Magpies Softserve Lights Up Tarzana With a Full Slate of Free Ice Cream Today

A soft serve ice cream bonanza

Good news for anyone in the Valley today, as Magpies Softserve is opening with a bang up in Tarzana. The soft serve ice cream option has an original location in Silver Lake, but plans to jump to their second spot with a day of free ice cream, says Unemployed Eater.

The giveaway is good for today only, with hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The new address is 18971 Ventura Blvd., in a large strip mall with lots of room for parking, which means you basically have no excuse not to get free ice cream today.

LA’s cultish brunch scene

LAist has a funny new post out as of yesterday, showing off the competing “cult-ish” brunch options at Cafe Gratitude and the Scientology Center. It’s all very tongue-in-cheek, of course, but does contain some excellent lines like:

The spookily ornate splendor of the almost-empty dining room made me feel like I'd stumbled onto the set of a new Ryan Murphy show in pre-production.

Mirko and Estrella for good

Chef Mirko Paderno of Culina at the Four Seasons is partnering with chef Dakota Weiss of Estrella for a do-good dinner at Estrella in West Hollywood on May 18. Tickets are a cool $85 a head and 10% of proceeds go towards the No Kd Hungry charity.

Highland Park’s next caffeine fix

You just can’t stop the LA coffee movement apparently. The latest to hit the scene is Collage Coffee, a colorful first-timer on York that soft-opened only yesterday, says The Eastsider.

Get Smitten

Looks like the Silver Lake iteration of Smitten Ice Cream isn’t dead after all, despite being announced in 2015 with not much movement since. A release from the company says that a mid-summer arrival for the Sunset Boulevard address is likely.

Cocktails keep coming

The May Mix-Off is well underway at Downtown’s JW Marriott at L.A. Live. The annual tournament of cocktail prowess features a rotating collection bartenders and boozes, with the competition rounding out into a finals on Wednesday, May 24. Events run every Wednesday evening this month at the lobby bar, The Mixing Room.

Loving it all at The Hitching Post

Beloved Central Coast restaurant The Hitching Post in Casmalia is celebrating 65 years in business. The hidden gem is doing a dual steak dinner to celebrate, where for $65 guests can get two ten-ounce New York steak dinners. It’s running all month, so get there now.

Catch LA loves mom

Celebrity rooftop hotspot Catch LA wants to party with your mom on Mothers Day. That’s why they’re doing a Sunday special with everything from kale benedicts over polenta to crème brûlée french toast. The full menu is below.