Sir Winston's at the Queen Mary closing in December for menu, decor changes

The Queen Mary’s signature upscale restaurant, Sir Winston’s, is about to go under the knife. Planned updates to the restaurant named for Winston Churchill follow a recent change in management for the popular tourist attraction.

We can expect the Old World classics on the menu, such as beef Wellington and rack of lamb, to receive “a more contemporary interpretation” as well as an emphasis on local, seasonal produce, according to a statement by Delaware North Cos. Parks & Resorts, which took over management of the Queen Mary in late September.

Menu and restaurant-decor changes are scheduled to be implemented by Dec. 21. As such, Sir Winston’s will close on Sunday, Dec. 6 and reopen on Monday, Dec. 21. Read more here:

Photo: At Sir Winston’s, the menu might change, but the views won’t. Credit: Delaware North Cos. Parks & Resorts

Sampler Platter: Ludo pops up in Culver City, hummus wars, albino carrots, chili cornbread sandwich

The Hummus War drags on while Amelie Mauresmo sips a 1982 Lafite Rothschild and albino carrots plot a return to store shelves.

--Los Angeles magazine, which features real L.A. waitresses in November's fashion spread, says chef Ludovic Lefebvre will do a pop-up restaurant in Culver City come December.
--Regional cuisine war simmers as Lebanon retakes from Israel the coveted world record for largest plate of hummus. Yahoo! News
--All McDonald's in Iceland to close after krona collapse. Bloomberg
--Chili cornbread sandwich gains national fame. Marshall News Messenger
--After centuries away, albino carrots return to store shelves. Daily Mail
--Slate explores the world of hardcore couponing.
--The culinary adventures of chef Celestino Drago. LAist
--French tennis star Amélie Mauresmo shares her passion for collecting wine. Wine Spectator
--"Corndog on a PLane," art that delivers what it promises. Finally. Etsy
--Half of Britons injured by their biscuits (i.e. cookies) on coffee break. Telegraph

--Elina Shatkin

--Photo: Lebanese chefs joyfully react after breaking a Guinness World Record by making a bowl of hummus weighing more than 2,056 kilograms. Credit: Hussein Malla / AP

Sampler Platter: The beef whisperer, L.A.'s best tearooms, milky science and weird bacon products

What do goat milk, Gwyneth Paltrow and bizarre bacon products have in common? They all make an appearance in today's roundup of totally inessential food news.

--Meet the beef whisperer. He can tell a cow's age, gender and breed from one bite of meat. The Independent
--Iconic Mel's Drive-In closes today in Seal Beach. OC Register
--Morning Edition anchor Chery Glaser's five favorite L.A. tearooms. KCRW
--What carbonation really tastes like: sour. Wired
--Twelve weird bacon products you won't believe. Delish
--Poring over facts about milk: cow's, goat's, soy, almond, rice and hemp. Los Angeles Times
--Please enjoy this sausage necklace. Pahl-Fleischer
--Litigious Monster Energy threatens actual movie monster. Consumerist
--Gwyneth Paltrow shows you how to make a light Spanish dinner of tortilla espanola, poached shrimp and bread with tomato sauce. Goop
--Sam Sifton on Daniel Boulud's DBGB Kitchen & Bar. (New York Times) In the meantime, Daniel Boulud Brasserie at the Wynn in Las Vegas will shutter. (Eating Las Vegas)
--OpenTable announces its 2009 Fit for Foodies winners. No surprises in terms of L.A. restaurants: The Bazaar, Osteria Mozza, Palate, Street.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Views of the Huntington Botanical Gardens are part of the charm of the very English tearoom. Credit: Boris Yaro / Los Angeles Times.

Sona management company exits; David Myers plans to open new restaurant [Updated]

Is Sona restaurant closing? A Sona representative said the West Hollywood restaurant's "management company has exited the fine dining business resulting in a public sale of their assets," scheduled for Wednesday. All inventory, furniture, fixtures, equipment and any other assets of Sona LLC will be sold, according to a notice of public sale.  

Sona chef-partner David Myers has formed a new management company, David Myers Group LLC. The new company includes "a team of professionals currently involved with his restaurants." David Myers Group plans to announce the opening of a new restaurant this fall.

Meanwhile, Sona is still open and is operating as usual.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: David Myers at Sona. Credit: Christine House / For The Times

[Updated 6:08 p.m.: An earlier version of this post omitted that Sona is still open.]

Sampler Platter: Babycakes cupcake recipe revealed, Pink's Hot Dogs opens in Las Vegas, sushi robots on the rise

You want the recipe for Babycakes' much-loved vegan chocolate cupcakes? You got it! This and more in today's food news roundup.

--Eight great street-food vendors in Los Angeles. Gourmet
--Will investors show an appetite for local food? An exploration of the venture capitalism behind the slow food movement featuring the Let's Be Frank hot dog truck. Los Angeles Times
--I, for one, salute our sushi robot overlords. YouTube
--Playboy bunnies, B-grade reality starlets and former Spice Girls show up for grand opening of Pink's Hot Dogs in Las Vegas. Monsters and Critics
--A postmortem on the failure of the iconic Tavern on the Green. New York Times
--Gwyneth Paltrow sits down with Erin McKenna, the founder of Babycakes NYC (slated to open its first LA location... eventually) and gets her recipes for chocolate cupcakes and vanilla frosting, double chocolate chip cookies and lemon poppy tea cake. Goop
--Fort Smith, Arkansas considers a 3% table tax. Restaurateurs unhappy. KFSM

--Elina Shatkin

Photo: Sue Moore's Let's Be Frank food trailer serves hot dogs made from grass-fed cows and humanely raised pigs. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

Small Bites: Chichen Itza on 6th Street to close; Philippe plans October opening [U

Farewell to Chichen Itza: Yucatecan restaurant Chichen Itza on 6th Street in Westlake has announced that it is closing. In a send-off celebration, the restaurant will be offering free drinks and appetizers tonight from 6 to 8. For fans of the slow-roasted, achiote-and-Seville-orange-marinated cochinita pibil (and arguably the best habanero salsa in L.A.), all is not lost: The restaurant's original location at the Mercado la Paloma will remain open. Chef-owner Gilberto Cetina is extending hours there and now will be serving dinner. The new hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Chichen Itza in Westlake: 2501 W. 6th St., Los Angeles, (213) 380-0051. Chichen Itza in the Mercado La Paloma: 3655 S. Grand Ave. No. C6, Los Angeles, (213) 741-1075. www.chichenitzarestaurant.com.

Philippe sets opening date: Philippe Chow plans to open his latest outpost of Philippe -- a chain of upscale Chinese restaurants -- on Oct. 1 in the former Dolce space on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. Chow recently was hit with a trademark lawsuit by his former employer, Michael Chow (a.k.a. Mr. Chow and no relation). The menu at the 175-seat restaurant will feature dishes such as chicken satay, Peking duck and spicy prawns.  8284 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 951-1100, www.philippechow.com.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo of Chichen Itza's cochinita pibil by Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

'Top Chef' shut down: Ilan Hall's new restaurant temporarily closes due to an equipment violation

Ilan Hall and his reps notified us today that the Gorbals will have to shut down temporarily due to an equipment violation. This is particularly unfortunate since the highly anticipated restaurant from the Season 2 winner of "Top Chef" just opened Friday and was already generating quite a buzz. (The Times also ran a story about it in Monday's Calendar section.)

A rep for Hall says that the restaurant will start calling people already holding reservations to inform them of the news. A timeline for the reopening of the Gorbals is not yet known, but check back here for regular status updates.

Below is a statement from Hall's camp:

Due to an equipment violation per the L.A. County Department of Public Health The Gorbals will unfortunately, have to temporarily close.  The installation and maintenance of the boiler system has been an ongoing issue with our building managment and had previously delayed our initial opening date.  We are now submitting plans to reinstall and manage the system ourselves in an effort to effectively (and finally) correct the violation.  Our sincere apologies to our guests for any inconvenience this may cause.  We appreciate all of the support and enthusiasm The Gorbals has received and look forward to reopening as soon as the LA County Public Health Department verifies the boiler problem has been thoroughly addressed and cured.

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: Stefano Paltera / For The Times

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)

All'Angelo on Melrose has closed

All'Angelo, the Italian restaurant on Melrose Avenue owned by Stefano Ongaro, has closed its doors. Ongaro opened the restaurant in January 2007 but today announced by e-mail that "All'Angelo is no longer in business."

"Like many other restaurants here in this city and across the country we have become a victim of this unpredictable economy, and despite all of our efforts we are no longer able to keep our doors open," Ongaro wrote.

Earlier this year Ongaro had transformed All'Angelo, well-received by critics, from a higher-end ristorante into a lower-priced trattoria, cut staff, started delivery service and assumed many of the tasks of running the restaurant himself. But apparently it wasn't enough to buoy business.

"I was looking at the situation last week," Ongaro said when reached by phone. "I needed an injection of capital, but it was impossible in this economy. There's nothing really we can do. There just wasn't enough business to sustain the day-to-day operation. That's the bottom line." 

Ongaro said that he would like to thank his customers. From his e-mail: "All' Angelo was my dream, and I took great joy in sharing this dream and the tastes of my native Venice with all of you. Hopefully our paths will cross again soon, in better times."

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Stefano Ongaro at All'Angelo. Credit: Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times

Small Bites: Foxtail closes, Capitol City Sports Grill opening soon, Pig 'n Whistle coming downtown

Eater L.A. reports that SBE's much-hyped Foxtail has closed for what reps dub a "fabulous remodel" and will "reopen soon under a new name." Foxtail debuted in March of last year (so it didn't take long for it to lose its sizzle). At first it was a French bistro downstairs with "Top Chef" contestant Antonia Lofaso at the stove, and an elite upstairs lounge with a back entrance. The restaurant never really caught on, so management shut the kitchen down. Interestingly, and perhaps against the odds, the club (which, as I wrote last year, "was a joint venture between Sam Nazarian and Brent Bolthouse, along with four of their most powerful friends: director Brett Ratner, NBC Entertainment co-Chairman Ben Silverman, producer Scott Stuber and super agent Patrick Whitesell") never did become what its founders envisioned: an intimate den where Hollywood's elite power players could unwind. Maybe its next incarnation will be.

After almost a monthlong delay, Capitol City Sports Grill expects to officially open its doors on or around Labor Day weekend. Walk-throughs are being offered and the menu of upscale bar food, written by chef Shad Davis (Belmont, Stone Fire Pizza) is close to being released. The space, which was formerly Goa, features huge sliding glass doors that will create an indoor-outdoor effect. It also boasts an astounding 40 plasma TV screens, all of which are over 60 inches. The largest HD screen is in the main bar -- it's 14 by 8 feet. Apparently this won't add up to sonic chaos because the place features five "studio zones" where you will hear only your game. If that's not enough, you can request wireless speakers to use at your table. Completing the ultimate sports fanatic scene: 30 beers on tap and an additional 30 to 40 in bottles. Touchdown! Capitol City Sports Grill, 1615 N. Cahuenga Blvd., L.A. 

Finally, Blogdowntown reports that Pig 'n Whistle owner Chris Breed is close to finalizing a deal to return the Pig 'n Whistle to the location it occupied between 1926 and 1952 in downtown's Fine Arts building on 7th Street. "Inside, Breed plans to focus restoration efforts on the space's historic ceiling. He envisions an 'old world feel' with dark wood and historically-authentic tiles, similar to the Hollywood decor," the post says. But it also says the realization of this plan hinges on the acquisition of a conditional-use permit from the Zoning Administration. And that, most restaurateurs know, can certainly push your plans back a bit more than you'd like.

-- Jessica Gelt

Artist rendering: Capitol City Grill