Walter Manzke

Petty Cash Taqueria: This Week's Restaurant Review

This week, our main review considers Petty Cash Taqueria. Read the full review over in the food section, or see below for a quick rundown. Backstory: Petty Cash is in the space formerly occupied by Playa, John Sedlar's Latin restaurant which closed in March. Restaurateur Bill Chait brought in chef ... More >>

Petty Cash Review: Fancy Tacos and Mezcal in Mid-City

May Roundup of Restaurant Openings and Closings

Big-name chefs are doing big things this summer. Opening June 4 is L.A.'s newest clam "shack" Connie & Ted's. Chef-owner Michael Cimarusti's (Providence) friends and family previewed the goods last week; the rest of us are soon to follow. Possibly the most notable recent opening is Petty Cash Taque ... More >>

Petty Cash Taqueria Opens Tonight

There was a lot of speculation about what would become of the space formerly known as Playa on Beverly Boulevard when the restaurant closed earlier in March. About a week and a half ago, restaurant partners Bill Chait and chef Walter Manzke -- with assists from food blogger Bill Esparza and chef Gui ... More >>

La Brea Bakery Reopening Tomorrow in the Rita Flora Building

La Brea Bakery, which closed its original bakery in November when the lease went to chef Walter Manzke, will reopen tomorrow in its new space in the Rita Flora building at 460 South La Brea Avenue.

11 Great L.A. Chefs Tell Us Their Holiday Food Traditions

For the past couple of weeks, we've been talking to L.A. chefs about their holday food traditions. Here's a roundup of all of those great chefs and what they do for the holidays, food-wise, plus a couple of extras thrown in for good measure.

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 >>

[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 >>

Food News Roundup: Campanile News, How to Quit Your Diet Coke Habit A Guide to Obama's Ale

Daily Dish: In which Bill Chait and Walter Manzke probably take over the Campanile space for Republique. Tasting Table: Café Dulcé pops up with coffee and street art in downtown L.A. The New York Times Diner's Blog: Brewing President Obama's ale, step-by-step. Zester Daily: Cruise food! (And we ... 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 >>

Bread Lounge: Art District's Stellar New Bakery

For the past two years, a baguette from Bread Lounge -- perfectly moist, crusty outside and airy as a wisp inside-- was one of the city's best-kept secrets. You could find it on the tables at some of the hippest restaurants in town, in the personal pantry of Walter Manzke or Nancy Silverton, served ... More >>

Watch This Now: The Tasting Kitchen's Casey Lane Discusses 'Working Ripe'

When we here at Squid Ink use the term "working ripe" it usually refers to those times when we head into the office after a particularly moist gym workout, but for Casey Lane, head chef at Venice's Tasting Kitchen (as well as the upcoming Parish and Itri), the term has another meaning altogether. I ... More >>

Top 5 Weekend Food Events: Can You Dig It?, Global Food Porn, Test Kitchen Burger Night, ColLAboration Winterfest, Market Basket Cocktails

Anne Fishbein/LA WeeklyRoasted beets and cheese at MB Post​Can You Dig It? Chef David LeFevre kicks off a seasonal series where he hosts a guest chef who will cook a three-course meal of shareable small plates. For the inaugural event, it's LeFevre's pal Giuseppe Tentori (Boka, GT Fish & Oyste ... More >>

Test Kitchen Returns at Short Order

They say too many cooks spoil the soup. So how about five chefs -- each with a distinct style -- all making burgers in the same kitchen, at one time? It's not a plot to ruin dinner, but rather the newest incarnation of Test Kitchen, happening Saturday, Feb. 25, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Short Order. ... More >>

Pinot Bistro Closing on Feb. 19

The old adage says "April is the cruelest month," but perhaps it's February in the restaurant business. After 20 years, Joachim Splichal's Pinot Bistro (of the fantastic pork rillettes) closes its doors on Feb. 19. To celebrate its two decades, the Studio City restaurant is offering giveaways and ... More >>

Food GPS' Lamb Showdown: In Which Walter Manzke, Steve Samson & Zach Pollack Cook You a Lamb Dinner

If you love lamb more than, well, other very tasty farm animals, then you probably have someplace to be on Monday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. And no, we do not mean volunteering your services to the folks at Windrose Farm, although that's not a bad idea. Food GPS is presenting the first (hopefully of man ... More >>

Church & State: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Top 6 Weekend Food Events: Walter Manzke, Debbie Lee, Jane Austen, International Food Bloggers Conference, Pizza Festival, Speed Rack

Jane Austen, spinach and tomato pizza, Walter Manzke.​12 Chefs, 12 Months, 12 Charities: Walter Manzke To celebrate 20 years in business, Joe Miller launches a year-long dinner series, inviting guest chefs to prepare a monthly prix-fixe feast with the proceeds benefiting St. Vincent Meals on W ... More >>

Church and State:
 Still Stellar Under Jeremy Berlin

Anne Fishbeinthe absinthe wall at Church and State​ Everybody knows Church and State. It's that loud bistro, decorated year-round with strings of Christmas lights. Walter Manzke used to cook there. The drinks used to be good, too. Is it still there? That part of downtown was pretty cool before ... More >>

Test Kitchen Alumni Return for Anniversary

Guzzle & NoshSotto's boscaiola pizza; the exterior of the two restaurants; Picca's mollejita.​Next Monday, the former Test Kitchen space celebrates its 1-year anniversary with the return of several high-profile TK alumni to the kitchens. Upstairs at Picca, chef Ricardo Zarate will host Kogi im ... More >>

Bastide Closes: This Time For Good

​ Bastide closed yesterday after the final service, according to a source at the restaurant. And this time it's for good. The rent was recently increased, rather drastically, and owner Joe Pytka has decided to "let it go." It's now on the market, so if anybody needs a stunningly beautiful loca ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Sriracha Chicken, Movie Sandwiches More Fun Listening to Bourdain Talk

-- Saveur #127, the Los Angeles Edition. (Congrats, Javier! Street food! And yes, James Oseland used to be a proofreader at LA Weekly.) [Saveur] -- Allergies explained using cookies and candy. [Boing Boing] -- 5 Questions for Walter Manzke, or the joy of immersion circulators. [Daily Dish] -- ... More >>

Bastide (Officially) Names Sydney Hunter III New Chef

Bastidechef Sydney Hunter III​For those of you who keep a running tally of the chefs at Bastide, Joe Pytka's Melrose Place restaurant, you can now officially put Sydney Hunter III's name up next to the Michelin inspector's Post-it jigsaw of Joseph Mahon, Paul Shoemaker, Walter Manzke, Ludo Lef ... More >>

Test Kitchen's Final Night: Alums Come Together To Feed You For A Good Cause

Flickr/Muy Yum​ Monday, December 13th, may be Test Kitchen's final dinner service, but Bill Chait and Brian Saltsburg's restaurant experiment is going out with a big-time culinary (and charitable) bang. For $150/person, Test Kitchen and non-profits Share Our Strength and Gettlove, are bringin ... More >>

Joe Pytka's Revolving Doors: Bastide Confirms Chef Mahon Is Out

Bastidethe revolving doors of Bastide​ This just in from the Department of Cold Emails. We knew that Joseph Mahon had left Joe Pytka's Melrose Place restaurant (attach his name to the roster of former chefs, a list that reads like a Michelin inspector's Post-it jigsaw: Alain Giraud, Ludo Lefe ... More >>

Your De Rigueur Test Kitchen (& Walter Manzke) Update

A. Scattergoodthe bar at Test Kitchen​ As the culinary experiment of Test Kitchen winds down, the chef musical chairs act continues. Tonight and tomorrow night, November 30th and December 1st, Walter Manzke (Church & State, Bastide, ____ ) will be cooking Spanish tapas with Perfecto Rocher (t ... More >>

[Updated]: Foie Gras Protest Tonight at Providence

bloggyboulga/Flickr​Update: We checked in with chef Michael Cimarusti this morning to see how last night's foie gras protest affected the event. He tells us the dinner went "very well," and that no major conflict arose between the restaurant and the protesters. "Obviously we disagree on the ... More >>

More Fun with Foie Gras: Bocuse d'Or Foundation Benefit at Providence

Melody Fury/FlickrA flight of dishes at a Bocuse d'OR competition​ On Tuesday, November 16, Los Angeles chefs Josiah Citrin, Walter Manzke, Alain Giraud, and Tony Esnault will gather at Providence with Providence chef-owner Michael Cimarusti and pastry chef Adrian Vasquez to prepare a multi-c ... More >>

Your Weekend Restaurant PSA: Sunday's Triathalon Street Closure

map of LA triathlon​ If your Sunday morning routine typically includes wandering around northern Culver City, stopping in at Akasha for brunch and then strolling over to Ford's Filling Station and then maybe across the street to Tara's Himalayan and then heading back over to Le Saint Amour to ... More >>

With a Little Help from His Friends: Mark Gold Co. Celebrate Eva's 1st Anniversary

Anne FishbeinRemoving an unruly customer at Eva.​ When Eva celebrates its one-year anniversary on Wednesday, September 29th, big kitchen star power will take over the restaurant's compact space. "They've all been friends of mine for many years," says Eva's Chef/Owner Mark Gold of pals Michael ... More >>

Manzke Consulting at Le Saint Amour: Calm Down, It's Temporary

A. ScattergoodLe Saint Amour​ For those of you who have followed chef Walter Manzke, from Bastide to Church & State, and recently to the Test Kitchen, you can now find him one week a month at Le Saint Amour. Manzke is consulting at the Culver City bistro, which opened a little over a year ago ... More >>

Your Walter Manzke Update: 4 Days at Test Kitchen, El Bulli, Chicago, Etc.

A. ScattergoodSanta Barbara prawn with brown butter, lemon and capers​ As you will know if you read Jonathan Gold's most recent review, the Test Kitchen has been up and running for a few weeks now, featuring a rotating group of chefs like guest performers in a how-do-you-get-reservations-for- ... More >>

Test Kitchen Update: Brian Saltsburg Talks Manzke, Voltaggio, Tapas, and More

Test Kitchen​The recently opened Test Kitchen, from Bill Chait and Brian Saltsburg, continues to be in the news -- though that will happen when your restaurant features a constantly developing lineup of big name chefs. In fact, several local television stations are already in the process of se ... More >>

Walter Manzke Update: Breadbar's Hatchi Series, Pebble Beach Just Be Patient

Walter Manzke, who left the downtown bistro Church & State at the end of February, is popping up at Breadbar's Hatchi series. Manzke will cook for one evening, on June 24th, which marks the 1 year anniversary of the one-chef-one-night event. "They've been asking me and asking me, and I finally said ... More >>

Ears to Good Friends: 5 of the Best Pigs' Ears in Los Angeles

LA Weekly flickr pool/djjewelzpigs' ears at the Lazy Ox​ When did pig's ear begin to take over the culinary universe? Was it Eric Frechon's delicate curls of pig's ear on the best-of-hog plate at the Bristol in Paris? The whole deep-fried ear April Bloomfield introduced at the Spotted Pig in G ... More >>

Truck vs. Church and State: Kogi Bites Back

Q & A With Church and State's Walter Manzke, Part 2: The Family Business, Life at Bastide & The Future of The Bistro

In which we continue our interview with Walter Manzke of Church & State. The chef talks about what he would have done if he hadn't been a chef and gives his take on the bistro trend. Oh, and he weighs in (a little) on life at Bastide, which is set to reopen soon in yet another incarnation. And check ... More >>

A Recipe From the Chef: Walter Manzke's Cassoulet

Cassoulet is a great winter bistro dish, a homey baked casserole from the south of France that is absolutely nothing like the bland casseroles of most American childhoods. (Unless you happen to have French relatives or have won the food lottery and grown up nextdoor to Paula Wolfert.) Walter Manzke ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 12/7 - 12/11

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "When we reminisce about the old Luau in Beverly Hills, he always reminds me how the bar was full of call girls." Meet Your Food Blogger: Pat Saperstein of EatingLA. "L.A. seems to get caught up in these trends, ... More >>

Q & A With Walter Manzke: The Church and State Chef on The Importance of Salt, His Knife Collection Why He Hates Food Trucks

Anne FishbeinWalter Manzke at Church & State​Since Walter Manzke took over the stoves at Church & State, the downtown bistro in the old National Biscuit Company building, almost exactly a year ago, the restaurant has become a haven for bistro fans, cooks on their days off and anyone who loves ... More >>

Rumor Milling: No, Walter Manzke's Not Leaving Church & State Sunday Night Dinners At The Bistro

Ah, the Internet: invented by Al Gore, home to millions of fact-checkers. For anyone worrying that Walter Manzke has left or is leaving Church & State, the man just took 2 days off. Your pigs ears aren't going anywhere, and neither is the chef. Manzke thinks that the rumor got started on Yelp, and w ... More >>

The Cook, the Eavesdropper, His Wife and Her Birthday

Church and State, anyone?

James Beard Foundation LA Chef Invitational At The Foundry: Eat, Drink, Repeat

A fairly high percentage of L.A.'s finer dining restaurants are closed on Mondays. Next Monday that's probably a good thing, as not a few of them will be at The Foundry on Melrose. Eric Greenspan, chef-owner of The Foundry, will be hosting The James Beard Foundation L.A. Chef Invitational, a 5-cours ... More >>

Sarmadi Buys Out Steven Arroyo at Church & State

Photo credit: Anne FishbeinYassmin Sarmadi at Church & State​Yassmin Sarmadi has bought out her business partner Steven Arroyo at the downtown bistro Church and State. The deal was official at the end of last week. Arroyo's Los Feliz Cobras & Matadors recently closed; the last Cobras is the f ... More >>

Bastide Update (or Not): The Doors Remain Closed

Photo credit: Amy ScattergoodThe locked doors at Bastide​Anybody who's ever read Roald Dahl's classic children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remembers the defining moment when we learn that the factory is a cypher, the owner absent, the doors perhaps permanently closed. "Nobody eve ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad.

Silk Purse: AT CHURCH & STATE, CHEF WALTER MANZKE TRANSFORMS A PIG’S EAR

Breaking Free: L.A. Wine Culture

Shattering the stereotypes

Magical Mystery Tour

Bastide reopens