Howlin’ Ray’s Heats up LA With a Sizzling Adidas Shoe Collaboration

There’s a new collaboration between LA’s most popular hot chicken restaurant and shoemaker brand Adidas starting this month. The Adilicious line for Howlin’ Ray’s officially launches on January 23 in retail stores with a limited amount of sneakers available at the Howlin’ Ray’s Pasadena location which opened in November.

In this shoe series, Adidas collaborated with 11 restaurants to produce a sneaker collection and designated the hot chicken restaurant to help launch the line. Howlin’ Ray’s shoe design aligns with the restaurant’s own white, black, and red motif at its two locations in Pasadena and Chinatown. The white shoes boast red stripes, “Howlin’” and “Ray’s” emblazoned on opposite sides, and a large “Howlin’” or “Ray’s” written on the sole. They retail for $130. Adidas LA is giving away tickets to a launch event on January 17 where diners can get early access to the shoe before the official launch. The event with food and DJs will double as a food drive and shoe giveaway in honor of the Think Watts Foundation.

Another collaboration, but for beer and social justice

Inglewood’s forthcoming Crowns & Hops Brewing Co., partnered with Allagash Brewing Company to launch a new beer called Cur-8. It’ll drop at the beginning of Black History Month and sale proceeds go to the 8 Trill Initiative to generate opportunities for Black-owned craft beer brands. Head to the Crown & Hops website to find out where to buy.

The end for Highland Park’s La Estrella

Highland Park’s longtime taco spot La Estrella Restaurant closes permanently today. On Thursday, local residents noticed a hand-written sign in the window stating “restaurant closing down tomorrow [Friday].”

Two reviews in for Dear Jane’s

The Los Angeles Times reviewer Bill Addison published a good — but not bad — report for Hans Rockenwagner, Patti Rockenwagner, and chef Josiah Citrin’s Marina del Rey eatery Dear Jane’s, which opened in the fall of 2022. Infatuation LA took a more critical view writing, “Unless you have some wealthy relatives in town or a friend dead set on overpaying for a marina view, we can’t think of many good reasons to make a special trip to Dear Jane’s.”

A pizza pop-up featuring Netflix series chef at the Barish

Italian-based Gabriele Bonci — the chef from Netflix’s Chef’s Table: Pizza — is in town and preparing pizza at the Barish on January 17. Right in the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel, Bonci has six different pizzas on deck including a pizza marinara and his carbonara “suppli” which was featured on the show. Reservations are available on Open Table.

More pizza, but as a festival in Los Angeles

A new festival featuring 40 regional pizza makers is headed to Los Angeles called Pizza City Fest. There’s a slew of familiar LA names from the region including Pizzana, Quarter Sheets, Antica Pizzeria, and Ronan, who will be there to “showcase a region’s unsung pizza artisans,” as it reads on the festival website. Pizza City Fest runs from April 29 to 30 at L.A. Live, get all the goods on the website.

A rare sake dinner at Ototo

On January 17, Echo Park’s Ototo is hosting a dinner, and rare sake is the star for the night. Sake importer Linda Tetrault and Ototo’s own Courtney Kaplan will feature three sakes that leave out pasteurization, dilution, or charcoal filtration, while chef/owner Charles Namba will prepare five courses to accompany the sake tasting. Tickets are $150 per person and reservations are available via Tock.