight has recruited a slew of mobile vendors (yes, mobile vendors are HOT these days) to hand out free treats to folks who know to ask for them and where to find them. You'll also get some sort of promotional item for the film.

Mobile vendors include: Sprinkles Cupcakes, Coolhaus Ice Cream, Kogi, Juice It Up, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Pink's Hot Dogs, Fiji Water and Red Bull. To search out your free treat, just hop on Twitter and follow @foxsearchlight. Or if you're not a fan of tweet mania, log on to www.500DaysofSummer.com. The fun (it'll be kind of like a tweet-treat treasure hunt -- do you think you can race and get a treat from every truck? Wow, the idea just occurred to me, but I totally have better things to do on the first day of summer) begins at 12 p.m. and lasts until the treats and tweets are gone.

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  Credit: Chuck Zlotnick / Fox Searchlight Pictures