Michele StuevenHeading south? Be Good Restaurant’s experiential dining concept is offering a variety of events throughout the month of April from dueling pianos to reptile and critter shows, in two new immersive dining experiences at Be Good that bring a Las Vegas flair to Old Town Temecula.
The Dine in the Dark experience starts with trained staff leading you to your table in a pitch-black room. Once you have become acquainted with complete darkness, senses are heightened, allowing you to experience dining from a new perspective in a three-course meal.
Murder Mystery is a live-action murder mystery party and cooperative case-cracking experience, with everyone in attendance transforming into sleuths and suspects, and includes an appetizer, entrée, beverage, seat and show for one.
On Sunday, April 10, Michelle Juliette Carr and Brian Wotring are celebrating the official grand opening of their whimsical grocery store, The Golden Poppy Market in Cypress Park. Described as a “sexy boutique bodega through a vintage lens,” the design was inspired by London’s Biba’s Food Hall and carries everything from caviar to cat food.
Catering will be by Heirloom LA, with ice cream sandwiches from the Coolhaus Ice Cream Truck a DJ set by Allison Wolfe, as well as a sidewalk magic show performed by Christopher Wonder.
Bar Ilegal (Sarahkc Photos)
Pitfire Pizza has renamed their classic “Say Cheese” pizza the “Freedom Pie” for the month of April, in support of Ukrainian refugee relief. One dollar from each “Freedom Pie” sold in the month of April will be donated to World Central Kitchen in support of Ukrainian refugee relief and will take place at all Pitfire Pizza locations: Costa Mesa, Manhattan Beach, Mar Vista, North Hollywood, Pasadena, West L.A.
Bar Ilegal brings its immersive pop-up tour of Café No Sé, Guatemala’s famed watering hole, to Las Perlas in West Hollywood with curated drinks, live music and tattoo artists on Monday, April 18. John Rexer founded the Ilegal brand after years of smuggling small-batch mezcal from Oaxaca to Guatemala for Café No Sé, Rexer’s bar and music hub that features live music 365 days a year. There will be food and cocktails curated by Las Perlas, a tattoo artist on-site doing flash tats, and a performance by SUSU, NYC-based, female-led rock and roll band.
Bell’s Los Alamos (Michele Stueven)
Heading north? Priedite Barbeque is bringing chefs Nestor Silva and Elizabeth Heitner from LA’s Mexican-inspired Jewish cuisine pop-up Malli to Bell’s in Los Alamos for a collaborative cookout on Saturday, April 9. Expect pastrami’d beef cheek barbacoa adobada, pastrami bagel sandwiches, salsas, and pickles, alongside Priedite’s full barbecue spread. Additionally, they’ll have warm sourdough bagels and conchas from Estaven Silva (former baker for Quince and Cotogna).
To drink, the team from Durham Cider + Wine – who have been fermenting ciders in a variety of styles from modern to méthode traditionnelle and sourcing from biodynamic and dry farmed orchards around central California since 2016 – will be pouring fresh California ciders and bubbles. If you miss the BBQ Malli +, Estevan will be teaming up with the Bell’s crew to create their take on the Monte Cristo that will be available all weekend.
A taste of Coachella: On Wednesday, April 13, the first-ever Camp Kim from Black Girl Ventures will kick off at The Millwick, delivering the indulgence of a happy hour, a week at summer camp, and the reprieve of a wellness retreat, with art projects, manifestation stations, DJs and photo moments, as well as wine and wine cocktails.
If you’re hitting the desert on April 15 to April 17 and April 22 to April 24, the Camp Kim Wine Lounge oasis will be available to cool down, check out nail art, or touch-up with a dry shampoo bar and sip on a glass of Kim Crawford’s Sauvy B or Frose and Make It Amazing at Coachella. For location and hours visit https://www.coachella.com/,RSVP for the LA event here, https://campkim.splashthat.com/.
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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