Albert Law
Two big new upcoming events are aimed at directly supporting local and national AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) organizations and restaurants. First up is Pop Off LA, which runs from May 16 to May 23 and features a variety one-day pop-up collaborations between different local entities, including Royce Burke’s Secret Lasagna doing a Thai-style lasagna dish with Anajak Thai, and Moo’s Craft Barbecue doing meat pies with Ms. Chi Cafe. The event is put on by the LA Food Gang, a Clubhouse-based hub for conversations about restaurants and dining led by writer Andy Wang and Eater LA’s former writer Crystal Coser. Donations for Pop Off LA will go towards Off Their Plate, which seeks food justice solutions within the greater AAPI restaurant and community scene.
Thaia
“Top Chef’s” Marcel Vigneron (Wolf, Beefsteak) has opened a Thai restaurant in Malibu’s Point Dume Plaza. Thaia offers curries, pan-fried noodles, soups, satay and California-influenced Thai fare as well as Pan-Asian plates such as BBQ ribs with five spice and lemongrass, and spicy tuna crispy rice with nuoc cham. It’s the latest concept from the team behind Ollo and Bui Sushi (also in Malibu and helmed by Vigneron) and is open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday with cocktails, beer, wine, dine-in and takeout available.
29169 Heathercliff Road, Suite 102, Malibu, (310) 589-2200, thaiamalibu.com
Dishes at Thaia include curries, pan-fried noodles, soups, satay and California-influenced Thai fare.
Malibu Eatery’s fishy claim
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Featuring LA’s best fish sandwich, with a qualifier
Dinner from Malibu Eatery after being decanted from the to-go boxes: from upper left, burger, fish sandwich, chowder, and crabcakes. Photo by Richard Foss
“Great boasts deserve great scrutiny,” said someone wise. I’m not sure who that was, because I overheard someone attributing the saying to an obscure Victorian author without saying which one. Pithy wisdom may be valued regardless of the source, and this maxim is equally useful for political assertions and restaurant menus.
That maxim was what motivated me to visit Malibu Eatery, because they claim to serve “LA’s Best Fish Sandwich.” This is a mighty assertion – I’ve had pretty fantastic fish sandwiches at Connie & Ted’s in West Hollywood and Little Jewel of New Orleans in Chinatown, among other places. If they had just boasted that they had the best fish sandwich in Redondo Beach I would have still been skeptical, bec
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As restaurant jobs have disappeared during the pandemic, there has been a boom in informal food pop-ups in Los Angeles, a rapidly evolving culture that has brought us smoked brisket and roti filled with chicken curry, fried bananas with salted caramel and lemon olive-oil cake. Every week, it seems, chefs post new menus listing creative, compelling takeout fare.
For the food-obsessed in pursuit of a great meal, it’s been an opportunity to experience some of the best food Los Angeles has to offer. For chefs and bakers, however, it’s been a time of great uncertainty and stress. Many started pop-ups by taking orders through direct messages on Instagram, which can quickly lead to chaos and seemingly endless questions: How do you streamline menus and orders? What’s the best way to deal with payments?
Pork-belly galbitang at
Tael Gomes
A symphony of broths beef bone, pork bone, and vegetable are combined in Yoonjin Hwang’s rich and revelatory short-rib soup, which is poured over beautifully unctuous pork belly. This modern Korean masterpiece, available as a regular special, comes with both rice and noodles because why not lap up as much comfort as possible all at once?
$22,
Dobin chowder at the Brothers Sushi
Tael Gomes
Mark Okuda’s brilliant riff on dobin mushi (a dashi-driven seafood soup usually made with mushrooms) and New England clam chowder is a one-of-a-kind L.A. spectacle. This creamy and luxurious soup includes clams, fish, and shrimp, and there’s the option of upgrading to king crab.