Longtime Southland chef Amy Pressman dies at 53

Amy Pressman, a longtime Southern California chef who was due to open Short Order hamburger restaurant and Short Cake bakery with Nancy Silverton this fall at the Farmers Market in the Fairfax district, has died of cancer, according to a statement from her family Friday. She was 53.

Pressman was the founder of Pasadena's Old Town Bakery and had a hand in several other well-known restaurant projects around Southern California, including Parkway Grill.

"This past Wednesday, Amy came to my home to barbecue burgers and make final adjustments in preparation of the upcoming opening of Short Order," Silverton said in a statement. "I knew she was hurting, but her will and determination to complete this project she was so passionate about won out that day over her pain.

"When I heard today that she had passed away, I was heartbroken. But, I know her beautiful spirit will be alive and well at Short Order and Short Cake and in my heart forever."

Among Pressman's survivors are two sons, Joshua Pressman and Sean Weiss; her mother, Muriel Nellis; her longtime partner Rob Beckham; and a brother, Adam Pressman. [UPDATED: An earlier version of this story did not include Beckham.] Funeral arrangements are pending.

Instead of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to organizations that fund research into esophageal cancer or to Union Station Homeless Services in Pasadena.

Friends are remembering Pressman at a Facebook page.

"Amy was the one of the singularly most passionate people I have ever met," said Bill Chait, a partner in the new restaurants, who said they would open as scheduled sometime in October. "She was more than my partner. She was my sister. She will be with me the rest of my life and there is no advocate I would rather have by my side. For me, there will never be a moment where I eat a piece of cake, or now, a burger, without thinking fondly of my dearest friend."

 -- Russ Parsons

Photo: Amy Pressman

 

The Jess Jackson formula: Premium wines without a premium address

 
Here's a sneak peek at what's coming in this week's Food section: An appreciation of Jess Jackson, who founded Kendall-Jackson Winery in 1982 and died last week at the age of 81, leaving an almost incalculable legacy on the California wine industry.

Wine and spirits writer Patrick Comiskey says Jackson made his mark by establishing a "fail-safe formula for his wines: premium wines without a premium address, vintage wines that betrayed no vintage variation, a brand as consistent as Lipton's tea. He did this by drawing from vineyards all over California to gather what amounted a "palette" of California flavors with which to craft his blends — marrying the citrus notes of Monterey fruit, say, with the more tropical notes of Santa Maria, resulting in a more complex, satisfying wine. Kendall-Jackson's Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay became a kind of masterpiece of quality-for-price, a fruit-forward wine with soft, honeyed flavors and a pronounced hint of sweetness, as luminous as California sunshine. Not everyone cared for this simple, overtly confectionary style, but it became a huge success, setting the style for American Chardonnay for decades and converting millions of Americans into wine drinkers.

Read the rest of Comiskey's appreciation here:

ALSO:

--Obituary: Jess Jackson dies at 81

--$15 wine: The new normal

--113 wine picks

Photo: Jess Jackson; credit: Associated Press

Cassell's: Memories of meat

It seems like Los Angeles still loves Cassell’s. After Lawrence Dietz’s story about his memories of the recently deceased owner, Al Cassell, we received some great e-mails from readers sharing memories of their own.

Jerry wrote: “I patronized Cassell's every lunch for a two-week period while training at the IBM building next to the Ambassador Hotel back in the early '60s. There was always a line out the door of men in suits and ties. The tout that took me there insisted they were the world's BIGGEST burgers, but I found the taste uniquely delicious. I don't think any place has eclipsed those times at Cassell's. Novelty toppings like bleu cheese or other 'gourmet' ingredients are temporary diversions.” 

Gerry added: “What I also remember is the potato salad with horseradish, like no other. At that time I only followed food trends because of a foodie boyfriend at that time, but even so Cassell's had the tasty reputation for a fun and filling place, and also that "the beef was flown in from Colorado" every day. Who knew?”

Sampler Platter: bacon candle, food stamps, cheesecake and sugary cereals

Food stamps and fancy restaurants, bacon candles and racist cookies -- it's a tale of two worlds in today's food news roundup.

--Gwyneth Paltrow's L.A. restaurant picks: Church and State, Gjelina, Shima, Madeo, Cecconi’s, Tavern, Animal, Osteria La Buca, Yong Su San, the Best Fish Taco in Enseneda, La Estrella Taco Truck, Kogi, Varnish. Goop
--Several sites are giving away pairs of tickets to Great Chefs of L.A., a benefit that happens on Nov. 8 for the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California.
--Costco to accept food stamps nationally. L.A. Times
--Living close to food is good for your waistline. Salt Lake Tribune
--Troy Smith, founder of Sonic drive-in chain, dies. Baltimore Sun
--UN delivers food aid by text message to Iraqi refugees in Syria. The Telegraph
--Sugariest cereals for kids get advertised the most. Consumerist
--Offensive Creole Creme cookies removed from Australian stores. 9News
--Chef Rick Gresh of David Burke’s Primehouse in Chicago brings his edible bacon fat candle to NYC. Gothamist
--Cheesecake? C'mon, what are New Yorkers really eating? New York Times
--Moderate amounts of protein, rather than a lot, might be best for muscle. Booster Shots
--Former combat marine turned chef serves up meals for seniors as a way of giving back to community. New York Daily News

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Residents gather outside the Sonic Drive-In after a tornado destroyed parts of Newton, Miss. in 2002. Credit: Rogelio Solis / AP

Sampler Platter: bacon-flavored beer, keeping kosher in Kabul and chewy chicken feet

  Would you pay $63,500 for dinner? One woman just did. This and more in today's food news roundup.

-- Bacon-flavored beer. New York Times
-- Keeping kosher in Kabul: Afghanistan's last Jew. Los Angeles Times
-- Alabama woman wins dinner with Sarah Palin for $63,500 via EBay auction. New York Daily News
-- Chewy chicken feet may quash a China-America trade war. New York Times
-- A man accused of starting a restaurant fire with a flicked cigarette has been ordered to quit smoking by a judge. Maui News
-- Eating LA visits Cafe Flourish, a recently opened vegan restaurant in Miracle Mile.
-- TGI Friday's closes 10 West Coast restaurants. Dallas Morning News
-- José Antonio Ortega Bonet, founder of Sazón Goya Food Company, dies. Miami Herald
-- Ghirardelli Chocolate launches iPhone app. Reuters

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Chicken feet stick up from behind a stall glass panel at a market in Shanghai. Credit: Qilai Shen / EPA

Sampler Platter: Chrissie Hynde protest scrapped, R.I.P. Sheila Lukins, flavors of Little Saigon and the long-gone Chili Bowl chain

Rock star activism, a tour of Westminster's Little Saigon, the death of Sheila Lukins and the story of the Chili Bowl chain lead today's food news roundup.

-- In the U.K., prison food beats hospital food. BBC
-- Lukins, who helped usher in the new American cooking of the 1980s with her Silver Palate food shop and line of books, died Sunday at age 66. New York Times
-- Food Marathon, the Gastronomer, LA & OC Foodie and a few pals run a food marathon: six restaurants spread out over five miles in the SGV.
-- Pretenders rocker Chrissie Hynde, who runs a vegetarian restaurant in her native Akron, Ohio, planned to protest outside a West Hollywood McDonald's today, but the event has been scrapped due to the wildfires. Contact Music
-- New York's storied Café des Artistes to close. New York Times
-- Indiana man claims he invented a microwavable plastic food container, sues two major food packagers. Chicago Tribune
-- Eat Real sustainable food festival draws thousands to Oakland. SF Gate
-- Remembering the long-gone chain of Chili Bowl restaurants, which opened in 1931 and were shaped like (what else?) a chili bowl. Los Angeles Times
-- Eating LA takes chef Robert Danhi's tour of Little Saigon in Westminster.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: The first Chili Bowl was opened by Art Whizin in 1931 on Crenshaw Boulevard. He sold his wife's wedding ring, among other things, to get the business going. (Jim Heimann / July 31)

Sampler Platter: Brain tacos, badly named drinks, 48 hours in Baja

• Let's all go bananas with this Japanese TV spot! Good Food
• Gustavo Arellano of the OC Weekly wades into the simmering feud involving Deep End Dining blogger Eddie Lin, who accuses Grub Street LA of plagiarizing his earlier post on tacos sesos (brain tacos) at Carnitas Michoacan in Reseda.
• Julia Child's editor says the TV chef would not like "Julie & Julia" author. Slashfood
• Here are some badly named drinks and here are some drinks that are really bad for you.
• File under "Duh!" Apparently, food vendors use Twitter as a marketing tool. New York Times
• It isn't Bistro LQ. It isn't Suzpree. What is it? Blackburn + Sweetzer
• The 99 Cent Chef visits Jasmine Deli in Culver City.
• 48 hours in Baja from a foodie's POV. Street Gourmet LA, (no longer teenage) Glutster, Eating LA, Food GPS, Gourmet Pigs, Mattatouille, Squid Ink and others.
• Taco Bell chihuahua dies. LAT

--Elina Shatkin