Recently in Restaurants Category

Ready to be horrified? Check out the near toxic plight of PJ's Oysterbed, a San Francisco seafood restaurant that closed at the end of May. For reasons unknown, the management and employees left the premises without even bothering to clean out their inventory, which means that for about two weeks, a pile of Dungeness crabs and RAW OYSTERS have been sitting in what was formerly an ice bed and is now a puddle of warm water. The stench is so bad, pedestrians can smell it on the street. But it gets worse. It seems as though San Fran's pesky subterranean population has discovered this rotting festival of neglect. That's right: rats have now descended on PJ's Oysterbed, and they are currently feeding on the rancid remains of the seafood. Oh, and they're not just normal rats. They are huuuuuge. Note the picture above. Horrifying.

For more information on this stomach-turning debacle, check out Eater SF's coverage here and here.

When it comes to late night dining, Los Angeles has its fare share of offerings; although, truth be told, we could always use more. I can only go to my after-hours haunts so many times before ennui kicks in. That why I'd been so excited to try The Waffle, one of the latest entries in the LA pseudo-diner circuit. The 22-hour restaurant opened earlier this year, and already, it has stirred up quite the controversy in the food-blogging community. Some people love the kitchen's wide variety of dishes; others feel its overrated. There's been backlash, and there's been backlash on the backlash — so as you can imagine, I really didn't know what to expect when I wandered into the restaurant with my friends, J-Unit and IndianJones, this past weekend.

I'll sum it up in one clear, unfortunate word: overpriced.

After a prolonged, icy winter that left Los Angeles reeling in the permafrost of multiple 62 degree days, the sun finally came out this past weekend, sizzling the Southland up to temperatures reaching triple digits. It was, in short, excellent. To celebrate this change (not to mention the impending weekend), my friends and I decided to undergo some change ourselves. No, we didn't become trannies. Instead, we tried out a new Mexican restaurant: The Gardens of Taxco.

By now, at least half the Angelenos reading this post are probably chuckling to themselves as the word "new" doesn't often accompany "Gardens of Taxco." The family-run restaurant has been around since the seventies and has become a mini-institution in its own right. None of us, however, had stepped foot inside this wood-paneled mecca, despite its convenient location. On Friday, we decided that was all about to change. For once, Don Antonio's, El Coyote, and Marix Tex-Mex would have to wait. We were tryin' new Mexican!

Things just aren't getting any better for me on the Los Angeles restaurant scene. One of my favorite higher end restaurants, Bin 8945, is closing down tonight. I first went there on a whim with my friends, J-Unit and Jash. It was almost a year ago — March 2007 — and the meal served as an impromptu celebration to mark the end of our time at TVgasm. We decided to splurge and order the tasting menu with the wine pairings, and needless to say, it was remarkably delicious. One of the best meals I'd had in Los Angeles. And it kept going. At the end of the night, we counted about fourteen courses, and even though that was spread over about three hours, we were, as you can imagine, stuffed.

Of course, the wine left us in a jovial mood, and midway through the meal, we became a bit loud. We raised our glasses to Los Angeles Times food critic S. Irene Virbila several times, often adding a boisterous ode to her good recommendation. "NICE CHOICE, S. IRENE VIRBILA" we guffawed many, many times. It really wasn't that funny, but we thought we were hilarious. Again —  the wine.

Later on, after the place had pretty much cleared out, restaurant owner David Haskell, who had been waiting on us, happily informed us that the entire time, S. Irene Virbila had been sitting at the very next table over. We were astounded. So many emotions coursed through me: I was sort of embarrassed, sort of thrilled, and sort of sad that I hadn't even noticed what the woman next to me had looked like. If only I had known! If only!

On a subsequent trip to Bin 8945 with my parents, the experience wasn't nearly as great. Our reservations had been lost, the dishes were hit-and-miss (oh, but when they hit...), and the service wasn't nearly as strong. Still, I chalked it up to an "off night." I've wanted to go back many times, but alas, I never made it, and now it's shutting down. If it weren't for the strike, I'd head over tonight. According to Eater LA, the restaurant will be serving a special meal, prepared by guest chef MaryAnn Salcedo (a.k.a. Gordon Ramsey's sidekick on Hell's Kitchen). Eight courses, $100 a head plus $70 wine pairing. As S. Irene might say: fun.

Just weeks after having been unceremoniously (and unforgivably) shut down, beloved neighborhood restaurant Cha Cha Cha has been stripped of its exterior charm, thus rendering its facade a blank, white shell of its former self. I guess this is the way rock enthusiasts felt when Nickelback showed up on the scene.

Nevertheless, this was all inevitable, but who knew it'd be so painful? If anyone needs me, I'll be crying in the corner.

Back in September, I went on a highfalutin jaunt to Paris with some friends, and while there, we had lunch at a cozy, New York Times-recommended bistro called Chez Michel. The meal was delicious — some of the best mussels I've ever had — but nothing could prepare me for the cheese plate I had ordered for dessert. Turns out the plate was less a of plate and more of a miniature fromagerie. No dainty slices of brie here — just giant blocks of cheese. It could have fed ten people. We were all so shocked when this leviathan offering of dairy products descended on the table that I immediately whipped out my camera and snapped a quick photo.

Little did I realize this offhand pic would soon become the toast of the Internet. Okay, maybe that's an overstatement. It's only been viewed twenty times. BUT I was most honored when the editors of the online travel resource Schmap contacted me about using the photo in their latest Paris guide. I'm not going to lie: I was floored, and I don't even know why. It's cool and everything, but when I received the email, I literally felt like I had been nominated for an Academy Award. I think it's because it was like two in the morning, and I was tired and/or delirious. Nevertheless, I've since come down from my Schmap-induced high, but I remain quite flattered that the editors saw artistry (or at least functionality) in my pic. To check out the photo in all its Schmappy context, click here.

Oh, and as for the cheese, it was quite tasty. We quickly deduced that it was indeed a traveling plate, meant for consumption by multiple tables. Probably not the most sanitary of practices, but oh so very European!

• Chez Michel [Schmap!! Paris]

Cha Cha Cha in 2005

Back on New Years Eve, my friends and I attempted to patronize Caribbean eatery Cha Cha Cha, but the lines were simply too long for our celebratory timetable. We instead headed down the street to The Boulevard, happy to discover a suitable dining option on such short notice. Little did we realize, however, that this alternative would soon become a permanent solution to our culinary woes. Yes, Cha Cha Cha, one of our favorite local tapas joints, summarily closed later that evening, never to open again. You heard me right. No more guava and goat cheese quesadillas. No more pitchers of flavorful sangria. And no more random sightings of Maggie Gyllenhaal or Ananda Lewis. Cha Cha Cha is done.

The restaurant apparently fell victim to its landlord's myopic vision of an upgrade. According to Eater LA, rumors abound that the space will be used to house a new club, and adding insult to injury, the venue will be run by Art and Allan Davis, the brothers who, with Justin Timberlake, unleashed Chi on Los Angeles three years ago. For those of you who don't remember Chi, let me try to describe it with a few, brief words: awful.

The good news, I guess, is that the original Cha Cha Cha is still open in Silver Lake, but honestly, who wants to go all the way over there? I have better things to do other than wade through a sea of scoffing hipsters and hairy leather enthusiasts. Well, actually, I don't, but that's besides the point. I guess what I'm trying to say is... we'll miss you, Cha Cha Cha. Your sangria will always have a place in our livers.

A sight rarer than the unicorn.

When it comes to dining options on Christmas, the choices are few and far between for the greater non-Christian population of America; however, there is usually one standby whose open doors have become a tradition unto themselves. I'm of course talking about your neighborhood Chinese restaurant, a culinary outpost in a sea of "Closed for Christmas" door signs. Eating Chinese on Christmas is pretty much the de facto alternative dining option on the 25th — so much so that it was even immortalized in that most hallowed of holiday offerings, A Christmas Story.

So surely finding a Chinese restaurant open on Christmas in Los Angeles should be no problem, right? In a city with a rather sizable Jewish population, not to mention two popular Chinese eateries with the seemingly un-Christian names of Genghis Cohen and Mao's Kitchen, a veritable feast of Yangtze proportions would await those of us seeking out the supple flavors of soy and MSG. Or so we thought. This is Los Angeles, of course —  a city that rarely makes sense at any given time.

To those unfamiliar with the latest offerings on Los Angeles's Lazy Susan of fads, one particular sensation that has swept the city by storm has been the Frozen Yogurt craze, helpfully nurtured by Pinkberry and its many imitators. Basically, people have rediscovered FroYo, but this time around, they've taken out the flavoring, added fresh toppings, and convinced themselves that they're now eating health food. I'm not necessarily opposed to the whole movement, but I can't abide by any frozen yogurt shop (or frozen dairy shop in general) that doesn't offer a chocolate option for those of us less health inclined (Pinkberry, it should be noted, has a scant selection consisting of only Plain and Green Tea. Oh, and their signature flavor: AWFUL).

Well, over the past year, dozens of Pinkberry knockoffs have sprouted up across the city, and now, it seems the bubble is at last bursting. One of the first casualties is none other than the miserable establishment, Yogurtpia, which happens to be one of the places I've actually been to. According to Eater LA, the storefront is covered with ominous, brown paper, hopefully signaling the end to this embarrassment of an enterprise. Yes, it's a joyous time for me, as Yogurtpia's unceremonious death fills me with great satisfaction. But why? Why am I so thrilled that a generic yogurt shop has disappeared into the night, never to be heard from again?