Just in case you needed another reason to love this city: L.A. chefs and restaurants made a strong showing in every major category of the James Beard Foundation’s list of semifinalists for the 2012 James Beard Awards, which was revealed yesterday. Apparently the judges agreed with two of our picks for best new restaurants with Ricardo Zarate’s Picca and David LeFevre’s M.B. Post. (LeFevre was also nominated for best chef in the Pacific region.) The Mozza empire dominated the list, with Nancy Silverton (Pizzeria Mozza) nominated for outstanding chef, Dahlia Narveaez (Osteria Mozza) nominated for outstanding pastry chef, Chad Colby for rising star chef of the year (Mozza2Go), and Matt Molina (Osteria Mozza) for best chef, Pacific region. Lucques snagged nominations for outstanding chef (Suzanne Goin) and outstanding restaurateur (Caroline Styne, who also oversees A.O.C. and Tavern). Patina was nominated for both outstanding restaurant and outstanding wine program. (See the ...

LudoBites and Test Kitchen alumnus Dan Moody is popping up next week in Culver City at Batch 8631 Restaurant. Moody, who ran his own popup (“Relate”) in San Diego and Scottsdale last year, is no stranger to the L.A. scene: a “Dessert Hour” event at Scoops Westside in July featured his signature banana bread pudding a lá bourbon pecan pie and he participated in the L.A. Street Food Fest later that month. Expect to see the bread pudding-- along with creative offerings like “ceviche and a cold beer” (spicy ceviche with beer carbonated grapes), collard green vegan tacos, and beef tartare with mustard ice cream—at Moody’s newest pop-up venture, which will run from Tuesday, February 28, to Saturday, March 3. The chef says that he chose the “simple yet elegant” Batch (which is owned and operated by James Couey and Mathew Gries of Church and State) as the setting because ...

If you've always wanted to meet the crew making your favorite beer, then we highly recommend the new 'One Night Stand' series at Koreatown beer bar, Beer Belly. On March 22, from 5 p.m. until close, the guests of honor will be the brewers from Hangar 24, a brewery from Redlands best known for their Orange Wheat Hefeweizen. The event will involve brewmaster Kevin Wright chatting with pubgoers and giving tastes of some of Hangar 24's less common brews, including Pugachev’s Cobra, a Bourbon barrel-aged Russian stout that clocks in around 16% ABV.

Check out the event's sweet promo video here.

Beer Belly also plans to make this a monthly event, meaning that you can looking forward to more 'One Night Stands' with local brewers like Golden Road (3/21) and Bootlegger's Brewery (4/18). Isn't it great when the beer comes to you?

For more info, check out beerbellyla.com

In case you haven’t already heard, the next iteration of Ludovic Lefebvre’s LudoBites is traveling across the Pacific and landing in Hawaii, specifically at the Four Seasons Kona Resort. That may be a bummer for us Angelenos who aren’t keen on paying for roundtrip airfare, but can you really blame a chef for wanting to serve his next meal in Hawaii? Imagine what might pop-up on the menu: kālua pork rillettes? coconut macadamia beuerre blanc? poi créme bruleé?  

The good news is that Urbanspoon is giving a chance to residents of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle the chance to win a package that includes two first class tickets on Hawaii Airlines, a four-night stay at the Four Seasons Kona, and dinner for two at LudoBites. All you have to do is book a reservation at an Urbanspoon-participating restaurant between now and March 9 and you’ll be entered to win.

James Beard Award-winning chefs Stephan Pyles (chef-owner of Stephan Pyles Concepts), Jimmy Schmidt (Morgan’s in the Desert), and Nancy Silverton (pastry chef and founder of La Brea bakeries and co-owner of Mozza Restaurant Group) will team up on February 24 and 25 for two James Beard events at La Quinta Resort and Club in Palm Springs. A Chefs Night Out BBQ and Wine Tasting will be held on February 24; the menu will include Silverton’s Mozza Caprese, Pyles’ 24-hour pork belly with foie mousse and minted apple membrillo, and Schmidt’s pan-seared coriander crusted sea scallops with Indio sweet corn and beluga lentil ragout, plus wines from Domaine Serene and Pruett winery. The Celebrity Chef Tour Wine Dinner on February 25 is a five-course meal—read on to see what’s on the menu. All proceeds benefit the James Beard Foundation.

First Course (Chef Schmidt)
Pan roasted Santa Barbara black cod, Meyer lemon-infused ...

Is Bouchon chef Rory Herrman channeling Colonel Sanders? The Beverly Hills restaurant just announced that starting February 27, guests can order the Thomas Keller-created Ad Hoc famous fried chicken in to-go buckets (it was previously only available at monthly dinners).

The price? $36 a bucket, which is a suprising deal all things considered. Sure, it's quite a bit more expensive than the KFC variety, but if you've ever tasted this fried chicken, you'll understand why it's worth the price. 

Here's hoping party-sized high cuisine is a trend in the making. Just imagine: a quart container of Red O's guacamole, a foot-long Air Philly Cheesesteak from Bazaar, and a family-sized tray of Animal's oxtail poutine. A menu like that would certainly liven up our next house party.

Bouchon Bistro
235 North Canon Dr,  Beverly Hills
(310) 271-9910

UCLA hosted a food truck discussion panel on February 15 featuring such food industry giants as Jonathan Gold of L.A. Weekly, Roy Choi of the Kogi Truck, and Cathy Chaplin of Gastronomy blog as well as the creative geniuses behind the Coolhaus and Frysmith trucks. The talk explored the role of food in our notoriously mobile city. In fact, the first drive-thru window was brought to us courtesy of the In-N-Out in Baldwin Park. Food critic and panel mediator Jonathan Gold described the food truck as an extremely successful “third place,” a haven outside of our home and workplace where we can engage in leisurely activities like meeting with friends. It is this social aspect that he believes has contributed to the popularity of food trucks, making them a trend to stay. A few other notable points were made by the panelists:

Roy Choi of Kogi Truck: Spirituality in Taco ...

It’s a proud day to be an Angeleno! Our city claimed not one, but two spots in GQ’s "Best New Restaurants in America" list. Ricardo Zarate’s Picca came in a number six, while Michael Voltaggio’s ink. scored the coveted number one spot. GQ’s Alan Richman, the notorious dining critic known to effortlessly switch between effusive praise and brutal takedowns (check out his dismantling of South Carolina's Husk this year), echoed much of the praise already heaped onto these two restaurants, including the kind words from our own critic Patric Kuh, who named both places to his list of L.A.'s Best New Restaurants.
 
At Picca, Richman marveled at Zarate’s mastery of Peruvian cuisine, its exceptional seafood (“A fantastic dish was tuna tartare with avocado and lemon-soy dressing, so fresh it practically floated off the plate”) and its efficiency of service (“Although the dining room seats not even one hundred customers and ...

Celebrate National Pancake Week (February 19-25) with flapjacks of all kinds, from classic buttermilk to gourmet fig and walnut. Don’t forget the maple syrup!

The Classic Pancake: Sourdough Pancakes at the Original Pancake House

The Dessert Pancake: Red Velvet Pancakes at the Griddle Café

The Foodie Pancake: Fig & Walnut Pancakes with sliced figs, walnuts, whipped cream, and housemade fig-infused maple syrup at Fig & Olive

The Health Nut Pancake: Whole Wheat Granola Pancakes at Kings Road Café

The Free Pancake: IHOP will be offering a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes to each guest on National Pancake Day (Tuesday, February 28) from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Diners are also encouraged to donate to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which will benefit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Children’s Hospital Orange County. On last year’s National Pancake Day, the chain served four million free pancakes (which would create a stack nearly ...

Mardi Gras, aka Fat Tuesday, celebrates the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before Lent, the Catholic ritual of fasting for forty days when many give up their favorite indulgences before Easter. Break out your festive mask and party beads for a New Orleans-style celebration here in L.A.

The Churchill: The restaurant and bar will offer a menu of traditional Cajun cuisine and drink specials, including shrimp hush puppies, fried oyster po’boys, shrimp gumbo, and muffaleta.
February 21
8384 W. Third St., Los Angeles
323-655-8384

The Hudson: The Churchill’s predecessor will serve jambalaya pasta and plantation fried shrimp po’boy sliders.
February 21
1114 North Crescent Heights, Los Angeles
323-654-6686

Dominick’s and Little Dom’s: Celebrate with chef Brandon Boudet, a New Orleans native who has created a Cajun-inspired menu that includes all the classics: eggplant pirogue with shrimp sauce, muffaletta sandwich, roast beef po’boys, red beans and rice, jambalaya, gumbo, ...