LA "celebrity"

[coquille]

Wolfgang Puck & specialty pizzas... apple martinis... In-N-Out Burgers... For good or for bad, what do you predict will be the most famous trend (or celebrity) to come out of the LA culinary scene in the next few years -- by that, I mean, something or someone that your average American knows about in, say, the next 3 years?

...And, what or who would you prefer to see the average American credit the LA food scene with in that time?

[russ parsons]

hmmm, if there's anything i hate more than trends, it's celebrities (at least in the abstract, non-individual form). I remember back in the '80s, it seemed like the one question everybody asked was "what is the next hot cuisine?" As if there were "cold" cuisines. My problem with all of that is that it seems to focus on characteristics other than quality. And that it encourages the kind of bandstand-jumping where every cook who wants to make an impression decides that this is the way to do it. Ack. OK, here's my pick for who I wish would become the next celebrity chef out of Los Angeles: Evan Kleiman. She's done honest, delicious food for more than 20 years at Angeli Caffe, she is supportive of everyone who makes a contribution on her radio show, and there isn't a touch of pretense about her. Evan would be a cool celebrity.