Advertisement
Daily Dish

An ‘eat-in’ at Patina in the name of airport food

By Betty HallockDeputy Food Editor 

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Is an Italian snack bar featuring Nancy Silverton’s panini in the United terminal at LAX too much to hope for? It’s still, um, up in the air whether the likes of Silverton, Susan Feniger, Mary Sue Milliken and several other high-profile chefs and restaurateurs will be able to realize their plans to feed the traveling masses at Los Angeles International Airport.

A panel of City Council members is still debating the proposed list of contractors recommended by the staff of Los Angeles World Airports, which operates LAX. Bidder SSP America -- whose list of proposed restaurants includes Park’s BBQ, M Cafe, LA Mill and Silverton’s Spuntino -- received the highest score from LAWA. But competing bidders -- especially HMS Host, which has operated concessions at LAX for 45 years -- have protested and lobbied to start the bidding process all over again.

Advertisement

In an effort to persuade city officials to approve its bid, SSP and a roster of chefs have organized an ‘eat-in’ Thursday morning at Patina restaurant downtown, where they plan to serve samples of the new airport fare. From there, participants will attend a scheduled hearing on the LAX food and beverage contract before the L.A. City Board of Referred Powers at 11 a.m. at City Hall. Patina, 141 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, Thursday, 9:30 a.m. (Valet parking available on Grand Avenue in front of Patina).

-- Betty Hallock

See the list of participants after the jump.


SSP America – Senior Vice President Pat Murray

Nick & Stef’s – Chef Megan Logan

Border Grill & Ciudad – Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Miliken

Panda Express – Andrew Cherng

Geisha House (Dolce Restaurant Group) – Lonnie Moore and Mike Malin

Bertha’s Soul Food – Rod White

25 Degrees (Domaine Restaurants) – Tim Goodell

Buttercake Bakery – Logan Levant

La Serenata de Garibaldi – Jose Rodriguez

M Café – Chaya Restaurant Group – Yuta Tsunoda

Red Mango – David Kim

Spuntino – Mark Olcott

Park’s Korean BBQ – Jenee Kim

LA Mill Coffee – Craig Min

Groundwork Coffee – Richard Karno

Daily Dish
Betty Hallock

Betty Hallock is deputy Food editor at the Los Angeles Times. She has co-written four cookbooks, including “Bäco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles,” “Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen” and “Baking at République.” She started her journalism career at the Wall Street Journal and Scientific American in New York, worked on the L.A. Times’ Business desk, and was interim food editor at Los Angeles Magazine. Hallock also helped launch a food and nutrition vertical for wellness app RoundGlass. She’s a graduate of UCLA and New York University.

Advertisement