Celia Soudry

Clusi's favorite; Credit: Clusi Batusi

Clusi Batusi Boutique Pizza Parlor Opens in Little Osaka

Update: 2:25 p.m., 8/29. Clusi Batusi PR reps confirm that the restaurant will not open in late August as intended, but instead the grand opening date has been pushed to September 8. First-time restaurant owner Catherine Keith compares her new venture, Clusi Batusi, to the assembly-line custom concept of 800......
Royal/T's final tea party; Credit: C. Soudry

A July Roundup of Restaurant Openings and Closings

After a five-year run in Culver City, the eccentric Japanese maid cafe/art gallery Royal/T closed in late July, celebrating its final days with tea ceremonies and pop-ups. "It was successful beyond my imagination," says owner Susan Hancock, who plans to take her brand on the road with pop-ups in New......
Eat Sweets Pastry; Credit: C. Soudry

Eat Sweets Pastry Opens in Westwood Village

Megan Driscoll had been running a custom desserts catering company since 2006 until she found the perfect little storefront for her bakery, Eat Sweets Pastry on Gayley Avenue in Westwood Village, just a stone's throw from In-N-Out. The bakery quietly opened on June 2, replacing La Galetta. Students and faculty......
Evan Kleiman's chocolate chunk bread pudding; Credit: JoAnn Stougaard

Evan Kleiman Pops Up at the Charleston With a 4-Course Dinner

If you're still mourning the loss of chef Evan Kleiman's Angeli Caffe (who isn't?), you can sample her food again at the Charleston on Monday, May 7, with two seatings at 6 and 8 p.m. The KCRW Good Food host will prepare a four-course rustic Italian meal, served family-style. "Every......
Credit: Cousins Maine Lobster

Cousins Maine Lobster Truck Rolls Out

Two cousins hot for shellfish, lobster delivered daily from Maine and a stove on wheels: Cousins Maine Lobster Truck soft-opens from April 27-29 in L.A. and starts serving to the masses on May 4. It's not your typical frozen lobster-dispensing truck, explains co-owner Jim Tselikis. "Beyond our storyline," he says,......
Credit: SliceTruck

SliceTruck Restaurant Now Open in Little Osaka

Running a food truck is somewhat like running a test kitchen. Based on popularity, the truck either dies off or becomes a trendy brick-and-mortar restaurant. Luckily for SliceTruck, which rolled out in 2009, it now has a sit-down restaurant on Sawtelle. "We looked at this space early on and weren't......
Japanese tea ceremony; Credit: Shannon Cottrell

Tea Lovers Festival Returns With New Name + More Tea

An annual weekend event formerly known as the Kulov Tea Festival is celebrating its 12th year, from May 4-27, with caffinated herbs, dainty cookies, sake tastings and the Royal/T shenanigans we've grown to love. The renamed Tea Lovers Festival will incorporate film screenings, tea studies, chef battles and more. "It......
Ginger Kiss; Credit: The Charleston

March Roundup of Restaurant Openings and Closings: Endless Tequila, Beer & More

Springtime is upon us -- you can tell by the pastel-colored clothing and cocktails around town. Hopeful newbies and restaurant industry pros to look out for this season include Japanese ramen noodle shop owner/comedian Menji Miyata, bibimbap peddler/Bibigo project manager Matthew Kim, mixologist Salvatore Calabrese and burger connoisseur Adam Fleischman,......