Shop & Dine
The latest edition of our biannual tribute to inspired stores and elegant eateries
LOS ANGELES
Lazy Ox Canteen241 S. San PedroLos Angeles, CA(213) 626-5299www.lazyoxcanteen.com
Downtown Los Angeles’ east side just keeps getting better and better, gastronomically speaking. New on the foodie scene is The Lazy Ox, a neighborhood lunch and dinner spot in the Little Tokyo neighborhood.
Chef/partner Josef Centeno has an extensive fine-dining background, but he wanted Lazy Ox to be a laid-back spot with good food made with high-end techniques.
Most of the menu, which changes by season and often day-to-day and week-to-week, is tapas-style, though diners can opt for larger plates, such as roast lamb T-bone steak served with cauliflower cous-cous, merguez and dates, or pork frites with potatoes and caper brown butter. A few items—such as the hand-torn egg noodles and the pile of brick-roasted mussels, served with crusty bread and topped with French feta cheese, a super-spicy house-made sriracha sauce, basil and white wine—are regulars, but the real fun is to be had with The Lazy Ox’s extensive list of small plates, which are listed daily on a big chalkboard near the kitchen. Perfect for sharing, these little bites can include fried quail served on a bed of lemony salad, beef tongue ravioli, ricotta fritters with basil aioli and yellow tail marinated with avocado.
The Lazy Ox, which seats people in a cozy, dimly lit dining room and alfresco, is quickly becoming a favorite with the downtown loft-dwellers and young executives, who love the restaurant’s many deals. There’s a special daily “family-style” menu that feeds two people, daily happy-hour deals on food and booze, and half-off bottles of wine on Mondays.
Echo Park Independent Co-Op1712 W. Sunset Blvd.Los Angeles, CA(213) 483-0260www.shopepicla.com
Talk about taking one for the team. Rhianon Jones and Tristan Scott, founders of the fledgling Echo Park Independent Co-op (“Epic,” for short), decided local indie and avant-garde designers didn’t have enough outlets for their work and opened a 2,300-square-foot store to remedy the situation. Epic, which opened in March, stocks lines from 45 local designers in the store, selling everything from denim to women’s contemporary, menswear, jewelry, bags, scarves and housewares at its brick-and-mortar storefront and online. Price points at the store range from $10 for a candle to $900 for more high-end apparel. “The average price point is closer to $200 for clothes,” Scott said.
Epic carries lines such as Reclaimed in L.A., Howl, Les Sang Des Betes, Luxury Jones, Brian Lichtenberg, Modern Lovers, Dear Creatures, Ashton Michael, We as Folk and The Battalion.
“There are so many talented designers in L.A. Our focus is on supporting those that are doing work that is more interesting, more avant-garde,” Scott said.
NEW YORK
The Meatball Shop84 Stanton St.New York, NY (212) 982-8895www.themeatballshop.com
It sounds like a treatment for a movie. A super-talented, classically trained young chef builds a reputation as culinary rain-maker on West Coast; moves his home to Big Apple, where he, a childhood pal and the pal’s model/pastry chef wife open a tiny restaurant serving only meatballs; and within months lands on national television, teaching millions to make meatballs on the morning news.
Daniel Holzman, a young turk chef, and partner Michael Chernow have been living the dream since opening The Meatball Shop early in 2010. The concept is deceivingly simple—childhood favorite made fancy, served to hipsters and foodies—but the results are spectacular.
Diners build their own meatball experience, choosing from a la carte meatballs made of classic beef, spicy pork, chicken or veggies topped with a variety of sauces or served in sandwich, slider or hero form. Toppings range from spicy meat sauce and parmesan cream to mushroom gravy and classic tomato sauce. Sides include white beans, polenta, spaghetti, arugula and apple salad, sauteacute;ed broccoli, and steamed spinach. Dessert—and we suggest you leave room for it—is a build-your-own ice cream sandwich made from house-made ice cream and freshly baked cookies. Again, a childhood favorite taken up a zillion notches equals tasty genius.
The Meatball Shop, which also features a great little bar serving $3 PBR and an excellent selection of wine, has a vibe as cool as its founders. Long wooden tables, hardwood floors, a tin ceiling and subway tiles feel oh-so New York—as does the 4 a.m. closing time on Thursdays through Saturdays.
Convent179 Stanton St.New York, NY (212) 673-0233www.conventnyc.com
Travis Wayne has seen fashion retail from many angles, having worked as a stylist, wholesaler and store manager. Now, Wayne has distilled his experience into Convent, a tiny boutique with a big roster of international brands for men and women.
“It is a small store—about 300 square feet—but we carry 39 international and domestic designers. A lot of our brands are off the beaten path, with some coming from Berlin, Mexico City, Los Angeles and Australia,” Wayne said. Wayne, who carries lines as disparate as Cheap Monday to Rick Owens’ Dark Shadow collection, peppers his store with influential and unknown indie brands. Offerings include a plaid high-waist bikini from Geronimo Collection, a printed dress from Dusen Dusen, a men’s mesh cardigan from TwentyTen and a men’s two-way sarong from NY Chhorm.
To create a cohesive offering, Wayne buys each season with a theme in mind. Spring/Summer 2010 “has a clean and geometric sensibility,” he said. “This season the aesthetic is very post-punk early ’90s with grunge and mid-’90s Goth.”
To make room for so many designers and to keep merchandise cycling through, Wayne keeps his buys small and tight, usually offering only one size of each piece. Convent also maintains an e-tail store, updating it bi-weekly with new photos. The narrow offerings and online store also get shoppers motivated. “They know if they don’t buy something they love when they see it, it probably won’t be here when they come back,” Wayne said.DALLAS
Park1921 N. Henderson Ave.Dallas, TX(214) 824-3343www.parkhenderson.com
Like the name implies, Park is a little oasis. The restaurant, which opened last summer, is all fresh ingredients and good times.
Donald Chick, Park’s co-owner, and Executive Chef Marc Cassel have created a market-driven menu of classic American cuisine with a twist. Think flat-ironed chicken fried steak, honey-glazed pork chops and fried-ancho mac and cheese. The indulgent food has a healthy source at Park. “We use local, sustainable and organic ingredients whenever possible,” Chick said. And it isn’t all guilt-inducing. There are plenty of fresh salads and cheese-free items on the menu.
Offsetting the fresh and home-style dinner and brunch menus are specialty cocktails, including a house-made Bloody Mary spiked with vodka infused with Serrano pepper, bacon or cucumber and the Park’s Cup—a version of a Pimm’s cup that includes strawberry and agave nectar.
Park patrons are encouraged to make themselves at home at the restaurant. An outdoor cabana is perfect for lounging in the shade, and an on-site bocce ball court adds to the playful, park-like atmosphere. All that’s missing is a spot to nap in the sun.Pome8320 Preston Center PlazaNorthwest HighwayDallas, TX(214) 361-0968
Talk about one-stop shopping. Summer Guerra’s new 2,400-square-foot boutique, Pome, is stocked with an incredible array of contemporary and designer brands. Sass & Bide, Vivienne Westwood’s Anglomania, Rory Becca, Kim Ovitz, Hero Crane, Genetic Denim and Thread Social are just some of the labels Guerra carries.
“We are a lot larger than a lot of the contemporary boutiques in Dallas, so we are able to carry a wider selection,” Guerra said. Jeans, sportswear, jewelry, shoes and handbags range in price point from contemporary to opening price point designer.
A former law-school student and a single mom, Guerra opened the store in December because of her love of fashion. “It is what I am passionate about, and so far we’ve been very lucky,” she said. To help set the scene for retail success, Guerra made Pome feel like home. Antique mirrors, modern contemporary furnishings, handmade fixtures and beautiful flowers make the store feel intimate. SAN FRANCISCO
Kasa3115 Fillmore St.San Francisco, CA(415) 896-4008www.kasaindian.com
In San Francisco, a.k.a. “foodie heaven,” the options for lunch and dinner are endless. One of the newest players is Kasa, an Indian-food restaurant with a focus on healthy, home-style meals. “Most Indian restaurants focus on heavier, greasier food. Our take is much lighter,” said founder Anamika Khanna, a lawyer-turned-chef. The restaurant specializes in kati rolls—“They’re like an Indian burrito,” Khanna said—and homestyle Indian platters with one or two main dishes, handmade roti bread, slow-simmered lentils, rice, veggie salad, chutneys and yogurt. Local ingredients and naturally grown meats are served alongside a slew of vegetarian options—all for under $11.
Kasa, which opened its first location in the Castro in 2008, opened a second location in the Marina this year. “We’re surrounded by bars and clubs,” Khanna said. To serve its new clientele, Kasa stays open until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.Archetype984 Market St.San Francisco, CA(415) 563-7467
Fashionable nerds will soon have a new place to shop. Archetype, a new concept store in San Francisco, will debut May 28 featuring unique and often technologically influenced fashion from local San Francisco brands and some Los Angeles contemporary brands.
The store, which is a collaboration with the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts (GAFFTA), a San Francisco–based nonprofit dedicated to building social consciousness through digital culture, will “represent the ’tech’ side of fashion,” said co-founder Melissa Marie, who founded Archetype with Jarred Garza. Technology influences fashion, Marie said, often to beautiful effect. For example, one designer used a program to diffuse computer code into a graphic that was later printed on fabric and used to make dresses. Not everything is tech-related, however. Brands such as Smoke & Mirrors, Jared Gold, Rojas, Cocoon, RickRack, Melissa and Vivienne Westwood hang alongside some of the more cerebral takes on fashion.
Coming soon are “wearables”—pieces of clothing or accessories that are juiced up with tech features such as lights and solar panels for charging laptops or cell phones.
MIAMI
Gia Italian Kitchen & Wine BarEden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach4525 Collins Ave.Miami Beach, FL(305) 531-0000
An Italian food joint might not be the first place one thinks of when one hits the strip in Miami, but Gia Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar at the newly renovated Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach is hoping to change that.
Decorated to resemble an Italian villa, Gia is helmed by Scott Siebert and Executive Chef Thorsten Leighty, who work with local growers and South Florida fishermen to snag fresh ingredients.
The menu, which features daily selections, includes a variety of small plates, such as steamed mussels, cockles and clams in a roast garlic-viognier brodetto, or seared beef carpaccio with nebbiolo pears and black-pepper pecorino. Big plates range from seared and simmered white balsamic glazed duck with toasted butternut squash and broccoli rabe to ravioli with homemade ricotta, spinach and white-wine sage butter sauce.
After dinner, take a little stroll on the beach. It’ll make you feel better about the pannetone bread pudding with roasted banana custard, warm fig tart with lemon-pistachio crust and hazelnut gelato you ate for dessert.Emporium2606 Ponce De Leon Blvd.Coral Gables, FL(786) 268-0689 www.shopemporiummiami.com
This Spring, Sara Zamikoff moved Emporium—her contemporary, baby and housewares boutique—to a new address. Her old space lacked foot traffic, she said. Now, in Emporium’s new home, new and loyal shoppers are rewarded with a busier location that just happens to be next door to Zamikoff’s best friend’s hair salon. The result: 15 percent off services for Emporium customers at the hair salon and 10 percent off purchases at Emporium for salon clients. Classic win-win situation.
The new 800-square-foot location didn’t change Emporium’s offerings, Zamikoff said. The shop still focuses on contemporary and premium-denim brands that offer style at a competitive price point. A perennial fave at the store is Bird on Wire, Los Angeles designer Cory Lynn Calter’s diffusion line. Other favorites include Project E, Burlap and Makers of True Originals. “Shoppers are still being price-conscious, and we’ve taken steps to address that,” Zamikoff said. LAS VEGAS
Bar Masa3730 S. Las Vegas Blvd.Las Vegas, NV(866) 359-7111
Another great chef is making for the bright lights of Las Vegas. Japanese chef Masa Takayama has opened Bar Masa (and its fancier sister restaurant, Shaboo) at the new Aria Resort and Casino in the City Center complex. Takayama, whose New York outpost of Bar Masa is a pillar of the East Coast foodie scene, continues the practices in Sin City that made him a legend in Manhattan. Fish are flown in daily, direct from Tokyo’s Tsukiji market, clocking in at just 18 hours from boat to kitchen. Meats are also flown in from Japan, including marbled Ohmi beef from the Shiga Prefecture. Domestic delicacies also make it onto the menu, including sea urchin, scallops and langoustines, which arrive fresh from California.
If the food isn’t enough to captivate Bar Masa’s diners, then the ambiance surely will. Designed by Richard Bloch Architect, the space is all angles and high ceilings. Materials range from the shiny to the rough, natural to high-tech, including glass, cast concrete, zinc and stainless, as well as teak, leather and wool. Crystals3720 S. Las Vegas Blvd.Las Vegas, Nevadawww.crystalsatcitycenter.com
Crystals, the new shopping center at the much-lauded City Center complex, makes a girl want to run out and get a sugar daddy.
It isn’t even fully completed yet, but already the roster of retailers is swoon-worthy. Bally, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Marni, Tom Ford, Carolina Herrera, H. Stern, Bulgari, Cartier, Hermes, Fendi, Balli and Bottega Veneta have already set up shop. Summer 2010 will see the debut of Prada, Pucci, Christian Dior and Gucci stores.
To create a home worthy of its designer denizens, Crystals enlisted the help of Studio Daniel Libeskind to create a multi-faceted, three-story glass canopy that mimics the beauty of crystal. A jewel in the desert, if you will.
We have the Taubman Co. to thank for this new take on the wide-eyed Rodeo Drive experience. Like the original boulevard of dreams, the assembled dream-team of stores at Crystals is sure to draw far more wishful lookie-loos than serious shoppers. But that is part of the experience—that and hopefully a “Pretty Woman” moment that involves a limitless credit card and a glass of champagne but minus the unsavory Hollywood Boulevard undertones.
Luxury is apparently alive and well in Las Vegas.
