There's marketing, there's selling out, and then there's the McItaly, the new McDonald's hamburger that comes wrapped in the Italian flag, both literally and figuratively. The Italian government has so thoroughly embraced the burger that Luca Zaia, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's Agriculture Minister, appeared at a press conference wearing a McDonald's apron.

the McItaly

​

As if Brentwood isn't home to enough Italian restaurants within a five-block radius, Spumoni Italian Cafe & Pizzeria opens February 15th, located next door to Osteria Latini on San Vicente Boulevard. Also on the block is La Scala and Pizzicotto. And a bit further down the street you can find Sor Tino Ristorante, Toscana (where you can expect celebrity sightings and higher prices), and Pecorino--to name a few. To set Spumoni apart from the crowd, the restaurant offers a full-page list of gnocchi dishes, labeled "gnocchi bar" on the menu, (ranging from $12.95-$16.95). And for dessert, to replace the fallen Cold Stone Creamery, check out the latest addition to the quickly expanding Pinkberry spinoff, Yogurtland, just next door to Susie Cakes. It opens this spring.

Celia Soudry

​

Spumoni Cafe: 1714 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles.

Anthony Bourdain's traveling road show, No Reservations, is a meandering and often exhaustingly self-referential hour of television. Not so for the final 4 minutes of last night's show, when, after wandering up and down the Hudson River, Bourdain ran into and dined with Bill Murray. Bill Murray (Groundhog Day, Lost In Translation, the upcoming Ghostbusters 3) could make a plate of bad fast food funny. As it was, he had some very good food and a view of the river in question to talk about. Also his notorious Stockholm golf cart joy ride and his wish, now, to joy ride in a "used PT boat." Now there's a great idea for a Travel Channel show. Please?

Barbara Hansen

Chef Kerry Simon

​Kerry Simon will be hopping across town when his new restaurant, LA Market, opens February 15th at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.

That's not too far from his other place, Simon L.A., in the Sofitel at the corner of Beverly and La Cienega. But it's a long way from home base in Las Vegas, where he has two more places, Simon Restaurant and Lounge in Palms Place and the CatHouse, an ultra-lounge and restaurant at Luxor Hotel and Casino.

The new venue won't be like any of these. "Downtown is its own little world. There's a whole different vibe there," Simon says. He plans to make LA Market "really approachable and work the market into it," that is, the Santa Monica Farmers Market, which is one of his haunts.

I am a regular patron of Aladdin Nuthouse, one of the better Armenian nut vendors in town, a place with a half-dozen kinds of melon seeds, delicious sesame peanuts, and a way of roasting hazelnuts and almonds that not only brings out the full, round flavor of the nuts but leaves them rimed with salt. You can find fresh Middle Eastern spices and baklava imported from Lebanon.

Aladdin Nuthouse

​

Some trends never seem to go away. Cupcakes, for one. And why should they: a tiny portable cake in its very own wrapper, covered with buttercream frosting, perfect for decorating and, of course, eating. Not only has the cupcake craze given us cupcake bakeries, cupcake trucks, even a cupcake map--we also have cupcake contests. Of course we do.

On Saturday, February 20th, from 4 to 7 p.m., the 3rd annual Cupcake Challenge will take place at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel. Over 20 bakeries, including Baby Cakes, Two Parts Sugar, Meringue Bake Shop, Tavern, Bittersweet Treats, Big Man Bakes and others, will put their mini-cupcakes up against the competition. Judging will be done by a panel of judges and the public--everyone will get an equal vote--so you have a handy excuse to eat as many of them as is reasonably possible.

Two Parts Sugar

​

Unless you're heading to Robuchon's quadrant of Vegas on Sunday, February 28th, you're unlikely to find the accumulation of rock star food under one roof that you'll find at the upcoming Gold Standard. The second annual Gold Standard Food and Wine Event assembles food from restaurants that have been hand-picked by the Weekly's restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. Which means that the venues will be eclectic, to say the least. Who's coming? LudoBites, Jitlada, La Casita Mexicana, Bistro LQ, Kogi BBQ, Mozza, Mo-Chica and many more. In addition to bites from 40 of Gold's favorites, there will be wine, beer and spirits samples and a charity raffle.

​

This Thursday learn more about the citrus trees that are so important to Southern California's farmers, its history and its culture. Go pick a few oranges from your backyard tree, if you're lucky, or your fruit bowl and head over to the Santa Monica Main Library for "The Immoveable Feast: Deep Roots and Lofty Dreams," a lecture on the search for the perfect fruit. A panel of experts will discuss how they protect flavor and quality by grafting, as it were, old techniques to innovative practices. On the panel: David Karp (author and pomologist), John Tenerelli (Tenerelli Orchards), Bob Polito (Polito Family Farms) and
Steve Smith (Mud Creek Ranch). You don't get much more expert than that. And if you stay after the lecture, chef C.J. Jacobsen (Top Chef, The Yard) will be providing snacks.

LA Weekly Flickr pool/Renee Rendler-Kaplan

​

New Orleans wasn't the only team that earned a hard fought victory on Sunday. While the Saints stomped the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, nearly 40 men and women faced off in a crueler and definitely more gut-busting competition: Guac Bowl X. (Or is that Guac Bowl IX? No one knows for sure.) Year after year, these gladiators put their bodies, their pride, on the line. Why? Because the only thing sweeter than watching Peyton Manning weep on national TV is watching him do it with your mouth full of guacamole.

Robert Takata

Co-creator Greg Steele dispenses guacamole from his Icarus Award winner, GWAR-camole, at Guac Bowl 2010

​

A quick walk around the second level of Paseo Colorado's east wing reveals virtual tumbleweeds blowing through the newly-emptied retail and restaurant spaces. Within the last few months, three businesses have hit the dust: D'Vine Wine, a make-your-own-wine shop, Pasadena Jazz Institute, a non-profit music instruction facility, and Paseo Cantina, a Mexican-themed restaurant.

Clare Kleinedler

A peek inside the now-empty Paseo Cantina

​