Issue 14 — ☁️ Soft Openings, Hard Launches 🚀 Scallops (not the Shellfish) 🦪 + My Hyper Fixation Meal 🍃
What if we got coffee at Tenants of the Trees?
News Bites
Little Fish finally announced an east side residency. They’ll be popping up at Bar Bandini in Echo Park every Friday in July — menus will be posted weekly on IG.
Another weekly special — Collage Coffee will be serving brekkie burritos every Wednesday all month long.
Heavy Water officially opened July 1. They’re serving Just What I Kneaded pastries until their neighbor Baker’s Bench opens in the courtyard. Nextdoor, the little banchan shop Perilla also soft opened last week. Opening for real July 5th.
**is it just me, or have there been soooo many soft opens recently?
Sqirl for dinner? Coming soon…
Speaking of Virgil Village, a new coffee shop, Good Friend is joining the block.
You can now hang at Tenants of the Trees at 7am — welcome Cafe Nido, coffee, books + pastries.
Pasadena faves Good Luck Wine Shop and Alta Dena Bev are merging. 🍷
Burgerlord’s July specials are smothered in Bachan’s Japanese BBQ sauce.
Finally, you can order Bub’s for pick up — 11am-3pm daily. Best tuna sammie in the biz. 🥪
Salt + Straw just introduced 5 up-cycled ice cream flavors using food waste like yesterday’s donuts + bread pudding. ♻️
I keep seeing In-N-Out’s off-menu ‘Onion Wrapped Flying Dutchman’ on my fyp and respectfully, this should be plated and eaten with a fork and knife.
Selena Gomez dropped her summer collection with Our Place — the gold finishes are cheugy to me, but I do love the new Tierra color.
Sweetgreen x Susan Alexandra’s $355 Salad Tote sold out in one day and already feels like old news.
Solange x Saint Heron glassware also sold out immediately. Love seeing Solange enter every category, “When I think of it, I’m going to do that shit.”
Coffee Cocktails
For a long time, I was an exclusively ‘oat capp girl’. You could not convince me to order a specialty house drink anywhere. I didn’t want simple syrup, and I definitely didn’t want lavender. It was Kumquat’s Cloudy with a Chance of Peanuts 🥜☕️ that opened that door for me. (which you must try if you haven’t already…)
Here are some other fun contenders:
Flow Good’s Strawberry Shortcake Cold Brew — Alyssa does pop-ups at Less Is More markets + other sick events. Check her IG for updates. 🍓 *I just saw that her car got broken into and a bunch of her coffee equipment got stolen! (a good time to support!)
Day Glow’s Howl’s Moving Castle — Distilled Coffee, Coconut, Bourbon Vanilla, Cinnamon, Nutmeg 🦋 (it’s the blue one)
Motoring Coffee’s Burnt Rubber Drink — black sesame cold brew with foam.
Recent Bites
Sushi Snacks from Nijiya Market — Sawtelle (what I would give to have one of these markets in HLP…)
This ^ $3 toast from Civil made my shitty morning less shitty.
Catch me at Queen St. all summer long — vibes are immaculate!! These hush puppies were insane! Special congrats to my friend Jess + team. Love watching you guys take over the city! Shin’s Pizza is next!! 🍕
Challadad x Camila Creates grilled cheese - tasted like in-n-out in the BEST way. He’s popping-up on Fig 6/8! Pre-order Hoagies here.
Rachel and I made this Pasta al Limone, sort of as a photoshoot prop, but mostly so we could eat it after we wrapped. She got fresh noods from Eataly. Game changer.
My go-to brekkie as of late — toasted Gjusta slices (always 3), Miyokos oat butter, Japanese tomatoes, + flaky salt. (PS if you see pickled asparagus, buy it.)
The Nour ‘Savory Parfait’ — (at least that’s what I’m calling it!) Labneh or greek yogurt, julienned citrus, mint, crushed pistachios, Nour x Yuzu Co za’atar dressing.
A new spicy fusilli has entered the chat — welcome Donna’s, the Italian addition to the Bar Flores / Low Boy compound in Echo Park. I don’t know quite how to explain it, but it’s SO cute that it almost feels like a fake restaurant? Sarah put this soft opening on my radar via TikTok. Walk-in only until their ‘grand opening’ July 5th.
I made this weird little maitake dish in between grocery runs with yuzu ponzu, cilantro, chive blossoms, sesame seeds + yuzu kosho of courrrrsee.)
I’m still on my solo happy hour vibe, this guy in NY gets it.
My Green + Orange Hyper Fixation Meal
This isn’t a recipe – this is a capsule of ingredients I like to mix + match right now that I encourage you to play with too.
When it comes to raw veg bites, splurging on produce is a must. I go to the cookbook in Highland Park.
Shiso leaf
Yuzu Kosho
Kumquats
Avocado
^ to me these 4 flavors are what MAKE it, but I often expand…
Sometimes I make little hors d'oeuvre bites, stacking the avo onto a shiso leaf, topping with a slice of kumquat, yuzu kosho + sesame seeds. If I’m lazy, I’ll just throw it all on a plate for a crudo vibe.
For more substance, I salad it up.
Ribboned Carrots
Romaine
Dill + Mint are nicely welcomed too.
For the dressing…
Yuzu Kosho (great punchy acidic spicy bite, a little goes a long way)
Honey (Brightland’s California Honey is UNMATCHED) 🍯
Olive Oil
Juice of the kumquats or whatever citrus.
Vinegar (I love Acid League’s Garden Heat)
sometimes water to thin it out.
If I’m feeling bright, I top with capers, flaky salt, pistachios or dukkah. If I want to lean in to a sushi flavor, I’ll add sesame oil, tamari + furikake instead.
IDK why I haven’t made a hand roll or rice bowl yet... prolly bomb.
Would love to know if you try any version of this, OR what your current flavor pairing fixations is.
Scalloped Trim Is In:
It was ^this table at Juliet, a newish French restaurant designed by Jeremiah Brent that really put scalloped edges on the map for me. Then I started to notice them everywhere.
From the awning at Capri Club, to serving platters, scalloped trim is sprinkled throughout Lyke Minded’s dreamy interior pics, and all over new restaurants. They feel like an ode to the past, but also strangely relevant now.
Scalloped trim serves as a fun flirty detail in an otherwise self serious space — while staying far from the pastels and squiggles we’re finally starting to leave behind. Goodbye chunky wavy dreamscapes, and say hello to moody vignettes, refined details + marble. We’re keeping the arched doorways for now though.
Feels like a refreshing pendulum swing from the tired Dimes-esque interiors. (I would have killed for this Negroni colored Wiggle Table in 2020 though.)
I haven’t watched The Bear yet, so don’t spoil it for me!
🔗 Last Week’s Most Clicked Link
Might fuckaround and get back into farm boxes this summer. LA home farm is tempting me! — starting at $35.
The hyperfixation meal 🤝 dopamine eating
Very much here for allll the scalloped edges