Tommy Tang

When Tommy Tang opened his first restaurant in 1982, he gave Thai cooking a smart, urban edge and served it up to a big following in a hip Melrose Avenue space. The young Thai restaurateur was the first L.A. chef to go bi-coastal, opening a New York branch in 1987. (It's closed for the moment; Tang plans to reopen as soon as he finds a new location.) Last year he opened on Colorado in Pasadena's Old Town, the restaurant boom town of the moment.

One Less Worry: Thai restaurateur Tommy Tang has been busy these days with his PBS cooking series "Tommy Tang Modern Thai Cuisine," his cookbooks and his culinary tours to Asia. Unfortunately, he won't have to worry about running two restaurants in the midst of his activities. One of them, the Tommy Tang's at 24 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, has closed. Chef Keith Satha will cook at the original Melrose Avenue Tommy Tang's when Tang is away.

TOMMY TANG IS A legend by now, after 12 years of pioneering in the field of Thai-Oriental-Western cuisine. The crispy duck pictured is an example of the innovative intermixture of flavors that please the Western palate while respecting the authenticity of its Southeast Asian roots. "I love both French duck and Chinese duck, so I decided to combine both ideas," Tang says. Preserving moisture is an important element in trying to keep the crispy skin from drying.

Saying Goodbye to L.A.: Noel Ampel, the owner of Woodside restaurant in Brentwood, is moving to New York to take care of some family matters. But, no, he isn't closing Woodside; he's selling it to Chris Schaeffer, formerly a manager at the quickly closed Amadeus restaurant in Beverly Hills and of Barfly in West Hollywood. "It's a pretty great fit," Ampel says of Schaeffer taking the reins. "It's a nice, friendly transition." Ampel won't leave L.A.

Saying Goodbye to L.A.: Noel Ampel, the owner of Woodside restaurant in Brentwood, is moving to New York to take care of some family matters. But, no, he isn't closing Woodside; he's selling it to Chris Schaeffer, formerly a manager at the quickly closed Amadeus restaurant in Beverly Hills and of Barfly in West Hollywood. "It's a pretty great fit," Ampel says of Schaeffer taking the reins. "It's a nice, friendly transition." Ampel won't leave L.A.

"It was like being in the Twilight Zone," the man recalled later. It was a crisp evening last fall in New York and the Los Angeles native was out walking with a friend. They were having one of those delicious discussions you have when you're hungry, one of those talks when you recall all your favorite dishes in exquisite detail.

If you like eating with chopsticks, love the feeling of fire in your mouth and never seem to get enough noodles, here's something you'll want to know about. On May 21, restaurants featuring food from all around the Pacific Rim will gather in Pasadena at the Pacific Asia Museum to celebrate the annual Food, Wine & Brew Festival. Some of the 20 participating restaurants include Tommy Tang's, the Fragrant Vegetable, Tito Rey of the Islands, Pho 79, Kuala Lumpur, Korean Gardens and Akbar.

Two events this weekend will focus attention on the cuisines of Asia. The Asian Pacific Festival and Culinary Carnival Saturday and Sunday at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood will feature chef demonstrations and booths serving foods from some 25 local restaurants. Demonstrators will include Roy Yamaguchi of Roy's restaurant in Hawaii; Tommy Tang of Tommy Tang's restaurants in New York and Los Angeles; Barbara Tropp of the China Moon Cafe in San Francisco; Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of City restaurant and Madame Wu of Madame Wu's Garden in Los Angeles.

Sitting in his sleek Melrose Avenue restaurant, Tommy Tang piles pieces of curried chicken, meekrob noodles and sprigs of fresh mint onto a bed of romaine lettuce, rolls it and dips it into a vinaigrette sauce. "If you eat Thai food every day, you automatically lose weight," says the chef and restaurateur in between bites. "I can eat like a pig and never gain weight."

Twin Palms celebrates the great California outdoors--not the outdoors of nature and pine trees, but of cabanas and palm trees . . . the sunglass-shaded good life. Walk into this huge space on a weekend evening and you're apt to find yourself in the middle of what seems like a packed poolside party without the pool. A band plays in a tented stage designed to look like a bathhouse; two open-air bars, one at each end of the heated patio, are jammed.

Sitting in his sleek Melrose Avenue restaurant, Tommy Tang piles pieces of curried chicken, meekrob noodles and sprigs of fresh mint onto a bed of romaine lettuce, rolls it and dips it into a vinaigrette sauce. "If you eat Thai food every day, you automatically lose weight," says the chef and restaurateur in between bites. "I can eat like a pig and never gain weight."

Your waiter, Dan, is wearing a purple headdress, a black wig and a tasteful, slinky gown. "It's such a drag," he says. "Every Tuesday I have to decide what to wear." A drag it literally is--every Tuesday night at Tommy Tang's on Melrose Avenue, the hip Thai restaurant that recently introduced weekly drag nights.

When Tommy Tang opened his first restaurant in 1982, he gave Thai cooking a smart, urban edge and served it up to a big following in a hip Melrose Avenue space. The young Thai restaurateur was the first L.A. chef to go bi-coastal, opening a New York branch in 1987. (It's closed for the moment; Tang plans to reopen as soon as he finds a new location.) Last year he opened on Colorado in Pasadena's Old Town, the restaurant boom town of the moment.

Twin Palms celebrates the great California outdoors--not the outdoors of nature and pine trees, but of cabanas and palm trees . . . the sunglass-shaded good life. Walk into this huge space on a weekend evening and you're apt to find yourself in the middle of what seems like a packed poolside party without the pool. A band plays in a tented stage designed to look like a bathhouse; two open-air bars, one at each end of the heated patio, are jammed.

Two events this weekend will focus attention on the cuisines of Asia. The Asian Pacific Festival and Culinary Carnival Saturday and Sunday at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood will feature chef demonstrations and booths serving foods from some 25 local restaurants. Demonstrators will include Roy Yamaguchi of Roy's restaurant in Hawaii; Tommy Tang of Tommy Tang's restaurants in New York and Los Angeles; Barbara Tropp of the China Moon Cafe in San Francisco; Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of City restaurant and Madame Wu of Madame Wu's Garden in Los Angeles.

If you like eating with chopsticks, love the feeling of fire in your mouth and never seem to get enough noodles, here's something you'll want to know about. On May 21, restaurants featuring food from all around the Pacific Rim will gather in Pasadena at the Pacific Asia Museum to celebrate the annual Food, Wine & Brew Festival. Some of the 20 participating restaurants include Tommy Tang's, the Fragrant Vegetable, Tito Rey of the Islands, Pho 79, Kuala Lumpur, Korean Gardens and Akbar.

One Less Worry: Thai restaurateur Tommy Tang has been busy these days with his PBS cooking series "Tommy Tang Modern Thai Cuisine," his cookbooks and his culinary tours to Asia. Unfortunately, he won't have to worry about running two restaurants in the midst of his activities. One of them, the Tommy Tang's at 24 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, has closed. Chef Keith Satha will cook at the original Melrose Avenue Tommy Tang's when Tang is away.

Your waiter, Dan, is wearing a purple headdress, a black wig and a tasteful, slinky gown. "It's such a drag," he says. "Every Tuesday I have to decide what to wear." A drag it literally is--every Tuesday night at Tommy Tang's on Melrose Avenue, the hip Thai restaurant that recently introduced weekly drag nights.

TOMMY TANG IS A legend by now, after 12 years of pioneering in the field of Thai-Oriental-Western cuisine. The crispy duck pictured is an example of the innovative intermixture of flavors that please the Western palate while respecting the authenticity of its Southeast Asian roots. "I love both French duck and Chinese duck, so I decided to combine both ideas," Tang says. Preserving moisture is an important element in trying to keep the crispy skin from drying.

"It was like being in the Twilight Zone," the man recalled later. It was a crisp evening last fall in New York and the Los Angeles native was out walking with a friend. They were having one of those delicious discussions you have when you're hungry, one of those talks when you recall all your favorite dishes in exquisite detail.