The Passion of Jordan Kahn
Plus, Evan Funke snags a seat at the Chef's Table, a new school beer does things the old-fashioned way, and LA food media outlets unleash a listicle bonanza.
LA FOODSTACK is a curated list of the week’s most essential food news through a Los Angeles lens. Prepared by The LA Countdown and The LA Food Podcast.
1. Is Jordan Kahn the savior of gastronomy?
This week, Stephanie Breijo published a frank and nuanced assessment of Jordan Kahn’s very good year for The LA Times. The piece traced Kahn’s evolution as a human over the past few years, and how said evolution is reflected in both Vespertine 2.0 and Meteora:
“The first iteration was, for me, very moving: I was connecting the space and the food and the environment and materials and everything into this very cohesive, singular sort of expression,” Kahn said. “I think the newer iteration feels more evolved. It’s me I guess seven years later, and I’ve since found the love of my life, so that made a big impact on everything.”
In addition to answering questions regarding allegations that the old Vespertine may have caused some damage to the mental well-being of its employees, Kahn offered this assessment of what Vespertine 2.0’s success means for the industry:
“A lot of my colleagues are very excited that we’re reopening because it represents something for them, a kind of hopeful future for sort of the genre of gastronomy not slipping into an abyss of one thing or another,” he said. “Because we’re obviously unique, it makes it known that uniqueness can still prevail through all the mud that we’ve had to go through.”
That last line really sticks out - “It makes it known that uniqueness can still prevail through all the mud that we’ve had to go through.”
To me, it’s a statement that subtly takes a shot at all of the cookie-cutter concepts opening up left and right, presumably because the economic conditions aren’t exactly friendly to risky “big swings,” so to speak. That said, I’d argue that Vespertine is very much the exception, not the rule. So while Kahn’s success may provide a ray of hope to restaurateurs craving uniqueness, I’m not sure how much confidence it’ll give them to turn that hope into a reality.
2. Does Evan Funke make for good TV?
While most (wink wink nudge nudge) would agree that Evan Funke makes good pasta, the jury’s still out on whether he possesses the je ne sais quoi to make it as a TV chef. His eponymous 2018 documentary was released to mixed reviews, and I’m not gonna say that Quibi’s failure was entirely down to his “The Shape of Pasta” 8-part series, but I can’t imagine it helped.
This week, news broke that Funke would receive the Chef’s Table treatment in the upcoming series dedicated to the world of noodles. Bettina Makalantal writes the following for Eater:
Chef’s Table: Noodles, a single topic-focused season akin to the show’s previous deep-dives into pastry, barbecue, and pizza, premieres on October 2. It’ll feature Evan Funke, the Los Angeles chef known for his handmade pasta; Guirong Wei, the London chef who specializes in Shaanxi cuisine; Peppe Guida, the Italian chef behind the Michelin-starred Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa; and Nite Yun, the Oakland chef who has championed Cambodian cuisine in the United States.
As a proud Angeleno, it’s always great to see LA get some shine on the Chef’s Table stage. That said… wouldn’t it have been nice to platform somebody who hasn’t had a shot before? What about Avner Levi of Cento Pasta Bar? Or Danielle Duran-Zecca of Amiga Amore? Jackson Kalb? Gino Angelini? Steve Samson? Chad Colby? I just can’t help but feel that Netflix missed a trick on this one.
3. I’ll have a nice, cold Skyduster, please
Eater’s Matthew Kang set out to figure out why Skyduster Beer suddenly seems to be on every new! cool!! hip!!! restaurant menu in the city:
The secret to the brand’s expansion is pounding the pavement with a personal touch. “A lot of people have forgotten the art of making friends. We focused on amazing customer service and getting in with chefs,” says [Co-Founder Jonny] Marler, who was previously involved with House beer, Juice Served Here, and Vittoria Coffee. For Skyduster’s flavor profile, the duo went with something crisp and refreshing that paired well with food. Their lager incorporates rice for something that resembles an easy-going Japanese beer while their West Coast IPA, Italian pilsner, and Citrus wit all maintain a restrained approach. Properly chilled, the beers exude a smooth effervence.
“We want to follow what natural wine or Casamigos did, brands that were hyperfocused on cool restaurants for building their brand,” says Marler. “Our customers are the chefs, back-of-house, and front-of-house. We want to be known as the beer that people in the restaurant industry drink.”
The strategy appears to be working, with chefs like Chris Bianco and Joshua Skenes singing the company’s praises in the article. And is it any surprise? After all, WWGCD (What Would George Clooney Do) seems like a pretty good philosophy for life.
4. A ranked listicle of this week’s best listicles
It seemed like everywhere you turned this week, LA food media hit you with another listicle. How does one make sense of all these listicles? One way would be to make a… listicle. Here’s my ranking of the best food listicles published this week:
Eric Valle goes way beyond pupusas in exploring the 12 must-try Salvodaran dishes in Los Angeles for The LA Times. I liked this because typically coverage of LA’s Salvadoran food rarely breaks out of the pupusas’s gravitational orbit. This list did just that.
The Infatuation published a burger list, which ya know… It’s a burger list. But they snag the silver medal for the ingenious way in which they packaged the list for social media. I give you, The Da Vinci Code of LA Burgers:
Eater’s staff takes the bronze medal with this list of “hidden gems.” While we can take issue with how one classifies a “hidden gem,” I appreciate the effort to highlight lesser-known spots.
Love me a hyper-specific list, so kudos Brant Cox for “Where to Drink Martinis and Glare at People” - a one-man show I would pay to see.
Thank you Infatuation team for pointing me in the direction of affordable sushi.
The Infatuation somehow found 18 good restaurants in Westwood.
It’s a tie. Eater updated its Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings, and offered the same treatment to its “Hottest New Restaurants” list. Different lists, but much-for-muchness in terms of my enjoyment.
The Infatuation published a list of the best restaurants on Sawtelle, and I’m pretty sure it’s just… all of the restaurants on Sawtelle.
I will always rank a pizza list last because I have too many opinions and no matter the list, my blood will always boil. Eater was the culprit this time around.
The people’s champ: Texas Monthly’s list of the best Texas-style BBQ joints outside of the Lone Star State. Spoiler alert… 2 LA-are places made the Top 10!
5. Best thing I ate this week? The perfect summer dessert from Boccali’s in Ojai.
They say summer is almost over, yet the temps didn’t seem to get the memo. Neither did Boccali’s in Ojai, a charming little Italian joint nestled in the hills where they serve a show-stopping strawberry shortcake through the month of October.
We tend to eat lunch somewhere else (we’re big fans of Ojai Rotie) and then head to Boccali’s for a cup of coffee and dessert. The thing that really makes this dessert is the shortcakes’ salt content- it’s probably a little heavier than you’d expect, but it balances perfectly with the ripe strawberries plucked from the Boccali’s farm. Get there before October ends. I think there’s a Green Day joke in there somewhere…
Other stories to chow down on…
Eater’s Rebecca Roland reports on a lawsuit facing Cookbook for racial discrimination and wrongful termination. We talked about this on The LA Food Podcast many months ago when a TikTok video detailing the incident went viral - pleased to see that the wheels of justice are in motion.
Where does Kamala get enchiladas in LA? SF Gate’s Karen Palmer has the scoop, and she rolled it up into a piece oozing with fun details.
KTLA makes its play for a Pulitzer with an intrepid investigation of whether street vendor hot dogs are “safe.”
The Angel’s Emily Wilson has a knack for unearthing gems with her writing, and her profile of Chef Balo Orozco is no exception.
Remember when Gab Chabran joined The LA Food Podcast to tell us about great seafood in the SGV? His piece on the matter is now live at LAist.
This week on The LA Food Podcast…
We’ve got Top Chef legend Joe Sasto in the building, spitting truth on Michelin-caliber dining, artisanal pasta, and how he got the Voltaggio brothers to eat testicles. Plus, he gives a sneak taste of his Tantos Pasta Chips, which you are going to want to order a crate of stat.
Plus, Father Sal joins to break down The Infatuation’s burger takes, whether Evan Funke deserves to be on Chef’s Table, and why fast food jobs in California are on the up despite the higher minimum wage.
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