Bittersweet farewells: Spano's chocolate-raspberry truffle at conclusion of vodka-paired cheese tasting at Artisan Cheese GallerySome goodbyes are tough, such as Lesley Balla announcing that she left Eater LA last week to pursue other ventures (most notably, the editor for Tasting Table LA, to debut in February.) It has definitely been a rough week catching up on local food/drink scene and gossip without her; for the interim, Ben Leventhal from Eater headquarters in NYC have been doing the postings, but the majority of them are repurposed Eater NY posts or national stories (e.g. celebrity chefs, Top Chef show) ~ and even their week in reviews and message boards wrap-ups highlighted only one of each. Nonetheless, I still have faith in ELA and hope that Ben either heed the disgruntled (and possibly-soon-to-be-ex) readers' feedback or find a replacement editor soon. And of course, best of luck to Lesley and TTLA (sidenote: I am not sure whether I prefer bloggers straight-out announcing that they're quitting, or quietly fade away like OMG Food! or Colleen Cuisine.)
A farewell that's not so tough is LA Magazine Mary Melton's parting from that crazy Gwyneth Paltrow detox diet; she was so close to sticking through with the weeklong program too, but ultimately, a weekend Obama party with chips and "Guantanamole" did her in.
Few weekend going-ons that sounds fun (yes, asides from the start of DineLA restaurant week that I've gah-gahed so much about.)
First, thanks to FauxLAHipster, found out that downtown's Barker Block will be hosting a Pre Super Bowl BBQ catered by art district newcomer Wurstkuche (known for their wide selection of gourmet and exotic sausages, including rabbit-rattlesnake and mango-jalapeno-chicken.) Event starts at noon and is free, but you gotta RSVP.
And for coffee aficionados, from today to early Sunday downtown's Spring Arts Tower is the site of the Western Regional Barista Competition starting today and going on till Sunday, with baristas from all over the Western U.S. with their eyes on the prize of pulling the best brew (and a chance to compete in the national contest.) Obviously, lots of coffee and espresso will be served up. For more information on this event and the contenders, check out FoodGPS' extensive coverage and profiles. I am getting wired just reading all of that.
Last but not least, eco-conscious neighborhood market Locali finally opened in Hollywood in the Franklin Avenue area. I think Eating L.A. phrased it best calling it the anti-Famima, similar structure but featuring locally made products instead of stuff flown halfway around the globe. Sounds like a great way to discover your local food and beverage artisans while reducing your carbon footprint at the same time!
Update: Another farewell I'm not too happy about, Little Tokyo's Mitsuwa is closing up shop (not too big a surprise, the mall it's in has been pretty barren for the past couple of years); per Mikey Hates Everything, they started a closeout sale this week. Not sure how many nice wares are left by now, but worth swinging by if you're in downtown.
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4 comments:
It's a shame what is happening over at Eater. I don't know how abruptly Leslie left, but it seems like they were not prepared for a smooth transition at all. There are so many foodies that they could have reached out to for help, but really I think the money situation over there to hire new writers may have dried up. Who knows. I still have been checking it every morning to see if anything has changed, but if I see one more Top Chef round up...
Anyway, see you Monday night HC!
I think if someone ends a blog, a good-bye is necessary. Especially b/c readers wonder what happened. One of my VNese blogging friends abruptly stopped and emails to her have remained unanswered. So I worry that something happened. :(
Weird. My verification word is "allystop."
@Matt, I know -- Racked LA's editor took off too, but the transition was much more seamless there. Can't wait for Monday :)
@WC, yea, I s'pose. When the other two blogs simply stopped, I was just needlessly worrying too. Hope all is well for you even after that laptop incident.
aw, thanks for the shoutout! :D I think it may be my first one on blogosphere! did you end up going??
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