"LosAngeles" news and stories

Los Angeles has many things to recommend it to the enterprising eater, and Surfas is unequivocally one of them. Why? Well, for one, take a look at this photo. Mycryo Gelatine Substitute. Lots of it. While the vast majority of the population would have absolutely no idea of what to do with it -- sprinkle it? snort it? use it instead of NutraSweet? -- the fact that Surfas carries it in such large quantities is just very cool. So is the shop's eye-popping variety of spices, flours, sugars, extracts, chocolates, nuts, dried beans, butters and -- well, you get the picture.

Geared towards pro chefs who presumably have a need for things like mycryo gelatine substitute (used mainly by pastry toques, as discussed here), Surfas is also a paradise for the less ambitious homecook.

Find out why after the jump.

• A Los Angeles food club has been meeting monthly for a whopping 45 years.
• An ode to the breaded goodness of pork schnitzel, plus tons of good cooking tips.
• Lost Coast Brewing adds to its proliferation of fruity brews with a Tangerine Wheat Beer, a beverage primed to be "a charming outdoor sipper."
• The delicious aspects of Chinese Hunan cooking and a positive review of Xiang Wei Lou, a "plain but spiffy café" in San Gabriel, Calif.
• This year's Anatolian Cultures & Food Festival boasted amazing, sticky dondurma ice cream, full-scale structural reproductions and even a Turkish quesadilla.
• Writer Dan Neil weighs in on Carl's Jr.'s sexy Padma Lakshmi commercial and the politics of mixing sex and fast food.
• 2006 Terra de Verema Triumvirat -- a "beautifully balanced" $30 wine that the critic says could sell for twice as much.
  
• A brief review for Costa Mesa's Pizzeria Ortica, which offers unusual fare like house-cured yellowtail and milk-braised Kurobuta pork short ribs ... plus a more detailed review by critic Irene Virbila.
• Recipes: Pork Schnitzel, German Potato Salad, Julienne's Graham Cracker Chewy Bars

Here's what you can find in Today's Los Angeles Times Food Section (Wednesday, May 14, 2008)

Former mayor Richard Riordan already runs two iconic L.A. restaurants -- downtown's Original Pantry and Malibu's famous Gladstone's for Fish. But never one to rest on his laurel's, he's added three more to his lineup: Riordan's Tavern, the Oak Room and the Village Pantry.

Love cheesecake? So does Amy Scattergood.

Who needs cooking school? Learn how to cook online.

Cooking with tomatillos.

The wine memoir is becoming drinkable. Three wine writers swirl their memories in book form; Alice Feiring, Neal I. Rosenthal and Sergio Esposito.

Reseda...or Istanbul? It's hard to tell the difference sometimes. A review of Sako's Mediterranean Cuisine.

Wine of the week: It's still possible to find a good bottle of white burgundy for under $30.

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California's almond industry is suffering as a result of Colony Collapse Disorder, but the secret death of bees isn't keeping area pastry chefs from using honey: Wildflower honey, apple and goat cheese tart, Honey shortcakes with honey-pine nut gelato, and Recipe: Acacia panna cotta.

The interplay of textures between greens and beans make for a good meal: Cranberry bean, lacinato kale and pasta soup, Warm salad of black-eyed peas, wilted mustard greens and bacon, and Dandelion green and Christmas lima bean tacos.

In drinking, you can make your own version of southwestern France's ratafia brandy, use a stemless glass perfect for picnics, and sip SIV's Wine of the Week, 2005 Luigi Pira Langhe Nebbiolo 'Le Ombre.'

Regina Schrambling shows us how to host a Dumpling Party, with recipes for Seafood Dumplings, Vegetable Dumplings, Pork Dumplings, Dumpling Dipping Sauce, Five-spice Snickerdoodles, Cheater's Scallion Pancakes, and a comparison of Dumpling Wrappers.

Also in the kitchen, cook with jamon iberico, add tang with tamarinds, and bake Coconut Cupcakes from Auntie Ems.

On the dining scene, SIV gives new tapas joint Bar Pintxo 1½ stars and Fraiche is doing so well in Culver City, it's already thinking of expanding to additional locations.

To drink, Prosecco gets serious and the Wine of the Week is 2006 Paolo Scavino Dolcetto d'Alba.