Hatfield's

Back around mid-June 2006, I was driving by Beverly Blvd., and I noticed that the location where Hatfield’s is located looked busy. Oh, they must have opened by now. I need to try that place ... In fact, the restaurant opened about two weeks earlier.

Quinn & Karen Hatfield decided to move from San Francisco, where they were working at Cortez Restaurant, down to Los Angeles, where Karen grew up. The restaurant is pretty small, 40 seats, not 400. That’s by design. Most of the tables are for two covers than for four.

When I had dinner at Hatfield’s for the first time, the servers were fine & knowledgeable when I was asking questions & inviting recommendations. Karen Hatfield, hostess/pastry chef, was quite helpful in the dessert selections, obviously. I sensed an intimacy and a familiarity with a small restaurant, without compromising on professionalism. Even after a couple of months later when I was dining at Hatfield’s with a friend, I felt like I've stumbled upon this wonderfully well-kept secret, which I don't mind. Delicious food, professional & personable staff, a small & very relaxing place where you can have a real conversation. As a result, Hatfield’s became one of my regular go-to restaurants in LA. I made it a point to visit the place and see what changes Quinn made in the menu or what new dessert Karen created. When one of my friends come into Los Angeles, I recommend Hatfield’s as one place to try, especially for Karen’s desserts.

Here are some courses from one of the chef’s tasting menu:

Over the past three years at Hatfield’s, a few things have changed. Repairs & renovations on the building. Constant changes to the menu. Karen’s hair is not blonde lately, and Quinn’s hair is not around lately (last time I checked). But the biggest change of all: Hatfield’s closed its doors at the original Beverly Blvd. location on Sat. 8 Aug. 2009.

This is not the end of Hatfield’s Restaurant permanently, due to the realities of this economy. As Quinn might describe it, this is the end of stage 1 of a long culinary “Tour de France.” Rather, Hatfield’s is moving to its new location on Melrose Ave., former site of Red Pearl Kitchen, Meson G & Citrus. Their new neighbors across the street will be Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza & Mozza 2Go. Several blocks east on Melrose is Providence Restaurant. And a couple blocks away on Highland, north of Melrose, is Susan Feniger’s Street.

They hope to open later in the fall of 2009. I wish them well. Los Angeles bureaucracy can be notorious.

Hatfield’s

original location (ended 8 Aug. 2009)

7458 Beverly Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90036

new location (starting in the fall of 2009)

6703 Melrose Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90038

(323) 935-2977

http://www.hatfieldsrestaurant.com

@twohatfields (Twitter)

Providence

It all started on a Thursday night back in April 2006 inside a building on the northwest corner of Melrose Avenue and Cole Avenue, across the street from a twenty-four hour car wash in Los Angeles, California.

I read the review in the Los Angeles Times and I heard many great things about chef Michael Cimarusti, since he left Water Grill, the seafood restaurant located in downtown Los Angeles, to start this highly-anticipated restaurant at the original location of chef Joachim Splichal’s Patina.

Once I entered and got settled down at my table, I ordered the nine-course tasting menu. Yes, the courses kept coming, right through the cheese course and the dessert courses. After the meal, I got a tour of the kitchen and was introduced to Michael Cimarusti. I remember him saying to me,

“We’ve been waiting for you.”

As a member of one of the food discussion websites (eGullet), I made comments about wanting to eat at Providence. Apparently, those posts were noticed. And that four-hour dinner was amazing.

From that evening on, for the past three-plus years, I continue to dine at Providence, to the point that I would be considered a regular. To illustrate that point, I recall having dinner one night at the bar, which I usually do once every two weeks or so. I decided to have the halibut. A few minutes later, chef Michael walks out of the kitchen into the bar area, stands right in front of me and says, “Halibut? You’re not having halibut! You’re having bouillabaisse!,” and then storms back into the kitchen. I was chatting and joking with the bartender how it doesn’t matter now what I order, the chef will probably overrule me. By the way, the bouillabaisse that I had was a new addition on the menu and it was excellent.

Along with Michael, I’ve gotten to know the Providence staff, including maitre d’ Donato Poto, pastry chef Adrian Vasquez, sommelier Drew Langley, mixologist Zahra Bates, and other staff members like Martin, Bobby, Hwang, Randy, Matthew, Krisi, Diane, Ray, Armando, Sam, and Tristan, as well as many Providence alumni, like Paul, Vincenzo, Yu Min, Jared, Nadav, and Peter, among others. And of course, a few culinary notables ...

What else is there to say? Providence is my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles.




Providence
5955 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 460-4170
http://www.providenceLA.com

A few good restaurants

I keep telling my friends to come to Los Angeles, and eventually, I'll say,

"Los Angeles does have a few good restaurants!"

Well, here's a few good restaurants for you, in the form of a map, made possible by Google:



View Los Angeles area Restaurants in a larger map

Go ahead and check out the map. I'll keep updating the map from time to time.

Los Angeles Culinary Scene: Downtown LA

For many years, downtown LA was dead after 5 p.m. People just don’t go out to dine in downtown LA. The only places to eat at night would be in hotels, near the Music Center or Chinatown. That’s about it, folks. Oh yes, don’t forget the Original Pantry, “We never close. We're never without a customer.” Most of the places to eat in downtown were open during the day, serving breakfast and lunch to those working in downtown LA.

Then, the Los Angeles City Council passed the Downtown Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (Ordinance 172571) in June 3, 1999. Ever since that ordinance, developers have been taking old historic buildings and turning them into updated residential spaces, live/work lofts, condominiums, and apartments, even to this day. Today, over 30,000 people live in downtown LA. And the number of restaurants and bars have increased. Ralph’s Supermarket has returned to downtown LA in over fifty years. And there are plans to transform Seventh St. into a downtown version of Restaurant Row. Now, if Trader Joe’s would just move into downtown ...

The culinary scene is getting better, I suppose. I do have a concern about the plethora of corporate chain restaurants and the apparent lack of more fine dining and independent restaurants.

Historically, downtown Los Angeles has a few restaurants that has stood the test of time: Philippe’s (1908) ; Pacific Dining Car (1921) ; Original Pantry Cafe (1924) ; Clifton’s Cafeteria (1931) ; Phoenix Bakery (1938) ; Langer’s (1947)

And here are a few sections of downtown to consider in your culinary adventure: Olvera Street ; Chinatown ; Fashion District ; Little Tokyo ; Grand Central Market ; Arts District ; Bunker Hill ; Financial District ; South Park ; Historical Core ; Bunker Hill ; Civic Center

Besides those restaurants already listed, here are some others that show the variety that’s available in downtown Los Angeles: Traxx ; Ciudad ; San Antonio Winery ; Nick’s Cafe ; Sam Woo ; Empress Pavilion ; Golden Dragon ; CBS Seafood ; Mayflower ; Spring St. Barbecue ; Asian Noodles ; Sushi Gen ; Kagaya ; Izayoi ; Curry House ; R-23 ; Fisherman’s Outlet ; 6^th St. Bar & Grill ; Grand Central Market ; Noé ; Water Grill ; Engine Co. No. 28 ; Seven Grand ; Seoul Jung ; Patina Group ; Palm ; Arnie Morton ; Daily Grill ; California Pizza Kitchen ; McCormick & Schmick’s

Okay, here are a few photos, all taken from Downtown Los Angeles:

Until next time,

--F&I

Los Angeles Culinary Scene : an introduction

This is the city ... Los Angeles, California. Mind you, it’s been said that Los Angeles is not a city: it’s thirty-four suburbs put together. Either way, the Los Angeles area is huge! The island of Manhattan in New York City has a land area that covers 23 sq. miles, slightly more than the cities of Santa Monica and Beverly Hills combined. Contrastly, the city of Los Angeles covers an area of 469 sq. miles, and that doesn’t include the rest of the County of Los Angeles, whose land mass covers over 4000 sq. miles.

The County of Los Angeles has 88 incorporated cities. Here is a partial list of these cities within the County of Los Angeles:

Alhambra • Arcadia • Azusa • Beverly Hills • Burbank • Compton • Culver City •

Duarte • Gardena • Glendale • Glendora • Huntington Park • Lancaster •

Long Beach • Monrovia • Montebello • Monterey Park • Palmdale • Pasadena •

Rosemead • San Gabriel • Santa Monica • South Pasadena • Torrance •

West Hollywood • Whittier

And here are some communities and geographical designations within the incorporated city of Los Angeles:

Atwater Village • Boyle Heights • Downtown Los Angeles • Eagle Rock •

East Los Angeles • Echo Park • Hancock Park • Highland Park • Hollywood •

Koreatown • Little Armenia • Little Tokyo • Los Feliz • Reseda • Silverlake •

South Central • Thai Town • Van Nuys • Venice • West Los Angeles •

West Valley • Westwood

And I haven’t even include Orange County, Ventura County, Riverside County, and the other counties that make up the area known as Southern California. At this point, you’re wondering why I’m giving this geography lesson when this is supposed to be a food blog. Good question. Let me paint this scenario:

Someone from outside the LA area writes a post on a food discussion website and asks, “I’m coming to LA next week. Please recommend me a really great restaurant. Thanks!” And if you notice, people living in LA will probably ask that person some pointed geographical and travel questions, like “Where in LA will you be staying? Will you have a car? If so, how far do you want to travel? What time of the day will you be driving?”

Folks, the Los Angeles area is HUGE!! Geography plays a significant factor in deciding where to go to eat. I know people who live in Santa Monica who think that driving to Beverly Hills for dinner is too far, never mind driving to downtown LA or to San Gabriel Valley. We’re not New York (i.e., Manhattan) or even San Francisco, where many of the restaurants are close together, relatively speaking. Mind you, LA does have some wonderful local, neighborhood restaurants. It just depends what neighborhood you’re in.

I hope this introduction, albeit geographical, helps you to understand the vastness of the Los Angeles area and its culinary scene.