The future of L.A. restaurants and making the 101 Best Restaurants list

Mole of memory, a food-loving composer, an epic celebrity food crawl and lomo saltado tacos. I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with this week’s Tasting Notes.

Heading for the 101

Wild mountain greens rice at Baroo.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

I can’t tell you where I ate lunch with restaurant critic Bill Addison this week. He is in the final stages of determining which places will be included on our annual guide to the 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles — which means every meal he eats these days could affect whether a restaurant is on or off the list.

Creating the 101, which will be announced at a reveal party on Dec. 5, is a painstaking process that Addison takes extremely seriously. He knows that not everyone will agree with his choices — your list or my list might look very different from his. While there is validity to the opinions of many social media influencers, Yelp commenters or even your aunt’s tip about her friend’s son who has a new restaurant, true restaurant criticism is an essential — and endangered — art.

Addison, who tries to remain anonymous even at a time when everyone’s photo is all over social media, uses his years of experience eating not only in Los Angeles but all over the country and around the world to assess restaurants with an independent lens. It’s not just about what he likes or doesn’t like but how a restaurant fits our current moment. His 101 list comprises the Southern California restaurants that he feels are not only worth readers’ money but also give us a picture of how we are eating now and where we are headed.

Certainly, the future isn’t clear. This week we were dismayed to learn that Chris Feldmeier and David Rosoff’s lovely Spanish-inspired Bar Moruno in Silver Lake is closing Nov. 4, and late last week Walter Manzke’s taco spot Petty Cash shut down.

At the same time, Stephanie Breijo reports that the slated closing of Gladstone’s, the restaurant synonymous with beachside dining for decades, has been put on hold. “A handful of the restaurant’s staff banded together to form a new operations entity, and [has] kept Gladstone’s running,” Breijo writes, “with a new menu and a new community bent.” The restaurant will likely close at some point in the future to make room for a new Wolfgang Puck restaurant designed by Frank Gehry, but since the design and construction process “could take months or years” to happen, Breijo says the employee-fueled Gladstone’s Legacy Group figures there’s no reason to stop frying the fish and chips just yet. Breijo’s story has more details about what the new employee group has planned.

And key restaurant openings continue to give us hope about the vitality of the scene. Recently, I had the chance to eat at the still-new Baroo from chef Kwang Uh and his wife and business partner Mina Park. It was a moving moment for me to walk into the gorgeous Arts District space, a big contrast from the tiny and lovable first incarnation of Baroo in an East Hollywood strip mall.

I remember the first time I ate at the original Baroo in 2015 with Jonathan Gold and the look of shock on Uh’s face when he realized The Times’ critic had walked into his restaurant. Jonathan, who never announced himself but was certainly recognizable, sat down hoping to order. Uh, however, needed a moment, stepping into the back of his restaurant briefly before coming out and cooking a meal that Jonathan dubbed “a taste of the future.”

It would be fantastic if Jonathan could see the confidence and beauty of Uh’s cooking at Baroo today. Will it make the 101 list? That’s up to Bill, not me. But you are certainly invited to the reveal party — with food from Bestia, Morihiro, Chi Spacca and many more great L.A. restaurants — to find out whether your favorite places make the cut. Tickets usually go fast, which is why we’re letting you know now.

The composer who sees in food

Composer Carl Stone at Jose Andres’ San Laurel, across from the Music Center and Disney Hall.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

“Spicy Asian cooking is to Stone what the Immortal Beloved was to Beethoven, what opium was to Berlioz — an eternal source of inspiration.” That’s what Jonathan Gold wrote about the composer Carl Stone, who divides his time between Los Angeles and Tokyo and has the habit of naming his pieces after some of his favorite restaurants. I mention this because Stone is doing a three-night residency Nov. 9-11 at 2220 Arts + Archives. It’s a rare chance to see the composer called one of the pioneers of live computer music.

Día de Muertos’ recipes of memory

Guava Mole with Chicken and Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

(Andrea D’Agosto / For The Times)

“For many Angelenos who immigrated to the United States, death is a constant reminder of our loved ones back in the motherland,” writes Paola Briseño-Gonzalez in her story of mole, memory and Día de Muertos. We are often so far away physically that we might miss their deaths. They might miss ours.” This week, during public and private Día de Muertos celebrations, many will be remembering the friends and family members they’ve lost. Our De Los staff is joining the Hollywood Forever celebration Oct. 28 with a community altar by artist Ricardo Soltero and is once again hosting a digital altar open to all who want to post about their loved ones. It already has many moving contributions and will remain open through Nov. 2.

One more Día de Muertos-related story: Danielle Dorsey put together a guide to L.A.’s best bars and restaurants for mezcal. Because as Ivan Vasquez, owner of Madre Oaxacan Restaurant & Mezcaleria, told Dorsey, “On Día de los Muertos, you drink a copita with your loved ones.”

Frickles to Michelin-starred chocolate cake

Tiffani Thiessen outside Johnny Rebs’ True South, the first stop on the star’s Long Beach food crawl.

(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

TV’s Tiffani Thiessen took Times columnist Jenn Harris on an epic Long Beach food crawl that began with a Whole South Sampler, “a platter as big as a truck tire,” Harris writes, “filled edge to edge with frickles, fried okra, onion rings and fried green tomatoes in varying shades of golden brown.” As Harris says, that was just the appetizer at their first stop, Johnny Reb’s True South. After fried chicken, fried catfish, plenty of sides and, of course, peach cobbler, the two made their way to Sophy’s: Cambodia Town Food for a second lunch that included beef jerky, amok fish curry and more of the restaurant’s dishes that have made it an essential stop among the city’s many excellent Cambodian restaurants. Then there was a detour for cheesy enchiladas at Thiessen’s childhood favorite Pancho’s Mexican Restaurant on the way to a seven-course dinner at Philip and Lauren Pretty’s Heritage, which earned its first Michelin star this year. Before you start worrying about the health of our intrepid eaters, know that along the way they packed plenty of leftovers, which is the focus of Thiessen’s new cookbook “Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers.” Among their conversation topics: how to turn the leftovers from their food crawl into a great next-day meal. Top on Thiessen’s list: her Buffalo chicken bean dip.

When a so-called ‘forgotten’ neighborhood is ‘discovered’

Pastry chef Jen Yee plans to open Baker’s Bench in one half of a Craftsman house at the Alpine Street complex.

(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)

Contributor Emily Wilson took a look at Alpine Courtyard, a new culinary hub being developed by architect Jingbo Lou in Victor Heights near Chinatown and Dodger Stadium. Until recently, Eastside Italian Deli, nearly 100 years old, has been the main business in the mostly residential neighborhood that in the past has been called the “Forgotten Edge.” What changes will the new businesses bring? Already, Jihee Kim has gotten national acclaim for her banchan shop Perilla L.A. and a rave review by Bill Addison. Heavy Water Coffee is also drawing newcomers. In the works is a restaurant from chef Miles Thompson and wine expert Andy Schwartz plus a bakery from Jen Yee. Wilson’s story is an interesting look at the creative energy and gentrification fears behind the new development.

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