Grubtrotters

Culver City has a new French brasserie with a lovely sidewalk cafe called Le Saint Amour, a couple doors down from the Starbucks on Culver Blvd. From the chef/owner of Angelique Cafe, which closed in 2006, Le Saint Amour opened three weeks ago, and I stopped by for lunch yesterday to check it out. Glad I did. Culver City continues to impress as one of the best spots in the L.A. area for casual foodies. The lunch menu has all sorts of bistro items — salads, hot and cold sandwiches and French classics such as escargot, croque monsieur, pate and tarte flambee. Mixed in were some interesting choices such as spicy Moroccan sausage with tomato, bell pepper and harissa. For dinner, you can try pig’s feet, seared sweetbread and tripe sausage.

I went for one of my all-time French favorites, confit de canard, or duck confit ($15). For lunch, the main dishes come with a choice of French fries or “lettuce,” which you can see from the picture to the left is a simple mixed green salad with a smattering of tomatoes. The dish was delicious. The duck was so tender and juicy it fell right off the bone. The skin was nicely seasoned and the portion generous for lunch. I almost took half of it home, but it was too good not to finish on the spot. What could have been a boring salad was kicked up a notch with pungent dressing and very fresh greens. Fabulous.
My friend Vanessa ordered the Nicoise salad ($14), which looked amazing. (I didn’t ask for a bite). It came with tomatoes, seared pepper tuna, white anchovies, eggs, red onions and olives. She gave it a thumbs up. The service was friendly, albeit a little slow with the check, which is fine for a leisurely lunch. You won’t feel rushed. But it could pose a problem for the nearby studio crowd with only an hour to spare midday. All the waiters at Le Saint Amour had French accents, and many diners spoke French, too — always a positive sign if you’re looking for authenticity. The decor is not quite as grand as you’ll see at Anisette in Santa Monica, but this place feels homier, less crowded, more casual — at least for now. When the foodies discover this jewel, all bets are off. — Jenny

Le Saint Amour: 9725 Culver Blvd., Culver City, 310-842-8155.

Love it or hate it, communal dining is the latest “big thing” to hit L.A. I have a piece on Dinela.com discussing this trend of tables where strangers sit side-by-side, striking up conversations and occasionally sharing a slice of pizza. Personally, I love the serendipity of it all. I also love the fact that I don’t need a reservation. I can walk into Gjelina or AK or Bar Centro at the SLS Hotel on a whim and find a seat.

Los Angeles has a pretty entrenched reputation for isolation. Everyone gets into their hermetically sealed cars and drives to a specific destination. Only in neighborhoods such as Venice and Los Feliz do pedestrians actually walk around and run into one another. Not surprisingly, those are the neighborhoods where communal tables work best. Yet, I think we all crave community and connection, even if we’re a little afraid at first. And fear is a huge impediment. Here’s Evan Kleiman, host of KCRW’s “Good Food,” on the response to her experiment with family style dinners at Angeli Caffe:

“Some people would walk in and then immediately turn and start to walk out — I’m not sitting by somebody I don’t know. We’d have to sort of cajole them to sit down. And then they’d sit but leave spaces between them.”

However, some of us like a little danger. If you open yourself up to the unexpected, you never know what might happen. Joan McNamara, chef/owner of Joan’s on Third, calls her communal table “magical.” Strangers have met there, fallen in love and gotten engaged.

“I don’t think people want to feel isolated, especially in this economy,” says McNamara, who had an elderly friend once tell her the Great Depression wasn’t so terrible “‘because we were all in it together.’ Maybe that’s what people are finding now. If you were sitting at two separate tables, you would almost never hand food to someone else.”

Much has been written about the so-called Millennial Generation that helped sweep President Obama into office. They’re less into dating and more into hanging out with groups. They like cooperation, which might explain this new trend. Not to stereotype my own people, but Gen Xers may be just a tad more cynical. Here’s my friend Julia:

“I loathe communal tables. I also hate small plates. I like old fashioned dinners where you eat your own food with people you already know.”

As Victor often says, it’s a large and free nation. Each to her own. But in my book, interaction is good, and the unknown is worth exploring, even if you have to suffer through a few awkward moments. What do you think? An introvert’s worst nightmare or a whimsical delight? — Jenny

Good news for Tender Greens eaters. The new West Hollywood location, originally planned for last September, finally opens tomorrow, March 18, at 11:30 a.m. In addition to the fresh-to-order salads, sandwiches and other favorites from the Culver City location, Chef Fermin Arias will make homemade cheese, vinegars and salumi for the WeHo crowd. As we reported last May, WeHo is just one of many spots in the expansion plan for this casual, eco-friendly, lunch-focused eatery. I’m hoping this means the Culver City joint will be less crowded. Even if it’s not, I’m still inspired to brave the crowds, especially now that I know that its chef/owner Erik Oberholzter eats there everyday and manages to maintain a bod like this.  — Jenny

Tender Greens West Hollywood, 8759 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-385-1919.

Huckleberry Cafe, from Chef Zoe Nathan and Josh Loeb, the husband and wife team behind Rustic Canyon, has barely been open three weeks, but word has clearly spread. There was a line out the door today at lunch, despite the rain. Nathan is pretty famous for her pastries, and while Rustic Canyon only had Saturday morning breakfasts, you can buy her goodies for breakfast and lunch every day at Huckleberry Cafe. (Saturday breakfasts at Rustic Canyon are kaput now.)

The cafe occupies a bright, casual space, perfect for Santa Monica, while the menu focuses on “locally sourced, farm-driven” foods, such as salads, sandwiches, soups, rotisserie meats (free-range Jidori chicken, of course, and duck on Thursdays) as well as all kinds of breakfast treats. Also perfect for Santa Monica. There’s a communal table for those who want to mingle with neighbors, a growing trend in LA. I arrived just after 11 a.m. in the mood for a hearty breakfast, but I’d just missed the cutoff. Instead I ordered the one savory, breakfasty item on the lunch menu, a fried egg sandwich with Niman Ranch bacon, gruyere, arugula and aioli on two thick pieces of freshly baked country bread ($9.50). Delicious. The caffe latte hit the spot, too.

I also brought home some moist turkey meatballs in a tomato sauce and three prepared salads, one with farro (a type of wheat), english peas and feta; one with tangy broccoli and one with crunchy/sweet sugar snap peas ($12.75 for the trio). All fresh, healthy and tasty. Thumbs up for Huckleberry Cafe. Not that they need it. – Jenny

Huckleberry Cafe: 1014 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica; 310-451-2311.

Sincere apologies for our protracted absence. We recently attempted (unsuccessfully so far) to transfer our blog to a new host. And while our Grubtrotters motto is “chow, fun,” we also spent the past month recovering from a decidedly un-fun family health crisis that coincided with our nation’s economic collapse. We’ll spare you the details, but aside from being homebound making soups and stews and wallowing in despair, it was not the wisest or most seemly time to be spending money eating out.

But things are looking up on all fronts. The country has hope, and so do we. Onward, as Victor says. So to mark our return, I thought I’d share some thoughts on a story I wrote for DineLA.com called Hamburgers — The Recession-Proof Food.

To research this story, I sampled burgers all over the city. I tasted the classic steakburger at Apple Pan, the frozen-in-time Westwood joint with its cranky counter men wearing paper hats. I tried Five Guys, the East Coast chain with a cult following rivaling that of In-N-Out here, which just opened its first SoCal spot in Carson. I tried two of the fancy 8 oz. burgers from Govind Armstrong, who breaks down the meat on premises and ages it in a Himalayan salt locker before grilling it over oak wood. I spent a pretty penny concocting something special at The Counter in Marina Del Rey. And of course, I have eaten the animal style burger at In-N-Out, the Fatburger, The Original Tommy’s dripping mess of a chili burger and the famous Father’s Office burger.

Each of these burgers has its charms. Father’s Office still wins the prize for best burger at any cost. However, I have a new pick for best gourmet burger at a value. And let’s face it, we’re all looking for a bargain these days. Unless you live in the neighborhood, you probably haven’t stumbled across Hole in the Wall burger joint in West Los Angeles. Believe me, the name is appropriate. The address is on Santa Monica Blvd, but it’s tucked behind a Winchell’s Donut shop in the strip mall on the southeast corner of Santa Monica and Sepulveda. To confuse you further, the entrance is actually on Bentley. You’d never find this place if you didn’t know it was there and might not even if you do.

But it’s worth the hunt. The owner, chef Bill Dertouzos, was the founder of Dainties Cupcakes, but he turned his attention to burgers when the cupcake competition grew too intense. “The city got flooded with cupcake stores, and every month I saw my market share cut in half,” says Dertouzos. Hole in the Wall shares space with his catering business, hence the odd location. The burgers here are not fast-food cheap, and you can’t get as many choices as you will find at The Counter. But the quality is incredible, and as Dertouzos points out, do you really need 300,000 burger combinations? He tried offering some fancier cheese options, such as brie, but they didn’t sell so well.

So now he sticks to the basics. You can get a beef, turkey or veggie burger on a pretzel, whole wheat or old-fashioned bun for $7.95. Pick from have a handful of topping options. Dertouzos makes his own pickles and condiments. The burgers are thick and delicious. The turkey burger, with its distinct fennel flavor, is so juicy that it’s hard to believe it’s turkey. His fries are made from Kennebec potatoes, and don’t get me started on the sweet potato fries. You’ll be eating it all at a casual sidewalk table.

I’m sure I won’t settle LA’s burger battle here. If you want your burger with gruyere in a fancy setting, head to The Counter with its modern decor and wine bar.  If you want to step into the past and taste an old-fashioned classic, try Apple Pan. But if you want a great gourmet burger without the frills or the Father’s Office pricetag, head to Hole in the Wall. You heard it here. – Jenny.

–Hole in the Wall, 11058 Santa Monica Blvd., at South Bentley Ave., 310.312.7013

–Father’s Office, 1018 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, 310.736.2224; 3229 Helms Ave, Culver City, 310.736.2224

–Five Guys, 20700 Avalon Blvd, Carson, 310.515.7700

–In-N-Out, multiple locations, www.in-n-out.com

–The Apple Pan, 10801 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, 310.475.3585

–8 oz. Burger Bar, 7661 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, 323.852.0008

–The Counter, 2901 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, 310.399.8383; 4786 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, 310.827.8600

–The Original Tommy’s, multiple locations, www.originaltommys.com

Photo of a burger from The Counter

You may have noticed I have been missing in action for much of the summer. That’s because I just returned to L.A. from a five-week teaching gig at Northwestern University in Evanston. Make that five weeks of sheer food hell. I was forced to eat most of my meals in the 1835 Hinman cafeteria with 88 teenagers who promptly labeled the place “Nastytown.” I have been teaching at the same summer program for the past seven years, but never before have I experienced such a culinary Death Valley. The program has a soft spot in my heart because it’s where Victor and I met. This was the first year that his job prevented him from joining me, which didn’t help matters. I just couldn’t bear writing about the horror show until I knew it was over.

Of course, I did complain about the sub-par chow the first week, and the new Hinman chef and his bosses at Sodexo provided a lame excuse. They told me a “rogue chef” had been at the helm in prior years. His crime? “He tried to make the food too good,” they said. Believe me, this so-called rogue chef was no Thomas Keller, but, apparently, people forced to eat at other cafeterias complained. So instead of raising standards elsewhere, they lowered them at Hinman. Bureaucratic brilliance at its best.

The entrees for lunch one day looked like a menu for a C-rated restaurant called Carbotopia: potato burritos, corn dogs, popcorn, cauliflower and Mexican rice. That was it. The only green vegetable was in a bowl on display amidst this carbo-loading wasteland. A week later, I actually had to call the Evanston Health Department after finding bugs crawling on my breakfast berries. (My apologies to those who just lost their appetites.) Northwestern officials weren’t too happy with me for going “outside the system” to complain. So I told them, “Surely you aren’t opposed to any effort to protect the health and safety 88 minors?” Needless to say, that was my last breakfast at Hinman. They reimbursed me for the unused portion of my meal plan and let me eat elsewhere.

I’d like to thank a handful of Evanston restaurants that helped me through this culinary abyss. Evanston, the suburb on Chicago’s northern border, is not exactly a foodie haven — at least not since Grant Achatz left Trio to start Alinea. But there are a few down-home joints that seemed like nirvana compared to what I had been enduring.

Olive Mountain: This unassuming Middle Eastern restaurant is an old favorite. It has some of the tastiest hummus I have tried in a while — loaded with olive oil, sumac, parsley and spicy lemon juice on top. I can also recommend the pureed lentil soup, the couscous salad packed with veggies, and the combo platter of kifta kabobs, beef and shish taouk with vegetables and yellow Middle Eastern rice. Don’t expect much in the way of atmosphere. There’s a cheesy chandelier and pink and aqua tables. But the service is terrific. The staff is friendly and attentive, and the food is delicious, unpretentious and cheap. Lunch specials are $5.95 to $8.25 for an entree, beverage and your choice of hummus, falafel, Lebanese salad or soup.

Joy Yee’s: Having lived in L.A. for more than a decade, I was a little skeptical about trying Asian food in Evanston — especially at a restaurant that featured Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Korean dishes. But Larry Yee (no relation), a Chinese student from San Francisco who attended the program last year, had raved about it, and I was seriously jonesing for some noodles. Plus, Joy Yee’s had just reopened after a long renovation and was filled with Asian diners when I walked by. The walls were painted bright yellow, and the modern, web-like plastic chairs were not exactly inviting, but it turned out to be a perfect lunch spot. The menu read like a novel. I finally settled on some Udon noodle soup with soft shell scrab. The crab batter was a bit thick for my taste, but the soup came in a huge bowl with fresh bok choy, carrots and mushrooms. The noodles were thick and slippery. The broth was delicious.  It really hit the spot. (Later in the month, when I ordered the same soup for delivery late at night, the broth was overly salty. Perhaps it had been sitting too long.) I also tried the lemongrass chicken and noodles, which was served with green peppers. Solid dish, but nothing to write home about. My favorite discovery, however, was the fresh fruit smoothies, served with tapioca balls. The smoothies were amazing. I tried multiple combinations of mango, lychee, strawberries, coconut and bananas. They’re served at a counter with shimmering rainbow tiles. Maybe the name carries the power of suggestion, but Joy Yee’s really did make me happy.

Union Pizzeria: This new place is a bit out of place in Evanston. Or perhaps it’s a sign of the “new” Evanton — home to skyscraper condos and loads of yuppies. Union has a decidedly urban feel with a large warehouse space, exposed brick walls, high ceilings, chic hanging light fixtures over the bar and modern couches in the lounge. If you live in Chicago, Union is probably not worth the drive, but for Evanston, it’s nice to have a place that could be at home in LA or New York, too. There’s a wood-burning oven that serves nine different pizzas. I tried most of them and can recommend the sausage, sweet pepper, onion and Sicilian oregano, as well as the mushroom with bechamel, fontina and sage. The pizzas don’t rival the ones in Rome or at Mozza. But it’s a really nice change from the huge quiche-like, Chicago-style pies from Giordano’s. The Baccala of pureed salt cod, potato, cream and garlic was sinfully rich. And for health nuts, the white wine-braised Tuscan kale is also a winner. Service can be really slow, but there’s a strong beer and wine list, and this is a nice place to chill for a glass at the start or end of an evening. It is open late, at least by Evanston standards. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union was founded there, and Evanston was a “dry” until the 70s. So Union is certainly a sign of progress.

Despite these bright spots, I have probably never been so happy to be home. — Jenny

I don’t make it to Koreatown very often anymore. An ex of mine used to live there, and I’d rather not revisit those memories. Of course, when Josef Centeno was the chef at Opus, I did occasionally override my aversion. (Incidentally, I can’t wait to try Centeno’s new place, Lot 1 in Echo Park, and I hear he may still be chef at the upcoming Latin restaurant downtown called Casa. The more Centeno, the better.)

In any case, my Koreatown famine ended a few days ago when I had to visit the Chinese Embassy to get a visa for my trip to Hong Kong and Beijing next week. My visa adventure coincided with the lunch hour so I stopped off at Beverly Tofu House on Olympic, just west of Vermont. Lucky pick.

With valet costing just $1.50, I knew this was going to be a great deal. Beverly Tofu is an odd little spot resembling a woodsy cabin inside and out. It’s decorated with family-style picnic tables, with legs made from logs and hard wooden benches for seats. The attentive servers start you off with lovely Korean banchan: tiny bowls full of pickled cucumbers and turnips, a potato dish, cabbage floating in a bowl of spicy water, bean sprouts, spicy kimchi, which is fermented cabbage, and, of course, their signature tofu dish. The tofu was so delicate and ethereal, it was impossible for this Westerner to eat with chopsticks. Fortunately, they provided a spoon.

I ordered the seafood combo soon tofu, which is a steaming hot stew that arrives at your table popping and sizzling and spitting like a volcano about to erupt. Because this was my first visit, I ordered it medium spicy, which was perfect for my palate. It was loaded with tiny unshelled shrimp — heads and all — oysters, clams and mussels that tasted like they had just been snagged from the sea. The server cracked an egg right at the table and plopped into the center of the stew, which was so hot it cooked the raw egg on the spot. Watching those around me for guidance, I scooped out a few spoonfuls the stew into a little steel bowl full of rice, mixed it in and then took a bite.

Delicious. This meal was hearty, spicy and warm. I filed it away mentally as the perfect dish to have the next time I catch a cold. There was so much food, I couldn’t finish, which is rare for me. I’m sure the banchan is meant to be shared. Despite the vast quantities of grub for someone lunching solo, the meal was still light enough not to make me feel over-full. The kimchi, by the way, was wonderful, and you can buy it to go.

I’m not sure I’ll be going out of my way to drive from Venice to Koreatown very often, but the next time I find myself back there, I won’t hesitate to revisit this spot. –Jenny

Beverly Tofu, 2717 W. Olympic Blvd., 213-380-1113.

Fans of Tender Greens, rejoice. New locations in San Diego (opening in June) and West Hollywood (slated for September) are just the beginning. Owners of the wildly popular, eco-friendly salad spot in Culver City have plans to expand across the city, state and nation. “I think we see ourselves growing sustainably, maybe three restaurants a year,” owner David Dressler told Grubtrotters. “We don’t see there being a cap to the number of stores. There are opportunities for 20 to 30 from Northern California to Southern California and one-offs in other parts of the country.”

The reason for such massive expansion? Long lines outside the Culver City location are a huge clue. While many restaurants are suffering during the recession, Tender Greens had its best month ever in April (boosted by Earth Day, perhaps) and sells $3 million worth of food a year. “We see a hole in the marketplace,” Dressler says. “There are not a lot of places for good, affordable, healthy food, where you can get a great organic plate for $10. The lion’s share of our business is within three to five miles. People are just so time-crunched, they don’t want to spend 15 minutes in the car to go to lunch.”

Dressler is looking for locations with lots of foot traffic from homes and businesses, as well as outdoor space for sidewalk cafes and plenty of parking. “We’re looking at Burbank and Tarzana, Hollywood and maybe Santa Monica…We’ll get to Santa Monica eventually, but it’s a slightly more difficult restaurant market.”

So could Tender Greens turn into the next Pinkberry or even Starbucks? Whatever you do, don’t use the vile C word. “We may have multiple locations, but we don’t see ourselves as a chain,” Dressler says. “Our goal is to build a company that believes wholeheartedly in sustainability. We’re not trying to build a behemoth.” – Jenny

The most memorable part of our lunch at Flame, a Persian establishment in Westwood, was the Doogh Abali. We weren’t familiar with the concept of a yogurt soda. But it stood out on the menu: Orange juice. Snapple lemonade. Green tea. Coffee. Milk. Doogh Abali.

It was sour, salty and sparkly all at the same time. Wild stuff. Our friend Bret Begun of Newsweek joined us for this lunch, and he flinched after taking a sip. Bret had been enjoying his pomegranate juice when he tried the Doogh, and clearly it was a jolt to the senses. Our initial impression was that this must be an acquired taste. But after the food arrived, we discovered that the Doogh served as a nice complement.

We ordered four dishes from their list of nine lunch specials. Our favorite was the beef koobideh. It was broiled ground beef on a skewer and seasoned so well that we actually preferred this to the chenjeh kabob, which was chunks of filet mignon.

We also had the boneless chicken kabob and lamb tahchin. The chicken was standard fare, but we were intrigued with the tahchin. The lamb was mixed with rice, yogurt and saffron, then baked like a quiche. Perhaps the mixing helped keep the lamb moist, which is never a bad thing. The rice on the outside was crispy.

For dessert, we tried the sonati, a rosewater-saffron ice cream. We weren’t huge fans of it. Of course, we were just at Scoops not that long ago, so any other ice cream already has the deck stacked against it in a serious way.

We are hardly experts on Persian cuisine, but our overall take on Flame was it was good but not great. The service was excellent. Our waiter was friendly and helpful with explanations and recommendations. The salad was fruity and fresh. Visually the place gets a major plus for having its tanor bread oven — this explains why the place is called Flame — in plain view. The negative? Yeah, it’s great that they have four plasma TVs mounted on the walls, but what was up with all of them showing a DVD of Yanni in concert? His music doesn’t make the Doogh go down any easier. –Victor.

Flame, 1442 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, 90024. 310-470-3399

Esquire admits that its feature on the Best Sandwiches in America is incomplete. We will help fill at least one gap.

The only real downside to Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica is that the parking lot during lunchtime is the automotive equivalent of a steel-cage death match. Even that hassle is not enough to dissuade devotees of scrumptious sandwiches from packing the place like a pope’s Mass.

You can reduce your waiting time inside the deli by ordering online or via fax. The deli has a separate area for such pickup orders. If you choose to make an in-store order and wait for your number to be called, be prepared for your hunger to explode exponentially. You’re surrounded by such tempting sights and smells — and other people getting their food ahead of you — that it almost seems unfair. But it is worth the wait.

The menu is extensive, but we have our favorites. Jenny usually chooses the Godmother, a combination of Genoa salami, mortadella, coppacola, ham, prosciutto and Provolone that she tops with Dijon mustard, peppers, lettuce, tomato, olive oil and vinegar. My standard pick is the meatball sandwich with tomato sauce, onions and sliced red bell peppers. But if it’s a Tuesday, I will often opt for the daily special of the sausage and peppers hoagie that looks like it came off the set of “The Sopranos.” Their rolls are excellent. The crust has that nice crunch, but the rest is soft, fresh and tasty.

If you do decide to order online — and this is our recommendation — be careful which buttons you press. We once ended up with two Godmothers instead of one, but I hesitate to call this a mistake because it simply extended a pleasurable meal. In fact, I wonder if Jenny will order two instead of one accidentally on purpose from now on. — Victor

Bay Cities Italian Deli; 1517 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, Calif., 90401. 310-395-8279. Closed Mondays.