Kids Eat Free Mondays, Brett Ratner Lives Well, and More A.M. Intel

Beauty & Essex is almost here

New York transplant Beauty & Essex keeps making its way west, landing most recently in Las Vegas. The space only opened over the weekend there, but things are already taking shape — along with sister concept Tao — for a Beauty & Essex in Hollywood. Both are hopeful to open by the end of this year.

Brett Ratner’s favorite LA spots

Big-cinema filmmaker Brett Ratner loves Los Angeles. So much so, he sat down with the Citizine team to discuss his favorite places to eat and drink around town, from the ubiquitous Polo Lounge and Mr. Chow to Muss & Frank Grill and Seven Grand. It’s a rich man’s look at L.A., to be sure, but there’s definitely something charming about pulling up for a drink at a place like Dan Tana’s or Wally’s in Beverly Hills.

Good turns bad in Silver Lake

If you’ve driven past Good on Sunset recently, you might have noticed the place is all wrapped up. An email to ownership says there was a small fire in the office area of the Silver Lake restaurant and bar not long ago, and a cleaning crew is on site dealing with the mess. Others are chirping that a new concept could be on its way instead of the former craft beer and sports haven, but Good swears they’ll be back and, well, good as ever in no time.

Josef Centeno's cookbook is done

Well, hopefully it's done by now. As this Instagram post states, the deadline was a week ago. But if it means waiting a bit longer for a perfected version of roast duck, it might be worth the delay.

Deadline to turn our cookbook manuscript in is tomorrow, and this is the 6th time we have tested this baharat roast duck recipe. Everyone is really tired of tasting it, by now. But not really, there are worse things to taste over and over again.

A photo posted by Josef Centeno (@chefjosefcenteno) on May 9, 2016 at 7:35am PDT

Recess Eatery is free for the kids

The recently opened Recess Eatery in Highland Park is doing Monday giveaways now, with free food for the kids kicking off the week as of today. Open for dinner only, the move is to order an adult entree and get a kids meal for free — that's a great deal anywhere.

Design and coffee collide

Feel like talking the finer points of design detail over a cup of coffee? You can do just that at Wheelhouse in the Arts District on May 26, as Sprudge contributor Julie Wolfson will moderate a panel put on by AIGA design association. The event is meant to be a bridge between the look, feel, service, and design of a coffee shops in the modern age, and tickets are $50 at the door.

Buena Park’s ramen arrival

There’s another new ramen option for Buena Park, as Kitakata Ban Nai lands on Orangethorpe Avenue. The spacious shop keeps Tuesday through Friday lunch (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and dinner (5 p.m. to 10 p.m.) hours, and weekend hours from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 7550 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park.