Chain Holiday House, a chef-driven, neon-lit celebration of pop cuisine, nostalgia, and holiday cheer, is coming to Virgil Village from Wednesday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 7, with additional dates to be announced.

Co-created by The Office’s BJ Novak, with Chrissy Teigen as a new investor, Chain has a true cult following in LA.  Their pop-ups sell out fast, waitlists run deep, and the celeb crowd shows up. They’ve teamed up with Medium Rare (producers of Shaq’s Fun House, Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate, and One Bite Pizza Festival) to launch a new experience, Chain Holiday House, a multi-room tasting adventure.

The Holiday House takes guests on a two-hour journey through themed rooms and limited-edition, customized dishes from American brands like Cracker Barrel, Arby’s, Sonic Drive-In, Red Robin, Dutch Bros, Friendly’s, and more. 

Tickets to the all-inclusive tasting tour include food, drinks, cocktails or mocktails, entertainment, and access to the Holiday House Gift Shop, which will feature limited-edition collaborations with Dave & Buster’s, Arby’s, Panda Express, Pizza Hut, and more. Happy Hour sessions are scheduled from 5 p.m. to  7 p.m.,  and night sessions are scheduled from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets go on sale at 12 p.m. on Friday, Nov.  14, at chainholidayhouse.com.

Holiday House

Downstairs bar at Mirate (MJ Kroeger)

 Mírate is celebrating three years with various activations:

  • On Sunday, Nov. 16, Mirate is welcoming  True Laurel from San Francisco and Yacht Club from Denver to a downstairs bar takeover. Both teams will be offering a few of their own cocktails along with a special collaborative drink.  Chef Alan Sanz will be cooking up Yacht Club Hot Dogs.
  • Monday, Nov. 17, the teams from Washington D.C.’s  Allegory and Thunderbolt’s Denver outpost Semiprecious are taking over the same bar with their own twist on cocktails, alongside a fried chicken sandwich with egg.
  • For the main event, Mírate is activating its parking lot for a Pueblan whole lamb roast and collaborative chef menu on Tuesday, Nov. 18, with Chef  Sanz bringing together some of the brightest minds in Mexican cuisine from acclaimed restaurants across California. Guest chefs include Uptown Provisions’ Aaron Melendrez, the team behind Komal, Santa Ana’s Darkroom, and Chef Carlos Gaytán from Paseo. The menu will be a surprise, but think tacos, crudos, and more. Inside, the team will be offering a bar pop-up with El Gallo featuring specially canned cocktails and offering special goods.
Holiday House

Apple flight at Benny Boy Brewing Applefest (Kat Hanegraaf)

 

Applefest at Benny Boy Brewing will have Nyletta making fresh apple cider crullers at its  4th Annual Applefest Fall Festival on Saturday, Nov.  15, Sunday, Nov. 16, Saturday, Nov. 22, and Sunday, Nov. 23. This year’s festivities span two weekends of celebrating apples and cider. Get hands-on in the harvest and help sort, crush, and press apples on Benny Boy’s old-fashioned rack and cloth press to make a community cider. To date, nearly 500 volunteers have collectively crushed and pressed three tons of apples at Applefest. Sip the fall season with hot mulled cider or cherry bourbon cider, and be the first to taste Benny Boy’s Pippin Pommeau Batch 3, a small-batch, boozy apple elixir dubbed “the spirit of the apple.” There will be comfort food and apple sweets by pop-up vendors, including Nyletta, Zef BBQ, The Dumpling Dream, La Quinta Tacos, and more.

What’s Popping Up is a column in the L.A. Weekly that explores everything new in food and drink.