[title type="h5"]Thursday, March 20, 2014.[/title]
Mary Ann said that she would have breakfast as usual in the Langham's outdoor patio, then spend the morning sunbathing next to the pool. She knew I would go along with the first idea. I had a continental breakfast of pastries, juice and coffee. She ate her favorite dish here, poached eggs with corned beef hash. But I think I surprised her when I offered to join her down at the pool. With long-sleeve shirt, long pants, shoes and socks, of course. I hope I didn't embarrass her.
En route to a rendezvous with Jude, we encountered a row of eleven food trucks lined up next to a small park across from Universal Studios. (The actual studios, not the theme park.) Mary Ann had to check this out. Nothing had more appeal to her than burgers, fries, tacos, barbecue brisket and pizza. All of which were well represented here. So were Thai street food, Middle Eastern stuff, chili, and red beans and rice (!). We sampled about six items. As if we needed another meal in our schedule.
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Los Angeles food truck, serving a familiar dish.[/caption]
Mary Ann went off to do some further shopping for houses. And Jude and I went out for my third meal of the day to a Cuban restaurant we was fond of called Porto. It started small but is so well managed that it's expanded to other locations. This one--a bustling shop with two lines of customers waiting to order--is a good-looking restaurant that would have appeal even to those who only eat in restaurants that have hamburgers and spinach-artichoke dip on the menu.
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Cuban-style ropa vieja sandwich at Porto in Los Angeles.[/caption]
We split an order of potato croquettes, then sandwiches: a media noche for him, a slight variation of the Cubano for me. All well made with good meats. Flan for dessert, made in the distinctive dense, almost heavy Cuban style. And espresso--or should we call it Cuban coffee?
Here was a sample of one of the great parts of the Los Angeles culinary scene: lots of Hispanic food, served to enough Hispanic customers that the character of the flavors remain true to their roots.
Jude's GF Suzanne is in the fundraising field. For that reason, she is a member of a private club where she takes potential donors to lunch and dinner. She likes going there just for pleasure, too. She raved about it enough last time she was in town that I asked whether it could be included among the dinner venues we would visit this week. She arranged it, and invited a friend of hers who somehow got hold of my cookbook and wanted to meet me. I'm glad he came. He laughed at all my jokes and talked about food and wine the rest of the time. My kind of dinner companion.
Suzanne let the manager know who I am and what I do. This resulted in a tour of the kitchen, the many large private dining rooms, and the wine cellar. Roomy and grand, the two main rooms had large parties in progress when we passed by, it reminded me a lot of the holidays at Antoine's. The woodwork had that same British men's club look, and the immensity of the larger rooms was impressive.
The menu was from the standard fine-dining catalog. I started with an onion soup made with highly concentrated veal stock and a lot of fresh mushrooms. Then a pair of beautiful Colorado lamb chops. Suzanne told me that I was not bound to the menu, and that the chef could really make almost anything if he had the ingredients. Well, okay: bearnaise sauce? Not a big request, really, but there it was, lickety split, and very good.
Dining in this club triggered an insight. It has been clear for some time that, all over the world, the day of the fine-dining restaurant is nearing its end. Even in France, where ceremonious restaurants were invented, they are going away.
On the other hand, the need for large restaurants with grand menus and service will always be there. A good as Brigtsen's or Root or Kingfish are, they will never be venues for wedding receptions for 300, or even high-school reunions for fifty. But can a restaurant big enough to handle such banquets find employment the other six days of that week?
Clubs like this one in L.A. have the advantage of needing to buy only as much food as they need to produce a well-planned, paid-in-advance menu. They bring in just enough people to cook and serve those events.
Will the day come when Antoine's, Arnaud's, Broussard's and their like leave the the a la carte business to smaller, more nimble restaurants that draw crowds by following the trends? I certainly hope not. But I wouldn't be surprised.
[title type="h6"] Yesterday || Tomorrow[/title]
Written by Tom Fitzmorris March 28, 2014 12:01 in
