Pinches Tacos to Larchmont; Jeremy Strubel at Sirena

LARCHMONT—Another La Bottega Marino location bites the dust. The Pinches Tacos Mexican chain is taking over the Italian cafe on Larchmont, just south of Beverly, slated to open mid-February. [Larchmont LA]

MID-CITY— By the way, Jeremy Strubel is no longer executing the bill of fare at Rustic Canyon. He's working under partner/chef Sandy Gendel (Pace) at Sirena, that new Mediterreanen seafood place which is soft open now and officially debuts on January 17. [EaterWire]

DOWNTOWN— Giovanni Zappone, owner of Pacific Palisades Italian restaurant Casa Nostra Ristorante, will open a second location in the shuttered Magnolia space downtown. Zappone plans to launch later this month and serve a menu similar to that offered in the Palisades with some new dishes as well. [LADTN via GS]

AROUND TOWN— This is kind of fun. Fancy home furniture store Design Within Reach is holding a mini Champagne Chair contest. Basically, the design store is asking fans to create a mini chair using the foil, label, cage, and cork from up to two Champagne bottle. First prize is $1,000 to DWR. More here. [ELA]