Mark Peel

This Week's Review, The Condensed Version: Bludso's Bar and Que in Hollywood

This week, we review Bludso's Bar and Que, the new barbecue spot that aims to take the magic of the original Compton Bludso's and bring it to the heart of Hollywood. It would be swell if you read the full review. But here's the short version for the attention-impaired.

The 11th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational: DIY Panini, Costumes Who Got the Gold

Check out Anne Fishbein's slideshow of the 2013 GSI. The 11th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational, held this past Saturday, had something for everyone. It's almost impossible to express the level of silliness and the abject joy of people gorging on sandwiches at a seamlessly executed event, but we'l ... More >>

Happy Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month Free Sandwiches

President Obama declared April "Budget Responsibly" Month yesterday. April also happens to be Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month. Unbeknownst to San Francisco-based The Melt (with a location downtown), their grilled cheese sandwich giveaway will cover both bases -- looking out for both your wallet and yo ... More >>

Weekday Food Events: Food Fare 2013 Grilled Cheese Night

Food Fare 2013 Planned Parenthood's annual fundraiser Food Fare 2013 is back today with 100 participating restaurants and purveyors, featuring Joe's Restaurant, Bar Pinxto, the Beer Chicks, The Corner Door, and The Tripel. Other restaurants setting up at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium include Ang ... More >>

10 Best L.A. Restaurants That Closed in 2012: An Elegy in 10 Parts

The conclusion of every year is a time to catalog both beginnings and endings, to look back over what exactly happened in the twelve months now drawing to a close. Which means that we're getting a lot of lists -- thank you, David Letterman -- as we calibrate and recalibrate, and remember, or try to, ... More >>

Cookbook Of The Week: New Classic Family Dinners Campanile's Clams Casino Recipe

Cooking is often about remembering -- actively, looking forward and without regret. You might be inspired by a family member, an incredible vacation, a certain farmer's produce or a neighborhood restaurant dish that you loved. A dish, perhaps, in New Classic Family Dinners by Mark Peel. This isn't ... More >>

[Updated] Campanile La Brea Bakery Store Closing: Walter Manzke's Republique Opening in the Space

Campanile and the La Brea Bakery shop are closing. The restaurant and bakery, which are in adjoining locations separated by a courtyard on La Brea Avenue and were both opened by then-married chefs Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton in 1989, will close at the end of November, the Los Angeles Times reports ... More >>

The Chef's Library: Mark Peel Louis P. De Gouy's The Gold Cookbook

It's easy to see by looking at a restaurant's menu what a chef's tastes and influences are. But what tools did they use to get there? And what tools do they still use, at work and at home, to draw inspiration? We decided to ask chefs around L.A. what cookbooks they consider favorites, which ones t ... More >>

Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival: The Wine Part of the Equation

The second annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival concluded Sunday, a slickly produced, three-day debauch mostly held in and around the capacious digs of L.A. Live and its Marriott property -- though neither conference room nor rooftop exhibition tent could adequately contain the assemblage of whit ... More >>

Top 4 Weekend Food Events: L.A. Food and Wine, Sunland Watermelon Festival, Lucques Rib Roundup Ecuadorian Parade

2nd Annual L.A. Food & Wine Festival With nearly 40 events over four days in Santa Monica, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and downtown, the LAFW looks to be one of the city's most ambitious food festivals. More than 150 chefs, including David Myers, Michael Voltaggio, Mark Peel, Michael Mina and Charles P ... More >>

Tar Pit Migration: A Pop-up Tavern at Campanile

When the Tar Pit, Mark Peel's swank watering hole on La Brea Avenue, closed in early March (the victim of a rent dispute), the restaurant's booths, banquettes, bar and barstools, as well as kitchen contents and a trove of glamorous props, all went into storage, awaiting a relaunch. No word yet on wh ... More >>

The Tar Pit Closes: To Open Again Soon, Somewhere

The Tar Pit, Mark Peel's retro cocktail bar and restaurant, served its last pickled deviled eggs and clams casino and Vieux Carre on Saturday night. Open on La Brea Avenue -- conveniently located a few blocks north of Peel's restaurant Campanile -- since late 2009, The Tar Pit closed because of a pr ... More >>

4 Leap Year Dining Events for Feb. 29: The Edison, 29-Cent Wine, CITY Night, Roy Choi/Mark Peel Mashup

[Update: Just added the event at The Edison.] Make Leap Day William happy: Buy a Leap Day cocktail and receive a free sidecar created by The Edison's bartenders. Also, 40% discount on cocktails, beer, wine and selected food items. (As with every Wednesday, all wine by the bottle is half-off.) WHEN: ... More >>

Roy Choi Mark Peel: Together at Last

Here's a post-Valentine's Day love affair to whet your appetite. Kogi/A-Frame/Chego/Sunny Spot impresario Roy Choi and Campanile/Tar Pit maven Mark Peel will join forces for a one-night food and music mashup on Feb. 29. While Pollyn's Adam Jay Weissman spins tunes in the Tar Pit lounge, Choi and P ... More >>

Cooks County: A Perfect First-date Restaurant?

F. FriesemaJonagold apples​At the end of 2011, the year that the gastropub finally wrestled formal dining into a bathtub to drown, we pretty much know what a good, new restaurant is going to look like. There will be an open kitchen, and noise, and a very decent selection of obscure wines by th ... More >>

Campanile: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Battle Pot de Crème: Mark Peel vs. Suzanne Goin a Recipe from the Winner

C. LeVasserThe duo of pots de créme.​We, and maybe you, continue to spend the majority of our time cooking at home, rather than eating out. Learning how to make things like New Orleans-style boudin blanc, and Sardinian malloreddus, seems to bring us a good bit more joy these days. So today, w ... More >>

Foodies 4 Less

Top 10 Food Fights of 2010: Jonathan Gold, Rick Bayless, Whales More

Finger Food/L.A. Weekly Flickr Pool​Whether it involved whales vs. sushi chefs, critics vs. chefs or Jonathan Gold vs. "fill in the blank", 2010 was huge for food fights in Los Angeles. Here are the 10 most memorable tiffs of the year, the ones that set the Twitterverse afire. 1) The Cove Tea ... More >>

Cold Noodle Competition Tonight at Starry Kitchen

N. GalutenCold soba noodles from Ichimiann in Torrance​ A series of small cooking competitions featuring well known L.A. chefs is already underway, all in the name of promoting dineLA's upcoming Restaurant Week. The first round of "quickfire challenges" began on Wednesday, September 22nd, wit ... More >>

Food Paparazzi Capture Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Sipping Bubbly & Promoting DineLA

Celia SoudryMob of photogs​ Tuesday morning, September 21st, Napa Valley Grille in Westwood Village promoted upcoming DineLA, a two-week event featuring over 300 restaurants, beginning October 3. The launch party and cook-off starred local politicians and chefs, including Mayor Antonio Villara ... More >>

Will Work For Food: Your Labor Day Food Festival Weekend

Good thing that Labor Day weekend traditionally marks the end of wearing white -- although here in Los Angeles, many restaurants are lucky if diners wear pants, white or otherwise -- as this holiday weekend has turned into one giant food festival. Between all the food trucks, food demos, cooking com ... More >>

You Can Be the Next Food Star: At The Grove, At Any Rate

Flickr/deb roby​The first ever A Taste at The Grove takes place this Saturday, June 26th, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And you could be one of the culinary stars scheduled to perform. Submit your most brilliant recipe online right away. The winner will be announced at an invitational VIP party that ... More >>

Happy Hour: The Tar Pit in Mid-City West

Caroline on CrackThe Tar Pit's happy hour cocktail, Tennessee Trilogy.​ The Place: The Tar Pit, 609 North La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles. (323) 965-1300. The Hours: Daily 5-6:30pm The Deals: $6 cocktails and wine by the glass, $2.50-$5 snacks.

Squid Ink Food Fight: Banana Cream Pie, Apple Pan vs. Jar

Certain foods feel nostalgic, whether they were a part of your childhood or not. You don't need to have grown up in the 50s to have a sense of comfort sitting in an Eisenhower-era roadside diner, drinking burnt coffee and eying a piece of cherry pie sitting under a glass covering on the counter. Pie ... More >>

More Tax Day Relief Drink Deals and Food Specials

Takami/Elevate LoungeFree Spicy Tuna on Crispy Rice at Takami/Elevate Lounge.​ The day you've dreaded is now upon us: April 15th. Tax Day. The last thing you probably want to do is lighten your wallet even more. Fortunately, as mentioned in the previous Tax Day Relief post, a lot of L.A. bars ... More >>

10 Leg of Lamb Recipes I Briefly Considered Making Yesterday

Flickr/One from RM​ 1. Julia Child's gigot a la moutarde. Bea Arthur's favorite, sure. But powdered ginger and pounded dried rosemary? Even on Easter, this one requires a leap of faith. 2. Chorizo-stuffed leg of lamb from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques. The Mexican-Moroccan-Prove ... More >>

Top Chef Masters Season 2: Chef Contestants Announced

Go find your knife kit and your remote. The second season of Bravo's Top Chef Masters is scheduled to premier on April 7th at 8 p.m. 22 chefs, including 6 who are returning from the first season, will compete for All That Plastic Wrap. (Okay, and charity money too.) This season's L.A. chefs includes ... More >>

Plate Spinning: Listings From the Past Week

Some food for thought from local, national and international news sources from this past week: --Jonathan Gold, Eric Alperin, Mark Peel and more on the best dining neighborhoods of 2009. [EaterLA] --Early '90s flashback for the LA Times Test Kitchen. [Daily Dish] --Anthony Bourdain pays tri ... More >>

Nostalgia With a Twist: The Tar Pit, Mark Peel’s Latest

Tar Pit Opens Today: Shrimp Louis The Old Cuban

Tar Pit​'Tis the season for bar openings. Tar Pit, the old-style ("reminiscent of a 1940s-era supper club") La Brea restaurant and lounge from Mark Peel and Jay Perrin (Campanile) and Audrey Saunders (NYC's Pegu Club), finally opens its doors to the public today. It was a long time coming. Pee ... More >>

Construction Report: The Tar Pit, Coming Soon From Mark Peel & Audrey Saunders

The Tar Pit, the bar and restaurant project from Mark Peel and Jay Perrin (Campanile) and new partner Audrey Saunders (Pegu) is set to open in three weeks. Named for the dump in the 1936 film My Man Godfrey, the Tar Pit is scheduled to open December 7th, according to Peel ("Hey, it's Pearl Harbor Da ... More >>

The Last Radio Room: Of The Year Or Forever?

The last Radio Room at The Edison went out with more of a pfffttt and less of a bang! And when I say, "last Radio Room," I mean, like, maybe ever. It's understandable that the party's being shelved for this year. But what about next year? As it turns out, some rainmaking staff are leaving the steam ... More >>

The Wednesday Edition: A Roundup of Today's Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections on Wednesday. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is ... More >>

Your Month in Review: October Restaurant Openings

It seems that nearly as many restaurants opened as reopened in the city of Los Angeles last month. Some restaurants got makeovers, some changed hands, and others took risks. Take the pork-themed Flying Pig Truck that set out on the streets of Los Angeles in the midst of the Swine Flu scare. On the t ... More >>

The Point (Re)opens Today in Culver City: Get a Lunch

The Pointfollow the delivery truck​We updated the status of The Point in Culver City not too long ago. This morning Mark Peel's mostly-take out (for now) eatery reopened for business. Starting today, they'll be open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Given the construction, you may n ... More >>

Construction Report: Mark Peel and Jay Perrin's La Cienega Bar Nearing Completion

Campanile chef-owner Mark Peel and GM Jay Perrin have had a cocktail-bar-and-eatery project in the works for 2 years now, and--finally--the project is nearing completion. In about 2 months the pair will open the doors to the former Oasis location, right next door to Cube and conveniently located up ... More >>

The Point in Culver City: Reopening Under New Ownership

Because of the construction on National Blvd. in Culver City, you might not have noticed that The Point, the casual restaurant in the Hayden Tract that Beacon's Kazuto Matsusaka and Vicki Fan opened only two years ago next month, closed a few weeks ago. Because of the Light Rail transit project, it' ... More >>

Mark Peel's New Cookbook: New Classic Family Dinners A Recipe for Cold Cucumber Soup

Amazon.comNew Classic Family Dinners​Mark Peel has had a busy summer. In addition to working on the new bar up the street from his La Brea Avenue restaurant Campanile, opening a new take-out place (more on both projects coming), competing in Top Chef Masters and appearing as a judge in the new ... More >>

Animal's Vinny Dotolo Added to Jonathan Gold Carnivore! Panel With Feniger, Becerra and Peel -- Saturday Noon at LA Weekly LA Weekend. Plus, Kogi Taco Truck on Friday and Dogs From Let's Be Frank on Saturday

Anne FishbeinAnimal's Vinny Dotolo, the scarfed one, will be talking meat. Vinny Dotolo and partner Jon Shook are incapable of keeping their fleshly tendencies out of every possible course at their Fairfax restaurant Animal -- consider that their most talked-about dessert is the bacon-chocolate cru ... More >>

SELF-PROMOTION PICK OF THE WEEK

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L.A.'s best roasted, grilled sizzled and wood-baked cooking

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The Braise of Winter

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My Favorite Things, Part 2

Imports and adaptations