Michele StuevenImari, the much-anticipated restaurant from restaurateur Philip Camino and L.A. Michelin-starred sushi maestro David Schlosser, will bring traditional Japanese cuisine (washoku) to Brentwood for dine-in on Sunday, July 11. Leading up to the official opening, Imari is offering a selection of three sashimi bento boxes, available in limited quantities from 5 – 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 5 – 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays for pick-up at the restaurant or delivery via Tock, with Postmates, DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats to follow starting Monday.
Imari Chef Derek Wilcox (Michele Stueven)
Also at the helm of Imari’s culinary program is Japanese cuisine expert Chef Derek Wilcox, formerly of Shoji, the celebrated sushi and kaiseki restaurant in New York City. The sashimi bento boxes feature fresh seasonal seafood imported from Japan as well as local Southern California selections like Santa Barbara uni. Pickles for the boxes are made in-house in small batches like lotus root, shiitakes and traditional takuan pickled radish. Young pickled ginger comes in delicate bite-sized dice alongside steamed rice rolls topped with river seaweed and sesame to be combined with the sashimi by desire. Japanese salt is used, along with water from a special water system the restaurant had installed, that recreates the pH and salinity found in Japan’s water. Tip: save the sweet uni for your last bite.
And in even more news from west of the 405, Chef Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne’s beautifully redesigned A.O.C Brentwood opened this week with three interior dining spaces – the main bar room with velvet booths and banquettes, a long rustic communal table and a charcoal wood back bar with mirror detail. A second dining room runs along the Darlington Avenue side of the building, formerly home to Tavern. There’s also a private dining room for gatherings of up to 40 guests. Hamilton Lyons, former chef de cuisine of Tavern, leads the A.O.C. culinary team with Shannon Swindle overseeing desserts as executive pastry chef.
The team behind Madera and Café Solar are getting ready to open Mokuzai on Saturday, June 24, a pop-up sushi concept in a private, lantern-lit park in Hollywood. The all-outdoor dining experience is tucked away behind a pair of wooden gates near the intersection of Hollywood and Cahuenga. Dishes from master sushi chef Te Dong will combine savory ingredients like chimichurri, umami-rich truffle, fresh wasabi, sashimi and locally sourced, seasonal produce.
Breakfast Pizza at Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co. (Michele Stueven)
Beginning the Father’s Day weekend of June 18, Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co. in Boyle Heights will be adding a new breakfast pizza to the menu. Chef Jorge Sandoval’s pie is a combination of chorizo, mozzarella and sour cream, all topped with an oozy soft-cooked egg and thin shaved jalapenos.
Also on the Father’s Day front, Pink Taco is serving an over-the-top brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The pink churro pancakes are a stack of five covered in berries, maple syrup and cinnamon sugar. There are fried egg tacos with black beans, habanero pickled onions, cotija cheese, avocado salsa, cilantro in corn tortillas and a breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, black beans, jack cheese, pork chorizo, breakfast potatoes, bacon, Mexican crema and avocado. The breakfast hash is a combination of barbacoa, breakfast potatoes, pickled jalapeño, two over-easy eggs, Mexican crema, cotija cheese and avocado. Or try the Mexican bread pudding French toast crowned with berries and whipped cream.
Pink Churro Pancakes (Courtesy Pink Taco)
Maple Block Meat Co. is offering a Craftsman toolbox stocked full of all things with dad in mind – a Maple Block Hat, a stainless steel tumbler, a bag of house–smoked almonds, and their Everything Rub. It all comes packed in a Craftsman Toolbox for $59. Father’s Day meal packages are also available, including their 3-bone Big Beef Short Ribs (approx. 3 lbs,) or bring dad in on Father’s Day for the Father’s Day Brunch featuring lots of meat, beer and Bloody Mary specials. All packages including the Grilling Toolbox can be ordered online or by calling (310) 313-Meat.
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