Jessica Koslow

Chef Chris Yang opened Yang’s Kitchen in Alhambra in 2019. In 2024, he was a James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: California. Yang knows a thing or two about a chef’s life.

“As a cook, you’re always on the fire,” he explained. “It’s always so hot, and the work is physically demanding and tiring. A lot of cooks drink coffee, energy drinks or sodas throughout the day. I just wanted a healthier alternative, and kombucha was that. It was bubbly, refreshing, tangy and it supposedly has health benefits, like probiotics. For me, that was my drink of choice for the kitchen.”

After returning from a trip to Taiwan, one of Yang’s business partners gifted him Oolong tea leaves from a region called Alishan. . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Lazy Dog is not lethargic when it comes to rolling out its quarterly menus. Like clockwork, when the flowers bloom and the days grow longer, the nationwide eatery debuts its spring menu.

Branden Roelofson, general manager of the L.A. LIVE location, knows his guests are ready for some lighter bites and vibrant flavors.

“We always want to stay fresh and relevant with our menu choices,” he explained, “which go great with some of the warmer weather, like the Yuzu Skinny Margarita. We’ve been really thoughtful with our menu and making sure that it goes really well with the season.” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Growing up in Queens, New York, Liwei Liao fished—a lot. For the last 35 years of his life, he has devoted countless hours to recreational fishing. He is also a foodie and likes to eat, prepare and cook fish.

“When you catch a lot of fish, you have to deal with it,” he shared. “It was always a running family joke, like, ‘Hey Liwei, you catch so much fish, you should open a fish market.’”

Liao moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA and study engineering. Over the years, he developed a whole process to bring fish from the water to the table.

“If I opened an upscale fish market, I wanted to be on Ventura Boulevard,” he shared. “That got me looking for a couple of years, and I found a location in 2015.”

Joint Seafood’s Sherman Oaks location finally opened in 2018. . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Husband and wife restaurateurs Marlo Vinzoni and chef Gianbattista “Gianba” Vinzoni did not just survive the pandemic — their Pacific Palisades eatery, Cinque Terre West, actually thrived. 

“Many people in the Palisades worked from home,” said Marlo. “So, we were there. We even did burgers, tacos. We made sure there was something for everyone.”

In January 2025, they were not so lucky. After residing in the Palisades for 23 years, the wildfires that devastated their community would also force their business to find a new home. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Born and raised in New York, sometimes Tad Yenawine wanted was a good slice of pizza. It was the main reason he opened Purgatory Pizza in the area that he refers to as Boyle Flats, the red-headed stepchild of Boyle Heights.

“In 2000, I bought the building because I was doing construction projects and I also have a bad habit of collecting cars and motorcycles,” Yenawine began. “The neighborhood still had no density, so if you wanted to start a retail business, this is the opposite of where you should do it. There was a restaurant in the front and it served Chinese food, but when you sell a literal mountain of Chinese food for $3, you’re relying on volume, and when there are no people, you don’t get that volume. I wanted to preserve the use and the value in the building, and I couldn’t get a good slice of pizza to save my life, so in 2007, I got together with a buddy, and we redeveloped recipes — and that was that.” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Celebrated director Gore Verbinski and accomplished screenwriter Matthew Robinson have more in common than their Hollywood careers. They both love NORMS, which has served Californians as a 24/7 iconic neighborhood diner since 1949.

Most recently, Verbinski (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”) and Robinson The Invention of Lying”) teamed up on the film “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” which hit theaters Feb. 13. NORMS played a feature role in the film: “It had about 20-25 minutes of screen time,” said Ingrid Martinez, VP of Marketing at NORMS.

Love for NORMS runs deep for both filmmakers. Gore frequented NORMS on La Cienega while at UCLA School of Theater, Film and television, and Robinson conceived the narrative while dining there. . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

On Sept. 12, 2025, the Hoxton Hotel debuted a new Mediterranean-themed restaurant, Inanna Bar, on its 34th floor. One of its best offerings is off the menu: panoramic skyline views of Los Angeles.

Darryl Jenkins, director of food and beverage for Inanna Bar, joined the team in August and was tasked with opening the concept that the owners had created.

“For the start of the project, we were serving mostly dips and snacks, and now we’re leaning into more entrees using our wood-fired grills,” Jenkins said. “We have grilled lamb chops on the menu, a beautiful branzino that’s cooked on our open fire. We’re doing roasted chicken breast and using the wood-fired grill to push the spring menu with lighter eats but still offering the hummus and dips. We’re making the menu a little more versatile and dinner forward.” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

North Italia is located right across the street from Garage 6 on Second Street in Santa Monica. In this part of town, directions are often given by where people can park. The authentic Italian restaurant is also just around the corner from the Promenade, which is nice, according to Regional Chef Sammy Sleman, “because we’re kind of tucked away, it makes us feel a little bit more neighborhood-y versus in a busy touristy spot.”

“The cool thing about Santa Monica is it’s a mix of everything,” he explained. “We have local residents who live close by, and we have a lot of tourists. They’re coming in from all over the world. We love that mix. It keeps us on our toes because we have new clientele that comes in often, a lot of first-time guests. We really like to wow them and make sure they have an awesome experience.”

Next year marks a decade that North Italia in Santa Monica has been open for business. Sleman joined the brand 13 years ago when it included just six restaurants. Today it consists of 50 nationwide. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Thibaud Duccini grew up in Cannes, a city in the South of France that he refers to as hospitality-forward. He credits its “touristiness” with exposing him to what would become his career path, a passion that stayed with him when he moved to LA 16 years ago.

“There’s a lot of restaurants and hotels in Cannes,” explained Duccini, who opened The Wine Station in August 2025. “When you’re in high school, during the summertime you work in restaurants to make money and that’s how I got introduced to the hospitality business. I’ve worked in hospitality since I was 16.”

Duccini’s first job in LA was working with the Patina Group for 7 years, where he was put in charge of the wine program. . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

According to Zach Brooks, general manager of Smorgasburg LA, there is no better way to enjoy the city of LA than through its food. Brooks has tested this worldview in other cities as well, such as New York, where he began his food writing career with the launch of a website called Midtown Lunch.

It was while running this venture that he met the founders of Smorgasburg New York, which started about 15 years ago.

“Originally, it was the Brooklyn Flea, before there were a lot of hipster flea markets,” Brooks explained. “They were one of the first in Fort Greene in Brooklyn, and it had a little bit of food. The food became so popular that when they got an opportunity to launch a second event, they decided to focus on food, and they called it Smorgasburg because the original one was in Williamsburg.” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.