Newsletter: Counter: Mall food, Instagram and wine at Spago
Welcome to June, and thus to the NBA and NHL finals, and to some hot weather — the start of what will doubtless be a long summer of high temperatures. Thus, perhaps, to the mall, where there is air conditioning, shopping and, as Jonathan Gold finds this week, some pretty stellar Sichuan food.
This week’s review is of Dongpo, a newish Chinese restaurant at a mall in Arcadia, where there is much to eat, including spicy fried chicken. On the other side of town, we check in at Spago, which has pretty great food, of course, but also an exemplary wine program. We also consider a new breakfast food truck, a Brazilian restaurant in a mini-mall and the joys of Instagramming your dinner.
More fun with mall food
This week, Jonathan heads to the mall, specifically the Westfield Santa Anita mall in Arcadia, where he finds the massive Chinese restaurant Dongpo. This is Sichuan cooking, but elaborate food in a luxurious setting — even if it is inside a giant shopping center. And it has pretty great la zi ji, or spicy fried chicken.
What to drink at Spago
Wine writer Patrick Comiskey considers the enormous wine list at Wolfgang Puck’s legendary restaurant, and the man who’s curating it these days, wine director Phillip Dunn. Dunn has over 3,000 bottles, one of the largest and most important wine lists in Southern California.
Your food in pictures
If you like to take pictures of your dinner, you probably spend a lot of time on Instagram. Gillian Ferguson looks at the ways that the app is helping people not only share their photography, but also connect with new friends.
Truck stop breakfast
At the new Rooster food truck, Jenn Harris finds, you can get some pretty spectacular breakfast dishes. In the back, chef Rouha Sadighi makes tater tot-loaded breakfast burritos, chips and tater tots topped with chorizo, avocado toast and Rooster Burgers. Be hungry.
Where to eat in Pico-Union
At Squarefritz, you’ll find Brazilian street food by way of Seoul. What does this mean? Bulgogi pasteles, small fried Brazilian pies filled with Korean-style beef. Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee scouts out the restaurant, which opened six weeks ago in a mini-mall.
Your “City of Gold” reminder: It’s playing somewhere. Maybe go see it. Maybe don’t go hungry, which brings us to...
Jonathan Gold’s 101
Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants, the authoritative annual guide to local dining, is online for subscribers.
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