Spitz [Little Tokyo] Update from Eater:LA

Inside Spitz [Eater.LA]

Owners Bryce Rademan and Robert Wicklund said they wanted the space to looke like you "just stumbled into an old warehouse," so that's what you have---a large, colorful, funky space with a bar area, outdoor seating, odd industrial-looking art sculptures hanging from the ceiling.

Burnt Mac Home Game: Bacon - breaded, fried and gravy-ed!

Does bacon get any better than this? :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Food

"Raw bacon strips are put in an egg wash, dredged in a heavily peppered flour and then deep fried in vegetable oil"

Again on the Home Game...delicious delicious bacon. This time though, it's breaded, fried and comes with a sidecar of gravy for hot dipping action. This week's bacon-wrapped heartattack comes courtesy of a restaurant in my favorite part of the Glendale-Eagle Rock-Pasadena area...Chicago (Risque Cafe). Yeah I know I'm stretching the limits of what this blog is supposed to be but its better than nothing. Perhaps give this recipe a try this Thanksgiving before you burn the house down deep frying your turkey.

Anyone know where I can get a "Bacon is a Vegetable" T-shirt??

Two Boots Pizzeria invades Echo Park

Two Boots Pizzeria invades Echo Park | Los Angeles Times:

"The popular funkified New York City pizza parlor chain is moving into the space directly next door to the Echo in Echo Park. The economy may be tanking, but the owners of Two Boots can rest assured that a weak dollar will not keep the skinny-jeaned crustache set from late-night pizza binging."

During my 1 year in NYC, I was a big fan of Two Boots so I'm very excited to see it come to LA...especially with it going in next to my current favorite music venue (Echo/Echoplex). Two Boots isn't your typical slice so it's a bit surprising that my simple palate finds them uniquely delicious. Plus you can't go wrong with a place that names its slices The Larry Tate, The Newman (ala Seinfeld) and The Dude (a "cajun bacon cheeseburger pie"...wow) to name a few. My personal favorite...The Big Maybelle which is a white pie with marinated chicken, pepperoni and fresh garlic. Mmmm...Garlic.

No word yet on when the Two Boots will open its Echo Park doors but it looks like they are making progress on the interior (w/ murial by NY artist Nicolina Johnson).

Two Boots Menu

Burnt Mac Home Game: The Double Bacon Hamburger Fatty Melt

The Double(!) Bacon Hamburger Fatty Melt

A Burger Today has the recipe for disaster...that's right, its a double bacon hamburger that uses 3 bacon-stuffed grilled cheese sandwiches as the buns. I kinda just want a bite...that would be more than enough for the old arteries to clog. Feel free to grab a whole lot of meat and cheese the next time you go to the store and try this at home...or at the ER.

[SoCal Hamburger SideNote: Finally had the Burger at the Father's Office...VERY VERY good. Like a lot of people say, it might be one of the best in LA]

Coming soon...

Dear Only Person who Reads our Blog,

Sorry for the lack of updates but we hope to have more posts coming up shortly. We also hope to have a short memorial post to Mr. Bernie Mac. Yeah ultimately our blog has absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Mac but we feel somewhat connected to the man being that I have his bobblehead in my glovebox. Not sure how it will go over when we take him in to restaurants. May have to rethink that angle. In any case look forward to these reviews:

• The Oinkster (Eagle Rock)
• Dave's Chillin' n Grillin' (Eagle Rock)
• Raffi's (Glendale)
  
• and last but not least, The ALL YOU CAN EAT Pavillion at Dodger Stadium! (Dodgertown)

Thanks for hanging out.

E and A

PS - Ardy is in Korea hobnobbing with a major food critic from a major local publication...hopefully he'll return with some major tips and get us some more street cred.

Spitz to Open Little Tokyo Location

Quick note: Went to Spitz the other night and signed up for their email list for the Grand Opening party of their new Little Tokyo location in the Hikari Apartment on 2nd Street. According to Eater LA, the new location will be a lounge by night w/ DJ and light booze. That's what I like to hear...especially considering I ate my pita strips to Foreigner's "I've been waiting for a girl like you"

Eater LA: Plywood: Spitz Downtown

I Spitz on You

At long last we review the restaurant that pretty much started us on our culinary critique fest. Spitz was started up by two Occidental grads after enjoying the many donor kebab shops scattered throughout Madrid. The guys brought over the slow-roasting vertical roasters and stack up the delicious paper thin meats (lamb, beef and/or chicken) on a panini toasted foccacia along side lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, peppers, hummus, tzatiki sauce or chili sauce. You can now also get the meal in a lavash wrap form. Personally I'm a huge fan of the Chicken Donor sandwich...I have that about 90% of the time I visit Spitz (which is about once every week or two). Definitely opt for the Combo deal which includes your choice of a side: Side Salad, Sweet Potato Fries, Thin Cut Seasoned Fries or...the greatest side in the world...the lightly fried Pita Strips with Hummus. I would easily go to Spitz just for the pita strips. And remember, they are LIGHTLY fried, so that's gotta be healthy right? Just like the Korean fried chicken places that lightly fry their chicken...twice! (review coming soon!) I think lightly fried anything is gaining equal footing with my other favorite food descriptor: "bacon-wrapped..." - that's all it takes to get me to try it.

Spitz doesn't exactly have ample parking...2 spots in the lot to be exact...but there is usually a lot of spots on Colorado Blvd. I've never had a problem. And the outdoor seating in the 'courtyard' is the best spot to enjoy your meal. Usually the music they have on is pretty good (those young hipsters from Occi must know what's popular right?) although I think last time I heard Billy Ocean. Spitz is definitely one of my top 3 favorite spots anywhere.

We had:
The Classic Donor sandwich (half lamb, half beef) with double meat and a side salad and a Chicken Donor sandwich with a side of the lightly fried pita strips and hummus. Beverages were of the self-serve fountain variety (I tend to opt for the Arnold Palmer...heavy on the Arnold). All this for about $20.

Oh yeah...try the gelato too. Chocolate and Vanilla...ebony and ivory living in perfect harmony. It was the black and white cookie of gelatos. We had it for the first time and it was really good.

Here's what Dash thought:

Eric sure does love Spitz. He's such a regular Spitz-er that the staff there calls him "Client # 9. But in all seriousness, this place does serve up great food – even if the donor kebab is a bastardized version of the original Zankou shawerma. What I enjoy about Spitz is the flavor of the meat. Some folks don't like lamb. They think it smells or tastes funny. These are also the same folks who live on Carl's Jr. and Taco Bell. I'm glad that there's a fast food place that serves lamb. And it's delicious. Tender, moist, and very thin slices allow you to savor every bite without making a big mess.

The salad at Spitz seems like more of an afterthought. It's definitely not what you come here for but if you're hoping to keep the calorie total down by replacing them in place of those sweet golden deep fried tuber flavor sticks then it's better than most other salads at other fast food places. The pepperonchini peppers and olives do add a bit of flavor to it but overall, on the Salad Scale, it's a 5.

But more on the sandwich. As I mentioned before, I love this sandwich. I prefer the Armenian "lavash" bread over the two slices. I love lavash as a sandwich bread because it has a better consistency than a tortilla but just like the Mexican wrapper, it holds everything together nicely.

I didn't have it this time but the sweet-potato fries are AWESOME. I've only had them at one other location – Father's Office in Santa Monica –and they are just as good. Sweet + fried(salty) = yummy.

Now finally, out Jungle Fever Gelato. I'm a gelato snob. I'm looking for flavor and consistency. I have to say that the flavor was there for both the chocolate and the vanilla. But the chocolate had better consistency, creaminess, and overall "gooiness" that the vanilla did not.

Overall, I have to say that Spitz is great and I want to be first in line to buy up their stock when they blow up and go public.

The Burnt Mac likes el gelato

THE BURNT MAC RATING (like Siskel&Ebert's thumbs):

2 Burnt Macs

INFO:
Spitz- eatatspitz.com
2506 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041
(323) 257-5600
Map
Open 11am-10pm everyday