Micah Wexler

Q & A With Micah Wexler: Dead Chefs, a Residency at Umamicatessen Plans for a New Restaurant

Hot off his 10-week, sold-out residency at Umamicatessen, chef Micah Wexler is already planning a new series of dinners. The dinners consist of a weekly, themed meal at a central kiosk at Umamicatessen, which has been transformed into a chef's table for up to 12 guests. The residency that just ended ... More >>

Coming Soon: The Residency at UMAMIcatessen

Next Thursday, March 14, UMAMIcatessen will introduce "The Residency" amidst its layout of specialty food and drink stalls. One part dinner program and one part experimental space, The Residency begins with Micah Wexler, previously chef at the late, lamented Mezze. A native Angeleno, Wexler will ded ... 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 >>

Cochon 555 Returns to L.A. in 2013 for 5th Anniversary

The country's roving pig-themed culinary festival, Cochon 555, is returning to Los Angeles for another year on May 5, bringing with its its celebration of nose-to-tail cooking and sustainable farming of heritage breed pigs.

October Roundup of Restaurant Openings & Closings Westwood Twitter Battle

For some, October in L.A. means candy corn stomach aches, new cocktail lists, air conditioning-induced colds and a fight to keep your business alive. We haven't done the math, but Westwood Village has seen a higher restaurant turnover rate than your average neighborhood. "Westwood is thriving," acco ... More >>

Mezze Closing This Weekend

Mezze, the Middle-Eastern influenced New American restaurant on North La Cienega Blvd., will be closing this weekend after service on Saturday night. The restaurant blames the "heavy construction" at the site next door. The restaurant's statement reads:

Test Kitchen Returns: Testing ... 1, 2, 3

Test Kitchen was born in August 2010. Located in the lower level of Townhouse, the restaurant that would become Sotto and Picca, it was a culinary experiment, a rotating pop-up that featured different chefs and menus every night. During its 2010 run, from August to December, Test Kitchen held dinner ... More >>

The New Pastrami Sandwich 3 Great Places to Get One

This week we're launching a new series called Food of the Moment which devotes itself to an ingredient or dish currently experiencing an boom at local eateries. We'll then eat it, dissect it, discuss it -- and tell you where you can get some. In a Slate piece back in September, Rachel Levin chronic ... More >>

The Return of Test Kitchen: Rocco DiSpirito, Neal Fraser Quinn Hatfield

When the first Test Kitchen dinner launched in fall 2010, located in the lower level space that would later become Sotto, few diners -- if any -- realized the magnitude of what was happening. But by the program's end -- after chefs like Jordan Kahn, Javier Plascencia, Walter Manzke and a dozen other ... More >>

At Mezze, Chef Micah Wexler Nails a Menu of Creative, Middle Eastern-Inspired Dishes

California's Foie Gras Ban Will Leave Chefs and Diners Wanting. But There May Be an Upside, Too

10 Best Foie Gras Dishes in Los Angeles

On July 1, the boom finally drops: The country's first statewide ban on foie gras goes into effect in California, making it illegal to serve or sell. For more on this, check out our critic Besha Rodell's consideration of the Last Days of Foie Gras. In honor of the work by chefs and kitchen staff do ... More >>

Cochon 555: "Porkapalooza" Hits the House of Blues

If the air seemed a bit heavier with the scent of bacon along the Sunset Strip last night, it was due to the pork-centric carnival that rolled through the House of Blues on Sunday: the second annual L.A. stopover in the nationwide Cochon 555 tour, an event combining five chefs, five whole heritage-b ... More >>

California C.H.E.F.S. Host Foie Gras Super Dinner

In protest of California's rapidly approaching foie gras ban, C.H.E.F.S. (the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards), an organization that sounds like an maniacal conglomerate out of a James Bond film, or perhaps a culinary-slanted take on the Avengers, announced yesterday that it will ... More >>

Foie Gras-loving Chefs Fight Ban With Last-ditch Petition

When the ban on foie gras takes effect on July 1, Californians with a taste for foie will be reduced to copping the creamy tan stuff in little, perfect slugs squeezed into wax paper packets like opium. They'll slip from hand-to-hand on public transportation. Liver-laden trucks will trundle from ne ... More >>

"Porkapalooza" Cochon 555 Returns

Just when you'd managed to expunge -- via marathons and wheatgrass-and-spinach elixirs -- the last traces of Wilbur from your tract, the Cochon 555 roadshow is back for another round. This time, five local chefs, five heritage hogs, and five winemakers will tangle at the House of Blues on Sunday, M ... More >>

Zagat Debuts Los Angeles 30 Under 30 List

Some of our favorite young chefs made Zagat's first ever Los Angeles 30 Under 30 list (a.k.a. how to make anyone over 30 feel inadequate). The honorees include Nyesha Arrington (Wilshire), Joshua Drew (Farmshop), Jordan Kahn (Red Medicine), Ilan Hall (The Gorbals), Casey Lane (Tasting Kitchen), Crai ... More >>

James Beard Awards 2012: Semifinalists Announced

Los Angeles chefs made a strong showing among the semifinalists for the 2012 James Beard Awards, which were announced today. Local nominees for the Best Chef, Pacific award include Josef Centeno (Lazy Ox Canteen), Michael Cimarusti (Providence), David Feau (The Royce at the Langham), Matt Molina (M ... More >>

Against the Rock-Hard Matzoh Ball

Guzzle & NoshMatzoh ball soup at Mezze.​It's almost impossible to find a decent matzoh ball at a restaurant in Los Angeles. Even at the finest delis, the standard matzoh ball is as large as a softball and nearly as hard. Perhaps this could be justified by some complex sociocultural explanation ... More >>

Pastrami at Mezze: 30 Sandwiches in 30 Days (Day 29)

Guzzle & NoshThe pastrami sandwich, served only on Sundays at Mezze.​Los Angeles has a new contender in the pastrami sweepstakes. Something of a dark horse or at least an unknown, it runs a close second to Langer's, the city's undisputed pastrami king. From where does it come? From Mezze, "the ... More >>

Mezze: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Jonathan Gold Reviews Mezze

First Bite: At Mezze, Middle East and America Getting Along After All

F. FriesemaJonagold apples​ The Middle Eastern moment in Los Angeles restaurants may be in full swing, having gone from the occasional hit of charmoula or side of Israeli couscous to entire high-end menus, from kebab dives to palaces of cuisine. A new hotel restaurant, a fancy lunch place or a ... More >>

Mezze: Opening Next Month in the Former Sona Location

L. Balla​ There should be a show like Moving Up for restaurants, where the former tenants of a space get a peek at what the new tenants have done, and comment on it. Mezze would be at the top of our list for screen time. The new Mediterranean restaurant, slated to open next month in the form ... More >>