What You're Eating: Food Celebrations, Anniversaries And New Chef Menus
It may be hard to keep up with all of the new menu offerings that happen in Los Angeles, but we want to make it easy for you. There are specialty items in celebration of monthly food celebrations, a new vegan lunch menu on Melrose and the long-anticipated opening of a Downtown restaurant and bar, just to name a few.
Lunch Menu Launch
Crossroads
8284 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 782.9245
www.CrossroadsKitchen.com
Crossroads recently opened to great reviews from vegans and food lovers in the area. Now, the restaurant offers lunch with a focus on small pasta dishes, soup, sandwiches and simple desserts. Grab a seat in the brightly lit cafe area and order one of the European-inspired sandwiches featuring any one of the three Kite Hill vegan cheeses developed by Chef and Co-Owner Tal Ronnen. Sandwiches include the Doc Brown with olives, pickled vegetables, basil aioli, and cassucio, the Full Monte with housemade tomato jam, basil, and cassucio, the Big Tal Cheese with vegan butter, Persian cucumbers, white alder cheese and the Le Prevot with cucumber, tomato and truffle dill cheese. Wine and beer, as well as locally produced non-alcoholic beverages will be available as well. Lunched is served Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Poolside Airstream Bar
W Los Angeles – Westwood
930 Hilgard Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 208-8765
www.wlosangeles.com
What's better than a summer afternoon by the pool with a cool drink in hand? WET at the W Los Angeles has a new bar, and it's built right in the middle of a 1963 Airstream Bambi. The Poolside Airstream Bar offers a set of new cocktails, including the perfectly pink Prickly Pear. The bar is only open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Make sure to order a bite from The Backyard while you're hanging out.
New Downtown Restaurant
Ebanos Crossing
200 South Hill Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(212) 935-8829
www.ebanoscrossing.com
There has been a lot of chitter chatter about a new restaurant downtown. Now that Ebanos Crossing is open, it is time to see what all the fuss is really about. The vibe is inspired by the trails smugglers traveled between Mexico to the U.S. during the 1920s. The menu will have a Southwestern twist. A few of the dishes include mac and cheese balls wrapped in chorizo, chicken wings in rum reduction and short ribs with blackberry bourbon sauce, in addition to braised goat tacos. The cocktail menu will have a heavy focus on whiskey, mezcal, rum and tequila. Try the Ebanos Old Fashion with bacon-infused bourbon, mezcal, agave and angostura bitters.
It's Watermelon Time
Cafe del Rey
4451 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 823-6395
www.cafedelreymarina.com
Tuesday, Aug. 3 just happened to be National Watermelon Day, and Chef Daniel Roberts introduced two new melon-centric dishes that will be around for the entire month. Seared Ahi with Watermelon features prosciutto and lemon olive oil vinaigrette, and the Watermelon Sorbet is cold, sweet and smooth -- perfect for dessert. Both dishes are great complements to the Mediterranean-inspired menu offerings.
Black Truffle Menu
Patina
141 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 972-3331
www.patinarestaurant.com
If you love truffles, make a reservation for Chef Olalia's Australian Périgord truffle-packed five-course prix-fixe menu offered Aug. 9 and 10. The menu includes Sea Scallops with truffle crème fraîche and parsley coulis, Zucchini Blossom Tempura with lobster and truffle mousseline and Mallard Duck with Rainier cherries and truffle sauce. The cost is $100 per person, and reservations are highly encouraged.
New Chef, New Menu
The Churchill
8384 West 3rd Street
West Hollywood, CA 90048
(323) 655-8384
www.the-churchill.com
Chef Michael Bryant has taken over the lead at The Churchill, and he has ushered in a new edge on New American cuisine. Chef Bryant's familial roots converge somewhere where France meets Virginia, and together with his experience at four major L.A. restaurants, as well as a win on Food Network's "Chef Wanted," you should have no doubt that his new menu is causing some buzz. Try the Spanish Octopus with garlic butter and preserved lemon, Roasted Cauliflower and Peas with thyme and chermoula, Broiled Bone Marrow with celery and pickled shallots or the fired Sweet Corn Pizza with lamb pancetta and serranos. There are also a few new cocktails too, including the Iron Mule with ginger syrup, bitters and lemon. A new brunch and lunch menu starts Aug. 17, so mark your calendar.
National Sandwich Month
Mendocino Farms
175 South Fairfax Avenue, Suite B
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 934-4261
mendocinofarms.com
Mendocino Farms wants to celebrate National Sandwich Month in August, and that means you have a couple of new sammies to try. Their tried-and-true sandwiches are still on the menu, of course, but now there is a Cubano with slow-braised, shredded pork, honey ham, housemade pickles, mojo sauce and crisp plantains, as well as the Shrimp Rich Boy with Cajun shrimp, Meyer lemon relish aïoli and smoked bacon. Mendocino Farms across the city are all participating in this month's sandwich extravaganza for the month of August. For all of the eatery's fans in the Valley, stay tuned for a new location in Sherman Oaks set to open in September.
Countdown to One Hundred and Two
Mohawk Bend
2141 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 483-2337
www.mohawk.la
Mohawk Bend is now two years young, and the historic building that houses the restaurant has hit a full century. It's time to celebrate for the both of them. There will be special beers on tap through Aug. 13, just before Mohawk Bend announces its collaboration with Golden Road Brewing. Play beer bingo for a chance to win prizes. The big anniversary party will be Aug. 14, featuring many of the restaurant's acclaimed dishes. For just $24.95, several of the restaurant's top selling dishes will be on deck in the Ramona Room, including Buffalo Cauliflower, Hearts of Palm Crab Cakes , Napa Pizza and Banh Mi, PBJ and Froman Pizza and the Peach Cobbler and Cast Iron Cookie. Reservations are required for the anniversary party.
Chrystal Baker is a freelance food, events, culture travel contributor for CBS Los Angeles, Basil Magazine, Frugivore Magazine and Politic365. She is the co-editor of a recipe blog, The Duo Dishes, and manages her own lifestyle and travel blog, Any and Everywhere, as well as the Farm 2 Plate Culinary Club site.