Is Mar Vista LA’s Next Unsung Dining Neighborhood?

Little Fatty elevates Mar Vista even further

The nebulous, unformed Culver City West/Mar Vista/Palms section of Los Angeles has really been booming as of late, with a slew of new and relatively recent additions to the formerly quality-starved stretch.

Case in point: Little Fatty, which officially opens today. Formerly Status Kuo, a (mostly) rotisserie option that never quite found its footing, the Mar Vista location just off Venice Boulevard has been reimagined as an awesome sub-$15 Taiwanese takeaway spot, complete with those ubiquitous white boxes you get from every Chinese restaurant in America.

Except, well, you won’t actually want to take your food to go (though that, along with delivery, will be totally available too), since the attached bar Accomplice is up and running too. Why not pour in with some friends to snack on kung pao chicken or the handmade dumpling of the day, then sneak through the small corridor between the two spaces for a nightcap?

Not that you still needed a reason to get out of your house if you live in Palms or Mar Vista or anywhere nearby. Roy Choi is back to his old ways in the ‘hood with the arrival of Kogi Taqueria, and poke newcomer TikiFish has the fast casual healthy daytime segment covered. Heck, just in the past few days newcomer Canela Cocina has come to light, while details on the soon-to-come Mar Vista restaurant and music venue have been announced. It’s a good time, for once, to be eating in Mar Vista.

Them Super Amazing boys

There’s a new Super Amazing Restaurant Show out now, following a short travel hiatus from the team of Arjun and Nakul Mahendro, plus Alvin Cailan. This one comes live from StarChefs in New York City, and marks episode 9 in what has become one of the most talked-about podcasts within the restaurant community. Get ready for some serious sneaker talk.

Chinese bone broth restaurants are here

Who here has been to Broth, a steamy Chinese/Taiwanese newcomer in Walnut specializing in all things chicken broth? The place has been open since summer apparently but is picking up fans (and currently sports a 4.5 rating on Yelp), with folks at Food Talk Central finally giving it a proper write up.

The Line Hotel goes native

There’s a so-called "native feast" coming to Commissary in Koreatown next week, with plans serve up everything from fry bread to a lamb shank with a side of kimchi. It’s an eclectic menu, and should make for a fun day on Thursday, November 24.

Jamie Lauren’s coming out moment

Hank & Frida’s pop-up chef Jamie Lauren gets blogged up by the Feastly team, where (along with Smorgasburg) she’s been dishing out some of the best new burgers in the city. A rising star chef up in SF as far back as 2005, Lauren has worked the food television gamut and is now in the works to bring her upstart burger concept to the masses with a future brick and mortar location.

More doughnut collaborations

The next round of Alma at the Standard doughnut collaborations is upon is, this time with Jon & Vinny in tow. The filled brunch option carries a coconut curry custard inside, and runs through November 30.

House wine from Joan’s on Third

Ready to keep your drinking close to home? Get out for some new wine made exclusively for the team at Joan’s on Third. The long-running West Third Street stop is coming up on two decades of sunny sandwiches and salads, but just this year decided to branch out into wine bottling with their own limited release red and white blends. They officially launch on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. with tastings at both locations, and will be available at both shops thereafter for a cool $20 a bottle.

Joan’s on Third