Fellow Tasting Menu Chef Dave Beran Calls Jordan Kahn’s Vespertine ‘Incredible’

A dialogue on Vespertine

Dave Beran, the Chicago-bred chef who’s bringing a tasting menu restaurant called Dialogue to Santa Monica soon, has a lot to say about Jordan Kahn’s Vespertine. In a new wide-ranging interview with Robb Report, Beran calls Vespertine “incredible,” and adds that the immersive restaurant has made him think about ways in which to go deeper with the dining experience at his own upcoming tasting menu counter.

Of course, that’s not all Beran discusses. There’s also a lengthy bit about the totality of tasting menu dining in general, how it’s akin to albums meant to be played cover to cover, and his plans to make Dialogue as singular an experience as “any of the other restaurants that I look up to.” Step one: $15,000 worth of plateware.

The Viking Truck grows

Long-running Orange County food truck The Viking Truck is expanding into McFadden Public Market. The hot dog and sausage-focused rig will officially open next Tuesday with a slightly expanded menu, and more to come.

North Hollywood waffles

Ventura Blvd. Magazine has a story out on & Waffles, the ampersand restaurant doing big breakfast and lunch plates. There are both savory and sweet options available, along with a ton of extras like eggs and bacon or fried chicken.

Remember Otomisan

There’s something magical about Otomisan, the “last bento-ya in Boyle Heights”. As LA Magazine critic Patric Kuh describes, the small Japanese restaurant just on the other side of the river is wonderfully old school, and speaks to a time when the neighborhood had many, many Japanese immigrants.

Necco’s new deal

Westwood Japanese restaurant Necco is doing a new bento box option for lunch, with a rotation of options from root vegetables to salmon to faux-eel vegan sushi. Between September 1 and September 15, the restaurant will be offering only five bento boxes for lunch (and another five for dinner), then the new menu item will move to lunch only and cost $40.

Courtesy Necco Japanese restaurant