The New Faces of LA Dining Look a Lot Like the Familiar Faces of NYC Dining

Who’s coming to stay?

If you’re starting to realize that a lot of the names announcing themselves with big new splashy Los Angeles projects sound familiar, you’re not alone. The influx of New York City talent to the West Coast is enormous, from the NoMad team to yesterday’s announcement that Cosme is hitting our city’s shores in 2018. It makes sense that some of New York’s biggest kingmakers are setting sights on Los Angeles, but with names like Jean-George, April Bloomfield, and Geoffrey Zakarian it’s also easy to start to mistake LA for Manhattan.

Take for example a new Hollywood Reporter piece from a couple of days ago, which is laced with prime players like those noted above, all talking about Los Angeles. Ken Friedman, for example, says that industry VIPs won’t get special treatment from him just because they walk in the door — in New York City, it’s the regulars who get the best seats. Scott Conant says that cocktails are the thing here, and drinks take forever to get made, while transplanted Kismet chef/owner Sara Kramer posits that weed is the most popular (and readily available) option of all. Regardless of who’s doing the talking, it will be interesting to see all these new options shake out in Los Angeles, especially after coming into the city with so much hype behind them.

Skrillex just wanted yogurt

Some brief trouble struck DJ Skrillex on Wednesday night, reports CBSLA, as the internationally-known act got put in cuffs in front of Pinkberry in West Hollywood. The whole thing ended well thankfully, with ‘lex being let go with a ticket for what seems to be playing his (own?) music too loudly.

Uncle Paulie’s prepares

Nearly a year after first announcing itself along Beverly Boulevard, it seems things could be getting close for Uncle Paulie’s Deli. The East Coast-style sandwich shop is almost done inside, and Instagram would have you believe they’re slicing cold cuts and prepping for an opening any day now.

Dinner thanks to VH1

As part of VH1’s Save The Music Foundation, you can catch dinner in Hollywood on May 4 with none other than chef Antonia Lofaso. The Lombardi House get-down costs $75 a head, but remember that it’s for a good cause.

The power of Goop

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop managed to ensnare chef Kris Yenbamroong for an afternoon, with Paltrow palling around with the Thai chef to talk cooking, film school, and recipes. Yenbamroong even stepped into a casual food challenge of sorts, with a video showing Paltrow’s pad see ew vs. his own pad thai.

Happy hour at Woodley Proper

Valley newcomer Woodley Proper is doing a new happy hour every weekday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., wherein bartender Devon Espinosa will offer $5 barman’s choice cocktails. You can obviously also snack around on some food, and anyone who works in the restaurant industry and can prove it with a pay stub will also get 20% off any drink, any time.

Francis Derby changes it up

Chef Francis Derby is leaving The Cannibal behind. The bearded chef from New York City actually moved to LA to open the Culver City outlet of their restaurant, but after years with the team is planning on stepping out into a new, unnamed role says Eater NY.

A new Pasadena burger

There’s a new burger coming to Old Pasadena, and it’s called Feel Burgers and Fries. The option has another previous location in Glendale, and now takes over where long-running Jake’s left off in 2015, right on the boulevard in a squat space with tons of walk-by traffic.