Newsletter: Counter: Another counter, another cuppa joe
October is a great month for farmers markets, for watching sports — the Dodgers are in the postseason again — and for checking out what chefs are cooking with fall vegetables. Which brings us to Gary Menes' restaurant in Koreatown, Le Comptoir, the subject of Jonathan Gold's review this week. And, yes, after a few weeks of being sequestered (his word) with the 101 list, Jonathan is back. It will be out next month, and we're having a party. Hooray, all counts.
Meanwhile, this week I check in with the food site Chowhound, where a redesign has prompted many longtime users to leave. Tien Nguyen and Jenn Harris consider big news in coffee, S. Irene Virbila writes about alcohol consumption and ride-hailing services (permission to drink, apparently) and Jenn spends way too much time eating out in Santa Monica. We've got lists, we've got graphics, we've got lots of reasons to get a cup of coffee and keep reading.
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.
Gary Menes' haute counter
This week, Jonathan visits Le Comptoir, the haute counter that chef Gary Menes (Palate Food + Wine, Patina, Marche) installed in the Hotel Normandie building in Koreatown. In a small space that was once the Dragon Lady Bar, Menes is cooking exacting, vegetable-driven tasting menus. Much of what ends up on your plate began life in Menes' Long Beach garden.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
What happened to Chowhound?
Because not all message boards are for cars and guns, I check out the state of Chowhound. The food site has been around for 18 years, a system of regional message boards upon which the food-obsessive debate, among myriad topics, new restaurants, cooking and food trends. But last month the company that owns the site redesigned it, prompting many longtime Chowhound users, especially those here in L.A., to leave it — and to start up new sites. Maybe it's a useful corrective, or maybe it's not.
(Joseph Daniel Fiedler / For Los Angeles Times)
We all need a cortado now
Our coffee correspondent reports that Peet's Coffee & Tea is buying Stumptown Coffee Roasters, a bit of caffeinated musical chairs on the West Coast. As a result, Deputy Food Editor Jenn Harris checks in on the larger, increasingly corporate picture, with a look at who owns what in the coffee world. Either way, maybe it's time to head to Stumptown in downtown L.A. for a cortado.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Time to head to Santa Monica
If you like to keep up with new restaurants, you may have been spending a lot of time on the Westside this last year. Jenn catalogs 10 new or recently opened places in Santa Monica. Farm-to-table, yes, but also farm-to-diner, as well as some crazy cocktails and even more avocado toast.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Uber as your designated driver
S. Irene Virbila checks in with restaurateurs, bar owners and wine guys, and finds that ride-sharing has meant that people are indeed opting for another glass — or maybe bottle — when they're out at night. Especially in this town, with our bad traffic and lack of public transportation, Uber and Lyft mean you don't need a designated driver. Well, you do, but it's your Uber driver.
(David Ramos / Getty Images)
What we're reading
There are myriad reasons why some of us read Lucky Peach all the time. Here's the latest: Disney princesses reimagined as hot dogs. With instructions! Just in time for the Dodgers' postseason.
Jonathan Gold's 101
The 101 is coming! The Los Angeles Times will publish Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants, the authoritative annual guide to local dining, on Nov. 4 at latimes.com/jgold101. The print edition will be delivered to Times’ Saturday subscribers on Nov. 7. And in honor of this year’s best, Mr. Gold will host a 101 launch party at Union Station on Nov. 4. For more information, go to latimes.com/getgold. Official hashtag #JGOLD101.
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