"She's Ruining Mozza", I Am Part of the Resistance Against Nancy Silverton, An Anonymous Op-Ed

In a shocking and controversial opinion-editorial published anonymously in the Los Angeles Times, the writer of the scathing piece, a high-ranking employee of the celebrated Mozza Corner,  asserts schef/owner Nancy Silverton  is dangerously close to ruining her beloved restaurants at the intersection of Highland and Melrose in Hollywood South.

The Op-Ed paints an organization in turmoil with other high-ranking employees banding together like a renegade outfit in effort to reign in Silverton, perhaps the single most admired chef in the United States.

However, the Times is getting tons of criticism for publishing the piece anonymously, and Silverton and her cadre have expressed disgust and worse. While Silverton herself has called the writer "gutless" and and "a nimrod", her chief of security, Michael Krikorian, has vowed to find the culprit and "spray paint his or her bitch-ass hair purple and drop the gutless wonder off in the Nickersons," referring to the Bounty Hunter Blood-controlled Nickerson Gardens housing project in Watts which is associated with the color red. In other words, a death sentence.

Below is the actual op-ed.   For the record, we here at K Writes do not agree, support or condone anonymous articles. 

"I am part of the resistance to chef Nancy Silverton and her running and, dare I say, close to ruining the Mozza Corner. As a high-ranking member of her staff, I can say I am not alone. I will list a few particulars that I feel paint a portrait of a woman who travels too much. whose "inspirations and creations"  are often stolen from other chefs from faraway lands and who always seems just a wee little too nice to strangers.

For example, from June 19 to July 25, the peak of summer business, Silverton was not at the Corner at all, choosing instead to travel to Umbria, Italy and leave the city's most important restaurants in the hands of two young Korean-Americans, a white girl with the last name of Nguyen and an Italian American whose mind is focused almost entirely on someone named Zoe, his girlfriend who lives 2,299 miles away in Washington D.C..

Can you imagine Girardet or Bottura or Soltner  or Cecchini leaving their restaurants for a month during the busiest season and putting glorified teenagers in charge?

In the office, a confusion not seen since Watergate cover-up reigns supreme. The conversation there runs the gambit from Donald Trump to wedding planning to geometric purses to the Dodgers, but rarely does the topic of how to improve the restaurants come up  Though Silverton does not have a desk. she has a "Slot box" on the wall where her mail goes. and she often uses the desk of her chief aide-de-camp. Kate Green, as a drop point.. 

In one recent incident of thwarting Silverton's travel plans, a group of us in the "resistance", took out an invitation for Nancy to cook in celebration of the one-year anniversary of the Iraqi army retaking Mosul from ISIS.  She is so excited to travel anywhere she often doesn't do research into where she is going. A trip to Mosul could not possibly  benefit Mozza. Thanks to myself and others, she never knew of this hair-brained invitation.

To be clear, ours is not the popular “resistance” of the left or right. We want the Nancy administration to succeed and think that many of her policies have already made Los Angeles a far better dining city. 

But we believe our first duty is to the Corner, and Nancy Silverton continues to sometimes act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our beloved Mozza..

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Rachel Grisafi Becomes 1st Sicilian American To Win Mozza's Employee Of Month Award, Celebrations In Palermo Turn Violent

What began as a joyous celebration of one of their own - Rachel Grisafi - being honored with the coveted Mozza Employee of the Week Award , turned into a raucous free-for -all as an unruly crowd in Sicily's capital city of Palermo smashed pastry shop windows, stole several thousand cannoli, blocked traffic and took at least two dozen sardines hostage.

Leoluca Orlando, the mayor of Palermo, made a impassioned televised plea for calm, promising to release an unauthorized DVD of Grisafi taking a dip in South of France beach. That seemed to pacify most of the crowd.  It all stemmed from Grisafi winning the prestigious Employee of the Month Award on the Corner, the nearly mythical southwest intersection of Highland and Melrose in Hollywood.

Though "Classified" we have obtained a copy of the report that announced Rachel Grisafi's victory. It follows below:   

Picture this. You’re out on a romantic dinner date, and who walks up to your table but Carmelo Soprano, low-cut and all, big coco brown eyes smiling, earrings big enough for Lebron to shoot hoops through, and she’s holding your magnum of ’98 Gianfranco Soldera Brunello di Montalcino and she says “How’s this two-bit vino rosso working out for you lovers?”

If you know the Osteria, then you know I’m talking about Rachel Grisafi, the newest Mozza Employee of the Month  (aka EOM).

Rachel, aka “Carm”, grew up in – big surprise coming – Philly, and man, does it show.  Story has it when she was 13, she was dating Rocky Balboa. But, the lure of California was strong and Carm headed west.

She joined the Mozza squad on June 25, 2015 and under the leadership of Sarah Clarke, she’s become part of La Famiglia. You could say Mozza is her second famiglia. The first one being La Cosa Nostra in Sicily where authorities detained her briefly this past April . 

“She’s one of the warmest human beings I know,” said Jason Emanuel, a former EOM himself. “Her sense of hospitality is second to none.”

Owen and Sarah have observed something quite unique about her. Her height seems to vary – not anything to do with flats of high heels – but by the size of her trademark hoop earrings.

“It’s kind of bizarre,” said Owen, “But Sarah and I have both noticed that the bigger the hoops, and, as you know, they can be enormous, the taller she appears.”

Still, as much as the praise came in on word was released that Rachel had won the EOM, there was some concern about her floor performance from none other than her Boss of all Bosses, Nancy Silverton.

“The one drawback about Rachel is she is almost too chipper.”

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Top Ten Reasons Michael Cimarusti Hasn't Won The James Beard Award

By Nancy Silverton and Michael Krikorian

For the eighth year in a row, Michael Cimarusti, one of the great chefs of, not only the West, but the entire United States, failed to come home with a James Beard Award. 

Investigative reporters from the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times looked into why this is so. Here are the top ten reasons Michael Cimarusti has not won a James Beard Award

10. Never properly thanked Mrs. Paul for Providence's most popular dish, fish sticks..

9.  Beard voters automatically assume Michael C has already won.

8.  Close ties to feared organized crime figure Donato "Don" Poto 

7.  Actually believes that bullshit line "It's an honor just to be nominated."

6.  Always gets the most votes, but since voters misspell his last name, they aren't counted.

5  Most people think Providence is in Rhode Island, 

4. Backlash by presenters who fear they can't pronounced his name.

3. Doesn't really want to win, because then he can't be nominated

2. It was learned he hired a renowned watercolorist to paint spots on regular prawns

!. And the number 1 reason.....Michael Cimarusti already has a beard.

Donato and MC.jpg

 

 

Coobook's Nut Nutter With Straus Barista Milk Could Be Banned From World Cookie Cup Pairs Competition

Ever since the invention of cookies in the 7th Century by the Persians, their pairing with milk has been a delight treasured around the world by billions from childhood to the golden years, an almost mystical combination that brings comfort to body and soul, that soothes a troubled day like one's favorite blanket on a cold, rainy night  

But, now,  a cookie/milk combination - the exquisite food shoppe Cookbook's "Nut Nutter Butter" peanut butter cookie with Straus Family Creamery's Barista Milk - is adding another element to its resume;  controversy   The peanut butter cookie - based on a fabled Nancy Silverton recipe - and milk team is so delicious, so extraordinary, so close-your-eyes-and-savor good that a concerted effort is underway to ban the combo from competing in the upcoming World Cookie Cup competition in Damascus.

"The combo of the Not Nutter and the Barista milk is simply, well, this may sound foolish on my part, but it's too good," said Ruth Graves Wakefield  III, granddaughter of the American chef who invented the chocolate chip cookie in 1938 at the Toll House Inn  in Whitman, Massachusetts with Sue Brides.  "They would demolish the competition and that's not good for the event.  Part of the allure, no, most of the allure of the World Cookie Cup is that, though there are favorites, there is never been a shoe-in  There's not a Secretariat in the '73 Belmont   Not Nutter and Barista, (known in the inner circles as NNAB) would win. It's that simple.  The Cup needs drama, needs suspense. Not a juggernaut."   

Last week In a closed testing conducted by McLaren Racing in Woking, outside of London, the Nut Nutter/Barista team scored an unofficial 675, a score long thought to be unattainable  The highest score ever attained at a World Cookie Cup was back in 1961 when a chocolate chocolate chip cookie made by James Beard teamed with bottled Broguiere's milk to score a 612.  At the time it was thought to be an unbreakable mark, the cookie equivalent of DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak. Not anymore..  

Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for Marta Teegan, the owner Cookbook, which as location on Echo Park Avenue and one on Figueroa in Highland Park, said she would file a formal :"letter of intent to compete" with the United Nations in a matter of hours. The UN Security Council is expected to debate and vote on the case Friday.. 

http://www.cookbookla.com/

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Cookies came to America through the Dutch in New Amsterdam in the late 1620s. The Dutch word "koekje" was Anglicized to "cookie" or cooky

"We're Making It Better", Top 11 Dishes From A Week In London

About 20 years ago, there was a billboard perched off the the 91 Freeway near the Wilmington Avenue off-ramp that read, in big, bold letters, "COMPTON...WE'RE MAKING IT BETTER".

You know a place has to be bad for that to be said.  You'd never see a sign in Holmby Hills proclaiming that.   

London, England is a place you hear a version of that when it comes to the food and restaurants.  Lines like "London's dining scene is so much better now" and the like are common.   For a recent week, Nancy Silverton commandeered a restaurant in the Shoreditch neighborhood called Passo and we had the opportunity to taste and test this theory that the food in London is better than ever.  I don't know how it used to be, but the food, while maybe not on a Los Angeles level, had many outstanding moments. Here is a list of the top 10 dishes of the trip

11. Lamb shawarma at Berber & Q Shawarma Bar on Oxmouth Market.   Everything we had at this small Lebanese restaurant was very tasty, but it was this lamb sandwich - the tender chunks of meat sliced from a  vertical spit, the harissa, the pita fresh and soft -  that keep me coming back. Twice I brought the Mozza crew shawarmas - lamb chicken, beef and cauliflower- from here for their after-shift, midnight meal. 

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.http://shawarmabar.co.uk/

10. Meat Pies from Fortnum and Mason on PIccadilly - One night after-shift meal was about !50 pound of chicken, beef, rabbit, game and vegetables pies from this multi-floored place that could be described as pretty, especially the candy and jam ground floor. Do not go their hungry. The pastry crust on these hearty pies were thick, but flaky. Their  regular chicken pot pie makes a Swanson's chicken pot pie taste like something that should be doing community service along the Harbor Freeway.

This place has been in business since 1707..  (Not a typo)

 https://www.fortnumandmason.com/

9. Original Lehore - This Pakistani kebab house in St John's Wood that bills itself as serving authentic Punjabi cuisine since 1970 was awarded - at least for the first 40 minutes of out visit - as having a level of service that was less attentive and caring than the prison guards at Folsom.

It wasn't even that is was bad service, it was that it didn't exist. Twice I had to get up and ask for a wine opener, and don't get me started on how many times I asked for ice. I stared to wonder if there was ice in Pakistan

But, once the lamb and chicken tikas and the lamb biryani showed up, the service was forgotten and the feast began.  

 http://www.originallahore.com/

8. Chicken Cottage , City Road branch - One particular long continuous lunch and dinner shift that last nearly 12 hours left the crew tired, cranky and middle-class starving. I walked to the Old Road underground "Tube", station, dipped in and emerged on the other side of a roundabout where the fast food restaurant Chicken Cottage was dishing it out. I asked "What's the best thing here?"   Fried chicken and grilled chicken, I was told and ordered both.

Back at Passo, the staff greeted my arrival like I was Admiral Lord Nelson returning from the magnificent victory over the Spanish and French fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. (That is a exaggeration, but it was a lot fun to write) 

They loved the chicken, especially the spicy grilled version. What i spend on meat pies, i made up her as the shabang cost less than 10 pounds. 

There are several Chicken Cottages, but this one is at 125 City Rd, Hoxton, London EC1V 1JB, UK

7. Turbot at Brat on Redchurch Street - Brat is kinda like slang for turbot, so it makes sense it was the star of our lunch here last Saturday. Chef Tomos Parry slow-cooks the turbot on the charcoal grill and it comes out succulent with a delicate flavor and a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt.  April Bloomfield recommended this place so we knew it was gonna be good.

6. Sweet Potato with Miso Butter at Foley's  - Nancy had built this side dish up to just about mythical levels as she had it on a December trip here. It lived up. We had a memorable times at this Fitzrovia favorite where chef Budgie Montoya blends Asian flavors with European technique. The charred broccoli, the banana leaf roasted sea bass with chili brown butter, the char su lamb, and many other dishes of chef were all very good, but it is that sweet potato that i crave right now.  Special thanks to Budgie who feed us like we had just returned from that Battle of Trafalgar mentioned above.

https://foleysrestaurant.co.uk/

5. Cheese Plate at St. John  Restaurant, Smithfield  - St. John is one of London's most acclaimed restaurants, Owned by chef Fergus Hendersona and Trevor Gulliver, it is known for offal, those less than glamorous part of animals.  But, St John's variety of the English blue cheese Stilton, here called Stichelton, is, well, just get it if you go here.  It's intense and dense.   It could single-handedly propel the United Kingdom to qualify for the World Cup of Cheese. They wouldn't win, but just getting to compete says a lot.  This Stichelton is also available at Neal's Yard Diary cheese store at Borough Market. That's even where the restaurant gets theirs.        

https://stjohnrestaurant.com/a/restaurants/smithfield                                                                                                                        Here;s the link to Neal's Yard Dairy.          https://www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk/shop-finder/neals-yard-dairy-borough-market-shop/

4. Toastie at Kappacasein next to  Borough Market - Just outside the entrance to that charming collection of food stalls known at Borough Market, is this stand that has a mound of freshly grated Montgomery cheddar cheese on view that people stop and stare at.  It's time for a "toastie", known in America as a grilled cheese sandwich. But, what made me have to have one was the bread, It is from Poilane Bakery in Paris. You could put anything legally classified as food between two slices of Poilane, and I'm in. Here's to Kappacasein and its owner Bill Oglethorpe

http://boroughmarket.org.uk/traders/kappacasein

3. Cheese Stick at Ottolenghi in Islington - The best cheese stick I have ever had.  Worth taking the Tube to the Heart station and walking nearly a mile just to get it.   I brought one, along with several desserts and some side dishes, paid and left.  A half block away, I took one bite of the cheese stick and stopped cold. I spun around and went back. The cashier lady said "Is something wrong?". I said "Yeah, I need more cheese sticks." There was four left, I took three. I didn't want to be that guy that denied everybody else.

https://ottolenghi.co.uk/islington

2. Bread Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce, St John - The color alone of the butterscotch sauce at St, John would get this dish in the top 25.  The best bread pudding.  I mean, look at that thing. Should I eat it or put it up at the Tate Modern?

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https://stjohnrestaurant.com/a/restaurants/smithfield     

1. Shoulder and Leg of Lamb at Nuala, - For our last meal, a Sunday Roast, our charming host, John Michael Sookias, the man in charge of and responsible for bringing Nancy to London and to Passo, took us to Nuala, a restaurant we walked by everyday and never considered going.  Too  bad.  We walked in and knew right off something good was going on at this place named after a female of Irish mythology. . Above  large open fired hung two glistening legs and shoulders of lamb.. When the leg came to the table, accompanied by a mound of lamb shoulder meat, that might have even been better than the leg, well, it was the best way to end our dining experience in London.

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http://www.nualalondon.com/

I could have made this list up of solely dishes I ate at Passo, but they were all Nancy Silverton dishes from Mozza served at the pop up at Passo.  I didn't get a chance to have any of the food normally served at Passo, but if they have the good taste to bring Mozza to London, then I'm betting it's, as Det. McNulty says,  spot on.

https://passorestaurant.com/

Yes, they are making it better in London. And, I guess, compared to the old days, they making Compton better, too.   

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

"They Don't And They Won't!" Ariana Flores Named Mozza International Employee Of The Month

For several minutes, Mozza's James Beard Award winning pastry chef Dahlia Narvaez calmly explained the problems she was having with the serving staff at Passo, the highly praised London eatery Nancy Silverton and her crew had commandeered for the week before Easter.

In firm and controlled voice, Narvaez told the man in charge of the event. John Michael Sookias, that servers were not properly picking up desserts. They picked up plates at an angle, they would often leave one dessert behind, they would not help out unless it was one of their assigned tables.  

Sookias assured her they would do better.

Ariana Flores, Mozza's pastry chef in Singapore, had been listening patiently in the wings, but could no longer be silent. She stormed up to Sookias, pointed a finger in his face and just about yelled like a Marine Corps drill sergeant, "They don't and they won't!"

A day later, they did and they would.

For that, and for dozens of other things - most notably saving the pizza dough - Ariana Flores has been name Mozza's first International Employee of the Month (IEM) for her exemplary performance in London.

Flores, who flew in from Singapore on her on own dime, charmed the staff, did her job, and - outside the restaurant - was a delightful companion, happy to be a tourist, eager to go along and just as willing to lead. On the sardined underground known as "The Tube, in the pouring rain and bitter cold, in the maze of Harrod's, in the hectic first days of service at Passo, she never complained.  Even on a dysfunctional "Hop On, Hop Off" red double-decker bus that she, Narvaez and a reporter were the only passengers on  - and wasted 96 pounds - she was a pleasure. 

For the record, that "they don't and they won't!" line above wasn't a complaint. It was more like an order issued from the United Kingdom's legendary Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery to his Desert Rats in the 1942 2nd Battle of El Alamein in North Africa. Fight better! And they did The team at Passo rallied and performed brilliantly from that moment on.

When informed of the award, Ariana was speechless for several seconds. Then; "I would like to thank my parents Jose and Eloisa, and God. Also my agent and all the people that made this happen."       

The photo below was described by Nancy Silverton as "looking like you two are on your Honeymoon."

London bridge

 

 

 

Silverton Orders Chi Spacca "Shake Up" After Famed Restaurant Fails To Make Top 300 List, AGM Greer Ousted, DeNicola Demoted

Just one day after Rex Tillerson was fired as Secretary of State in a major White House administration shake up, the restaurant world was shocked to learn that Chi Spacca, the third eatery on the beloved Los Angeles corner of Nancy Silverton, was getting a shake up of it own. 

On Wednesday, Silverton ordered assistant general manager Greer "Shucker" Rosenzweig to "get out and say out" and then, in what is being called the culinary equal of Tillerson's firing, demoted chef Ryan DeNicola to Mozza2Go cashier and sous Joseph Tagorda  to "Garnish Cook",, a position usually held by interns.

Monday, a Washington Post investigation revealed that Chi Spaaca had been ranked the 313th best restaurant in Los Angeles. When told the news, both DeNicola and Tagorda seemed overwhelmed with joy. DeNicola even went so far as to publicly  "thank the Academy". The two, along with three line cooks, posed for a photo to celebrate. 

But, Nancy Silverton was found no cause for celebration. Outrage was more her mood The only person to win the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in America and Outstanding Pastry Chef in America ordered an immediate internal investigation and, in the words of a close friend, "was not playing."

"Nancy may seem all mellow and sweet to the public, " said the friend who spoke on the condition of anonymity, "But, when the fast balls come, she can swing as hard as Roberto Clemente."   

Spacca is best known for large cuts of meats grilled before patrons as well as a lineup of vegetarian dishes that would please a extremist vegan.  The Trip Advisor rating was largely puzzling to those who know good restaurants.  Even Joel Robuchon, the most honored chef in the world, was baffled.

"Chi Spacca is my fourth  favorite restaurant in all of America  after Pizzeria Mozza, Osteria Mozza and Atelier Crenn, " said Robuchon, who restaurants have 32 Michelin stars.  ( Not a typo.)  "If there were 312 restaurants better than Spacca in Los Angeles, I would have to be cooking at 309 of them."

As for the sacking of assistant general manager Greer "Shucker" Rosenzweig, Mozza spokesperson Kate Elizabeth Green said she had left voluntarily to purse a career as an oyster shucker in New England. However, insiders said Shucker was "let go for undisclosed reasons."

To further make the connection with Tillerson, who learned of his fate via Twitter, DeNicola was informed of his demotion by a reporter from the Post. Uncharacteristically, the normal pleasant DeNicola unloaded on the reporter.  Security footage obtained by the Los Angeles Times shows an angry DeNicola screaming at the reporter to "Get the hell out of here. Go eat at the Pizzeria. At least they're ranked 41."

cahsier

 

 

Mozza's Chi Spacca Named 313th Best Restaurant In Los Angeles By Trip Advisor, Thrilled Chef Ryan DeNicola Plans Celebration Dinner

When a humble, one-time cooking school adjacent to Nancy Silverton's fabled Osteria and Pizzeria Mozza corner re-invented itself as a restaurant in  ? years ago, few gave it much chance of entering that rarefied club of L.A.'s finest dining establishments.

But, Monday, long time supporters of Spacca, as it is affectionately known, were tooting their trombones when it was revealed that "The Little Meat Palace That Could" had been named the 313th best restaurant in all of  Los Angeles city and county. 

"I don't even know what to say." said Spacca's stunned executive chef Ryan DeNicola upon hearing the news "I'm speechless. I would like to thank the Academy, though."

Dahlia Narvaez, the James Beard Award winning pastry chef who provides Chi Spacca with desserts was "thrilled" with the 313 rating. "This doesn't suck," Narvaez said. 

However, Sous chef Joseph Tagorda, aka "The Hurtful Chef", typically, wasn't happy with the ranking.  "Geez," he spewed sarcastically, "What was number 1? The Pantry, Otium or Trejos Tacos?"

The only sad news about Chi Spacca being rated 313 is, unfortunately, it's not accurate, despite what Trip Advisor's budding Michelin inspectors say. Just think if Los Angeles was such a good eating town that there really were 312 restaurants better than Chi Spacca.  Hell, there's not even 312 restaurants on Planet Earth better than Spacca.

EDITOR'S NOTE- At press time, rumors were afloat that Chi Spacca had actually moved up to 311.

Chi Spacca chefs and cooks celebrate the 313. 

Chi Spacca chefs and cooks celebrate the 313. 

 

 

 

Denmark's Prime Minister Considering Travel Ban On Chef Nancy Silverton For Noma Snubs

Calling her recent behavior a "slap upside the face" of Danish culture, cuisine and icons, Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Tuesday he was considering a travel ban on revered American chef Nancy Silverton and her boyfriend after their weekend visit to Copenhagen during which they twice cancelled reservations at the country's most famous restaurant. 

In a tersely worded statement, Rasmussen said Silverton and journalist Michael Krikorian "insulted Danish culture by disrespecting one of our most revered citizens. chef Rene Redzepi. of Noma restaurant.  They blew off a nearly-impossible-to get reservation not once, but twice! On consecutive nights, no less! Do you believe that lort?"

Carla Sands, the United States ambassador to Denmark was quick to reply.  "Excuse me, Prime Minister Rasmussen, but Nancy was in Rigshospitalet after suffering a serious head injury due to a cobblestone-instigated sidewalk fall. She graciously got word to Rene who,  in his kindness,  sent dessert - a plankton cake to her hospital room   There was absolutely no disrespect."

However, in a rare moment of Danish unity, the opposition party to Rasmussen's conservative liberals, the Social Democrats, sided with the prime minister.

"I understand why Silverton cancelled her Friday reservation at Noma as she was in the hospital," said former Prime Minister Halle Thoring-Schmidt. "But, why did she cancel the next day when Rene went out of his way to make room? She choose to stay in her Strand Hotel room and get take out Mexican from Rosio Sanchez.  I mean, come on. Carnitas tacos over the mystical abundance of the Nordic seas? And I  have it on good authority she has never ever cancelled at Bottura's place in Modena."'

In addition, security footage obtained from Rigshopitalet showed Silverton and Krikorian briefly enjoying a plankton mousse cake that Redzepi had graciously sent to the hospital room, but then scarfing up Lays sour cream & onion potato chips with a '47 Dr..Pepper they had brought at the hospital's lobby 7/Eleven which, by the way, is widely considered one of the best in all of Europe. 

Also, many Danes wondered if she was so ill, why was she seen throughout town following her fall dining at other restaurants?  Silverton and Krikorian were spotted at  Christian Puglisi's Baest and Manfords, and at Kristian Baumann's 108 after being released from the hospital. 

A Noma front-of-the-house employee,  Daniel. Craig Martin, confirmed the Baest sighting on Sunday evening.  "Nancy seemed just fine to me and certainly looked great," said Martin, formerly of Blue Hill at Stone Barn in New York.  "I told her we were all looking forward to her coming into Noma. One of these years."

Silverton, reached via E-mail, said she in absolutely in no way disrespected Denmark. "I simply wanted to be 100% when I went to Noma. I can't wait to come back and see Rene  As for politicians like their prime minister saying strange things. well, being from America, I am very familiar with all that bull lort."

Krikorian, reached via text, issued the following statement. "We didn't go to Noma, one of the world's greatest restaurants, I understand. But, we did go to Rigshospitalet, one of the world's best hospitals. And I'd  bet 100,000 krones, even Rene Redzepi would agree a great hospital is more important than a great restaurant. Thanks Rene, for the plankton mousse cake - one of the best we've had - and thanks to Rigshospitalet for taking care of Nancy.."

For free, So thanks to the Danish people who - with their rather high taxes - treated her hospital bill.   

Here's to Copenhagen, Denmark.

And here is the breaking news story of Nancy's frightening fall in Copenhagen last Friday

http://www.krikorianwrites.com/blog/2018/2/23/7iegjqbaimvldegyd2l87ryvopc22i

Former Denmark prime minister halle Thoring-schmidt making a point with current prime minister lars lakke rasmussen

Former Denmark prime minister halle Thoring-schmidt making a point with current prime minister lars lakke rasmussen

RigsH.jpg