Wolf Opens on Melrose by Marcel Vigneron
Former Top Chef contestant Marcel Vigneron has opened his first solo restaurant on Melrose called WOLF - the meaning of the Chef’s Mother’s Maiden name, which honors her role in inspiring him to love good food from his early days in her kitchen. Of course, the road to Wolf also took a few turns and twists in some of the world’s best kitchens including The Bazaar by Jose Andres where Vigneron honed his craft.
Marcel Vigneron by Yasmin Alishav
The menu features seasonal Los Angeles cuisine made from locally sourced ingredients. The farm fresh approach in the kitchen practices “zero waste cooking” by utilizing every possible edible part of the product, from seed to stalk. Standouts include the refined white miso black cod with watermelon radish and dashi - which is an interesting contrast paired with the rustic and comforting crispy potatoes with chive aioli. The Vadouvan lamb rack with romanesco and lebneh is hearty, so you might want to end the meal with a fluffy and light blueberry soufflé. The food fits perfectly with the former space (which once held Govin Armstrong’s Table 8), and the primarily wooden interiors – even on the ceilings, and a Daliesque mirror over the bar. Be sure to order a “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” with Tito’s vodka, habanero and cucumber and keep an eye out for Vigneron in a trucker hat popping out of the semi-open kitchen.
Power Lunching in Weho
The new face of power-lunching doesn’t mean that you need to break the bank in the process of closing a deal. The dramatic and vast new ROKU on Sunset has new midday meal offerings that include an array of bento boxes and poke bowls but also a sushi bar and Benihana-style teppanyaki grill - so you really have three options of how and where you would like to dine amid the multiple rooms. Here are a few of the top specials listed below regardless of your view:
Roku poke
Express Sushi Box ($14) - 2 pc tuna, 2pc salmon & spicy tuna or California cut roll
Sushi Six Assortment ($18) - 6 pc nigiri sushi, tuna, yellowtail, albacore, salmon, shrimp, fluke and spicy tuna or California cut roll
Custom Bento Box ($15) – rice, salad, protein, and roll
Poke Bowls ($15) – rice or greens with tuna, salmon, or albacore
Donburi with Miso Soup ($14)
Chirashi with Miso Soup ($18)
Salads - Tuna Tataki ($15), Mixed Sashimi ($15), Kale With Salmon ($16), Panko Crusted Seabass ($14), Crispy Chicken Tatsu Age ($12)
Sliders with Garden Salad - Panko Crusted Seabass ($14) and Crispy Chicken Tatsu Age ($12)
Weho’s Most Theatrical Date Night
Just when you thought all the drama of the awards season were behind you, Barton G. LA, the unique concept with a theatrical twist on fine dining has updated some of their signature dishes and new offerings on the menu.
A few of our favorites that have recently debuted include the devil’s egg with white truffle whipped ceviled eggs, togarashi bacon crumble, crisp garlic, fresh black truffles & garden herbs or the Champagne oysters & caviar with chilled oysters wrapped in a Champagne cucumber mignonette, yuzu bubbles and Beluga caviar. The octopus terrarium salad features octopus torchon, sea lettuce, wakame, and chive with marinated vegetables, frozen berry coral & sepia tuile.
Barton G. LA - Marie Antoinette’s Head
Of course we still love the Marie Antoinette head of billowy pink cotton candy, but don’t miss the gigantic funnel cakes that come inside a little carnival game called “try your luck and hit the duck” where you can take a shot at hitting them with a fake gun. You would normally only be able to experience this type of date bonding experience at an amusement park but at Barton G. you never even have to leave the table.
