Farmshop to open artisan market Jan. 29

Farmshop in the Brentwood Country Mart is welcoming a new addition to Jeff Cerciello's restaurant and bakery: a full-scale artisan market.

The market, comparable in size to the restaurant itself, boasts a deli, cheese and charcuterie counters, products such as Jessica Koslow's Sqirl preserves and seasonally inspired prepared foods. Also stocked on the market's shelves are California wines, craft beers and housewares from L.A. favorites including Heath ceramics.

Managing the floor is Emiliano Lee. With years of experience working as a cheese monger and manager (and even a "fresh foods wrangler" who sourced sustainably farmed produce) while working at Liberty Heights Fresh in Salt Lake City, Farmshop's new hire knows his cheese.

Lee, a Bay Area native, is thrilled to launch a market filled with foods crafted in California. The advocate brings farmstead American cheeses to Farmshop's cheese counter from Oregon and Vermont but mainly from California producers such as Bellwether Farms, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, Cowgirl Creamery, Cypress Grove Chevre, Marin French Cheese, Franklin's Cheese, Vella Cheese, Laura Chenel's Chevre, Andante Dairy, Garden Variety Cheese and Bleating Heart.

With the market in place, Cerciello and team are working to add an educational component with dinners, tasting events, cooking demonstrations and book signings on the horizon.

The artisan market at Farmshop will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

225 26th St., Suite 25, Santa Monica, (310) 566-2400, farmshopla.com.

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-- Caitlin Keller

Photo: Farmshop's artisan market. Credit: Spencer Lowell

Bouchon Bakery to open in Beverly Hills on Wednesday

Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery is set to open Wednesday in Beverly Hills under the auspices of pastry chef Roy Shvartzapel, an alumnus of Cyrus restaurant in Healdsburg, Calif., and Bouley Bakery in New York. 

Bouchon Bakery, on the ground floor of the same Canon Drive building that houses Bouchon Bistro, will offer traditional viennoiserie such as croissants (classic, chocolate and fruit-filled); sticky buns; muffins (banana nut or blueberry); tarts (chocolate ganache or lemon); cookies like the TKO (Thomas Keller Oreo); chocolate bouchons; macarons; freshly baked bread; and sandwiches, salads and packaged goods.

Interior designer Adam D. Tihany aided in transforming the bistro's grand entrance lobby into the small and quaint bakery storefront. The lobby's doors open up onto the garden plaza, where a Parisian-like outdoor cafe-style setting offers a relaxed atmosphere to enjoy with a cafe au lait, croissant and book in hand.

Shvartzapel apprenticed under Pierre Hermé veteran Damien Herrgott at Bouley Bakery and then worked for six months at the famed Paris patisserie. Find six classic macaron flavors including chocolate, vanilla, caramel, raspberry, passion fruit/white chocolate and pistachio inside the bakery's glass display casing. Also look for the kouign-amann, the super flaky-caramelized-buttery pastry that's a specialty of Brittany, France (it means "butter cake" in Breton). Shvartzapel describes it as the love child of an oreja (or palmier) and a croissant.

Bouchon Bakery, 235 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 271-9910, bouchonbakery.com.

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-- Caitlin Keller

Photo credit: Stefanie Keenan

Sampler Platter: 15-year-old cheddar, pudding cloth, McCall's meat coming to Los Feliz, Google map for food trucks

Old cheese, new butchers, old school Scotch, nouveau tamales and more in today's food news roundup.

-- Foie gras and chanterelle tamales from John Sedlar of Rivera. Los Angeles Times magazine
-- Upscale butcher McCall's Meat & Fish Co. to open in Los Feliz. Food GPS
-- An appreciation of pudding cloth, whatever that is. British Food in America
-- Hook's unveils 15-year-old cheddar. NPR
-- Florida woman allegedly attacks boyfriend with uncooked steak. The Smoking Gun
-- Eggnog martinis at Lola's in West Hollywood. Banana Wonder
-- Food swaps are catching on. The Globe and Mail
-- New Zealand police reward good drivers with licorice logs. Stuff
-- A Google map that tracks food trucks. Finally! Food Maps
-- Win a Scotch whisky aroma nosing and tasting kit from the Balvenie.
-- Pix from the "Eat: Los Angeles" book party at Traveler's Bookcase. Blackburn + Sweetzer

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Hook's 15-year-old cheddar cheese. Credit: Mark Hoffman / Associated Press

Sampler Platter: GrubHub launches in L.A., Susan Orlean considers the chicken, Superior Grocers opens in South LA, Vegemite renamed as iSnack2.0

A new Japanese restaurant, a new grocery store for South L.A., a new name for Vegemite and more in today's food news roundup.

--Superior Grocers is the first full-scale supermarket to open in the South Central Avenue corridor in at least five years. Los Angeles Times
--Susan Orlean considers the chicken. The New Yorker
--Agura Japanese Dining coming to La Cienega. Blackburn + Sweetzer
--Naming Contest Fail: New Vegemite spread to become the ever so catchy iSnack2.0. News.com.au
--Angry child's "bacon is good for me" rant gets remixed. YouTube
--GrubHub, which lists all the restaurants in your area that deliver food, launches in L.A. Click this link from Thrillist and get a $10 discount if you're a first-time user.
--Californians may soon be paying increased deposits on drink containers because lawmakers have been raiding the state's recycling fund. Los Angeles Times
--Folgers holds a contest (Sep. 30-Nov. 7) where five winners will receive a seven-day, six-night trip for themselves and up to three guests to travel to their hometown. (Restrictions apply.)

--Elina Shatkin

Photos: Top left: Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times. Top right: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times. Bottom right: Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times. Bottom left: Christina House / For The Times.

Domaine LA wine shop tries to break California Chicken Cafe curse

On a steadily gentrifying stretch of Melrose Avenue that's tucked between West Hollywood and Hancock Park, wine store Domaine LA quietly opened its doors just before Labor Day. The crisp, modern space that's highlighted by several striking light fixtures in various shades of purple was launched by Jill Bernheimer as a brick-and-mortar addition to her online business, Domaine547.

Between Mozza, Mozza 2 Go, Street, the impending debut of Hatfield's in the former Red Pearl space, the transformation of Divine Pasta Co. into Cube and next door to that, Mark Peel's new speakeasy-themed venture that's slated to open in mid- to late November, Domaine LA is in good company.

And for simpler fare, there's California Chicken Café, which is in the same strip mall as Domaine LA. Sharing a space with the rotisserie chicken juggernaut has proved difficult for other retailers. Before Domaine LA, that space was a laundromat and then a mini-mart. Both failed. So did Tutto Tutti, a hidden gem of a fro-yo shop that was recently replaced by the optimistically named Wow Bento & Roll. Can any business survive in the shadow of California Chicken Café? That remains to be seen. (It's hard to compete with off-duty police officers and yoked bodybuilders flaunting their tank top-perfect physiques.)  

The Oaks gourmet market and deli opens Friday near Beachwood Canyon [Updated]

Restaurateur Greg Morris is nothing if not prolific. The owner of the Spanish Kitchen, the Belmont and Oakfire Pizza is busily preparing the Olive for a mid to late-November debut in the former Boa space at the Grafton Hotel. He's also overseeing the newest Oakfire location, which is slated to open in late November in the former La Fondue space along Sherman Oaks' restaurant row. But this Friday, with little fanfare, Morris will finally open the Oaks, a gourmet market and eatery near the base of Beachwood Canyon.

Adjacent to Victor Square, the Oaks will be stocked with all manner of fancy foodstuffs but in an environment that Morris hopes will lend itself to becoming a casual neighborhood hangout as well as a dining destination.

"There are not too many places like us," Morris says. "I live nearby and when I came here to grab a sandwich, there would be 15 people here shooting the breeze. We wanted to keep the same energy and spirit."

The Oaks may be too casual for Morris to feel comfortable calling it a full-fledged restaurant, but chef Greg Paul, who was until recently the chef at the Belmont, has prepared a menu that includes a half-pound burger topped with black forest bacon, taleggio and a smoked jalapeno and pineapple compote -- for only $11. Morris, who's a die-hard burger guy, hopes to challenge the stalwarts of L.A.'s gourmet burger scene ounce for ounce. "I'm not going to say that it’s the best burger I've ever had," he says, "but I definitely think it's one of the best burgers in LA."

 The gauntlet -- in the form of a bun -- has been thrown.

Sampler Platter: Magnolia Bakery coming to LA, Top 10 food trucks, vegan cults & hip matzoh

Today's food news roundup features a rolling abattoir (who hasn't dreamed of that?), some amazing cakes and GQ's obviously inadequate list of the "top 10" food trucks in the United States.

-- Thinkbread attempts to cleverly rebrand matzoh for the off-season. Consumerist
-- GQ lists the Top 10 food trucks in America. L.A. has two. Hint: One beings with a K.
-- Slaughterhouse on wheels aids 'locavore' movement. Seattle Times
-- Brief Rundown of LA's first Korean BBQ festival & cookoff. SinoSoul
-- Brainwashing never tasted so delicious: Top 5 vegan cult restaurants. Powell's
-- It's no longer a rumor: Magnolia Bakery is coming to West 3rd St. Blackburn + Sweetzer
-- The winners of the amazing Threadcakes cake/t-shirt contest.

--Elina Shatkin

Photo: Customers decide on what sweets to buy at New York's Magnolia Bakery, which will soon open an outpost in Los Angeles.. Credit: Yanina Manolova / AP

Small Bites: Kitchen Pantry opens at the Bazaar, Amici Trattoria opens in Glendale, Gordon Ramsay class

Kitchen Pantry: The newest addition to the Bazaar by José Andrés is the Kitchen Pantry, a collection of cooking products and specialty foods available for sale, including  Ventresca tuna belly fillets, Mancho-Oro saffron, Grand Reserva sherry vinegar, Nuñez de Prado olive oil, preserved El Navarrico piquillo peppers, blanched Marcona almonds and, of course, Andres' cookbook "Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America." The Bazaar by José Andrés, SLS Hotel, 465 S. LaCienega Blvd., Beverly Hills. (310) 246-5555, www.thebazaar.com.

New Amici: Brentwood Italian restaurant Amici Trattoria has opened another outpost in Glendale that's noticeably larger (seating for 187) with a patio garden, a full bar and a few new menu items. The Americana at Brand, 889 Americana Way, Glendale. (818) 502-1220, www.amicila.com.

Cooking like Ramsay: On Saturday, executive chef Andy Cook and his team at Gordon Ramsay at The London West Hollywood will host a two-hour master class. For $150, they'll teach guests how to create several of Ramsay's signature dishes. If you miss it, there are seven more of these master classes scheduled through the end of the year. 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood. (310) 358-7788, www.thelondonwesthollywood.com/gordon_ramsay/.

Eating Out: DineLA Restaurant Week will return for its first-ever autumn event Oct. 4 to 9 and Oct. 11 to 16. Here are just a few participating restaurants: Cache, On Sunset, the Lobster, the Bistro Garden at Coldwater, Bella Cucina, Geisha House, Ketchup.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: The Bazaar by José Andrés in the SLS Hotel. Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times

Making whoopie... pies that is, at SusieCakes

Rapidly expanding bakery SusieCakes, well known for its red velvet cupcakes -- they won first place in the traditional category at this year's Los Angeles Cupcake Challenge -- recently added another retro dessert to its lineup of snickerdoodles and frosted animal cookies: whoopie pies. Already a trend in New York, whoopie pies remain a rare and unpredictable sight in Southern California.

SusieCakes makes theirs with an inch-thick layer of vanilla butter cream socked between two soft, doughy rounds of chocolate cake. A frosting-lover's dream, they're almost unbearably rich. Introduced May 15, they come in three diameters: 3½ inches ($5), 6 inches ($50) and 9 inches ($85). If you can consume even the smallest of these whoopie pies on your own, you've got a serious sugar addiction.

You can find them at any of SusieCakes' three locations -- Brentwood, Newport Beach and Calabasas -- and starting in late July, they'll be at SusieCakes' newest outpost: 3500 N. Sepulveda Blvd. No. 150, Manhattan Beach. (310) 303-3780. Just in time for the chain's original Brentwood location to celebrate its third anniversary on July 17.

--Elina Shatkin

Photo: Courtesy of SusieCakes

Sampler Platter: Taco tables, community gardens and chicken shortages

Is Dijon mustard elitist? We ponder this among other issues in today's Sampler Platter.

• LAist crawls the taco tables and trucks of Highland Park.
• Henry's Farmers Market, a swank health-food and grocery store, opened Wednesday in Woodland Hills. Daily News
• Sean Hannity attacks President Obama for ordering Dijon mustard on his burger. Gawker
• Supporters of the Crenshaw Community Garden hope a partnership between the school and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office will let the garden bloom once again. LA Beez
• Franchises not cooperating, long waits and chicken shortages; the day after the Oprah/KFC chickengate, Consumerist analyzes What Went Wrong. And El Pollo Loco now says (via YouTube and Twitter) that it'll accept KFC-Oprah coupons on Mother's Day.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: The popular Tacos La Estrella truck in Highland Park

Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times