Netflix Is Getting Into the Pop-Up Restaurant Business
In an effort to market its culinary content, Netflix is popping up inside LA’s Short Stories Hotel called Netflix Bites featuring chefs and personalities from its shows. Headliners for the pop-up include Maude and Gwen chef Curtis Stone, Dominique Crenn, Ming Tsai, and Andrew Zimmern, who were on the show’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend that came out last year. In addition, pitmaster Rodney Scott (Chef’s Table: BBQ), Ann Kim (Chef’s Table: Pizza), Nadiya Hussain (Nadiya Bakes), and Jacque Torres (Nailed It!) will be inspiring dishes for a tasting menu. In addition, Frankie Solarik, Julie Reiner, LP O’Brien, and Kate Gerwin of Drink Masters are creating custom cocktails for the pop-up.
There’s no further information like cost or actual menu items beyond the hours of operation, which are 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, plus weekend brunch, beginning June 30 and ending July 13. Interestingly, Netflix hasn’t even announced a second season for the expensive-to-produce Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, while other huge cooking competitions like The Final Table haven’t been renewed. Given the 18-some cooking competition shows and numerous other food-related shows Netflix airs, it makes sense that the service leverages its brands with a physical experience. Angelenos that want to subscribe to Netflix’s first foray into real restaurants can get a reservation here.
Los Angeles Times names Restaurant of the Year winners
Holbox is named this year’s Restaurant of the Year by Los Angeles Times restaurant critic (and recent James Beard Award winner) Bill Addison, who calls the colorful, inventive Mexican seafood destination inside the Mercado La Paloma “one of the city’s most stirring dining destinations. No one in Los Angeles had approached mariscos with quite the same merging of soul and finesse.” Meanwhile, food section general manager Laurie Ochoa names Park’s BBQ this year’s Gold Award winner, named after her late husband and restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. Ochoa draws a line between the modern Korean cooking seen in Koreatown to Park’s chef Jenee Kim, who serves traditional and updated takes on Korean cuisine at her enduring barbecue restaurant.
A new East Coast pizza spot with an avocado oil crust
There’s a new pizza chain open in El Segundo called Oath Pizza founded in Nantucket, MA, with the idea of serving pizza that makes diners “feel good.” With fresh vegetables, organic proteins, sauces made on the premises, and light crusts seared in avocado oil, Oath Pizza’s local franchise comes from Mandeep Singh and other partners. They first heard of the restaurant in QSR Magazine and bought in, bringing Southern California’s first location on May 28. The chain has plenty of dietary flexibility too, with vegan and gluten-free options galore. The idea is to start in El Segundo and eventually expand across the region.
Juneteenth at a cookware shop in Venice
Our Place, the producers of the Always Pan, is hosting a Juneteenth celebration at its Abbot Kinney retail store on June 16 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. with a lecture from Dr. Nneka Gigi, breathwork workshop by Imani Nicole, and bites from Amazeballs, A Dozen Cousins, and A Beautiful Life. RSVP to the event here.
More TV and food, this time from Amazon
Not to be outdone by Netflix, Amazon’s Freevee service is partnering with food trucks to help promote its hit show Jury Duty, a documentary about a fictional trial centered around the perspective of a juror who doesn’t know that everything about the trial is fake. The show’s food truck collab starts today in Studio City with free tacos that tie into a line by actor James Marsden’s character, who buys the jurors tacos in lieu of selfies. Get more info here:
Source: Eater LA
