Spot Check! Welcome to L.A. TACO’s latest column, where we bring you the latest and most exciting openings, pop-ups, finds, and food events around all of Los Angeles this week. Because the newer the spots, the downer the food...
Mija Craft Kitchen is now open in Culver City from South Arizona-raised chef Katherine Gonzalez, whose roots family stretch back to Chihuahua and Spain. The menu includes bacon-wrapped dates, sweet white corn esquites, chicken tomatillo pozole, pulled pork enchiladas, and a "tamal" of the day. Gonzalez also owns Chúla Artisan Eatery in La Puente.
4130 Sepulveda Blvd. #G Culver City, CA 90230. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 33 - “Venice/Sepulveda.”
Angler is reopen on the street-level of Beverly Center for the best in sustainably sourced, live-fired, modern seafood under chef Paul Chung, with a new look from Built Inc. Every dish is kissed in some way by the kitchen's wood-burning hearth and new menu items include nduja bluefin tuna with Calabrian chiles and buttermilk bread, Vermillion crudo with smoked bone vinegar and puffed rice, swordfish al pastor with BBQ pineapple, and eggplant with smoked masala and onion yogurt. On May 30th, NBA Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade will be hosting a four-course dinner there for his Wade Cellars wine label, the West Coast launch of his second annual When We Gather Dinner Series, celebrating BIPOC chefs and sommeliers with dynamic food and drink experiences, with tickets here.
8500 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Lines 14, 16, 105, 218 or 617 - “3rd/La Cienega.”
Venezuelan hot dog vendor Dog.R has a meatty new treat: Pepitos, the country's signature, streetside, steak sandwich, where the beef is sliced and seasoned while cooking on the grill then placed on a toasted roll and topped with condiments, freshly grated cheese, onions, and more. Chef Gerardo Pacheco has two versions of the sandwich: the Regional Highway filled with grilled steak and bacon, mozzarella cheese, lettuce, tomato, potato sticks, and topped with cheddar cheese, and the Guaro with steak and bacon, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese on top. They will both be available at all three of his pop-up locations (Altadena and City Hall Farmers Markets, and Smorgasburg Sundays).
Speaking of dogs, Droogie's Ultra Dog promises 100% beef hot dogs "made in Los Angeles for Los Angeles," and will be popping up this Saturday at Tiki-Ti. Its first appearance at the infamous bar included a menu with a chili dog with spicy mustard and a Colombian perra with cilantro aioli.
5/27, 4pm-sellout, 4427 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Line 2 - “Sunset/Virgil” or Metro B Line - "Vermont/Sunset Station."
Great L.A. chef Jason Fullilove has designed a new hot sauce called Tumie Coco Hot, designed to be "the most versatile hot sauce in the known universe." The recipe uses coconut oil, chiles habanero and Fresno, and distilled and red wine vinegar, with most ingredients grown on a 17-acre farm. And it's sugar-and-preservative free. Available now at Kustaa Cheese & Wine in Culver City.
Following 40 years in Hollywood, Mediterranean Paro's Family Restaurant is opening a new location in Sun Valley for its kebabs, gyros, and beef ranchera wraps. And there's a party!! Expect Drift Coffee Bar and Gourmeletas Ice Cream to be up in there, up in there, along with "free finger food" and a DJ.
8499 Sunland Blvd. Sun Valley, CA 91352. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Line 90 - “Sunland/Nettleton” or Bus Lines 92 and 222 - "Glenoaks/Nettleton."
Colony Cooks has a new Thai option called Muy Thai in the Sawtelle neighborhood, with dishes like chicken or pork kra pao (their heat levels can be cranked way the hell up if desired), pad see ew, red chicken curry, and mango sticky rice. Orders can be placed online for pickup and delivery.
11419 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 4 - “Santa Monica/Corinth.”
A restaurant app called InKind is now available in Los Angeles, allowing customers to buy credits for dining among a smattering of L.A. restaurants. Guests who buy credits get financial rewards and the more they spend, the bigger the bonus. The app was launched with the intent of helping restaurant raise capital by providing financing in exchange for food and beverage credits that are sold directly to customers, with a $250 million ESG commitment to fund underrepresented independent restaurant operators by 2025. Customers pay and tip directly through the app, allowing them to get out of dodge without fumbling for cash or credit cards. Participating L.A. restaurants include Mirame, Ospi, Olivetta, Katusya, and Broad Street Oyster Co.
Chef Josh Gil's Mirate just launched weekend brunch in Los Feliz, with dishes like braised pork belly huevas a la diabla with nixtamal and 64 degree egg, chilaquiles with optional fried chicke, hangar steak, or more pork belly, eggs Benedicto with crispy hoja santa and adobo hollandaise, and to drink, Max Reis cocktails like the chicken bouillon-and-Dakabend rum-infused Bloody Marys named for La Llorona, and a spritz with tepache and strawberry chamoy.
1712 N. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Lines 180, 206 or 217 - “Hollywood/New Hampshire.”
A creative, beachy new cocktail bar called Gin Rummy is opening in the former Nueva space in Marina del Rey from venerated hospitality veterans Jared Meisler and David and Patti Reiss. Categories of drinks are broken into six categories, including Frozen Rummys (with pina coladas, habanero honeysuckles, and guava daiquiris), Stirred (banana manhattans and MSG Old Fashioneds), Tiki (agave zombies and rye tais), and shareable large-format "Cocktails for Four," wherein you'll find your Scorpion Bowls. Snacks include carnitas tacos, fish and chips, and coconut shrimp.
822 Washington Blvd. Marina del Rey, CA 90292. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 108 - “Admiralty/Marina City.”
