Bad news in Beverly Hills
Several prominent Beverly Hills restaurants were temporarily shut down by the health department last week. The 35-year-old Grill on the Alley (which was just sold off by its parent company, but will operate under the existing name), Il Fornaio, Gratitude, and Tempura Endo were cited and closed for various reasons either on October 8 or 9, though all have since reopened. The most likely culprit is a catch-all term (“vermin infestation”), which can mean anything from bugs to larger critters. A tipster tells Eater that Grill on the Alley did not inform customers with reservations of their shutdown notice before arrival, but that they did acknowledge the closure with a small, ahem, informational addendum to the closure on their front door. The image is below.
Waiting for more news
Curbed LA has an update on the long-dormant French Market in West Hollywood. The former restaurant and retail space, which served as a meeting place for LGBTQ activists over the years, has been closed for more than a year, but now the developers who own the land are taking a step back to reassess their plans for the property. What comes next is anyone’s guess.
New in town
Chef Lawrence Lopez is in at the Henry in West Hollywood, having previously spent years at Las Brisas in Laguna Beach. Expect a fully overhauled new fall menu.
Beef on order
Shibumi is back with another World of Wagyu session on Sunday, October 20. The deeply beefy $225 event is a collaboration with chef David Schlosser and Mike Prasad (Kogi BBQ, among others), and features a flight of incredibly rare Japanese meats.
Making moves
The fine folks from Dandi, the experimental Korean tasting menu pop up, received the Food & Wine treatment last week. The magazine says they have “changed the game entirely,” especially with dishes like a galbi jjim-marinated tongue tostada.
Coming together
Two big names — Evan Funke and Chris Bianco — are joining up next Tuesday October 22 at Tartine Bianco (thanks to the fine folks from cookbook and chef store Now Serving) to talk about all things pasta, in celebration of Funke’s new book American Sfoglino.
