Downtown
Mrs. Knafeh, owned by a Palestinian woman, is open daily from an adorable trailer in Downtown L.A., just west of the 110 Freeway next to the Orsini apartments. The truck prepares two kinds of knafeh, including Nabulsieh knafeh, traditional to the Palestinian city of Nablus, and a crispy knafeh made with shredded phyllo. Both are made to order. There are also crescent-shaped dumplings known as atayef, with fillings such as sweet cream, cheese, walnut-and-cinnamon, and cream cheese-and-coconut. One can also expect strong coffee and tea.
Open Tuesdays through Wednesdays, and Fridays through Sundays, starting at 3 p.m.
505 N. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90012
Playa Vista
Anna Voloshyna, the author and chef behind Budmo! Recipes From a Ukrainian Kitchen, will be cooking all day at 'Mom, Please' restaurant in Playa Vista. Voloshyna tells L.A. TACO, "The menu is inspired by my recent trip to Ukraine. All dishes are from different parts of Ukraine, and the idea is to bring the taste of my country to L.A."
The menu will include kholodnyk (cold vegetarian borscht), a set of Odessa-inspired Zakusky (small snacks to accompany drinking), crispy deruny (potato pancakes) with creamy mushroom sauce, Crimean manti dumplings with the spicy red pepper sauce known as ajika, and "laziest" dumplings with honey-berry compote.
13151 Fountain Park Dr. Playa Vista, CA 90094
Downtown
Temaki Society is open inside the Grayson Bar in Downtown. The concept merges Korean flavors and other modern twists into Japanese handrolls (temaki) that always employ superlative seafood from fine-dining chef Hoon Kang and his brother. Temaki varieties include yellowtail with serrano chile, gobo, and yuzu ponzu, plus soy sauce-marinated shrimp with kimchi and furikake, as well as a tuna with soy-marinated uni, pickled wasabi and hanaho flowers. Combo deals offer three rolls for $18 and five for $28. Past daily specials have included a salmon tostada and an albacore banh mi hand roll.
351 S. Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90013
Westlake
A significant new Guatemalan restaurant called Cafe and Restaurant Chapines is now open in the Westlake neighborhood west of downtown, offering beef and chicken stews, mojarra frita, a traditional "desayuno Chapín" of eggs, plantains, beans, and sausages, fried chicken, taquitos dorados, ground beef-and-beet enchiladas, ham-and-cheese sandwiches, and revolcado plates with stewed pork tongue, heart, and liver with tomato sauce.
1520 W. 7th St. Los Angeles, CA 90017
Watts
This Saturday, the family-friendly Watts Culture Fest will take place on the seven acre campus of Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC). In addition to activities like a sneaker-design workshop and skate park activation, food vendors include Watts Waffles with bubble waffles, Tortacos Cansado Del Camino with chile poblano relleno tortas, taquitos, and tacos, Ankh Natural Juices, Big B the Chef, fried chicken and ribs from Magnolia St. Kitchen, and more.
10950 S. Central Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90059
