Fall Preview 2013
Mark your calendars: There's a lot to get excited about in the next few months. We've compiled the biggest restaurants openings, bar debuts, cookbook launches and whatever else you should be salivating over in our all-encompassing Fall Preview.
Josef Centeno | David Nayfeld | Walter Manzke
RESTAURANTS
Can Walter Manzke and Neal Fraser resurrect the white tablecloth? By the end of 2013, Manzke and his wife Margarita are opening Republique, a new-wave bistro in the old Campanile space, while Fraser will launch Redbird, an intimate restaurant located inside the former rectory of St. Vibiana's Cathedral.
Details are scarce about Josef Centeno's third Downtown restaurant, Orsa and Winston, which aims to be his most "fine dining" project yet. Ostensibly, it will serve Italian small plates, but with an overarching Japanese influence and an optional tasting menu. The one certainty: Service to the public starts the first week of October.
At Fifty Seven, the Cardiff Giant restaurant group's ambitious new concept in the Arts District, a new chef is invited to take over the kitchen, complete with a new menu and cocktail list, every season. First up come November: David Nayfeld, former senior sous chef at Eleven Madison Park.
In Silver Lake, Kris Yenbamroong is bringing his acclaimed Thai street food to the old Cru space with Night + Market Song?. The expanded restaurant and beer garden, due to open in late September, will be "more ambitious" in its esoteric Northern Thai dishes, and may even serve breakfast.
Steve Livigni | Old Taylor Whiskey | Cocktail by Proprietors LLC
DRINKING
The city's cocktail scene is aiming to jump into the next stratosphere with two pseudo-speakeasy openings. Pablo Moix and Steve Livigni are bringing Old Lighting to Marina Del Rey, while Alex Day and David Kaplan of Proprietors LLC are launching HoneyCut underneath Downtown's O Hotel. For booze geeks with a penchant for the classics, the results will be worth the wait.
Prime Pickles | A Cut Above | Lou Amdur
SHOPPING
The Westside is finally getting a full-service butcher shop worth its curing salt. Onetime Tasting Kitchen chef Eddy Shin brings A Cut Above to Santa Monica in mid-September, slinging steaks, sausages and meaty sandwiches.
Wine guru Lou Amdur is back, and he's brought plenty of vino– as well as and artisanal groceries. Lou's Wine and Provisions, located next door to Silver Lake's Sqirl, is set to open in a few weeks.
Former Churchill chef Bruce Kalman is about to launch his own artisanal pickle line, Prime Pickle Co. Expected to hit grocery stores, market-cafés and restaurants in a few weeks, Kalman's line will feature spicy creations such as garlic-horseradish-dill pickles, "bloody mary" asparagus and a New Orleans-style muffuletta spread.
In sweets news, prepare yourself for a sugary wave of gourmet doughnuts. We're showing our "O" face over the specialties at Donut Friend in Highland Park (cheddar-apple pie donuts), Sticky Fingers in WeHo (Champagne donuts), and I.C.D.C. from Neal Fraser in Mid-City (cereal milk-glazed donuts).
L.A. Son | The A.O.C. Cookbook | Suzanne Goin
COOKBOOKS
Suzanne Goin's new book, The A.O.C Cookbook ($21), arrives on October 29, with recipes culled from the menu at her brunch-tastic sophmore restaurant (duck sausage with candied kumquats, roast curried cauliflower). Plan your Sunday feasts accordingly.
The progress of Roy Choi's L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food ($18) has been followed as closely on Twitter as the Kogi BBQ truck. His debut book–part memoir, part culinary manifesto–finally drops November 5. Expect a litany of food mashups inspired by the City of Angels. "Kalbi Plates" and "$4 Spaghetti," anyone?
Ilan Hall | Knife Fight | Craig Thornton
ENTERTAINMENT
Knife Fight, an "underground" cooking competition hosted by Top Chef winner Ilan Hall, premieres September 24 on the Esquire Network. The show pits L.A. chefs such Brendan Collins and David Féau in late-night battles held in the basement of Hall's restaurant, The Gorbals. Naturally, we assume they all get plastered together afterward.
Underground supperclub Wolvesmouth will be taking its show on the road October 15-26, cooking dinners inside the Santa Monica Museum of Art alongside an exhibit by artist Matthew Bone. Chef Craig Thornton sees the project–dubbed "Cut Your Teeth"–as a further step in the blending of the art and food worlds.