LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS
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Wilshire Grand’s closing, crime stats, and other happenings Around Town.
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Two Downtown business improvement districts try to push their borders.
W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
May 30, 2011
Volume 40, Number 22
THE 11 MOST INTERESTING CHEFS IN DOWNTOWN photos by Gary Leonard
INSIDE
Soapbox Scenes
Urban Scrawl on the city Gold Cards.
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Say thanks to the firefighters.
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Buy your own Chinatown building.
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(clockwise from top left) Fred Eric of Tiara Café, Judy Han of Mendocino Farms, John Rivera Sedlar of Rivera and Ilan Hall of The Gorbals are some of the Downtown chefs challenging diners, and themselves, with their culinary inventions.
A big batch of Restaurant Buzz.
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The Local Kitchen Wizards Who Are Pushing Food Forward by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
John Rabe sees dead TVs.
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Three outdoor film series.
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18 CALENDAR LISTINGS 20 MAP 21 CLASSIFIEDS
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o one can argue that Downtown Los Angeles has experienced a restaurant renaissance. In the last five years, the community has emerged as a dining destination, with foodies flocking to hot establishments in Little Tokyo, near L.A. Live and in other locations. One reason for the surge is that chefs are challenging each other. Kitchen wizards are heading to the Central City in part so they can be around, and compete with, those who are also pushing food forward. In short, Downtown is full of interesting chefs. Below, we’ve come up with 11 of them. “Interesting” is both a specific and a general word. It doesn’t necessarily mean the best meals in Downtown — there are other restaurants where a reliance on traditional styles and techniques regularly provides diners with food they won’t soon forget. It also doesn’t mean the chefs always get it right — those who aim high sometimes crash hard. What it does mean is that they offer something either brand new, or with enough of a twist on the traditional to feel and taste original. They also get it right a lot more than they get it wrong. Here, in alphabetical order, are the Downtown chefs who are redefining the dining scene, a few plates at a time.
Josef Centeno of Lazy Ox Canteen
Gilberto Cetina of Chichen Itza
Centeno’s offerings at Little Tokyo’s Lazy Ox are constantly changing and spark vigorous conversations amongst his fiercely loyal clientele. Diners wonder what the beef neck will look like when it’s plated. Will the seared beef tongue with pickled fennel and semolina compare to those found in old-school taco trucks? And what exactly is a whelk? The 35-year-old chef, a firm practitioner of the tail-to-snout school of cooking, is driven by whatever ingredients are fresh and that he happens to come across, even if it means they will only be on the menu for a day or two. He describes his food as American with a global influence, which sounds just about right. There’s fried baby pompano, buttermilk fried quail and steamed whelks, a large marine snail usually found in Chinese or Italian markets. This summer Centeno plans to open a new restaurant in the Historic Core called Baco, after his signature dish, a combination of a gyro, pizza and taco. At 241 S. San Pedro St., (213) 626-5299 or lazyoxcanteen.com.
Cetina’s Mayan-influenced Yucatan cuisine gives his better-known neighbor at Mercado La Paloma, Mo-Chica, serious competition. Cetina’s Chichen Itza is small, but produces some citrus-rich spicy gems. Cetina grew up in the Yucatan and helped in his mother’s restaurant. He opened his own place in 2001 and serves dishes like panuchos, a crispy corn tortilla stuffed with black beans and topped with lettuce, shredded charbroiled turkey, pickled red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes and avocado. The poc chuc is tender pork marinated with sour orange juice and salt, which adds a slightly acidic flavor. Many do cochinita pibil, but Cetina’s is magnificent, a savory, slow-cooked pork marinated with sour orange juice and annatto seeds that is roasted while wrapped in a banana leaf. Cetina makes the habanero sauce in house, and isn’t afraid to use it freely. At 3655 S. Grand Ave., (213) 741-1075 or chichenitzarestaurant.com. see Chefs, page 13
The Voice of Downtown Los Angeles