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There are lots of excellent tasting menus in L.A. where you can pay up to several hundred dollars for a parade of exquisitely presented but dainty bites. But in some cases, even after all that, you might still leave hungry. The chefs behind Vesti have a different ethos. They’re crafting changing, customized, creative menus each night with the sole objective of leaving diners satisfied. Or, as chef Shane Lyons puts it, they feed you “all you can eat till you’re full—and then we give you dessert.” That’s exactly how things shook out during my visit to the excellent Vesti pop-up at Maydan Market.
Chefs, co-founders and friends Adam Gertler and Lyons are the culinary duo behind Vesti, which is mainly known for its sandwiches on freshly made focaccia bread—they do a lot of catering, and you can find grab-and-go sandwiches at local spots like Alfred Coffee, andSons Chocolatiers & Cafe and the Canal Market. The two first popped up at Maydan Market with expanded menu offerings last December. After a successful run, they’re back this year, serving multi-course dinners at their chef’s counter through the end of January.
Gertler and Lyons met while competing on Season 4 of Next Food Network Star back in 2007. Afterward, they embarked on their own culinary and life journeys: Lyon’s roots are in acting. He starred in All That when he was 12 before attending the Culinary Institute of America and going on to work with Daniel Boulud, David Chang and Tom Colicchio, and opening his own restaurant in New York. Gertler, meanwhile, brought his “fascination with extruded meat between bread” to his role as the “Würstmacher” and culinary director at popular chain DogHaus. The two teamed back up a decade-plus later—along with Iraq vet and co-CEO Chris Berardi—to launch Vesti. But the original concept fell more in the department of catering, which meant the chefs’ winning personalities didn’t have a place to shine. Enter the Maydan Market pop-up.
I had been meaning to check out Maydan Market since it opened, and an invite to try the “eating menu” at Vesti afforded the perfect opportunity. The beautifully designed market—an expansion of chef Rose Previte’s Washington, D.C., concept, Maydan—is a curated, elevated take on a dining hall. And in the back right corner, you’ll find Vesti, with a 10-person chef’s counter.
Lyons and his sous chefs warmly greeted me before getting to work. Another duo sat at the counter, and I noticed the dishes we were being served hardly overlapped at all. You could see the gears in Lyons’ head spinning as he ran the show, smoothly adjusting after learning at the last minute that my partner was vegetarian. Some of the dishes served up on charmingly mismatched, retro plates were on the menu posted above my head; others were nowhere to be found. It’s truly impressive how adaptable and creative the team is, not to mention engaging—I felt like I was chatting with a good friend over an amazing dinner.
Here’s a rundown of everything I ate during my visit:
- Vesti’s signature Cracklin’ Caramel Corn flavored with nutritional yeast
- An herby beet salad with mascarpone, 12-year balsamic and crispy pecorino
- A mortadella mini sandwich with a cheese-puff bun
- Twice-baked potatoes with Point Reyes blue cheese and mustard
- Pimento cheese toast with chili crisp
- Crispy chicken wings with Calabrian chili
- Spinach pesto pizza with candied pistachios and mushrooms
- Bread pudding
After the chicken wings, I was already feeling satisfied—but I didn’t want to miss out on Vesti’s signature focaccia pizza, and I had my eye on a freshly baked sheet of chocolate chip cookies. The market was shutting down around us, yet I got the feeling Lyons would have kept on serving us more food. As it was, I got so full I had to take the rest of my scalding-hot, whipped-cream and bourbon-caramel-topped chocolate bread pudding to go (and they threw in a couple of those cookies for good measure).
An amuse-bouche followed by a seven-course meal for only $70? That’s practically unheard of in L.A. And the food is delicious, so that doesn’t hurt. (You can also opt for optional caviar and Hudson Valley foie gras add-ons.) And if you find yourself at Maydan and you’re simply not that hungry? You can also grab a table anywhere in the stylish market and order à la carte Vesti items from your phone (the pizza is a must), paired with cocktails from the market’s resident bar, Compass Rose.
Vesti’s residency at Maydan Market runs through January 31, 2027, with seatings at 4pm, 6pm and 8pm from Tuesday through Saturday. You can book a reservation for the chef’s counter here.