James Beard book award nominees announced; chefs shortlisted

The James Beard Foundation announced its 2012 book award nominations in 11 categories. The culinary organization's numerous awards cover a lot of ground, including "outstanding restaurant design" and "best restaurant graphics." Los Angeles design firm Air Conditioned's Clive Piercy was nominated for the latter for his work at Farmshop in Santa Monica. Journalism award nominees include L.A. writers and editors Lesley Bargar Suter of Los Angeles magazine and Jonathan Gold, now at the Los Angeles Times, for his restaurant reviews at L.A. Weekly.  

On the short list for best chef-Pacific are Michael Chiarello, Bottega, Yountville, Calif.; Chris Cosentino, Incanto, San Francisco; Christopher Kostow, the Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, Calif.; Matt Molina, Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles; and Daniel Patterson, Coi, San Francisco. Dahlia Nervaez of Osteria Mozza in L.A. is shortlisted for outstanding pastry chef. Meanwhile, Nancy Silverton of Mozza is up for outstanding chef. Winners are to be announced in May. 

And here's the full list of book nominees: 

American cooking: "A New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen" by Hugh Acheson (Clarkson Potter); "American Flavor" by Andrew Carmellini and Gwen Hyman (Ecco); "Masala Farm: Stories and Recipes from an Uncommon Life in the Country" by Suvir Saran with Raquel Pelzel and Charlie Burd (Chronicle Books).

Baking and dessert: "Baking Style: Art, Craft, Recipes" by Lisa Yockelson (John Wiley & Sons); "Cooking with Chocolate: Essential Recipes and Techniques" edited by Frédéric Bau (Flammarion); "Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home" by Jeni Britton Bauer (Artisan).

Beverage: "An Ideal Wine: One Generation's Pursuit of Perfection -- and Profit -- in California" by David Darlington (Harper); "Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, & Formulas" by Brad Thomas Parsons (Ten Speed Press); "The Oxford Companion to Beer" edited by Garrett Oliver (Oxford University Press).

More slurping on Sawtelle: Miyata Menji to open Wednesday

Sawtelle is booming with another round of new restaurants, and the next anticipated opening is Japanese import Miyata Menji — the tsukemen joint that has taken over what was the former gr/eats space. A bold move with Tsujita L.A., which serves ramen and tsukemen at lunch, directly across the street?  

Japanese comedian Tetsuji Miyata brings his Miyata Menji concept to L.A. from Osaka, where noodles dubbed TG2-D and KK100 are served in ramen and tsukemen (in the latter dish, noodles are served separate from the broth, into which they're dipped). On the menu are just two items: tonkotsu ramen with pork broth, teriyaki beef, shallots and fried tomatoes, and tsukemenwith steamed noodles, anchovy cabbage, grated cheese (optional), minced pork, vegetable potage, tomato and croutons. Um, wow. 

"Very simple," says Miyata Menji general manager Aki Kanda. "Like the In-N-Out" of ramen. 

The menu comes with instructions for eating tsukemen: "1. Enjoy flavor of wheat from noodle! 2. Try few noodle by itself then feel flavor, texture. 3. Dip noodle into broth & noodle little by little. 4. Enjoy all ingredients with noodle little by little. 5. When you finished half of noodle, grind pepper to noodle and enjoy!"

On Wednesday, Kanda says Miyata, who performed in the theater group Shampoo Hat under the umbrella of entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo, will appear at the grand opening.  

Miyata Menji, 2050 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 312-3929, www.miyatamenji.com. 

(P.S. In case you're keeping track of new Sawtelle restaurants, Korean soon tofu spot Seoul House of Tofu opened two weeks ago, serving soon tofu — spicy tofu stew — and bulgogi combos. 2101 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 444-9988.) 

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Photo credit: miyatamenji.com

Lunch with David Gelb, director of 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi'

"I'm not an expert at making sushi," says David Gelb, with a pair of chopsticks poised above a plate of tuna sashimi at Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa downtown, "but I'm an expert at eating sushi." 

After filming 150 hours of footage at Sukiyabashi Jiro, the famed Michelin three-star sushi bar in Tokyo's Ginza district, the 28-year-old director of the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" knows a thing or two about nigiri and maki. "I like that the seaweed here is crispy," he says of a toro hand roll, into which he deftly pours a drop or two of soy sauce. 

Gelb's film is set to premiere in Los Angeles on Friday, and he has just returned from its debut in New York. The movie, which showed at last year's Tribeca Film Festival and was bought by Magnolia Pictures, has captured the attention of more than just food lovers, as Gelb has been talking up sushi-porn scenes and the importance of rice preparation on the media circuit. Naturally, the fooderati are drooling.

"I think I was lucky," says Gelb, dressed in a black T-shirt and bright blue Adidas sneakers. "Part of it is that there hasn't been a film about this level of sushi." Although reviews have been mixed, he says the goal was to film something "restrained and elegant" instead of relying on the "reality show kind of camera" usually aimed at food and cooking subjects. "I wanted to show sushi as an art form."

Girl Scout cookie season is back! And there's an app!

I've already finished a box of Tagalongs, with a box of Thin Mints underway. They got me on my way off the slopes at Big Bear mountain Sunday. Yes, Sunday...

It's Girl Scout cookie season and favorites such as Samoas, Do-si-dos, Shout Outs and Trefoils are now literally a touch away with the Official Girl Scout Cookie Finder iPhone app.

The free app helps users find cookies by way of the iPhone's GPS to read your location and show cookie sales nearby, or by ZIP Code to find them in areas other than your current location.

The app also features data such as the start and end of local cookie seasons and specific locations of sales to satisfy those cravings before the season ends March 25.

Whether you buy for yourself or those in your office, proceeds from the seasonal sugar addictions support Girl Scouts in your community. www.girlscoutcookies.org.

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James Beard Foundation announces 2012 semifinalists

On March 19, the James Beard Foundation will announce the five final nominees for each of the 20 restaurant and chef award categories at the Palazzo in Las Vegas. Finalists are narrowed down by a panel of more than 550 judges from a group of semifinalists chosen from over 57,000 entries received this year.

Southern California semifinalists for this year's awards include M.B. Post and Picca, nominated for best new restaurant; Rivera, nominated for outstanding bar program; Suzanne Goin of Lucques and Nancy Silverton of Mozza, nominated for outstanding chef; and Dahlia Narvaez of Osteria Mozza, nominated for outstanding pastry chef.

Also in the running for Beard restaurant and chef awards are Patina, nominated for outstanding restaurant; Piero Selvaggio of Valentino Restaurant Group and Caroline Styne of Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern, both nominated for outstanding restaurateur; Providence, nominated for outstanding service; and Patina, Hatfield's and Cut at Beverly Wilshire, all in the running for outstanding wine program.

Best chef nominations for the Pacific region include Josef Centeno of the Lazy Ox Canteen and Baco Mercat, Michael Cimarusti of Providence, David Feau of the Royce at the Langham Huntington, David LeFevre of M.B. Post, Matt Molina of Osteria Mozza, John Rivera Sedlar of Rivera, Paul Shoemaker of Savory and Hiroyuki Urasawa of Urasawa in Beverly Hills.

Nominees for this year's rising star chef of the year award include Angelenos Chad Colby of Mozza2Go, Joshua Drew of Farmshop, Casey Lane of the Tasting Kitchen and Micah Wexler of Mezze.

Finalists will be honored at the James Beard Foundation awards ceremony and gala reception on May 7 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

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Foundation grants first fellowships in organic plant breeding in U.S.

Clif Bar Family Foundation has recently awarded the first fellowships in organic plant breeding in the United States.

The fellowships are funded through the foundation's initiative Seed Matters, which advocates the development and protection of organic seed systems. Those awarded fellowships will work to breed seeds that thrive in environments with greater variability and different ecological-agronomic conditions so farmers don't have to retreat to pesticides and other non-organic solutions for farming.

Professors and leaders in organic seed research overseeing the program include Stephen Jones at Washington State University, a plant breeder and the director of the Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center; Kevin Murphy at Washington State University, assistant professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences as well as a barley and alternative crops breeder; and William Tracy at University of Wisconsin-Madison, professor of agronomy and interim dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

So far $375,000 in grants have been issued to fund three PhD fellowship students for five years in organic plant breeding at two land grant universities — Washington State University and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Philippe's raising the price of its 9-cent coffee

Looks like Philippe's is finally going to raise the price of its cup of joe. Rick Rojas writes:

Philippe's is best known for its legendary French dip sandwiches. But for regulars, nothing speaks to the eatery's historic L.A. feel than the 9-cent coffee on the menu. And the 1 extra cent of tax.

Since 1977, the legion of longtime customers at the restaurant on North Alameda Street north of downtown Los Angeles had grown accustomed to putting a dime on the counter and getting a hot cup of coffee in return.

But on Wednesday, management posted a surprising sign on the door: Starting Feb. 2, the price of an 8-ounce brew is going up 400% — to 45 cents. Add 5 cents in tax and the total price is 50 cents.

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David Lynch's coffee obsession

David Lynch is a man of many passions -- painting, drawing, photography, music, even film -- but who knew the modern master of surrealism had another obsession?

Apparently, David Lynch is passionate about his coffee.

"Even bad coffee is better than no coffee at all," writes the filmmaker for the new Huffington Post series "Obsessed."

He also has his own line of signature coffees, including an organic house blend, espresso roast and decaf French roast.

I can only imagine how he envisions a dark roast, but I can't wait to try it.

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Does Paula Deen have diabetes?

Looks like TV chef and butter champion Paula Deen may soon reveal she has Type 2 diabetes. According to Jeannine Stein at L.A. Times Booster Shots blog:

The Internet is buzzing with rumors that TV chef Paula Deen, queen of the deep fryer, could soon reveal to the world that she has Type 2 diabetes.

The Daily reports that Deen, known for fat-laden dishes such as deep-fried, bacon-wrapped macaroni and cheese, is on the cusp of spilling the refried beans about her condition. Last year, the National Enquirer wrote that Deen had the condition, and the Daily is also reporting that the TV star has inked a deal with a pharmaceutical company to endorse a diabetes drug.

Bobby Deen, Paula Deen's youngest son, recently premiered his own show on the Cooking Channel called "Not My Mama's Recipes." Paula is a frequent guest star on the show, where in each episode, Bobby takes one of his mother's calorie-laden dishes and revamps the recipe to make it lighter.

Photo: Popular chef and TV personality Paula Deen may reveal she has Type 2 diabetes. (Henrietta Wildsmith / Associated Press)

Evan Kleiman to close Angeli Caffe after 27 years [UPDATED]

[This post has been updated. See note below.]

Evan Kleiman, the host of KCRW's "Good Food" and the owner of Angeli Caffe, says she will close her 27-year-old Melrose Avenue restaurant next week. 

"I was open for years when I probably should have closed," Kleiman said over the phone just after she'd told her staff about the closure. "It was my personal mission to get my employees past the worst of the recession, and I absorbed a lot of losses personally in order to do that and just can’t do it anymore."

PHOTOS: Evan Kleiman of Angeli Caffe

Some of Kleiman's employees have been working with her since Angeli opened in 1984, when it was 24 seats in a former screen shop, a restaurant inspired by food she'd eaten in the trattorias of Italy and remarkable as well for its modern, angular architecture.

Ruth Reichl wrote in The Times that it was among the restaurants bringing "a whole new character" to the restaurant scene, with its authenticity "filtered through such sophisticated sensibilities." 

At one point Kleiman had four restaurants: Besides Angeli Caffe, there was Trattoria Angeli in West Los Angeles, which opened in 1987 and closed in 1994; Angeli Mare in Marina del Rey, which opened in 1989 and closed in 1995; and the short-lived Angeli in the Rodeo Collection in Beverly Hills, which opened and closed in 1993.

Angeli's last day will be Sunday, Jan. 8, and it will be open every day until then (including New Year's Day and Mondays, when it's usually closed). [UPDATED: Kleiman announced Tuesday that the restaurant will stay open until Jan. 13 to accommodate the demand for last dinners.]

"We really want everybody to come by and say hi and need people to come so that I can pay my last bills," Kleiman said.

Kleiman, who said she is especially devastated on behalf of her staff, had been trying to sell the restaurant as a brand for a couple of years, but nobody came forward. "And you know, it’s a different thing buying the space and buying the brand. It has to be a pretty special person."

Kleiman said she will continue to cater, with more information soon at her website, www.evankleiman.com. "I’m gonna explore food products and try going down that road. It’s such a massive change that I don’t really know what it’s going to feel like. I'll also be speaking, teaching, helping, all the other things that will be open to me in terms of having the time that I normally wouldn’t have." 

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Photos: Evan Kleiman with Angeli chef Kathy Ternay, top, and Angeli's storefront on Melrose Avenue. Credit: Bret Harman