Anajak Thais summer omacase
Chef Justin Pichetrungsi from Anajak Thai has launched his summer omakase range of eight to ten seasonal and ever-changing dishes that are heavily seafood-driven. Expect plates like tiger blush tomatoes in a palm sugar sauce and pat pong gari Skull Island tiger prawn curry. Omakase dinner, which runs Friday through Sunday, is $ 150 per person, with optional natural wine and caviar combinations at an additional cost. Reservations for groups of two to four people can be made through Resy.
14704 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 501-4201, anajakthai.com
Bacari opens in Silver Lake
Bacari has a new location in the former Cliff’s Edge area in Silver Lake. (The restaurant group has other Bacari outposts in Playa del Rey, Glendale, and Beverly Grove.) The renovated property features owner and chef Lior Hillel’s Cicchetti-inspired menu of dishes such as gorgonzola pasta and lamb-stuffed eggplant. Erin Earl oversees the drinks program, which includes cocktails with homemade syrups and bitters, wines, sangria and beer.
3626 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 928-2098, eatwithbacari.com
Bacari has a new location in Silver Lake with a Cicchetti-inspired menu.
(Jakob Laie)
Pasta | bars new ‘family table’
The chefs Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee have created an evening “Family Table” dinner in their Pasta | Bar in Encino. The concept enables groups of four to six people to enjoy a culinary experience that is a mixture of the restaurant’s tasting menu with large-format dishes, such as: B. Whole-fried Loup de Mer with Chimichurri and Cavatelli with grilled lobster and peas. Pasta | Bar belongs to the couple’s group of scratch restaurants. Reservations can be made through Tock.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Los Angeles, instagram.com/pastabarla
Mikawaya closes after 111 years
Mikawaya in Little Tokyo, the birthplace of mochi egg, has closed after 111 years in business. Founder Ryuzaburo Hashimoto first opened the shop in 1910, selling Wagashi, traditional Japanese desserts. The Hashimoto family closed Mikawaya for three years during World War II when they were forced into a detention center, and reopened next to their original outpost in 1945. The founder’s great niece, Frances Hashimoto, later took over management of the company; The company is now owned by an investment firm that will continue to sell its candy under the My Mochi Ice Cream brand in retail stores across the country.
Mikawaya may be closed, but its candy is still sold in retail stores under the My Mochi Ice Cream brand.
(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Aliya Lavaland’s salted egg yolk lava moon cake
Aliya Lavaland, a newcomer from the San Gabriel Valley, recently presented its “Lava Mooncakes” with salted duck egg yolk. Pastry chef Alise Mekaswarn, who owns the shop with her husband Henry, has created her own version of a Thai Kanom Pia using French techniques. It’s a puff pastry that tastes like a mashup between a thousand-layered Chinese moon cake and salted egg yolk pudding buns. Flavors include purple Okinawan yam with coconut and matcha green tea with mung bean.
141 N. Atlantic Blvd., Ste. 103, Monterey Park, (626) 872-6856, aliyalavaland.com
Burritos La Palmas new tortilla company
The people behind Burritos La Palma have founded a new company for flour tortillas, Mejorado. The restaurant chain, which starred in Netflix’s “The Taco Chronicles,” will sell tortillas every Sunday in Smorgasburg LA, Creative Director Steve Pineda. The rounds will also be held at retailers such as Sara’s Market, Jayde’s Market, La Tropicana Market and Wine + Eggs, with online retail to follow.
