Up late? Eat some lasagna
From late-night lasagna in Chinatown to a sushi speakeasy in Encino, here’s what’s happening in the Los Angeles food and drink world.
More cheese please
The next time you’re in the mood for some hot, cheesy lasagna after 10 p.m., head to Chinatown. Chef Royce Burke will open a late-night lasagna restaurant called Secret Lasagna on Broadway in Chinatown ( just south of the late Pok Pok) on July 19. Burke was formerly the executive chef at Chimney Coffee and also has a hot sauce brand called Wyldefire Hot Sauce. For Secret Lasagna, Burke will be serving lasagna by the slice and tray (there is a vegan option as well), along with burgers and duck casserole out of a walk-up window. There are a couple of seats outside — or you can have your lasagna delivered via Uber Eats. The window will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Sunday with delivery until 3 a.m.
Secret Lasagna: 970 N. Broadway, Unit 114, Los Angeles, secretlasag na.com
Hidden sushi
Chef Phillip Frankland Lee is busy building his restaurant empire in Encino. Now he’s added sushi to his Scratch Restaurants Group, which currently includes Frankland’s Crab & Co., Scratch Bar and Woodley Proper, all located next to each other in an Encino shopping center. Sushi Bar is a new omakase speakeasy behind Woodley Proper. Lee’s take on sushi includes a yellowtail brushed with sweet corn pudding over rice with sourdough breadcrumbs. There’s also a boozy tea service with matcha and yuzu. The 16course menu is $110 per person with an optional $55 beverage tasting.
Sushi Bar: 16101 Ventura Blvd., Encino, (818) 906-9775, scratchrestaurants.com
Follow that duck fat
Surfas, the store that has been a culinary haven for home cooks and
chefs since it opened in Culver City in 2005, where you could wander the aisles and lust after iron tortilla presses and containers of rendered duck fat, will close on July 15. The adjacent cafe, known for its pressed sandwiches, salads and caneles, closed on June 30. Owner Les Surfas is looking for a new location for the store and plans to reopen soon. Surfas sold the property about 2½ years ago; it will become part of the HBO headquarters. In addition to relocating his main location, Surfas plans to return to Culver City in two years with a cafe and a consolidated store that will sell what he calls “the best of Surfas.”
Surfas Culinary District: 8777 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 559-4770, surfasonline.com
Truffle up
Mix & Match Burger, a new burger restaurant in Glendale just off Brand Boulevard, is now open. The restaurant has a set menu of burgers that includes a truffle burger, a crispy fried chicken sandwich and a falafel burger (think: a patty made out of a giant ball of falafel), or you can build your own. Sliders are $3, 6-ounce burgers are $6, or you can order a double (two six-ounce patties) for $9; prices are set, regardless of the toppings you pile on. The restaurant also serves milkshakes, fries and onion rings. Mix & Match Burger: 112 W. California Ave., Glendale, (818) 3964965, mixmatchburger.com
Flying high
The Proud Bird, the aviationthemed restaurant with a view of the LAX runways, has reopened as a food hall and restaurant after closing in February 2016 for renovations. Chef Ted Hopson and AnnMarie Verdi of the Bellwether in Studio City were menu consultants for the hall, which features six self-service kitchens where diners can walk around and select food from different stations. One of the kitchens is serving barbecue ribs, brisket and pulled pork from Bludso’s BBQ. The bar program at the Mile High Club Bar and Lounge inside the hall features aviationthemed cocktails such as the Aviator Martini and the Captain’s Mule. The Proud Bird: 11022 Aviation Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 670-3093, www.theproudbird.com.
Still hungry? McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams is the newest shop to join the upcoming Caruso Palisades Village project, scheduled to open in 2018. Ayara Thai in Westchester has closed for four months of renovations but opened a pop-up, Ayara Luk, down the street on Sepulveda Boulevard on Thursday. Chef Jessica Largey, formerly of Manresa, will be cooking at Winsome in Echo Park on July 16. Westbound in the downtown L.A. Arts District is now serving boozy milkshakes by Coolhaus. Tsubaki in Echo Park now has happy hour, as well as delivery via the Caviar app.