It's hard to keep up with all the restaurant and bar openings, closings, chef swaps and revamps that happen every day in this city. What's worth spending your money on and what's all just hype? We're here to help you out with that. At the end of each month, I'll give a recap of the most exciting additions to enter LA's dining and drinking scene, whether it's a new ice cream shop or a creative cocktail bar. Here are a few January openings that are worth a visit:
Nighthawk (Hollywood): If you've ever walked into a bar at midnight and thought, "I could use a cocktail and a piece of bourbon-spiked French toast," Nighthawk is your jam. If you've never had those thoughts, give this new Hollywood spot a shot anyway. There are jams—both musical and edible—and spiked cereal milk libations, and if that's not enough to get you out of the house on a Friday night, we're not sure what will.
LocoL (Watts): Food & Wine has already named it the Best New Restaurant of 2016, and while that might be a bit premature, the new fast food eatery from Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson is making serious waves. Chili and soft serve have quickly become favorites on the menu; more importantly, Watts is getting some much-needed positive attention.
Fritzi (Downtown Arts District): Chef Neal Fraser has covered both casual (Fritzi Dog) and upscale (Redbird) cuisine, but now he's landed on something comfortably in the middle: Fritzi. The industrial-chic restaurant attached to Arts District Brewing serves rustic cuisine like rotisserie chicken, steak frites, Santa Barbara white fish and more, along with Arts District Brewing's seasonal beers and Fritzi's curated cocktails.
Kali (Larchmont Village): What started as a supper club has since evolved into a full-fledged brick and mortar in Larchmont Village. Kali comes to us from chef Kevin Meehan and wine director Drew Langley, and offers à la carte items like rockfish crudo, beef tenderloin with fingerling potatoes and toasted meringue gelato. Wines will rotate daily, so it'd be worth visiting a couple of times next month—because research, right?
Knead & Co. and Craft & Courage (Downtown): Two new stalls opened to the public at Grand Central Market this month. One, Knead & Co., comes from Union chef Bruce Kalman; diners can watch fresh pasta being made or stop by the adjacent market for specialty sauces. The other, Craft & Courage, a treasure trove of spirits, beer, wine and bar tools. If you needed more reasons to visit GCM in the near future, here are two.
Ramen Tatsunoya (Pasadena): Technically Ramen Tatsunoya opened at the end of last month, but people are still lining up for the Japanese import (we're talking around-the-block kind of lines). A few tonkotsu variations are available, along with rolls and chashu bowls—and while they're still working out a couple kinks, the lack of any other decent ramen spots in Pasadena has made Tatsunoya an instant hit.
Iron Triangle Brewing (Downtown Arts District): As the Arts District continues to flourish, so does the amount of craft beer in the area. Iron Triangle Brewing, located in a massive warehouse on Industrial St, is the latest brewery to pop up Downtown. They have a solid selection of brews on tap, plenty of space to mill about and recently got distribution; expect to see them in stores and bottle shops soon.
Did you miss our favorite openings from December? Check out the list from last month.