What the Wahlburger?
East Coast burger chain Wahlburgers has finally made its way to Los Angeles, except it seems that nobody locally really cares all that much. The company, backed by actor Mark Wahlberg and his family, slipped in an under-the-radar opening of their USC Village location last month, and the only notice of the opening basically anywhere is a Yelp page with a handful of reviews.
The company is also doing limited ‘soft opening’ hours at their long-gestating Sunset Plaza outlet in West Hollywood, but so far no word from many folks on that front, either. Could it be that with Shake Shack, Burgerim, Hopdoddy, and all the rest, Angelenos just aren’t excited anymore about out-of-town franchises bringing burgers to LA?
Silver Lake updates
There are some new faces around the Kettle Black/Sawyer compound in Silver Lake, as chef Brian Maynard (Alma) steps in as overall director of operations for Beau Laughlin’s dual restaurants. Executive chef Peter Macias also jumps into the role vacated by Sydney Hunter III (now at Testa), and there are further plans for the property now that Clover Juice has officially vacated the takeaway space up front.
Gold x Kleiman
Jonathan Gold and Evan Kleiman will be in conversation at the J. Paul Getty Museum on Tuesday, January 9 to discuss Latin American food in America.
Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic @thejgold and scholar and @kcrw radio host @evankleiman present, "There Will Be Food: Latin American Cuisine in L.A." January 9 at 7:30 p.m. Get your #free tickets: https://t.co/RgMkiWn3cG pic.twitter.com/Bxry0AAgJs
— J. Paul Getty Museum (@GettyMuseum) January 2, 2018
Persian suggestions
Reddit is asking around about great Persian restaurants in Los Angeles, deep diving into spots that go well behind Raffi’s in Glendale. Next time, consider Kebab Halebi in Van Nuys, which offers a mix of both Persian and Syrian specialities.
Massive cake for all
Out in Downey, Porto’s is preparing a gigantic King Cake to celebrate Dia de Los Reyes on January 6. The whole thing is said to weigh around 130 pounds, and will be available for guests to actually sample, says the Press-Telegram.
Inside Inko Nito
Food Talk Central has the early word on Inko Nito, the Arts District newcomer from the Zuma team. Check out photos of the food in action, from yellowtail collar to grilled tiger prawns.
The love of it all
Howlin’ Ray’s is eyeing an early 2018 expansion that should help to cut down on all those lines at Far East Plaza. The key, says owner Johnny Ray Zone, is to make sure to not lose the heart of the place in the process.
