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Chef Hans Röckenwagner, the owner of 3 Square Café and Röckenwagner Bakery, has just opened his fourth restaurant in Brentwood called Café Röckenwagner. A twenty-five year veteran of the Los Angeles dining scene, Röckenwagner has played a key part in the city’s evolution of California cuisine. He calls his newest cafe “quintessential modern California bistro.”
He chats about his famous Pretzel Burger, his favorite pastry item and where to eat and shop around Los Angeles.
April 7, 2014
Chef Hans Röckenwagner’s Los Angeles
Chef’s Los Angeles Guide
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General Information
3 Square Café
Venice
American / Californian
1121 Abbot Kinney
Venice, CA 90291
T: 310.399.6504
Café Röckenwagner
Brentwood
American / Californian
1168 S Barrington Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90049
T: 310.478.6313
Röckenwagner
Multiple Locations
Bakery
12835 Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90066
T: 310.577.0747
311 Arizona Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90401
T: 310.394.4267
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Photographs courtesy of Hans Rockenwagner | Rockenwagner Bakery | Rockenwagner Cafe
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with lots of savory dishes as well as breads and pastries made by Spanish-born pastry chef César Bermúdez (of Flores, The Bazaar by José Andrés and elBulli). You’ll also find Röckenwagner’s signature pretzel burger.
The Pretzel Burger
I never thought I’d come to America and make a signature hamburger, but here I am and I'm quite proud of it actually.
We started to make pretzel bread in the late 80s, early 90s. We made rolls that were a knot and one day we made a lot of extra bread and I said, ‘let’s just put a burger on a pretzel roll.’ It instantly hit our taste buds in a way that we hadn’t experienced before with a burger. We put it on the menu and it was an instant classic and we’ve served it ever since then. Now at the bottom of the menu we have an asterisk that goes next to the pretzel burger and it says ‘often imitated, never duplicated.’
Hazelnut Crunch Bar
Photograph courtesy of Rockenwagner Bakery
favorite baked item
At Café Röckenwagner, we have an incredible selection of pastries that are laid out almost like jewelry in a case. It’s so fun to see people react to this because they walk up to it and they press their noses against the glass.
One of my favorite things that César Bermúdez makes right now is a Hazelnut Crunch Bar. It’s a skinny bar that looks luscious, dark brown with one roasted hazelnut and a little bit of salt on top. It’s basically the rich layers of chocolate ganache with a crunchy Florentine crust. You get the richness of the chocolate, the saltiness of the sea salt and the crunchiness of the Florentine and it’s just the most delicious candy bar.
On the savory side, there’s nothing like a good pretzel. The earthiness and the chewiness and the texture of the pretzel will never go away for me.
Chef’s Los Angeles Guide
Chef Röckenwagner shared his favorite places to eat in L.A. and here’s just a taste of them. Get many more in the FED iPhone app.
European Deluxe Sausage Kitchen
This specialty sausage shop opened in 1948 and sells a variety of meats, but one of their unique specialties is the South African Biltong (tongue) and droëwors (dried sausage). Chef Röckenwagner likes their cold cuts. “They make great landjaeger, which is a German style salami, and liverwurst.”
9109 W Olympic Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
T: 310.276.1331
Culver City Farmers Market
Photo Credit: spotreporting [flickr]
Culver City Farmers Market
“We have nine farmers markets throughout Southern California and this one is my new favorite. It is a little bit underrated and has great offerings. It has this small town feel about it. It is quaint and I’ve fallen in love with it again.”
Main Street, Culver City, CA 90232
T: 310.253.5775
Soot Bull Jeep
“It’s a Korean barbecue restaurant and it’s a dive. When you go into it you do not wear your best clothes, because at the end of the night you’re going to smell like Korean barbecue.”
3136 W 8th Street, Los Angeles 90005
T: 213.387.3865
The Special Chicken at Nawab of India
Photograph courtesy of Nawab of India
Nawab of India
“The vibe is very unpretentious. They have a great Saag Paneer. They make Tandoori Chicken Makhanwala, which is a pit-roasted chicken in a light tomato cream sauce. It’s probably an oxymoron to say light cream sauce, but this is actually very light. Their naans are terrific too.”
1621 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90403
T: 310.829.1106 | www.nawabindia.com
The Lobster Bolognese at Mélisse
Photograph courtesy of Mélisse
Mélisse
“Mélisse is a high-end restaurant that delivers day in, day out. Chef Josiah Citrin does a fantastic job and it’s worth the trip to eat here.”
1104 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90401
T: 310.395.0881 | www.melisse.com
More Röckenwagner Recs
Download the F.E.D. iPhone app and get more of chef Hans Röckenwagner’s recommendations as well as many more Los Angeles recommendations from other chefs, bartenders, sommeliers, and food artisans.
