Retro: When Bravo Meant the Arts, and TLC was The Learning Channel

Once upon a time, Bravo was a network devoted to the cultural arts, and TLC was "The Learning Channel," even airing some programs in French! Some late 1990s promos for Bravo (above), and a 1989 round up of some truly dry, early fare for The Learning Channel below. (And by the way, I don't mean this to judge these two channels, which are both tremendously more successful now than they ever were back in the day. And let's all be honest, we watch a lot more Bravo and TLC now compared to back then. These are businesses, people.)

Hot Underground Supper Club Wolvesmouth Gets Animated

Wolvesmouth's Craig Thornton, in action

Underground cartoons are coming to Fox via the new Saturday night ADHD ("Animation Domination Hi-Def") block starting this July. To spread the word, ADHD turned to the culinary king of L.A.'s underground dinners, chef Craig Thornton, whose Wolvesmouth supper club is now legendary. But Fox and ADHD pushed Thornton and his team to the limit this week, hiring him to put together six dinners over three nights at ADHD's workspace in Hollywood. The catch: While one of the coolest offices around, the ADHD space has no kitchen. Despite that obvious limitation, Wolvesmouth relied on a grill, hot pots and some toaster ovens to put together one of the most amazing, and memorable, meals I've ever had.

ADHD's lineup includes an adaptation of Axe Cop, the comic book created by Ethan Nicolle and his young brother Malachai. (An uncredited Nick Offerman provides the lead character's voice.) Here's the cool part: ADHD produces its toons, from start to finish, right there in Hollywood. Again, it's a deceptively simple process that yields big results -- much like a Wolvesmouth dinner.

The Huffington Post's Maggie Furlong asked Thornton to share his favorite L.A. eats (and his ideal "final meal") -- read about it here. Meanwhile, here's a snapshot of everything that went into my belly on Wednesday night. Yes, I'm still happily stuff.


Zombie Solstice (dark rum, light rum, vodka, pineapple juice, orange juice, sugar, bitters, lemon)


Plating begins


Place setting


Cocktails


Company


Ribeye cap, cheddar fritter, Rainier and bing cherries, Rhubarb, Hanover Woods mushrooms


Soup inspired by sour cream and onion potato chips


Halibut, corn salad, beets, cabbage juice, tempura squash blossom, poblano cream



Rabbit meatballs, masa sopes, dried cherry, grilled scallion, chipotle cilantro, avocado


Pork belly, tostones, snap pea remoulade with dungeness crab, grilled nectarine, squash, mint lime aioli


parfait, lime curd, pressed pineapple, pineapple ice


vanilla buttermilk, panna cotta, strawberry merengue, more


The kitchen bustle

Rate-A-Restaurant #299: Ara's Tacos

Restaurant: Ara's Tacos Mexican Grill

Location: 901 W Glenoaks Blvd (Glendale)

Type of restaurant: Mexican




We stipulated: After one of the Blogger Toddler 2.0's Saturday morning Pee-Wee baseball games, we wanted to grab lunch. I'd been curious about Ara's, which comes from some of the folks behind Zankou Chicken. (It even shares space with a Zankou). I loves me some Zankou chicken, so tacos stuffed with the meat ought to be delicious, right?



They stipulated: From a Glendale News-Press story: "I eat at Chipotlé, I respect what they did, but there's more room in the playing field," founder Steve Iskenderian said." I thought, I could do it better — better food, more authentic food." Iskenderian said he felt confident that because of his experience managing food operations at Zankou locations, he could beat Chipotlé at its own game. Ara's Tacos will use chickens from L.A. Poultry, Zankou's supplier, and beef from Canyon Wholesale Provisions. Like at Zankou, whole fresh chickens will be deboned and marinated at the restaurant, Iskenderian said.



What we ordered: Chicken bowl ($6.25); chicken tacos ($6.25)

High point:  Lots of meat.

Low point: The chicken edges were burnt, and there aren't a lot of salsa choices.



Overall impression: Another joint that I really wanted to like. But it's such a copycat of Chipotle that I couldn't give it any points for originality. And that famous Zankou Chicken flavor was marred by the burnt edges. Sorry, but a bummer.



Chance we'll go back: I'll stick with Zankou for chicken, not tacos.

Los Angeles TV May Sweeps: KABC Once Again Dominates

Even as the ABC television network struggles in primetime, in Los Angeles, ABC's owned-and-operated station KABC-TV continues to dominate. And boy, did it dominate during the recently concluded May sweeps -- winning every single newscast time slot in both total viewers and adults 25-54.

First, a caveat: In Los Angeles, demographic information is available year-round, which makes sweeps periods irrelevant. But it's an old habit that has been hard to kill, which is why L.A. stations still make an extra effort during those months (November, February, May and July). I guess it gives everyone something to strive for.

Among other highlights, KTLA's "KTLA Morning News" was strong in the mornings -- but I wonder what happens to the horse race in the future with the departure of co-anchor Michaela Pereira. More highlights:

At 11 p.m., KABC/Channel 7 won with total viewers (averaging 291,000), followed by KCBS/Channel 2 (199,000), KNBC/Channel 4 (173,000) and KCOP/Channel 13 (47,000). In the adults 25-54 race -- the news demo coveted by advertisers -- KABC was first (117,000 viewers), then KCBS (74,000), KNBC (62,000) and KCOP (26,000).

In the 10 p.m. news race, KCAL/Channel 9 (which airs a 45-minute newscast) averaged 158,000 viewers, followed by KTTV/Channel 11 (142,000) and KTLA/Channel 5 (which also airs a 45-minute newscast) close behind (141,000). In the 25-54 demo race, KCAL and KTTV were tied at 77,000 -- with KTLA (59,000) in third.

As for the hyper-competitive 7 a.m. breakfast news smackdown, KABC's "Good Morning America" led the way with 189,000 viewers, followed by KTLA's "KTLA Morning News" (167,000) and KTTV's "Good Day L.A." (95,000). KNBC's "Today Show" (73,000) and KCBS' "CBS This Morning" (65,000) were in back. (That, of course, helps explain why "GMA" is surging over "Today" -- those O&O ratings don't help.)

The morning competition was a bit tighter in the demo: KTLA's "KTLA Morning News" leads (78,000), with KABC's "Good Morning America" and KTTV's "Good Day L.A." tied for second (58,000). KNBC (27,000) and KCBS (18,000) lag.

Here are a few more time slot standings in total viewers:

5 a.m.
KABC 89,000
KTLA 83,000
KNBC 40,000
KTTV 38,000
KCBS 33,000

6 a.m.
KABC 174,000
KTLA 166,000
KTTV 86,000
KNBC 73,000
KCBS 53,000

4 p.m.
KABC 176,000
KCBS ("Judge Judy") 137,000
KNBC ("Ellen") 127,000
KCAL 61,000

5 p.m.
KABC 230,000
KNBC 111,000
KCBS 90,000
KTTV 45,000

6 p.m.
KABC 239,000
KNBC 123,000
KCBS 78,000
KTLA 62,000

Rate-A-Restaurant #298: Pecos Bill's Bar-B-Q

Restaurant: Pecos Bill's Bar-B-Q

Location: 1551 Victory Boulevard (Glendale)

Type of restaurant: Barbecue




We stipulated: Maria and I were looking for a quick bite to eat before picking up the kids from school; Maria had spotted a line outside Pecos Bill's before, and assumed that meant this might be one of those best-kept restaurant secrets.



They stipulated: Family owned and operated since 1946, Pecos Bill is only open for lunch, and only serves sandwiches on the weekdays. Spare ribs are also on the menu during the weekend.



What we ordered: Shredded pork sandwiches ($4.50); coleslaw ($1.50)

High point:  The prices are great -- $4.50 for a sandwich in this day and age is a feat.

Low point: The disappointment. The sandwiches were bland.



Overall impression: Maria and I really wanted to like this place. But everything about it was boring. The sauce was bland (oh, how I wish I had brought some BBQ sauce with a kick from home). The buns were of the generic grocery store variety. And ultimately, it just wasn't satisfying. Hey, the coleslaw was OK.

Chance we'll go back: Nah. We're still so disappointed. A switch to a different BBQ sauce might save the day.