Newsletter: Counter: Little Sister, foraging and food trucks

Between getting caught up on Oscar movies and trying to figure out this country’s baffling politics, it’s been a long week. Not a bad time to read about food, though, and hopefully spend the weekend getting caught up on dining instead of television. In which case, you might head downtown, as Jonathan Gold has been doing lately, to check out the menu at the second Little Sister. And yes, it’s open for breakfast.

Or you could head to the woods, actually or metaphorically, as we did recently with local forager Pascal Baudar. Or visit one of this town’s more interesting food trucks, as Jenn Harris did, or head to Koreatown in search of comfort food. Wine writer Patrick Comiskey also pairs some wine with baseball. Because the Dodgers will start playing again before you know it, and thinking about Syrah and Clayton Kershaw is probably better than worrying about the election.

– Amy Scattergood

Little Sister features European-accented Asian cuisine as well as craft beers and wine.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Anti-fusion cuisine

In this week’s review, Jonathan considers chef Tin Vuong’s newish downtown outpost of Little Sister, his popular Manhattan Beach restaurant. As he does nearer the beach, Vuong is making Vietnamese-leaning cuisine, although downtown, he’s also got breakfast and lunch dishes — including congee and banh mi and morning pastries.

Pascal Baudar sniffs out the herb California everlasting (Pseudognaphalium californicum) during a recent foraging expedition inside the Angeles National Forest.

(Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

Out of the woods

If you’ve heard of Pascal Baudar, it might be because you’ve taken classes with the local forager, or because you’ve seen wild ingredients on the menus of some of the best restaurants in town. Chefs Josiah Citrin, Ari Taymor, Ludo Lefebvre, C.J. Jacobson and Niki Nakayama have all spent time in the woods with Baudar. With his first book due out next month, filled with information, great photography and plenty of recipes, we check in with him — in the Angeles National Forest.

The Chinese Laundry food truck serves rice bowls and noodles, as well as Asian tacos. Here are Sichuan spicy cold noodles.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The Chinese Laundry

With a name that’s kind of a Thomas Keller joke and a menu that’s a mash-up of Chinese and Mexican cuisines, it’s hard not to love the idea of this food truck. Jenn Harris loves the food at the Chinese Laundry too, which includes riffs on Hainan chicken, Uighur-style meat and risotto. The couple who run it also make their own tortillas, fermented chile sauce, stocks, wontons and tea eggs.

The I’m All In burger from Little Tart in Koreatown.

(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

Considering crack fries

Catchy title, right? These are the French fries you’ll find at Little Tart, the new restaurant from the folks at Tart (hence that name), and they’re waffle-cut sweet potato fries covered in a sticky, sweet honey reduction. Little Tart is in Koreatown, and it also has burgers and other comfort food that’s decidedly not Korean; it’s from chef Keith Shutta (who’s also the chef at Tart), and is what’s gone into the former Saint Martha space, if you’ve been wondering about that too.

Dodger blues, and reds and whites

If you’re a sports fan, this is what’s known as the limbo after the NFL and before March Madness, when baseball players start reporting to camp, and when most of us eat dinner while surreptitiously checking our phones to see how many three-pointers Steph Curry has been shooting. It’s also, apparently, time to stock up on some wine, thanks to winemaker — and die-hard Dodger fan — Bob Lindquist of Qupé Winery in Santa Maria, who’s making custom wines with Dodger Blue labels.

Jonathan Gold’s 101

Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants, the authoritative annual guide to local dining, is online for subscribers.

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