Newsletter: Counter: French nachos, restaurant openings and closings

Maybe it's the lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas — check out our recipes for Hanukkah latkes, by the way — but in between rounds of cooking, we've looked up from our own tables to find a lot of news about restaurant openings and closings, mostly openings. Which isn't a surprise: The holiday season is a terrific time to eat at someone else's table.

Thus the return of Alma, Ari Taymor's recently shuttered downtown restaurant, which is back this coming week, albeit temporarily. And thus the opening of Otium, Tim Hollingsworth's much anticipated first restaurant, which is next door to the Broad (which itself just opened). We also have news of Daniel Humm coming to Los Angeles to open a second Nomad, also downtown.

And of course there is Trois Familia, the newest project from Ludo Lefebvre, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, which is Jonathan Gold's latest review. Ever wondered what it would look like if a classically trained French chef took over a Mexican joint, and served only brunch on picnic tables to disco music? Ta-da. 

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.

– Amy Scattergood

Ludo does brunch

"So a French chef walks into a Mexican restaurant," Jonathan begins this week's review. Trois Familia opened recently in Silver Lake, in a strip mall along Sunset Boulevard, in a space previously occupied by a neighborhood Mexican restaurant. This is where Ludo is now cooking French nachos, galettes and potato tacos for an all-day brunch menu. Did we mention the disco theme? Check out Andy Gibb in the corner.

The return of Alma

Ari Taymor's highly lauded downtown restaurant, which he and his partner Ashleigh Parsons closed in October, is returning — at least for a while. Beginning on Tuesday, Alma will be installed at the Standard, Hollywood, open for a three-month residency. I check in with Taymor, who'll be cooking every night, mostly dishes from Alma, but also some new ones.

Ari Taymor cooks in the kitchen of Alma, his tiny downtown L.A. restaurant, which closed at the end of October.

(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Nomad is coming!

Jonathan reports that Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, of 11 Madison Park, will be opening their first restaurant outside Manhattan here in Los Angeles in the fall of 2017. This will not be another 11 Madison Park, but another Nomad, in downtown. What to look forward to? Foie gras-stuffed chicken and suckling pig.

The main entrance to the Giannini Place building at 649 S. Olive St. in downtown Los Angeles, where a location of New York City’s Nomad restaurant will open some time in 2017. A location of the Nomad hotel also is planned for the space.

(Stuart Palley / For The Times)

(Stuart Palley / For The Times)

Food as art at Otium

Fans of Tim Hollingsworth's cooking, either from his 13 years at the French Laundry or at Barrel & Ashes in the SFV, will lately have followed him to Otium, his new restaurant next door to the Broad in downtown L.A. At Otium, both the restaurant and the food are artwork themselves, and Hollingsworth is having a lot of fun, playing with donabe pots and turning foie gras into, of all things, funnel cakes.

The foie gras funnel cake from Otium.

(Otium)

(Otium)

Mother Dough to close

The Los Feliz neighborhood favorite pizzeria Mother Dough, open since 2011, will close at the end of the month, Jessica Ritz reports. Bez Compani, who has operated the pizzeria pretty much single-handedly, has found running the place too demanding. Fans of his zucchini pizza have a few more weeks to order it.

Pizzas bake for 60 to 90 seconds at around 850 degrees inside a handmade wood-burning oven imported from Naples, Italy, at Mother Dough pizzeria in Los Feliz.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Your doughnuts come to you

Jenn Harris considers Dunkin' Donuts — not just the much-loved doughnuts and coffee themselves, but how to get them in the first place. Because now you can get a dozen glazed doughnuts delivered to your door. Because, although you can head to your nearest Dunkin' Donuts in your pajamas if you really want to, how much better if it comes to you?

You can now use the DoorDash on-demand delivery service to have Dunkin’ Donuts products delivered.

(Dunkin’ Donuts)

(Dunkin' Donuts)

Jonathan Gold's 101

The 101 is here! Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants, the authoritative annual guide to local dining, is online for subscribers. Find the list at latimes.com/jonathangold. Official hashtag #JGOLD101.

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