Newsletter: Counter: Heat, in the kitchen and on the plate

You can fill your down time with so many things this weekend. There’s the farmers market and cooking, possibly for one or more of the four NFL playoff games this weekend. (Maybe flambé some cheese, using this great haloumi recipe from chef Ana Sortun. You can decide which game that’s for.)

Speaking of heat, you could hit one or more of Jonathan Gold’s favorite restaurants for spicy food. (What to read while waiting in line at Howlin’ Ray’s or Chengdu Taste? If you haven’t already, pick up “Heat,” Bill Buford’s marvelous book about his midlife crisis spent apprenticing himself to Mario Batali and Dario Cecchini, of all people. Also good reading if you don’t like football, or have more time now that you’re not watching news anymore.)

And because most fires need to be quenched, there’s the option of a craft beer crawl. If you missed the story we did about where to drink along the Metro Red Line, this week we’ve considered the Gold Line. In more news, there’s Jonathan’s review of a restaurant review, and news on a few great food and drink projects coming to town. One hint: pizza.

– Amy Scattergood

Hot stuff

Because sometimes a plate of excellent chile-dosed food can soothe your soul as well as your palette, this week we have a list of some of Jonathan’s favorite restaurants for spicy food. Jitlada, of course, as well as a chicken joint in Chinatown, a Numb-Taste wonton specialist in the SGV and three more places you’ll want to remember for when you can’t find that hot sauce in your bag.

Galbi jjim at Sun Nong Dan in Los Angeles.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Drinks near a train

Beer writer John Verive rides the trains again, this time to give tips on how to accomplish a craft beer crawl along the Metro Gold Line. So when you’re riding the rails from East L.A. through downtown and across some of the San Gabriel Valley, we have a guide to the great places for a pint or two.

Locol calls

Are some restaurants unreviewable? Our restaurant critic considers that and other questions after Pete Wells’ recent review of Locol in the New York Times. Locol, of course, is the “fast food” restaurant from chefs Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson that opened in Watts a year ago and then more recently in Oakland. Should a restaurant be judged purely on the basis of its food — or does its message and social and community relevance need to be considered as well? And yes, there’s a comment section in the story.

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Tabitha O’Neal, left, takes a photo of her mother Delores, center, with Chef Roy Choi before dining at LocoL in Watts.

  (Christina House / For The Times)

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A business sign for LocoL is being installed.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Some of the menu items in the Yotchays section of the menu at LocoL.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Daniel Patterson chats with Roy Choi in one of the food prep areas of LocoL.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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The barbecue turkey burger from LocoL. The recipe for the bun is from Tartine baker Chad Robertson.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Chef Roy Choi, who is opening LocoL, a new fast food restaurant with chef Daniel Patterson.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Polaroids hang on the wall at LocoL, a new fast food restaurant by well-known chefs Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Workers at LocoL prep food during a soft opening.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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The Messy Beef Chili Bowl available at LocoL.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Richard Tapia, 29, and his wife, Liliana Gonzalez, 29, of Los Angeles, peek through screen windows while they wait in line for a free meal at LocoL.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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One of the desserts available at LocoL.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Pipita Alcala, of Santa Monica, and Jeff Rogers, of Los Angeles, get ready to try the food at LocoL.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Photographs by Evidence, of Dilated Peoples, adorn the walls of LocoL.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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LocoL opens its doors for business in the Watts area of Los Angeles on Monday.

  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

More news about buildings and food

If you already spend way too much time at Varnish, the very cool downtown bar behind Cole’s, then you’ll want to know that barman Eric Alperin and partners have a new restaurant and bar called Bar Clacson, which is opening next week in downtown L.A. In other news, as Deputy Food editor Jenn Harris writes in her restaurant news column, Tartine Manufactory is coming, also to DTLA. The joint project is from Chad Robertson (Tartine) and Chris Bianco (Pizzeria Bianco). Or: ways to cut down on road trips to San Francisco and Phoenix. Nice.

Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants, the authoritative annual guide to local dining, is online for subscribers and features his 2016 Best Restaurants. If you didn’t get a copy of the booklet, you can order one online here.

“City of Gold,” Laura Gabbert’s documentary of Jonathan Gold’s Los Angeles, is available on Amazon.

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