This September – December, modern American eatery Plan Check Kitchen + Bar (Sawtelle, Fairfax*, Downtown*, and soon-to-open Santa Monica*) launches Comfort Masters, a lineup of exclusive pop-up dining events ($60**) created by owner/founder Terry Heller and longtime travel and food tastemaker Andy Wang in collaboration with mobile app and web-based dining guide, Table8. From elegant dining to casual street eats, the Comfort Masters series will feature meals by acclaimed chefs, up-and-comers, those without brick and mortar and some who’ve never cooked in Los Angeles. The limited-run events will be a unique showcase of new concepts and a celebration of indie culture.
PCB Hero
*Dinners will be held throughout the following Plan Check locations; refer to ticketing link for details
**Ticketing price includes tax and gratuity; Table8 Dining Club members receive a complimentary cocktail
“This series is really a celebration of some of the country’s most spectacular chefs, many of whom have never cooked in Los Angeles before,” says Heller. “It’s about boundary-breaking chefs with serious talent, multicultural influences and bold flavors who dominate their respective cities by making the kind of food you crave again and again. What’s fantastic about this series is that every dinner is totally different. Each event will be approachable and fairly priced, allowing the chefs to infuse their own point of view and a story that’s as captivating as what is on the plate.”
Smokey Chicken Hero
“I love that we have a guy who worked for Joel Robuchon, then oversaw a huge Vegas brasserie kitchen and is now making Hainan chicken worthy of hawker stands in Asia and that a Korean-American chef in the Midwest who’s won a James Beard Award for his French-inspired contemporary American restaurant also runs a gastropub and places that serve Asian and Spanish food,” adds Wang. “There’s a French couple who decided to serve foie gras along with croque monsieurs from their food truck just because. There’s a guy in Texas who’s known for both Italian food and a BBQ market, and a Paleo Chef who understands that the deep cuts of meat are the best ones if you just give them the time and attention they need. I love that the former executive chef of both Campanile and Patina now serves Maine lobster rolls in South Beach and cooks at both Coachella and Desert Trip. Forget white tablecloths, this is punk rock. This is food in America in 2016 and it’s glorious.”
The guest chef lineup includes the following (more chefs to be announced in the coming weeks):
Chris Anderson | September 6th & 7th | Tickets on sale soon
- Michelin-starred chef, Chris Anderson, kicks off the dinner series by lending a high-tech touch to the menu, a talent he obtained while working at Moto, Alinea, and L2O—three powerhouses of Chicago’s molecular gastronomy scene. Presently, Anderson spearheads the dynamic al fresco experience at SO•PA in the L’Horizon Palm Springs Hotel, where he blends re-conceptualized technique with seasonal ingredients to offer compelling plates and aromatics, such as “carrot air” and “miner lettuce foam.”
Jamie DeRosa | September 13th & 14th | Buy Tickets
- Miami’s Jamie DeRosa will give L.A. a taste of Izzy’s Fish & Oyster. Before he was the chef/owner at Izzy’s Fish & Oyster in South Beach and rocked the festival world with his cooking at both Coachella and Desert Trip, Jamie DeRosa was an L.A. force as the executive chef of both Campanile and Patina. DeRosa was also part of the Wolfgang Puck restaurant empire, where his cooking credits included Spago in both Beverly Hills and Las Vegas.
The Paleo Chef | September 18th | Buy Tickets
- The highly sought-out private chef to A-listers across the nation, Mary Shenouda, The Paleo Chef, will be cooking up a paleo feast featuring nutrient-dense and flavor-packed dishes. Mary brings us some of her most nostalgic childhood-inspired, (Egyptian) soul-food dishes, with a twist. All of these are prepared grain-, casein-, and soy-free.
Monsieur Madame | September 21st | Buy Tickets
- Jeremie and Nissa Banet take their food truck brick-and-mortar for a night of French sandwiches and foie gras. Expect croque monsieur bites, merguez, a tagine, foie gras and some surprises.
Sheridan Su | October 9th | Buy Tickets
- The Hainan chicken at chef/founder Sheridan Su’s Flock & Fowl in Las Vegas was named Best Signature Dish by Desert Companion. Flock & Fowl, which celebrates all things chicken, was also honored as Best House of Fowl by Las Vegas Weekly. Su, also the chef/founder at Fat Choy, previously cooked at Joel Robuchon at the Mansion and was the executive chef of Comme Ca in Las Vegas.
Jason Dady | October 25th & 26th | Buy Tickets
- San Antonio’s No. 1 chef gives L.A. a taste of Texas. James Beard Award semifinalist Jason Dady’s restaurants include Tre Trattoria, Tre Enoteca, Two Bros BBQ Market, B&D Ice House and Shuck Shack.
Golden Boys Chinese | November 1st & 2nd | Tickets on sale soon
- After selling out pop-ups Downtown and in Culver City, chefs Hunter Pritchett and Adam Midkiff bring their moveable guerrilla Chinese restaurant to Plan Check Fairfax. The chefs take their experiences dining in the red-lacquer and jade palaces of the East Coast, the humid and rowdy shophouses of Southeast Asia, and the humble San Gabriel Valley mom-and-pop restaurants — and filter it through the farmer’s market produce and mindfulness of Southern California.
Richard Hales | November 15th & 16th | Buy Tickets
- Richard Hales, the man behind Miami’s Blackbrickand Sakaya Kitchen, goes big with his bold Asian flavors. Hales’ Blackbrick was honored as a 2014 bon appétit Best New Restaurant and as Miami New Times’ Best Chinese Restaurant. Sakaya Kitchen, with its Asian funk fusion, was named as one of the Top 6 Places to Taste the New Asian Fusion by bon appétit and an Eater 38 essential Miami restaurant.
Mike Randolph | December 4th & 5th | Buy Tickets
- Mike Randolph gives L.A. a taste of Público, his St. Louis restaurant that earned two James Beard Award semifinalist nods this year. Randolph also runs breakfast/lunch restaurant Half & Half, wildly popular with two-plus-hour waits on the weekend. His other restaurant, Randolfi’s, was just named “Best Italian” in St. Louis by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Tory Miller | December 7th | Buy Tickets
- James Beard Award winner Tory Miller shows L.A. what his Madison, Wisconsin empire is all about. 2012 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Midwest, Miller has four restaurants in Madison, WI, including L’Etoile (Wine Spectator Top 100 three times), Graze (2014 Best Restaurant, Madison magazine), Sujeo and Estrellon.
Cruller Donut
ABOUT PLAN CHECK KITCHEN + BAR
Los Angeles-based neighborhood restaurant Plan Check Kitchen + Bar serves modern takes on American comfort food in a small-plates format, alongside innovative cocktails, premium whiskeys, and craft beers in a sleek yet inviting contemporary industrial space. Plan Check derives its name and décor inspiration from the City of Los Angeles Department of Building & Safety—located next door to the original location on Sawtelle Boulevard. Plan Check’s three neighborhood establishments are located at 1800 Sawtelle Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90025; 351 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036; and 1111 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90017. Plan Check Santa Monica is slated to open this summer 2016. For more information please call (310) 444-1411 or visit www.plancheck.com, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
About Andy Wang
Andy Wang covered property, destinations, food, and nightlife for a decade at the New York Post, and has written extensively about West Coast dining for publications including Observer.com and Los Angeles magazine. He is the Vegas editor for DuJour and a columnist for Las Vegas Weekly. His work has also appeared in the New York Times (where he wrote the publication’s first stories about both blogs and Google), MSNBC.com (where he was part of the launch team), New York Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, Epicurious, Yahoo Travel, Vegas Magazine and Ocean Drive.
About Table8:
Table8 is an app and web-based dining resource providing users a new way to find and book their ideal restaurant reservation, and discover new culinary experiences – from “first look” restaurant previews, to one-of-a-kind chef collaborations, and not-to-be-missed pop-ups. Table8’s annual membership program, The Table8 Dining Club, partners with top restaurants and chefs nationwide to offer additional perks, including exclusive access to last-minute prime-time reservations at the most popular establishments; priority seating at waitlist-only hotspots; invites to specially curated culinary events; and more. The rating system reflects top critical commentary, awards, and accolades, as well as input from an in-house editorial team, and Table8 diners while providing awards such as “Best Cocktail Program” and “Best Italian” to further distinguish restaurants for their exceptional qualities. For more information follow Table8 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook or visit www.table8.com.
