A Phone Call at LA Hotspot Catch Confirmed Kawhi Leonard’s Future With the Clippers

Last summer, former Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George received a personal phone call from future teammate Kawhi Leonard while dining at Catch in West Hollywood. This initial conversation between two powerhouse players became the starting point of both stars joining the Los Angeles Clippers last July.

As one of LA’s most celebrity and athlete-filled venues, Catch seems like the perfect place to alter the “balance of power in the NBA for years to come,” according to ESPN. Boasting one of LA’s most sought after rooftops, the massive New York City-based seafood restaurant has locations Dubai and Playa del Carmen.

In other news:

—sbe’s Katsuya opens a new cocktail lounge in Brentwood today. S Bar sits next to the Brentwood Katsuya. The design is similar to the one in Miami and includes an indoor-outdoor space and film-inspired cocktails including Purple Rain, Sleepless in Seattle, and Stairway to Heaven.

Courtesy of sbe

—After eight months, chef Jason Fullilove is out at the Magic Castle. The Los Angeles Times reporting did not reveal the nature of the departure, other than Fullilove’s replacement would “possess the necessary leadership skills to take our culinary program to the next level.”

—Long Beach’s Cambodian-inspired PowWow Pizza closed this week. Even though chef Maurice Yim’s spot became a neighborhood darling in Bixby Knolls, the popular pizzeria barely held on for a year. According to the Long Beach Post, PowWow’s closure is the result of high rent, rising cost of goods, and labor.

—In a collaboration that’s as stoner-friendly as it is Los Angeles-centric, Snoop Dogg created a Beyond D-O-Double G breakfast sandwich at Dunkin’ Donuts with a plant-based sausage. Invented by the rapper himself, the sandwich includes a Beyond Breakfast Sausage patty, egg, and cheese on a sliced glazed donut. Get it before it’s gone on January 19.

—Another Long Beach fixture is leaving Belmont Shore this week. Baba Ghanouj will close on February 15, after a decade of business on the prominent strip, according to the Long Beach Post.

—Ricardo Zarate produced a brand new menu for Koreatown’s Mama Lion. Dinner runs Tuesday through Friday from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m., with items like kimchi chaufa/fried rice, ceviche, and Peruvian baby back pork ribs to pair with Mama Lion’s cocktails.

Mama Lion [Official photo]

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