La La Rice picks up Steam and Moo’s Craft BBQ at Matu – here’s what turns up
Crunchy and crunchy, the green papaya salad is one of the best on the west side, and like all dishes at La La Rice, it offers varying degrees of heat and is presented with thoughtful and detailed details. The menu offers a wide variety of curries, noodles, salads and tempting hot pots like the Tom Yum seafood soup. Try the beef satay tacos with crispy cucumber vinaigrette and peanut sauce or the coconut shrimp cakes. And when it comes to fried chicken, they do it crispy well with their schnitzels and wings. There is also a variety of premium specials emphasizing salmon, mahi mahi and ribeye steaks, as well as vegan options on the extensive and authentic menu. Wash it all down with butterfly pea lemonade.
Crispy chicken wings and beef satay tacos at La La Rice (Michele Stueven)
Moo’s Artisan Barbecue will smoke matusteak.com First light farms Fred Flintstone-sized Wagyu beef ribs, which can be ordered as the main event in the three-course Matu + Moo’s Collab dinner or a la carte with house-made slaw. The three courses feature Matu’s little gem lettuce and some of the steakhouse’s rich 24-hour bone broth. The collaboration between the two local carnivorous sensations, resulting in the most tender fall-off-the-bone ribs in Los Angeles, will run through Sunday, March 26 from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., in the dining room and at the bar. Dinner reservations can be made at matusteak.com. Walk-in welcome.
In honor of Women’s History Month, Thanks mother‘s Executive Chef Dian Briscoe will work with Maciel Bañales Luna from Maciel’s vegetable butcher shop for a joint pop-up dinner at Gracias Madre on Tuesday, March 28 at 7 p.m. The chefs present a plant-based Mexican-inspired tasting menu featuring Bañales’ house-made plant-based meats. The four-course tasting menu includes dishes such as corn salad with bacon, peas, baby tomatoes, chile poblano, lettuce, Maciel’s Queso, crema de hierbas y limón, and roasted cipollini onions; Crab cakes with whipped avocado, micro arugula, chipotle aioli and fresno chiles; Mexican Ribs with roasted garlic puree, salsa chimichurri, coleslaw, roasted asparagus, cilantro and red onions; and for dessert, Maciel’s Mexican chocolate mousse with whipped coconut cream and berries. Tickets are available on Eventbrite for $125.
Moo’s Craft BBQ Beef Rib (Eddie Sanchez/ @hungryinLA)
The Wayfarer DTLA will collaborate with female-founded Sipsong ghosts for a “Meet the Makers” experience with gin cocktails and nibbles on Friday, March 24 at The Rooftop. The 21+ event includes three cocktails made with Sipsong Spirits Indira Gin, a selection of chef-curated appetizers and a souvenir to take home. Guests will have the chance to meet the creators behind the women-founded brand and delve into the history of Sipsong Spirits’ flower-inspired gin. Tickets are $65 per person + 18% gratuity and can be purchased here.
The Ecology Center, a 28-acre regenerative organic certified farm and education center in San Juan Capistrano, has released a full schedule of Community table dinners for the Spring 2023 season. Every Friday from March through May, guests can enjoy a multi-course dinner under the stars with a rotating roster of guest chefs designing an eco-friendly meal with ingredients from the farm, cooked over fire for an intimate, family-style feast .
Each ecologically chef-designed Community Table dinner menu features ingredients from four categories of produce grown on the farm based on the country’s four seasonal rotations.
- “Market Garden” includes herbs, vegetables, lettuce and flowers.
- “Milpa” includes corn, heirloom beans, and squash grown on the land.
- “Fruit Forest” includes fruits, seeds and berries grown on the farm.
- “Cover Crop” is derived from plants that restore nutrients and structure to the soil, such as grains and legumes.
And speaking of the season, there’s a new spring menu at Grandmaster Recorders starting Chef Blake Shailes that includes caviar cannoli; grilled Arrowhead squid with Meyer lemon and hot chili oil; beef carpaccio made with CreekStone sirloin steak, anchovies, capers, and pepperoncini verde; whole wood-roasted Murray River cod in dashi brown butter; and award-winning Westholme wagyu with kumquat koshu and house-made mustard.
Beef carpaccio made with CreekStone sirloin steak, anchovies, capers and pepperoncini verde at Grandmaster Recorders (Michele Stueven)
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