
We spoke with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia executive food editor Lucinda Scala Quinn βon the precipice of [her] first Umami Burgerβ last Friday afternoon, as she sped through Santa Monica with her son behind the wheel. Quinn was touring California to promote Mad Hungry, the Hallmark Channel cooking show that finds her breaking down family meals, a nod to Quinnβs life with three sons and a husband she still miraculously finds a minute to cook for. The last time Grub Street caught up with Quinn, she detailed everything about how she eats in New York. Today, she breaks down her past and present adventures eating through Los Angeles, touching on both the restaurants she loved and the ones wouldnβt seek seconds at, her admiration for Michael Cimarusti and trust in Jonathan Gold, while even admitting to one or two things she might actually miss when she returns to NewΒ York.
Hi Lucinda. Whatβs your relationship with Los Angeles like?
I donβt know it that well. Iβm a real newbie and Iβm constantly turned around. Iβve been here, oh gosh, five or six times maybe in the last several years. But Iβm always coming in and out on a book tour or doing a story. I was here last year since my son was here for a little while, so I got a little handful of whatβs going on, but then I feel like I have to start over going, βwait, which way are weΒ headed?β
Itβs not the easiest city to figure out in an instant.
Itβs so different, so different from New York. I canβt get over not having a subway. I know this all sounds very amateurish, because there are so many bi-coastal people, but Iβm just a real cityΒ girl.
Were there any L.A. restaurants youβd been dying to try?
Oh always. I mean thatβs the main thing I do. In fact, my sonβs here with me now and weβre having this push-and-pull because heβs tagging along on my work trip. And he always says when heβs with me that I have way too many meals. You know, I plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and βwhere can we get a snack and letβs have a drink,β and he goes βyouβre eating too much Mom!β And Iβm like βsweetheart you donβt understand, I have to.β In fact, I kind of wanted to try a Fatherβs Office burger today. And he forced us to UmamiΒ Burger.
Itβs such a range of high-low here. I was in Alaska working on a story about salmon and I met Michael Cimarusti. So last time I was in L.A., I was really focused on eating at Providence. And that was an upper, more elaborate meal than I would normally seek out, but it was kind of really amazing and I think Michaelβs incredible. And on that last trip, I basically hung out at the mozzarella bar at Mozza. Thereβs so many things you hear about, and you go to them, and theyβre kind of either a disappointment or amazing. And I thought Mozza was truly, unbelievably delicious and amazing and I lovedΒ it.
At the same time, I was down in Orange County and was seeing so many banh mi fast-food joints that were literally like hamburger joints on every corner. That was cool to me, too. And two trips ago, Iβd never had an In-N-Out Burger, so I went to In-N-Out before I went for any of the kind of hauteΒ burgers.
And what did you think?
I was like, βThis is cool, but Iβd rather spend a few dollars more and go to ShakeΒ Shack.β
L.A. poses that problem to visitors. There are destination restaurants one wants to catch up with, but then one misses everyday places that really make this a great city to eat in.
Yes, and I have such little time here. Yesterday I had an interview, but we had it at Momed [in Beverly Hills]. And I could have eaten everything in that case. I mean, it had a duck shawarma. And Iβm not usually a derivative girl, I like things that are pretty authentic. And I thought that dish was amazing. And everything I ate there was amazing and I loved it. And it was utility and was just like, not fancy, and I was thrilled to be eating there. Then last night, I went out on a limb a little. It against my better judgment. I went to Picca with aΒ friend.
How was dinner?
There were a few moments of interest. But in total, I wouldnβt go back there. Everybody was super nice and I never like to speak negatively about anything, and I appreciated that the chef was there. And I learned about some new ingredients: like rococo or rocoto peppers. And I really liked the idea of like a chicken wing and a sweet potato on a yakitori stick, but there was other stuff that really wasnβt working for me. Like I was psyched about the skirt steak, but then it was just undercooked and mixed up with this wet whitish thing, and I was just like not feeling it at all. It was too uneven for me to be knockedΒ out.
So how about any casual dining experiences while youβve been here?
I passed a place over on Pico I want to try, an old-school Mexican place, Lares, where I was headed just now when my son got behind the wheel and said βweβre going to Umami Burger.β Not that I donβt want to eat there. But thatβs really the kind of food that IΒ love.
Tonight, Iβm probably headed to Parkβs in Koreatown. I find myself being very confessional with Grub Street, I did the N.Y. Diet feature, it was really about the underbelly of my real life. So Iβm doing interviews for my show, doing a print story with a photographer, trying to keep all my balls in the air. So in terms of reservations, I reached out to my assistant in New York, who is awesome and on it, and I said, βHey, will you try to get me few reservations in L.A.β and gave her some names. She called me back to say, βI have never had such attitude in trying to get reservations as I did with restaurants inΒ L.A.β
Really?
Which was kind of interesting. It wasnβt like βHey can you part the waters, Iβm coming to eat there,β but you know, βHi, can we reserve a table for two at seven oβclock?β I donβt know, maybe because of destinations. You get in the car and go there and thereβs no just stopping in the way you do in New York, jumping off the subway or walking home from work. But tonight, we were on the fence between Tasting Kitchen and Honda Ya Izakaya in Downtown. And then, the other thing that I tried to get into but couldnβt, just because theyβre not taking reservations, was Gjelina inΒ Venice.
How do you generally come to learn about L.A. restaurants like that in New York?
Itβs really word of mouth. The only time I use Yelp or anything like that is to cross-reference something that Iβve heard. Like the biggest thing about Picca last night, my friend was taking me there, and I was just so busy working, so if I had known that it was going to be loud and noisy and a potential hit-and-miss, I would have put the kibosh on that right away and gone to get like old-school Mexican or something like that. Or my friend wanted to take me to Giorgioβs, and you know, itβs a scene and itβs old-school, but the food is really delicious and kind of reliable, so I wish I had taken her up onΒ that.
Of course in New York, on the television show, there are so many people I work with who live in L.A. Itβs always hard for a food person, because you ask for a recommendation and they think you want to know the latest and the fanciest and the grooviest. And it takes a very unique person who understands you as a food person and an editor and a person, that what you really want is a slice of authenticity of that place youβre in. Weβre driving by a restaurant right now thatβs a very mid-century modern, old funky diner. It doesnβt in anyway look new. I didnβt get a chance to get the name, but I thought βThatβs the kind of place I want toΒ go.β
Or sometimes, Iβll talk to people who grew up in Los Angeles, and often in a more privileged setting or something. And theyβll tell you something that has to do more with low-cal salads or something. I think Jonathan Gold is a trustworthy voice. So if Iβm really going to look to a reviewer, if reviewers are really people we are able to judge ourselves against because we understand where they are coming from, and I donβt even know Jonathan other than the relationship between me as a reader and him as a writer, but I know where heβs coming from and I know what toΒ do.
Does eating out in L.A. feel inconvenient to a New Yorker?
I read so many cookbooks. I read so much media. You know where the buzz is, you know whatβs going on. But it really comes down to getting a reservation, getting yourself into a car or cab or whatever, and getting there. I find it to be much more of an operation than it is in New York, where itβs βoh meet me at bla-bla-blaβ and βyeah, Iβll hop in a cab.β Itβs a much more weighted situation for me. Maybe itβs not for people who liveΒ here.
You throw a couple of drinks on that and it becomes a lot more complicated.
I was driving with my son and thought, βShit, how do you have cocktails around here. Arenβt you supposed to not drink and drive?β Whatβs up with this? We just fall into a cab if we haveΒ to.β
It does require a strategy and planning.
Hereβs me in my reading glasses. I think Iβll just punch an address in my iPhone and then I canβt see the numbers and cars are whizzing by. I donβt know where I am, Iβm parking at Umami Burger and Iβm like, βBut wait, this is Fred Segal!β But I see a burger! So itβs a total adventure and I love adventure, no matter what roads theyΒ take.
So has there ever been anything in L.A. that youβd like to see in New York, be it a restaurant or market or style of cooking?
Oh gosh, thatβs such a good question. In New York City, we donβt haveβ¦like I went to a Japanese supermarket out here that was kind of amazing. I was shopping for a friend and we donβt really have something likeΒ that.
And Iβm sorry to my brethren in New York City, of which there are a few, but thereβs no real Mexican happening like the way it happens here. And then, Iβd have to say something about, even though Iβm a dyed-in-the-wool Shake Shack fan, thereβs something about eating a burger in Southern California that makes me feel like Iβm in Happy Days in the fifties or something. I donβtΒ know.
But Iβm somebody who really appreciates places and things for what they are when theyβre happening. We have seasonal farmers markets [in New York] and itβs got its own allure, because youβre root vegetable hunting in the winter and youβre seriously freaking out when the fruit starts hitting in June. And the Santa Monica Farmers Market is just like a ridiculous plethora of riches at all times. Just like the weather is. So I like it when Iβm here, but I wouldnβt want it over there, so thatβs a hard question toΒ answer.
Itβs more of a feeling thing. Last time I was here, I stayed in West Hollywood and walked to Urth Caffe for coffee. And I didnβt know it was a place thatβs cool. I just thought it was a coffee place. It was like the Uggs and the mini-skirts and it wasnβt even cold out, but it was hats and coats. Still, it was really great coffee and I loved the spirit of the place. It was just like an exotic creature compared to where youβd get coffee pretty much anywhere in New YorkΒ City.
Yeah, those are often the crowds to avoid to stay happy in L.A.
In general, Iβm a big fan of L.A. You walk outside and feel the air and think, βOkay, pretty much anything thatβs going to happen to me today, itβs going to feel good.β You stay just a little happier, a little more chilled-out here. And I feel like Iβm going back to like, βtheΒ warzone.β