Spot Check! Black Salmon-and-Shrimp Pelmenis, Banana Leaf Mole Tamales, and a Doner Kebab Pop-Up

Spot check! In this week's Spot Check, we find a an array of colorful dumplings for home chefs, a Westside pop-up for Turkish doner kebab, and the San Fernando Valley's biggest new food hall.

Cosmic Dumplings prepares unique Eastern European pelmeni, semi-finished for home cooks to drop into boiling water. The business uses cold-pressed natural vegetable and fruit juices to dye its dumplings, which include dyes made from beets, carrots, dragon fruit, cabbage, and spinach. Creative options include a black pelmeni stuffed with salmon and shrimp, and pre-mixed packages of rainbow dumplings for the youth. You can order them direct on Instagram or find them in several local Slavic and Armenian markets.

Santa Monica Turkish cafe Lokl Haus is holding a döner kebab pop-up this Saturday evening, slicing paper thin cuts of beef from oft a slowly revolving trompo from 5 PM until it runs out. The pop-up will return this Wednesday, October 18, and again on Saturday, October 21, from 4PM on.

2627 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90404. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Line 4 - “Santa Monica/26th” or Bus Line 720 - "Wilshire/26th."

LA Chef's Kitchen is the San Fernando Valley's biggest (and newest) food hall, opening yesterday in the tallest building in Panorama City with 16 different concepts. Nantli prepares farmers market-driven, Oaxacan tamales from the family recipes of Elodia and Diego Cervantes, including chicken mole banana leaf tamales and chipilin-infused tamales. There's also Taquito y Mas, serving chef Eddie Gonzalez's tacos, enchiladas, mulitas, y mas. Additional concepts include Aguas Carnal, Ticas Teppanyaki, No Worries Curry, and Babylon Food.

8155 Van Nuys Blvd. Panorama City, CA 91402. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Lines 169 and 233 - “Van Nuys/Lanark”, Bus Lines 152, 167, and 761 - "Van Nuys/Roscoe."

Today marks the beginning of Festival de Vino Mexicano (Festival of Mexican Wine) at Mirate, running through October 15. Over three days, there will be tastings, collaborations with chefs and wineries, and seminars on wines from Baja California and mainland Mexico, as well as curated dinners and tasting experiences. These include a ‘Celebration of Mexican Wine,’ a seven-course wine dinner, ‘Tacos y Vino taco omakase on Saturday, and a ‘Wine Tasting y Barbacoa’ event on Sunday. A portion of ticket sale proceeds will go to This Is About Humanity, a non-profit helping families separated and reunited at the U.S.-Mexico border.

A new delivery-only taqueria (with roots in... Delaware?) is serving Beverly Hills and its neighbors from a ghost kitchen in back of Beverly Bar. JaJa Tacos' menu includes tacos, burritos, quesadillas, loaded nachos and fries, and salads with steak, chicken, and shrimp.

434 North Camden Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 4 - “Santa Monica/Camden.”

To honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Vallarta Supermarkets will hold its third consecutive Pink for Life on October 24th, offering free FDA and ACR-certified mammograms to women over the age of 40 at its North Hills location from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

9136 Sepulveda Blvd. North Hills CA 91343. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Lines 166 or 234 - “Sepulveda/Nordhoff.”