Counter: Don’t forget about Father’s Day

At Plan Check Kitchen and Bar, kids can order a smaller version of the restaurant’s popular fried chicken with yams and milk gravy.

(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Salutations,

Is it a coincidence that the Father’s Day issue of the Food section is devoted to pet food? I do not believe that it is a coincidence at all. As a father, I have been accustomed to being sent to the proverbial doghouse on occasion, and I see no reason why this day should be different from any other. 

Jenn Harris reports on some special Father’s Day brunches, but also on healthy children's menus, transfat bans, and a buffet line in Switzerland that discourages overeating by planting pictures of starving African children on its tables –-  so think about that the next time you’re contemplating an extra pancake or two. In more cheerful news: beer.

And be on the lookout for Wednesday's In the Kitchen newsletter, with cooking tips and news, including new recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen.

—Jonathan Gold

Kids menus that don't suck

Deputy Food editor Jenn Harris checks out three L.A. restaurants that do great kids meals, by which we do not mean bad chicken tenders and limp cheese quesadillas. Think fried chicken and yams, crudites and grilled chicken, and flatbread with burrata. 

Where to take your dad for Father's Day

There are many things you can do for your father, or your kids' father, or somebody's, and taking him out to dinner is not a bad idea. We check out the various specials and deals that local restaurants have on the menu for this weekend.

The mancakes at all three Plan Check locations are all you can eat on Father’s Day.

(Christina Peters )

Christina Peters

DineLA returns

The popular restaurant week, during which restaurants offer bargain prix-fixe menus, is back. This time there are new restaurants, new specials -- and more reasons to check out those restaurants you've always wanted to try. 

Diners dig into a meal at Cadet. The Santa Monica restaurant is one of the new venues participating in DineLA restaurant week this summer.

(Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times

FDA bans trans fats

Many of us think it's about time. But which foods have trans fats? We check out where you can find the stuff, how long it's been in our food supply, and how much it'll cost the industry to remove the product, which the FDA says must be carried out within three years.

Stick margarine and other food items which contain trans fat are shown in Chicago, Illinois. The FDA announced it has banned partially hydrogenated oils from the U.S. food supply.

(Scott Olson / Getty Images)

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Notes from the food and drink underworld

Does your dad like beer? Right. Beer writer John Verive gives a list of great beer events and gifts, just in time for Father's Day. (Or any day, really.)

A new brewery, Mumford Brewing, opens in downtown L.A.'s Arts District. Growlers to-go and a tasting room. 

A taster flight at Mumford Brewing Co., which recently opened in L.A.’s arts district.

(Julie Verive)

Julie Verive

What we're reading

The case of America's disappearing gay bars, from Punch.

Is the new Whole Foods label better than organic, asks the Atlantic.  

Feedback?

We’d love hear from you. Email us at food@latimes.com