Enter Cipriani through the main entrance, but head straight up the staircase to the back of the dining room. Walk past guests enjoying pastas and truffle risotto and up the stairs lined with lacquered wood walls, a signature design element of the world-famous Venice-founded restaurant and bar. which debuted in Beverly Hills earlier this year.. At the top of the stairs there is a host stand and closed doors. You've arrived at your destination: a new Cipriani jazz club hiding above the restaurant's main dining room, where trios, solo vocalists and other musicians fill the elegant space with music Thursday through Saturday.
Inside the Jazz Café, small palm trees curve S-shaped from the walls above zebra-print banquettes in a space meant to evoke both the Golden Age of Hollywood and the nightclubs of the 1930s and 1940s. Bartenders in jackets white tuxedos bring some of the world's most iconic dishes to small tables, including items that Cipriani founder Giuseppe Cipriani created in Italy: the Bellini cocktail and the beef carpaccio.
The Jazz Café at Cipriani Beverly Hills features live music, a full bar, and an abbreviated menu of classic Cipriani fare, including the founder's creation, beef carpaccio.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The nearly century-old Cipriani brand now operates about two dozen restaurants, bars, clubs and hotels around the world, but few offer jazz cafes. Beyond the new outpost in Los Angeles, New York offers a members-only version, while a Bahrain version is open to all. After months of adjustments, the Beverly Hills version is open with an abbreviated menu of the dishes below, including caviar service, plus Jazz Café-signature snacks like anchovy- and egg-filled sandwiches and other snacks.
Performers may rotate throughout the night and include “American Idol’s” Stefano Langone, singer-songwriter Ericka Guitron and the Chris Norton Quartet. The Jazz Café at Cipriani Beverly Hills is open Thursday through Saturday from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. and the kitchen closes at 11 p.m.
362 N. Camden Dr.IBeverly Hills, (310) 866-5060, cipriani.com/cipriani-beverly-hills
Wildcrust, along the border of Eagle Rock and Highland Park, specializes in Neapolitan-style pizzas made with pizza dough fermented for 48 hours.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
wild bark
Eagle Rock's new pizzeria turned a temporary home into a modern Italian restaurant with a no-waste philosophy in a bustling shopping center. Chef and partner Miles Okabayashi (formerly of République and Perry Street and New York City's Torishin) teamed up with his brother and sister-in-law, Sam and Jean Okabayashi, to turn his pandemic-era interest in pizza into a full-fledged restaurant. Wildcrust, now open in the same complex as Queen St seafood place. and croissant specialist fondryserves classic and inventive toppings on 48-hour fermented pizza dough for options like fermented chili honey salami and fior di latte; roasted mushrooms with raclette and garlic vinaigrette; and the house special pizza, braised lamb with tzatziki, feta cheese, mint and Calabrian chili.
Beyond the Neapolitan-style sourdough pizzas, there are entrees and small plates like spice-crusted pork chops and meatballs served over chipotle tomato sauce; The Okabayashis incorporate zero waste into their restaurant menu by repurposing ingredients like Liberty Farms whole duck into roasted duck breast, duck leg croquettes, and duck liver mousse with apple sansho sauce. To pair, find sakes, wines and beers such as pilsners and rice lagers. Wildcrust is open from 5 to 10 pm Tuesday through Sunday, with lunch service planned for the future.
4705 York Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 671-4364, www.wildcrustla.com
The Pie Room by Curtis Stone
Michelin-starred Curtis Stone's tasting menu restaurant turned casual bakery
After a turn as a pop-up and then a residency inside a Michelin-starred Hollywood restaurant, celebrity chef Curtis Stone's Australian-inspired bakery is now a permanent restaurant in Beverly Hills, with new pies, puddings and homemade charcuterie . The Australian chef started Curtis Stone's Pie Room as a pandemic pivot, temporarily turning his lauded tasting menu restaurant, Maude, into an epicenter for his nostalgic, savory pies filled with braised beef, curried lamb, and chicken with vegetables, in addition to sweet options in individual and large formats (Some of the best pies in Los Angeles.).
The pop-up was so popular that Stone took over a 6,000-square-foot commercial bakery in Mid-Wilshire to meet demand, and when Maude resumed service, he used it to continue Pie Room's offerings at farmers markets and inside his Hollywood restaurant. and carnage, Gwen. Maude closed in Septemberand since then Stone and his team have transformed the Beverly Hills space. In addition to pastries, the new version features wine, sandwiches and sides such as English peas with mint and bacon, plus daily specials such as fresh cavatelli in duck ragout from chef Serkan Çetinarslan, formerly of Maude and Spago. Curtis Stone's The Pie Room is open from 10am to 8pm Monday to Saturday.
212 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, (323) 863-8220, instagram.com/thepieroombycurtisstone
East Hollywood's Jim + James Bar serves cocktails, natural wine, and Southern comforts in the form of pimento cheese, pickle platters, fried chicken, and banana cream pie.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Jim + James
With a taste of Southern comfort and plenty of natural wine, East Hollywood's newest bar is now open—at least for the next six months. Jim + James is a pop-up residency by chef Ally Raél, who spent years in the kitchens of Ari Taymor's Alma and Little Prince restaurants in Los Angeles. Most recently, Raél spearheaded plant-based restaurant Allyum in Seattle, and while his Jim + James return to Los Angeles includes plenty of fried chicken, pimento cheese, and cornbread slathered in honey butter, much of the menu can be made vegan.
Look for red beans and rice, pickled collard greens, buttermilk-brined chicken, chicken-fried mushrooms, seasonal pickles, banana cream pie, and late-night bites like gravy-dipped French fries to complement the wine, beer, and cocktails like the Oaxacan añejo. -fashioneds, martinis, Negronis and a Gibson seasoned with pickled beans. Jim + James also features a large patio and programming like game nights, and is open Thursdays and Sundays from 5 to 11 pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 5 pm to midnight.
4854 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles, instagram.com/jimandjamesla
Homemade gnocchi in lobster sauce at Palma Ristorante in Burbank.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Palma Restaurant
A European newcomer brings raw food, steaks, lobster gnocchi, table-cut Iberico jam, snails and more to downtown Burbank. Palma Ristorante's open kitchen and extensive menu are overseen by Roman chef Emidio Tidu (previously of Urban Press Winery and Restaurant and Terra e Mare); its dishes highlight offerings from the raw bar, the Mediterranean, and Europe in general, with a focus on Italy and signature touches like caviar-topped beef carpaccio and filets topped with black truffle butter. Palma redesigned the Milano Cafe and Deli space, eliminating pantry shelves and filling its 7,000 square feet with an oyster bar, a large dining room, seating overlooking the wood-burning grill, bar seating, a fire pit in the patio and a cafeteria. with a full program of espresso, gelati and a pastry case with cannoli, layer cakes, flan and more. Planned lunch and brunch service will include items such as a tableside Bloody Mary cart. Palma Ristorante is now open Sunday to Thursday from 5 to 11 pm, and Friday and Saturday from 5 pm to midnight.
269 E. Palm Ave., Burbank, (818) 748-3000, palmausa.com
Goldburger is now open in Chinatown, in the former home of Burgerlords.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Goldburger Chinatown
Where one hamburger stand closed, another opened: Goldburger, the local chain that produces some of the best in town smashburgers, bar burgers and patty melts, now operates in Chinatown, in the former home of Burgerlords. Owner and founder Allen Yelent turned his longtime passion for burgers into a pop-up shop in 2018, later opening locations in Highland Park and Los Feliz.
After Burgerlords changed ownership earlier this year and closed its space in Chinatown's Central Plaza, Yelent took over the space; now the window and patio offer Goldburger's signature burgers, curly fries, homemade sauces and more. Goldburger is open in Chinatown Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. A Goldburger is planned to open in Granada Hills early next year with drive-thru service and new items that could include breakfast and soft serve ice cream.
943 N. Broadway, Suite 102, Los Angeles, (213) 266-8147, goldburgerla.com
