Michele StuevenVelverie Café and Teahouse, in Beverly Hills will host its first collaborative afternoon tea with Casamigos Tequila on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. The cafe will offer a three-course afternoon tea service with cocktail pairings that blend the Casamigos portfolio with Velverie’s signature loose leaf tea. Menu highlights include smoked salmon blinis, ricotta lavender fig tea sandwiches and fig chocolate truffles. Featured drinks will be a Mezcal matcha cocktail, Early Grey blanco, and a chai Reposado. Tickets are $90 a person and available via Resy.
The exclusive U.S. premiere of “The Master of Sake Brewers,” followed by a dining and sake-tasting experience, takes place on Friday, Sept. 16, at Japan House in Hollywood. The moving family drama explores the world of sake, illustrating how the spirit of Japanese master craftsmanship is passed down through generations. After the screening, there will be a Japanese bento dinner, paired with sake by TIPPSY. To round out the evening, there will be a sake-tasting and goodie bag giveaways, $65 admission.
Heritage, the sibling-owned-and-operated fine dining concept in Long Beach that offers artisanal sandwiches by day and a refined tasting menu by night, has announced the opening of Heritage Farm, a new events space and urban farm, which will supply over 60% of produce for the restaurant, which is conveniently located just a few blocks away.
To celebrate this opening, Heritage Farm will host a series of dinners at the farm in partnership with local chefs, including Chef Takashashi of Kodo on Saturday, Sept. 17, and Aaron Melendres of Uptown Provisions and Boomtown Brewery on Saturday, Oct. 1. Dinner begins at 6 p.m., and costs $125 per person. Heritage is a certified Green and Blue, fully zero-waste concept helmed by Chef Phillip Pretty and his sister Lauren Pretty. Menus will be released one week in advance. Reservations can always be made by phone, at 562-343-1068, or by email at Heritagerestaurantlb@gmail.com.
Mess Burger (Courtesy Messhall Kitchen)
Los Feliz’s Messhall Kitchen will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary during the month of September. Throughout the month, Messhall will offer its Mess Burger with fries for $10. The signature dish has been on the menu since the restaurant opened and will be available at this price from noon to 3 p.m., weekdays, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekends. On Sunday, Sept. 18, Messhall will host an anniversary party from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., complete with free barbecue plates, cocktail specials, games, and music from DJ Billy Badlove. The event is free to enter, and is kid- and dog-friendly.
Den Mother, the neighborhood wellness retreat on Abbot Kinney, has opened Den Mother: California Izakaya, a new outdoor lounge and Japanese bar/small plate concept. Created by Heather Tierney of The Butcher’s Daughter, the California Izakaya menu features a selection of healing plant-based Japanese-inspired bites, as well as fine Japanese sake, beer and whiskey, and a range of natural wines, elixir lattes, fermented probiotic matcha from Japan, and loose leaf tea selections from local purveyors Huxbrook Tea and Wild Terra.
An American horror story freak show-inspired pop-up will creep into Hollywood to help get the Halloween spirit going. Friday and Saturday nights from Sept. 16 to Oct. 14, circus freaks, weirdos and wicked clowns have gotten together to present an inspired version of American Horror Story Freak Show. The fully immersive indoor circus show and dinner theater will whisk you away into the year 1952 in the small town of Jupiter, Florida. Expect a unique and elevated blend of death-defying acts and stunning spectacle, both live on stage and all around, with tapas-style plates, and drinks to die for.
Reservations are $50 and include premium table seating, dinner and the full show at 6627 Hollywood Blvd. To book, visit www.karnevilla.com and follow the reservation links.
The farm stand (Courtesy The Ecology Center)
The Yogi Sommelier will host an evening of food, wine and celebration under the stars, at the ecology center in San Juan Capistrano, on Friday, Sept. 23, for a Community Table Dinner honoring the Fall Equinox, from soil to glass.
There will be a multi-course farm-to-table feast from chef Cathy McKnight, with wine pairings by Chiarra Rose Shannon, highlighting local organic and Biodynamic producers. Visit the Ecology Center Website for tickets.
All proceeds for this event go toward The Ecology Center, a nonprofit organization that educates, inspires and involves people in the stewardship of Southern California’s environment through hands-on, practical solutions in the areas of food, water, shelter, waste and energy.
What’s Popping Up is a weekly column in the L.A. Weekly that explores all that’s new in food and drink.
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