With locations peppered across Southern California, popular office lunch spot Trimana is expanding into Santa Monica. You may recall that earlier this month I told you about the departure of Japanese convenience store Famima!! from the space at 1348 3rd St Promenade. Wasting no time whatsoever, Trimana Fresh Food Market has posted notices in the window announcing their impending arrival. No word on when they’ll open, but until they do, check out their menu and read more here.
Back in February, I told you about a second location of Melrose’s glamourous purveyor of meringues and cakes, Bo Nuage, that was under construction in the old Shoe Wiz space at 9523 Santa Monica Blvd (near Rodeo) in Beverly Hills. Bo Nuage is now open and set to charm your knickers off with its adorable French pâtisserie themed décor and delightfully darling desserts on display. Pop by for a sample of their lighter than air confections and read more about this little slice of heaven here.
You could be forgiven for not noticing that The Beach’s preeminent shopping complex, Santa Monica Place did not have a branch of a large chain coffee shop. There has always been an outpost of the Italianesque mini-chain Ugo Café, and a now departed Groundwork made a valiant effort, but the big name ubiquitous coffee joints have been kept out… until now. Construction is underway on a free-standing brand spanking new Starbucks on the ground floor, near CB2, directly beneath the upcoming Arclight Cinemas.
Well that didn’t take long… It was only back in mid-August that I first noticed that the LA area was about to get its first branch of Santa Barbara’s popular ice cream shop Rori’s Artisanal Creamery. And now, only about two months later (a miracle in Santa Monica), they appear ready to throw open their doors at 910 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. Rori’s Artisanal Creamery will have its grand opening this Saturday, October 17th at 11:00am according to their Facebook page and the flyers that have blanketed the city.
With all eyes on swankier developments lately (I’m looking at you, The Point), other more plebeian developments are off the radar… except here. One giant multi-use development going into a less glamorous part of El Segundo is the massive Elevon, complete with retail, dining, offices, and hotels. And the area around appears to be benefitting as well. Right next door is another, smaller complex, The Edge, located on the corner of N. Douglas St. and E. Maple Dr. With a couple of outlets across The Valley and one in Downtown LA, it appears that The Hummus Republic is expanding into The Edge complex, right next to Elevon. Read more about their “Where Healthy Meets Tasty” Mediterranean menu and find out more here.
With all the new eateries pouring into Playa Vista, here’s one that I apparently overlooked: Sol Mexican Cocina. Even though the Playa Vista blog, What’s Up Playa Vista reported its impending arrival late last year, and the restaurant’s website still states that they had hoped for a Spring 2015 opening, there have been no signs of it. But as you can see, the posters have remained up and job postings only just recently went up on Craiglist so I think it’s safe to assume that they’re still planning on opening. We’ll have to wait and see what develops, but until then check out the chain’s Baja-inspired menu here.
With one location already in Santa Monica on Main Street and another location in Palm Springs, little charmer Espresso Cielo is expanding into Downtown Santa Monica. Notices recently went up on the new space at 1431 C on 2nd Street announcing the imminent arrival. According to the window display, the coffee, tea, and patisserie shop will throw open its doors sometime this Fall.
Well that sure didn’t take long. I know that this is Brentwood and all, but this space doesn’t sit idle for long… You may recall that back in late 2013, Adoteca replaced Osteria Latini in a matter of weeks. Then only two weeks ago, I told you and Eater confirmed that Adoteca had bitten the dust. And now, an ABC application is up in the window announcing that a new venture, Daniele Pizzeria will be taking over the busy space at 11712 San Vicente Blvd. I don’t know much about this business yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
Japanese convenience chain Famima!! appears to be abandoning its experimental foray into Southern California. The purveyor of prepared foods and sundries has closed its doors in the Third Street Promenade as of last week. According to the Wikipedia page, all stores in SoCal will be closed as of this month. Too soon to tell what might replace it, but I’ll keep watching.
It seems like you can’t swing a dead cat these days without hitting another frozen treat shop. The latest to recently open is Playa Vista’s sparkling new outpost of Venice’s N’ice Cream, next to Whole Foods at 12746 W Jefferson Blvd . And they started out with a bang, drawing large crowds with promises of free self-serve gelato and sorbet.
To the many of you who have been carefully following this story with great excitement comes this happy news: The Brixton will finally throw open its doors this Saturday September 26th at 11:30am. What on earth took so long? You may remember that back in March of 2014 I told you about The Brixton’s impending arrival to the corner space at 2827 Pico Blvd. (corner of Yorkshire) in Santa Monica that used to house The Joker. Apparently the City of Santa Monica had been up to its old shenanigans with an unreasonable amount of demands including a retrofit. But all of that is behind us now. During the soft opening, Chef Joe Sharp has developed a limited menu of 16 items that will eventually be increased. Look for such things as: macaroni and cheese with bacon, crab, scallion and smoked cheese; romesco and goat cheese dip; short rib poutine; mussels in a coconut dill cream sauce ; flatbreads; and flank steak. The focus is on share plates. There are also 10 beers on tap as well as 16 wines on tap. The Brixton will be open 365 days a year from 11:30am until Midnight with a daily happy hour from 3:30pm until 6:30pm. Read more at their Facebook page here.
It looks like yet another icy treat shop is hitting the Westside… New York frozen “dessert” brand Tasti D-Lite and sister company Planet Smoothie appear destined for the same space at 526 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. Besides smoothies (obviously), the concept here is two dairy bases, one vanilla and one chocolate, upon which a multitude of flavors are added producing a dessert with significantly fewer calories than ice cream or frozen yogurt. No word on an opening date although they must be behind as the website promises an early 2015 opening, but I’ll keep watching…
People continue to ask me what is taking over the Café Rockenwagner space on the corner of Barrington and Wilshire in Brentwood. An ABC application posted in the window confirms what Eater reported earlier in the month: That Studio City’s Maradentro will be taking over the space. Maradentro, which means “the sea inside”, offers a menu of Mexican seafood that you can read more about here.
It looks like we can expect some big changes soon at the always crowded Superba Snack Bar on Rose Ave. Having left the spotlight that lately constantly shines on Petit Trois, Chef Sydney Hunter has now come on board and is redesigning parts of the menu with help from a new and vibrant sous chef Richard Rea. I’m told that dinner menu changes will be in place by the end of the month and that we should look for more seafood and vegetarian fare. There will also be a serious redo of the lunch and breakfast menus.
Some of you have been wondering and asking if Adoteca, the Brentwood branch of the mini Ado empire had closed. You may remember that Adoteca was up and running in a matter of weeks in late 2013, replacing Osteria Latini at 11712 San Vicente Blvd. So I went by to check it out. Signs hastily posted in the window say that the Italian restaurant is only closed for a remodel. But nothing has been touched and mail is piling up inside the front door so I’m a bit suspicious. I’ll keep my eye on it…
Update: Eater is reporting that Adoteca is closed for good.
It wasn’t that long ago that the French cafe L’Amande quit the space at 9530 S. Santa Monica Blvd in Beverly Hills. And already, it looks like a new tenant has been lined up. Signs are up indicating that long-time Beverly Hills sushi restaurant Yu-N-Mi will be moving out of their current diminutive and dark digs a block away at 9475 Santa Monica Blvd and taking over the bright and cheery new space by late Fall, according to the sign.
Recently, I noticed that signs have gone up on space #200 in Brentwood Gardens that used to house Daily Grill at 11677 San Vicente Blvd. in Brentwood announcing that a brand new entity, Bottlefish appears to be moving in. I couldn’t track down much on Bottlefish until I checked the ABC license application. It indicates that the familiar names behind Bottlefish are Richard Rosenfield and Larry Flax, the founders of California Pizza Kitchen (they have since sold CPK a number of years back). I’m not sure what the concept here will be, but I’m going out on a limb and guessing that fish will feature heavily, and possibly bottles too. No word on an opening date, and construction is only just beginning, but I’ll keep watching.
Update: Bottlefish is now open as of 12/08
Well first of all, I didn’t even know there was a “Wife Day”, but this is a fairly awesome deal… Tanzy, in the iPic Theater at 10850 Wilshire in Westwood (the old Avco), may have been off your radar, but here’s a great reason to check it out. On Sunday, September 20th, they will be celebrating “Wife Appreciation Day”. By merely uttering the phrase “I appreciate my wife” to your server, you will receive one of the phenomenal Sherry Yard’s (Spago) raspberry soufflé free along with a complimentary glass of Prosecco. Not sure what will happen if both of you are wives, but it could work out well…
It looks like Montana Ave. in Santa Monica is about to get not just one, but two icy treat shops soon. Recently, I told you about the impending arrival of Santa Barbara’s Rori’s Artisanal Creamery. A little over a block away, signs have gone up in the window of 908 Montana that used to house a scent store (yes, it did exist) announcing that Frozen Fruit Co. will soon be inhabiting the space. According to the window display, FFC specializes in “frozen fruit swirls”. I can’t seem to locate a great deal of information, and their website is still being built, but you can follow their progress on Twitter here.
Surely one of the loveliest places in LA to savor a balmy summer evening is on the patio at celeb fave Culina in the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Recently, Culina got a serious Italian makeover. Under the direction of assistant general manager and sommelier Luca Bruno (Providence, Bouchon), the always crowded restaurant recently took on a new and talented young sous chef, Denis Dello Stritto. Originally hailing from Sardinia and after cutting his teeth for a year at Il Grano, the effervescent and creative Stritto has already begun to transform the menu. Look for serious Southern Italian flavors here, with an emphasis on Campagna; house-made pastas, fish, fresh and local ingredients. And if you’re extremely lucky, you just made get a chance to sample pizza montanara, which is a Neapolitan pie with toppings on deep-fried dough that Stritto serves as small, individual hors d’oeuvre. What could be better for a late summer al fresco dinner?
Dennis Dello Stritto & Luca Bruno
Pizza Montanara
Toddrickallen 