Former Preux & Proper Chef Returns to Downtown With a Soulful Southern Seafood Menu

Joyce — the forthcoming restaurant by chef Sammy Monsour — is set to open this summer where he’ll introduce a restaurant focused on Southern but keeping his sights on sustainable seafood with a raw bar and American caviar at Eighth and Grand near the Downtown Whole Foods. Monsour’s former restaurant Preux & Proper was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation back in 2019.

Joyce is a collaboration between Monsour, Prince Riley, and former Preux & Proper beverage director Kassady Wiggins. At Joyce, Monsour is cooking cornmeal-encrusted Nashville hot catfish, shrimp and oyster perloo, and a smoked tomahawk pork chop. Wiggins also has Southern-flavored cocktails on deck for the opening.

A festival for gelato lovers

Those harboring an obsession with gelato can head to Ovation Hollywood on September 2 and 3 for an event called Gelato Festival World Masters. It’ll take place directly across the street from the three-year-old shop Gelato Festival at Ovation Hollywood. Tickets range from $40 to $60 to see and taste the goods from gelato chefs from across the US and from Canada.

New Long Beach restaurant overlooking Alamitos Bay

A PCH — Long Beach’s forthcoming restaurant — opens next week on Thursday, July 19. It’s a huge addition to the retail and restaurant hub 2ND & PCH with a second-floor location that overlooks Alamitos Bay. The Orange County-based River Jetty Restaurant Group developed this 5,400-square-foot restaurant with a menu that leans heavily on modern surf-and-turf, but diners will likely battle for a seat on the 2,500-square-foot weatherproofed patio.

More Long Beach happenings

A Taste of Downtown: Waterfront is not only free but scheduled for two days on August 9 and 10. Organizers curated a group of brewers, chefs, and cocktails from favorite local spots right on the waterfront with live music. Check back to their site to see the line-up.

Kamala Harris restaurant stop in LA

Vice President Kamala Harris made a pit stop last week to Alfalfa in Santa Monica to tout the government’s Community Advantage Program, an Obama Administration loan program designed to assist entrepreneurs having a hard time securing capital, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Dino’s Chicken pop-up at ADB

Throughout July, Silver Lake’s All Day Baby hosts a series of dinners featuring LA chefs. The first is Thursday, July 13, when chef Royce Burke will temporarily create Bar Dino’s, a one-night dinner homage to legendary LA restaurant Dino’s Famous Chicken. As a Dino’s partner, Burke’s preparing a wedge salad, steak frites, Dino’s wings tossed in butter sauce, martinis, and Dinos’ fiery red-tinged chicken. Dish prices range from $8 to $32 so secure a reservation at Open Table. The future dinners include chefs Daniel Patterson and KCRW Good Food host Evan Evan Kleiman.