Skip to Content
Downtown

What to Eat This Weekend: ‘Sea-Cuterie,’ Al Pastor Rigatoni, and Oxtail Curry Pizza

Plus, a new spot to get huitlacoche quesadillas—with cheese—in the San Fernando Valley and a new delivery-only bento box to order in.

12:59 PM PST on February 16, 2024

Delivery

Bento boxes from Wafu Bento, photo courtesy of Wafu Bento

Wafu Bento launched this month to offer pickup for its preparations of seafood from Japan's Toyosu Fish Market, offered in chirashi bowls, bento boxes, and sushi. Boxes are delivered directly as soon as they're made, without the use of 3rd party apps. Your choices include the "Abalone Special," "Tuna Festival," and a bento box of Kyoto-style temari, among others. Delivery to come.

Watts

Watts Culture Fest will be held this Saturday, Feb. 17, at WLCAC in Watts. Expect food from Alta Adams chef and Watts local Keith Corbin, roller skating and skateboarding, a youth video game lounge, games, crafts, and food, DJs, a sneaker painting workshop by Zapatos, and much more.

Free, 12-6 PM, 10950 S. Central Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90059. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 53 - "Central/108th."

Pasadena

Photo by Jakob N. Layman for Pez Coastal Kitchen.

Pez Coastal Kitchen is now open in Pasadena from the owners of Downtown's Pez Cantina. Expect a focus on cured fish and European influences, including chilled seafood towers with aguachile shooters, sweetbread fritto misto, various crudos, mussels a la bouillabaisse, and what they're calling "sea-cuterie." Main dishes include smoked baby back ribs, whole fried fish, and spaghetti alla chitarra with Manila clams, mussels, and uni nage.

61 N. Raymond Ave. Pasadena, CA 91103. Closest Metro lines and stop: Metro A Line - "Memorial Park Station", Bus Lines 177, 256, and 501 - "Raymond/Union", or Bus Lines 180, 662, and 686 - "Colorado/Raymond."

Echo Park

Oxtail curry pizza, photo courtesy of Bridgetown Roti

Bridgetown Roti, nominated for an "Emerging Chef" award from the James Beard Foundation, is bringing its oxtail pizza back for the next two weekends at Quarter Sheets Pizza in Echo Park. The square pie has a sesame crust and oxtail curry on top, plus a Fresno mango masala, Maui onions, and serrano oil.

1305 Portia St. Los Angeles, CA 90026. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 4 - "Sunset/Portia."

Hollywood

Al pastor short rib rigatoni at Lemon Grove in Hollywood, photo by Hadley Tomicki for L.A. TACO

Lemon Grove, the rooftop restaurant from Marcel Vigneron atop The Aster in Hollywood, offers another pasta for taco lovers. Served as a main course, the rigatoni with al pastor-braised short ribs, lime cream, cotjia cheese, and micro cilantro puts the powers of al pastor into a plate of fresh pasta. No trompo included.

1717 Vine St. Floor 6, Los Angeles, CA 90028. Closest Metro lines and stop: Metro B Line, Bus Lines 180, 210, 217, and 222 - "Hollywood/Vine Station."

San Fernando/Arleta

A quesadilla with handmade tortilla with huitlacoche and corn from Betty's Tacos and Quesadillas, photo courtesy of Betty's Tacos and Quesadillas.

You'll find Betty's Tacos and Quesadillas at locations in San Fernando and Arleta, serving Puebla-style recipes, including cemitas, tacos on handmade tortillas with asada, carnitas, cecina, cueritos, birria, and more, plus quesadillas and huaraches with mushrooms, flor de calabaza, huitlacoche, chicharron, and more.

11818 Glenoaks Blvd. San Fernando, CA 91340. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 92 - "Glenoaks/Arroyo."

9750 Woodman Ave. Arleta, CA 91331. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Lines 233 and 761 - "Van Nuys/Woodman."

Downtown

The public is invited to join Jacobs Deliverance Foundation's "From the Heart" event this Saturday, February 17, to volunteer and help feed our neighbors, veterans, and elderly in need in Downtown's Skid Row neighborhood from 6 AM to 6 PM—no RSVP is needed. The event hopes to increase to be a twice, then trice, a month event in the coming months.

6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, 544 Towne Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90013. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Lines 16, 18, 53, and 62 - "6th/Towne."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More Stories

Scoop: Former L.A. Sheriff’s Deputy Sent Dick Pics To ‘Vulnerable’ Women That He Met While On Duty

A criminal case for “misdemeanor sexual battery” was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. However, “the case was declined due to insufficient evidence,” a spokesperson for D.A. Nathan Hochman tells L.A. TACO.

July 24, 2026

10 Rising L.A. Directors You Need to Follow

From local short film screenings to Sundance Film Festival, these are the city’s emerging directors keeping the industry alive.

July 24, 2026

Get These Smoked Guinness Chili Burgers For One Day Only In Boyle Heights

The chili is made with Guinness Extra Stout, fire-roasted chiles, chipotles en adobo, spices, dark chocolate, and a beef ball that is smoked over the chili, allowing its fat to drip into the pot, before the meat is folded back in.

July 24, 2026

The Country’s Most Famous Strip Club Hosted Its First Trans Night and We Were There

This wasn't a queer venue making room for trans performers—that already exists. This was one of the country's most recognizable strip clubs deciding that supporting trans dancers is just . . . normal.

July 24, 2026

The 21 Best Soft Serve Shops in Los Angeles, Ranked

Our guide has it all: one dollar cones, hidden gems worth the drive, spots doing something you've never seen before, and the classics that have been here longer than most of us.

Catch Chicano Arts Innovator Gronk In Conversation at Moveable Feast, August 27 In Pasadena

A true legend of L.A. art and innovation, Gronk is the East L.A.-raised, multi-hyphenate artist that formed one quarter of the main nucleus of ASCO, the 1970s and 80s avant garde artists collective famous for confronting and skewering the systems set against Eastside Angelenos and Chicanos.

July 23, 2026