Issues With Tipping and Service Charges Often Leave the Important People Behind

How hard is healthcare?

LA Weekly steps up to the plate with a heartbreaking story on the complicated nature of providing healthcare for restaurant workers in Los Angeles. The crux of the piece surrounds Jerry Teigen, the once co-owner of WeHo Bistro who passed away from liver cancer while trying to navigate the murky healthcare waters for his own employees. However, there’s a larger conversation at play here, regarding the nature of tips, service charges, and the now-infamous 3% healthcare surcharge taken in by companies like the Rustic Canyon group.

Oftentimes, the conversations being had about tips and wages and the cost of food in Los Angeles misses a larger, more personal point. In many cases, the staff themselves tends to get left in the gray while larger-level policy changes get discussed. It’s important to remember that no matter what your position is on how to appropriately pay for the healthcare of the folks who make your restaurant food, these are real people with real issues, doing the best they can.

Bake for good

There’s a big new bake sale happening on February 11 to benefit Planned Parenthood, with stops in the Beachwood Canyon/Los Feliz/Silver Lake area. Check the flyer below for details, then head to Tabula Rasa bar in Thai Town for a drink, where bartenders will be giving their tips as well — and having them matched by ownership at the end of the night.

Saddle Peak Lodge is the bar you need

There’s a new bar menu at delicious hideaway Saddle Peak Lodge in Malibu Canyon, available 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. nightly moving forward thanks to chef Adam Horton. You’ll find everything from quinoa bowls to an 8-ounce Snake River Farms double cheeseburger, plus some signature game done up as sausages nightly.

White Boy Tacos goes legit

If you haven’t heard already, White Boy Tacos got shut down, so they moved into a new space around the corner at 208 W. 8th St. Now chef/owner Brian McMillan is hosting a grand opening on February 18, complete with $1 tacos, giveaways, and more.

Keep it secret

Want to know what you’re not ordering at your favorite restaurants? Thrillist has compiled a list of off-menu dishes from restaurants across the city, and it’s filled with decadence and indulgence galore.

More brunch for Silver Lake

There’s even more eggy morning goodness coming to Silver Lake soon, as Italian restaurant Wood launches a new weekend menu starting this coming Saturday. You’ll find a wide array of options from fresh juices and green salads to a hearty khachapuri and $18 steak and eggs.