Highland Park's new hotspot has no social media presence. here's why

Sam's place

Dimly lit and mysterious, Highland Park's new hotspot Sam's Place from Hermosillo wine bar veterans Scotty Cantino and Ben Jones has no social media, website or phone number.

“We're not trying to make it feel like a speakeasy or anything like that, where it's exclusive,” Cantino says, “but I do think we want the experience to start when you walk in the door, and not on your phone.” or on the internet. I feel like people are more likely to have a good time if their first interaction is when they walk in, than if they judge what a bad Instagram photographer I am.”

Spice-rubbed grilled chicken wings at Sam's Place.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

With a cozy, wood-paneled atmosphere, Sam's Place, named after a Buck Owens song, sits between a wine bar and a neighborhood restaurant.

Cantino runs the bar, where he serves a tight selection of natural-leaning European and Californian wines by the glass (one white, one rosé, one red, one orange and one bubble) along with whole bottles, draft and bottled beers, spritzes of vermouth and Options without ABV (alcohol by volume).

Jones, who heads the kitchen, offers a similarly compact but well-thought-out food menu that includes staples: bavette filet in red wine jus; roasted Japanese sweet potatoes, freshly seared and served with tahini and spicy green shatta; spiced chicken wings in yellow chili and pomegranate sauce; marinated olives; herb salad and little else.

Inside guests can sidle up to the bar or take an arched wooden booth. The outdoor side patio features an accessible window for placing and receiving orders with Cantino.

Sam's Place is open Tuesday through Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m. 5530 Monte Vista St., Los Angeles

good alley

Black chopsticks lift a ball of soup from a bamboo steamer

A new Chinese tea and dumpling specialist is drawing lines of guests through a Rosemead shopping center. Good Alley, from the team behind the adjacent Ji Rong Duck House, recently opened in the Empire Commercial Center with fresh, handmade dumplings, wonton soups, clay pot stews, charcoal-grilled skewers, and cheese foam teas. Owners Peter Pang and David Shao refer to the new restaurant as their “simple noodle shop,” and while their nearby Duck Palace specializes in Beijing dishes, at Good Alley the focus is on guan tang bao, or dumplings. of Kaifeng style soup.

Inspired by the team's trips to China in 2011, where they found a restaurant in Shenyang that served fantastic soup dumplings, Pang and Shao vowed to bring the delicate dumplings to Los Angeles. Now they serve them stuffed with kurobuta pork, chicken or pork with crab. along with other specialties of roujiamo, or “Chinese burgers,” where cumin-infused pork, beef or lamb is sandwiched between a flaky, layered pancake bun.

Other items include noodle soups, baby bok choy with XO sauce in superior broth, spicy hot pot, jellied pork skin, wagyu beef fried rice, and a selection of sweetly sweet Chinese iced teas with customizable accessories.

Good Alley is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 8450 Valley Blvd., Suite 108, Rosemead, instagram.com/good_alley

Edgemar

The double chef concept fills you up a historic building designed by Frank Gehry in Santa Monicabreathing new life into an old warehouse with curries, fried oysters and tartares that reflect the chefs' origins and favorite dishes.

Edgemar recently opened with chefs and friends Jared Dowling (Winston House, the Waterfront) and Jonathan Thoma (Great White) spearheading a global menu of tempura oysters with yuzu tartar sauce, fennel oil and charred lemon; sesame-crusted shrimp toast topped with ikura with citrus aioli; butter chicken with cilantro oil; a cheeseburger garnished with bourbon-caramelized onions; and stracciatella sprinkled with togarashi and chili oil.

Cocktails include guava mezcal margaritas and a cognac-champagne “French Cauldron.” And for brunch, look for duck rice porridge, loco moco, or crab cake Benedict.

Edgemar is open Wednesday through Friday from 5:30 to 11 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 12 to 9 p.m. 2435 Main St., Santa Monica, (424) 252-6844, edgemar.la

Izakaya Dongame

An Osaka-born izakaya has just landed in Echo Park, the first US location of Izakaya Dongame, a brand founded more than a decade ago. At Echo Park, hanging lanterns, signs and low tables set the stage for kushiyaki (an assortment of grilled chicken, eel, vegetables, salmon, scallops and more skewers), plus tempura, okonomiyaki, yakisoba, karaage, gyoza and other Japanese dishes. classics designed to pair well with sake, shochu, and pitchers of ice cold beer.

House specialties include sushi dogs or open temaki rolls, as well as table-side seared mackerel, Japanese hamburger steak and Osaka-style fried pork loin, or tonteki, smothered in sauce.

Izakaya Dongame is open Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. 1712 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, instagram.com/izakayadongameusa

indigo cow

Next door to Echo Park's Izakaya Dongame is another newcomer specializing in Japanese items. After moving to the US, Indigo Cow founder Keisuke “Kay” Kobayashi sought to bring the familiar flavors of his Hokkaido upbringing to Seattle and launched a soft serve ice cream company that uses Hokkaido cow dairy products as base. Milk from Iwase Farm in Sunagawa now also travels to Indigo Cow's new store in Echo Park, where the soft serve can also come dyed with matcha and topped with mochi balls, hot roasted sweet potatoes, roasted soy powder and coffee . -sugar syrup and more.

Indigo Cow is open Sunday through Thursday from noon to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from noon to midnight. 1710 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, indigocow.com