Julian Cox

Petty Cash Taqueria Opens Tonight

There was a lot of speculation about what would become of the space formerly known as Playa on Beverly Boulevard when the restaurant closed earlier in March. About a week and a half ago, restaurant partners Bill Chait and chef Walter Manzke -- with assists from food blogger Bill Esparza and chef Gui ... More >>

5 Best Places to Eat in the Downtown Arts District

This week's L.A. Weekly profiles the one of the city's hottest neighborhoods: the downtown arts district. Check out the other stories in our series: *Tyler Stonebreaker: Curator of the Downtown Arts District. *6 Developments That Will Change the Downtown Arts District's Future*How the Arts District ... More >>

A New Bar Director at Freddy Smalls A New Cocktail Menu

Freddy Smalls Bar Kitchen has a pared-down cocktail menu courtesy of its new director Johan Stein, who trained under Noah Ellis at Red Medicine and Julian Cox of Picca, Sotto, and Rivera, among others. The cocktails were soft-launched in mid-February. Stein came up with eight cockails to replace ... More >>

5 Essential Special Occasion Restaurants in Los Angeles

Our 99 Essential L.A. Restaurants issue came out last week, and we're highlighting a few categories drawing from the list. Today, we're focusing on special occasion restaurants. If you're like us, a special occasion is just as likely to happen at one of the list's taco stands as it is at one of thes ... More >>

5 Essential Restaurants With Great Cocktails

As you may or may not have noticed, our 99 Essential L.A. Restaurants issue came out this week. Over the next few days we'll be highlighting a few categories drawing from the list. Today: Cocktails! There are a ton of restaurants on our list with fantastic cocktail programs, so make sure you check ... More >>

Rivera: 99 Essential Restaurants 2013

Picca: 99 Essential Restaurants 2013

Top 5 Weekend Food Events: Peking Duck Day, Pan-Latin Food Experience, Butchery Class, Dine L.A. Bread-Making Class

National Peking Duck Day at WP24 Want a round of "Duck, Duck, Goose?" No, not the game but a meal of Peking-style roasted duckling, followed by a chocolate goose egg. It's on the books at Wolfgang Puck's Chinese-inspired WP24 in honor of National Peking Duck Day. WP24 carves and serves the duck tabl ... More >>

Bestia Does It Best

This new Italian restaurant on the edge of downtown does everything well

The 5 Things You Need To Know About Bestia

This week, our first ever starred restaurant review appears in print and online. It assesses Bestia, the new downtown Italian restaurant from chef Ori Menashe, his wife and pastry chef Genevieve Gergis, and restaurateur Bill Chait. You can read the full review here, or see below for a quick take ve ... More >>

Drink This Now: Cold War Kid at Picca

There are plenty of cocktails around town this time of year that play with traditional holiday flavors -- orange, cinnamon, mint. And mostly, they're cloying, or at best fun and balanced but not particularly interesting.

The Return of Test Kitchen: Rocco DiSpirito, Neal Fraser Quinn Hatfield

When the first Test Kitchen dinner launched in fall 2010, located in the lower level space that would later become Sotto, few diners -- if any -- realized the magnitude of what was happening. But by the program's end -- after chefs like Jordan Kahn, Javier Plascencia, Walter Manzke and a dozen other ... More >>

Playa Debuts John Sedlar's Super-Secret Rooftop Garden A Rooftop-to-Table Party

Strange things have been afoot on the rooftop at John Sedlar's Playa. For the past couple of months, the restaurant has been installing and planting a rather large rooftop garden (you may have noticed a crane doing some heavy lifting along Beverly Blvd. back in March) meant to provide Sedlar's kitch ... More >>

L.A. Bartenders Get Artsy at Sadie

Ever wonder what L.A.'s most creative bartenders like to do on their days off? That's exactly the idea behind Art Beyond the Glass, a fundraiser that features a variety of art, music, DJs, live performances and, of course, lots of cocktails for a cause at Sadie in Hollywood. Created by Providence ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Food Stamps at Farmers Markets, Disneyland's Club 33 Eater L.A.'s Pizza Week

The Philadelphia Inquirer: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that a $4 million grant will help supply the technology for farmers markets to accept food stamps. (The Electronic Benefit Transfer card has largely replaced paper coupons.) Eater L.A.: Chinese pizzas, most expensive pizzas ... More >>

From Highland Park to Venice Beach, Our New Columnist Finds That the Cocktail Moment Has Become a Movement

Food News Roundup: Farmers Challenge Monsanto, Sous-Vide Cocktails Possible Bourdain Book Deal for Marilyn Hagerty

Reuters: Organic farmers vow to continue challenging Monsanto's patents on genetically modified seeds, defying a court that ruled no controversy exists. Food Arts: Julian Cox, and others, are using sous-vide for cocktails. Call it "flash brew." Grand Forks Herald: A book deal with Anthony Bourdain ... More >>

Top 5 Weekend Food Events: Can You Dig It?, Global Food Porn, Test Kitchen Burger Night, ColLAboration Winterfest, Market Basket Cocktails

Anne Fishbein/LA WeeklyRoasted beets and cheese at MB Post​Can You Dig It? Chef David LeFevre kicks off a seasonal series where he hosts a guest chef who will cook a three-course meal of shareable small plates. For the inaugural event, it's LeFevre's pal Giuseppe Tentori (Boka, GT Fish & Oyste ... More >>

Test Kitchen Returns at Short Order

They say too many cooks spoil the soup. So how about five chefs -- each with a distinct style -- all making burgers in the same kitchen, at one time? It's not a plot to ruin dinner, but rather the newest incarnation of Test Kitchen, happening Saturday, Feb. 25, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Short Order. ... More >>

John Sedlar Creates Pacific Standard Time Menu at Playa, With Dishes Inspired by L.A. Art

"You screwed up," chef John Rivera Sedlar told Getty curator Andrew Perchuk in the months before Pacific Standard Time began. The sprawling, Getty-funded celebration of postwar SoCal art should have included food. But Perchuk, already working to facilitate exhibitions at 60-plus institutions and org ... More >>

Playa: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Picca: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Rivera: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Jonathan Gold Reviews Sotto

A Quick Q&A with Bartender Julian Cox

Caroline on CrackJulian Cox at Playa​We recently caught up with Julian Cox, the award-winning bartender at Playa, the Latin-inspired restaurant on Beverly, and Picca, the Peruvian-inspired restaurant on Pico -- two of the hottest new restaurants of 2011. What's your favorite part about being ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Reviews Picca

At Ricardo Zarate's restaurant, Peruvian meets the Japanese izakaya

Test Kitchen Alumni Return for Anniversary

Guzzle & NoshSotto's boscaiola pizza; the exterior of the two restaurants; Picca's mollejita.​Next Monday, the former Test Kitchen space celebrates its 1-year anniversary with the return of several high-profile TK alumni to the kitchens. Upstairs at Picca, chef Ricardo Zarate will host Kogi im ... More >>

What to Read Now: Eating Bugs in The New Yorker

Anne FishbeinDonaji​If you have not yet picked up the latest issue of The New Yorker, you may want to. Turn to page 38, dear reader, and you will find a Dept. of Gastronomy piece by Dana Goodyear on bugs. You will also find happy mention of John Sedlar (Rivera, Playa), Bricia Lopez (Guelaguetz ... More >>

Drink This Now: Eveleigh's Pisco Punch

With most of the city's top bartenders attending Tales of the Cocktail, this may be the worst weekend in Los Angeles to get a top-quality cocktail. So when they all get back, get thee to Eveleigh, which has, improbably, become a destination for great cocktails and good food amid one of the tackies ... More >>

Picca: A Sneak Peek into Ricardo Zarate's New Restaurant

Picca, Ricardo Zarate's west LA version of a Latin American cantina, opens June 25th. Where Mo-Chica is classic Peruvian food, Picca is decidedly modern, driven by small plates with a heavy Japanese influence. The menu is split into five sections, weighted toward causas shaped like sushi nigiri ... More >>

Grappa Don't Preach: Italian Cocktails Come to Sotto

Why does anyone need 16 amaros? "A man needs choices every once in a while," says bartender extraordinaire, Julian Cox, whose cocktail menu for Sotto, which should officially open to the public next Wednesday, is designed around Italian liquors like sambucca, Campari and grappa. Look for an amar ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Reviews Playa

John Sedlar continues to reinvent the tortilla

L.A.'s Best Cocktails

Our 55 favorites and where to find them

First Look Inside Playa: John Sedlar's New Restaurant Opening This Friday

Nick ArnoffPlaya's Strawberry Dessert​ Playa, the second Latin restaurant from Rivera chef John Sedlar, opens this Friday, February 11 in the Beverly Boulevard space formerly home to Neal Fraser's Grace. Turn the page for details, including Sedlar's new menu items, Julian Cox's inspiration be ... More >>

Test Kitchen's Final Night: Alums Come Together To Feed You For A Good Cause

Flickr/Muy Yum​ Monday, December 13th, may be Test Kitchen's final dinner service, but Bill Chait and Brian Saltsburg's restaurant experiment is going out with a big-time culinary (and charitable) bang. For $150/person, Test Kitchen and non-profits Share Our Strength and Gettlove, are bringin ... More >>

Bar Toscana to Open in Brentwood

Offering modern spins on classic Italian cocktails, Bar Toscana, the brainchild of Italians William Perbellini and Francesco Lafranconi, is set to open in Brentwood on December 10th. In contrast to the dark, shoebox-sized, wood-paneled speakeasy vibe that's been the rage these last couple years, ... More >>

Meat in a Glass: The Carnivore Cocktail

Rivera The Donaji ​Lately, mixologists have taken to using protein as an ingredient, and we're not talking about the shrimp cocktail. Whether they're made with crickets, bacon-infused bourbon or pickled octopus, carnivore cocktails have been making the rounds in bars and restaurants across the ... More >>

Your Walter Manzke Update: 4 Days at Test Kitchen, El Bulli, Chicago, Etc.

A. ScattergoodSanta Barbara prawn with brown butter, lemon and capers​ As you will know if you read Jonathan Gold's most recent review, the Test Kitchen has been up and running for a few weeks now, featuring a rotating group of chefs like guest performers in a how-do-you-get-reservations-for- ... More >>

Test Kitchen: Never-Ending Experiment

Invented anew every night

LA Weekly Flickr Pool Reader Photo of the Day: Rivera's Cocktail Lab

This LA Weekly Flickr pool photo comes to you courtesy of photographer djjewelz, who took the beautiful shot, of Julian Cox's cocktail laboratory at Rivera, on August 6th using a Canon PowerShot S90. Djjewelz is not the only one who has been frequenting John Sedlar's downtown restaurant, which was t ... More >>

Rivera: Burrito on the Rocks, Salt

Searching for great food and a great margarita

Ask Mr. Gold: Burrito On the Rocks, Salt

Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, with dim sum menu​Dear Mr. Gold: Great Mexican food and yummy, salty margaritas: I find, in L.A., it is very hard to reconcile these two seemingly well-matched priorities. Either the food stinks and the drinks rock, or vice versa. Tons of great Mexican restaurants conten ... More >>

BreadBar's Hatchi Mix Series: Tequila in Three Magic Acts

Steve JulianJulian Cox, Mixologist at Rivera​ Julian Cox, Mixologist at Rivera, is popping up this Thursday as the latest participant of Breadbar's Hatchi Mix Series. Cox will be sharing his Tequila in Three Magical Acts menu tonight, July 1st, only from 6 p.m. to close, serving up eight tequi ... More >>

BreadBar's Hatchi Mix Series: Rum Amok Cocktails

Anne FishbeinMixologist Joel Black​BreadBar's Hatchi dinner series has broadened its culinary horizons to celebrate dinner's best friend: booze. For its second installation, Joel Black - mixologist at Caña Rum Bar - will be shaking up his "Rum Amok" cocktail menu at BreadBar's Century City lo ... More >>

Our Favorite Happy Hours

50 deal-driven places to get you and your wallet feeling a whole lot better

Las Perlas, Cedd Moses' Mezcal & Tequila Bar Opens in Downtown L.A.

For every bar there's a liquor and for every liquor there's a bar. Nightlife impresario Cedd Moses' latest venture, Las Perlas, soft-opened last night, aiming to become to mezcal and tequila what Seven Grand is to whiskey and La Descarga is to rum. The result is somewhere between an upscale cantina ... More >>

Booze AND Chocolate, Simultaneously: Valentine's Day Cocktails A Recipe for The Chocolate Covered Cherry Cocktail

Valentine's Day is Sunday, and if you're poised to woo or be wooed chances are you've got chocolate and booze on your mind. If you're looking to approach the sweet holiday from both angles at once, you might be interested in some cocktails that also satisfy your chocolate cravings. L. William-Ross ... More >>

No Rest For The Wicked: DTLA's "Brotherhood Of Bartenders" Tequila Contest

Deborah StollJonathan's Judging Table​The tequila cocktail contest held last Sunday at The Varnish was organized by Raul Yrastorza, manager of 213's forthcoming venture, Las Perlas. "There's a brotherhood of bartenders downtown right now that's really exciting," said Yrastorza. "This event is ... More >>

Where to Drink Now: The New Cocktailian's Guide