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News for Restaurants in Los Angeles
February 2019 Archive

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LOS ANGELES RESTAURANT NEWS - FEBRUARY 2019 Archive


OPENINGS

Audrey at the Hammer is the new restaurant at the Hammer Museum in Westwood from restaurateur Soa Davies Forrest and chef Lisa Giffen. A modern dining room featuring a prominent tile installation from renowned Cuban-American artist Jorge Pardo is augmented by a large, newly-built patio. The contemporary California menu with European flavors includes Baja kampachi crudo with makrut and fingerlime; Moro Bay black cod with mussels, fennel and saffron broth; turmeric roast chicken with charred sweetheart cabbage; and a heritage pork porterhouse with dates and espelette jus. Audrey at the Hammer, Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024, 310-443-7000.
 
Downtown at L.A. Live Shaquille O’Neal has opened his first eatery, the eponymous Shaquille’s. The upscale casual restaurant offers Southern specialties including a signature fried chicken, oysters O’Neal, blackened snapper, shrimp and grits, bbq braised short rib, a Revier Farms rib-eye, and a Shaq burger and a Kobe burger. Find craft cocktails with an emphasis on bourbons and whiskies, local draft beers, and a wine vault. Shaquille’s, L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Ste. A150, Los Angeles, CA 90015, 213-746-7427.
 
Chef Vartan Abgaryan (71Above) partnered with Dave Reiss (Salt Air) to open Yours Truly in the former Salt Air space on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Expect a menu of seasonal California cuisine with a spotlight on local produce. Yours Truly, 1616 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291, 310-396-9333.
 
Chef Jessica Koslow (Sqirl) is partnering with Mexico City chef Gabriela Cámara (Contramar) to open Onda, the signature restaurant at the newly launching Proper hotel in Santa Monica. They’ll be dishing up California and Mexican flavors from an open kitchen. The dining room is designed by Kelly Wearstler, and the restaurant’s bar will feature small-batch mezcals and boutique wines. There will also be outdoor seating. Look for a Summer 2019 debut. Onda, Santa Monica Proper, 702 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401, no phone.
 
In Woodland Hills, the folks behind Da Pasquale have opened the new upscale Italian eatery H.O.M. Menu items include a pizza with mortadella, pistachio, ricotta and shaved black truffle; pappardelle with braised short rib, caramelized onion, prosciutto and Parmigiano; osso buco with risotto; and grilled lamb chops with garlic rosemary jus. To drink find an Aperol spritz, Sardinian Vermentino or plenty of well-selected Italian reds. H.O.M., 21136 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364, 818-313-9500.
 
The Shelby creates a casually clubby Old Hollywood vibe on West Third Street, open late for dinner and drinks with a selection of bar-bistro fare served amidst leather and marble furnishings. Chef Sascha Lyon (Balthazar, Employees Only) offers oysters on the half shell, garlic shrimp and spicy sausage, steamed PEI mussels and fries, and a 30-day dry-aged NY steak. Cocktails from Josh Goldman include a Russian Spring Punch, Jungle Bird and the mezcal-based Rio Oaxaca; there’s also a select beer and wine menu. Dinner nightly. The Shelby, 8445 W. Third St., Los Angeles, CA 90048, 323-424-3230.
 
Chef Joe Miller (Joe’s) has opened a new restaurant on La Cienega, Pacifique, in the former Le Petit Bistro space. Danielle Sobel (Juku Izakaya) is chef de cuisine. Look for California dishes with Japanese accents such as Japanese scallops with uni and smoked daikon; chicken tsukune with frisée and blood orange; and "Shrimp Cloud" with shrimp, cod, mussels and garlic chive broth. Pastry chef Eliot Pardo offers up a yuzu meringue tart with lavender, and a beverage program from the Barlingual team riffs on classic cocktails. Pacifique, 631 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069, 310-359-0788.
 
Some people swear that the famed Naples pizzeria L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele serves the best pizza in the world – but Angelenos won’t have to fly to Italy to find out, because restaurateur Francesco Zimone and Neapolitan chef Michele Rubini have opened the first U.S. location in Hollywood. Like in the original Naples eatery (which dates back to 1870), marinara and margherita are two styles of wood-fired pizza on offer. But look for authentic Italian specialties, too, in the revamped old Café des Artistes space, which features front and back patios with brick, stone and shady trees. L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, 1534 N. McCadden Place, Los Angeles, CA 90028, 323-366-2408.
 
Adam Fleischman and Jeffrey Merrihue teamed up on Heroic Wine Bar in downtown Santa Monica Adam Fleischman and Jeffrey Merrihue have teamed up on Heroic Wine Bar in downtown Santa Monica, next to their sandwich shop Heroic Deli. Executive chef Barbara Pollastrini offers her take on Italian fare with a California approach. Heroic Wine Bar, 514 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401, 310-490-0202.
 
El Segundo's hot new Cal-Italian spot Jame Enoteca is helmed by chef/owner Jackson Kalb (Joël Robuchon, The Factory Kitchen) who sources his ingredients from a slew of local farmers and serves up fresh, house-made pastas. Look for ricotta gnocchi with pastrami “lardons” and charred cabbage; scarpinocc stuffed with braised beef cheek; and squid ink bavette with rock shrimp ragù, chilies and stracciatella. Large plates include a whole crispy branzino and braised pork shank. Lunch & Dinner daily. Jame Enoteca, 241 Main St., El Segundo, CA 90245, 310-648-8554.
 
Isaac Gamboa, chef/owner of Prospect Gourmand, has taken over the former Il Buco in Beverly Hills and opened Gourmando after revamping the space. Look for casual breakfast and lunch menus with counter service and bakery items from pastry chef Betty Park (Faith & Flower). Gourmando, 107 N. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211, 424-777-0481.
 
Trisha Langer, of LA’s famed Langer’s Deli family, has opened her own spot in WeHo on Sunset Boulevard called Daughter’s Deli. Pastrami figures strongly on the “Hot Family Classics” sandwich menu --- look for traditional hot pastrami on double baked rye with mustard, hot pastrami with Swiss, coleslaw and homemade dressing, or a double header of hot pastrami with corned beef. Breakfast & Lunch daily. Daughter's Deli, 8555 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069, 310-652-6552 .
 
Chef Minh Phan’s 2.0 version of her former Hollywood Porridge + Puffs has found a new home on Beverly Boulevard in Historic Filipinotown. This cozy neighborhood spot is the place for some of LA’s most inventive and beautiful seasonal dishes, ranging from short rib porridge with turmeric-fermented mustard greens, to Szechuan shakshouka with brisket and pickles, kabocha and chrysanthemum on lemongrass-makrut curry, and Malabar and amaranth porridge. It’s a hip scene, and dishes sell out fast. Porridge + Puffs, 2801 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057, 213-908-5313.
 

NEWS BYTES

Fresh Look & Menu for The Milky Way
The Spielberg family is carrying on the legacy of their late mother, Leah “LeeLee” Spielberg Adler, at The Milky Way. The Kosher restaurant has gotten a new look and updated menu. The Milky Way, 9108 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035, 310-859-0004.
 

CHEF SHUFFLE

Chef Vartan Abgaryan is moving on amicably from 71Above in order to pursue a new project in Los Angeles. Longtime colleague and chef de cuisine Javier Lopez is stepping into the executive chef spot. 71Above, U.S. Bank Tower, 633 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles, CA 90071, 213-712-2683.
 

CLOSINGS

Chef Josef Centeno’s soulful ode to vegetables, P.Y.T., closed in early March 2019. P.Y.T., 400 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90013, no phone.
 
B.S. Taqueria, a project from chef Ray Garcia (Broken Spanish) in downtown Los Angeles, closed on April 13, 2019, with plans to move to a new location. B.S. Taqueria, 514 W. 7th St., Los Angeles, CA 90014, no phone.
 
Pitfire Artisan Pizza in North Hollywood is temporarily closed for renovations. The re-opening is scheduled for Spring 2019. Pitfire Artisan Pizza, 5211 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601, 818-980-2949.
 
The Walker Inn craft cocktail bar is closed February 17, 2019, after nearly four years. The Walker Inn, The Normandie Club, 3612 W. Sixth St., Los Angeles, CA 90020, No phone.
 
The airy Venice restaurant Salt Air has closed on Abbot Kinney. Owner Dave Reiss (Sunny Spot, A-Frame) will flip the space into Yours Truly later this spring. Salt Air, 1616 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291, no phone.
 
February 24, 2019, was the last service at Maison Akira Chef-owner Akira Hirose presented the last evening service at Maison Akira on February 24, 2019. Since its opening in 1998, the Pasadena restaurant had served compelling French cooking with Pacific Rim highlights. Keep an eye out for a new venture in Little Tokyo. Maison Akira, 713 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101, no phone.
 

CULINARY EVENTS
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