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Merrill Shindler, Restaurant Critic Loves Cherch Lounge
Merrill Shindler Loves Cherch Lounge! Listen to his broadcast.
Merrill Shindler, editor of the Zagat Survey for almost two decades, restaurant critic for numerous newspapers, and host of a twice-weekly program on CBS Radio's 97.1 FM on how much fun it is to put things in your mouth — is the quintessential Fine Living Critic. He has written and spoken about his various oral fixations and lifestyle indulgences, both in America and abroad for most of his adult life.
Shindler began his career in the early 1970s as the restaurant critic for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, a position that led, inexplicably, to three years as music editor at Rolling Stone Magazine. He has written about "livin' large" as restaurant critic for San Francisco Magazine, and The Los Angeles Herald Examiner, along with covering the world of chow for The New York Times, Los Angeles Magazine, Travel + Leisure, Diversion, Food Arts, Food & Wine and Bon Appetit, to name a few. Shindler the Critic has been known for his bigger-than-life lifestyle in Hollywood circles as well as in the media, from interior design and architectural magazines such as Martha Stewart Living, Interiors Magazine and others as well.
Shindler also spent ten years as film critic for Los Angeles Magazine before discovering that he preferred eating dirt to sitting through another Pauly Shore movie. He has written hundreds of hours of syndicated television and radio shows, including American Top 40 with Casey Kasem, which he has written since 1979.
He is the author of a variety of books, including American Dish, a volume that takes Jell-O and Frito pie very seriously, El Cholo: A History, The Best Restaurants of Los Angeles Under $10 and The Herald Examiner Guide to the Best Restaurants of Los Angeles.
Perhaps most importantly, Shindler likes to describe himself as "just a big ole hungry boy, whose main object in life is figuring out where to eat next... and then what to do with himself." He firmly believes that French fries are nature's most perfect food, that ketchup really does qualify as a vegetable... and that both go beautifully with a Le Montrachat Grand Cru chilled to 49 degrees F.
Upscale restaurant moves forward in the downtown
By BARBARA GIASONE
Staff Writer
Young restaurateurs Nicholas Lombardo and Joseph Hartman, who rode out the city's moratorium on issuing hard liquor licenses, are moving forward with their upscale restaurant plans now that the council adopted a new ordinance for food and drink operators. A new logo, "Cherch," is emblazoned across the window in the former Heirlooms of Tomorrow building at the southwest corner of Harbor Boulevard and Commonwealth Avenue. Inside, workers are framing the kitchen, building out the VIP section and positioning electronics for the main stage.
"We hope this sets a new direction for the downtown," said Lombardo, 29, who with Hartman, 32, was determined to stick with a chic menu with cocktails despite the council's push for a beer and wine license.
When the property became available for lease last year, the pair involved investors from Newport Beach, La Mirada and Long Beach. Lombardo and Hartman pooled $300,000 of their own money for the project, and bought a Type 47 (hard liquor) license for $37,000.
After explaining the plan at the Sept. 4, City Council meeting, Lombardo was encouraged by the panel's enthusiasm for opening a 5,394-square-foot restaurant at the key intersection. But a fatality three days later linked to heavy drinking in the downtown prompted the council to discourage Type 47 licenses. Police Capt. Greg Mayes emphasized the purpose of the moratorium was to prevent additional new establishments from selling hard liquor. He said the biggest concern was the type of patrons the Cherch owners were targeting don't exist.
Councilman Don Bankhead reminded the council the Cherch concept was planned before the moratorium. However, with the Type 47 moratorium, The Cherch owners had to sell their liquor license for $35,000. But they didn't give up. "As a kid I dreamed of owning a restaurant," said Lombardo, who started working as a host at age 15, and then shifted to bartending at age 21. Hartman launched his food career at age 19 cracking crabs and shucking oysters at Cioppino's in San Francisco.
The two met at Joe's Crab Shack in 2001 in Garden Grove, and two years later had the Cherch concept in motion. Lombardo moved on to bartend at the Slidebar in Fullerton while Hartman concentrated on the project. To promote an American fusion with "flair sauces" concept, the pair enlisted Chef Nathan Sherrill, who was the executive chef at Mahe, and worked with Wolfgang Puck at Spago.
Cherch will open later this year with live comedy, fashion and music shows. Seating is 168 including the patio.
"People ask, 'Why the name Cherch?'" Lombardo said. "It's just whimsical; there's no religious connection at all."