This former Gjelina pastry chef just opened a restaurant in Beverly Grove, with plenty of pie
Fiona
Nicole Rucker, the former Gjelina pastry chef and current co-owner of CoFax, has opened Fiona restaurant in Beverly Grove. Rucker will begin by selling pies, breads, cookies and cakes on a first-come basis from a retail area, with limited hours on Thanksgiving Day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner begin on Dec. 3. Former Simbal chef Shawn Phawn is collaborating with Rucker on the menu. The two are making things like Japanese sesame butter toast with a chicken noodle miso soup, with thin ribbons of omelet in place of the noodles.
339 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 852-3210, fionabakeryla.com/
Milla Chocolates
Following an earlier pop-up at Row DTLA, Milla Chocolates is now presiding over its first bricks-and-mortar store in Culver City. The brand was created by Christine Sull Sarioz, who taps a background in art and design to make striking, geometrical sweets. Milla’s full line is available in the new shop, including Kir Royale bon bons, pistachio-mesquite dragée and chocolate-dipped orange chips using Santa Monica Farmers Market citrus.
9414 Venice Blvd., Culver City, (310) 876-1021, millachocolates.com
HiFi Kitchen
Historic Filipinotown local Justin Foronda will soon open a restaurant on Beverly Boulevard that specializes in Filipino rice bowls. While the restaurant isn’t open for service yet, he’s started offering the entire menu for delivery through Postmates, available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Options include chicken or mushroom adobo, lechon with citrus chimichurri and sweet spaghetti with meatballs.
1667 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 258 8417, hifi-kitchen.com
H Café
Chef Michael Reed (of Poppy + Rose), has opened H Café restaurant next to the new H Hotel in Koreatown. The restaurant serves dishes like short rib egg sandwiches and fried chicken and waffles in the morning, patty melts and burgers at lunch and pan-seared salmon and a New York strip by evening. Cocktails include El Güero Paloma with tequila reposado, grapefruit, Jarritos guava, lime and pink chili salt.
3206 W. 8th St., Los Angeles, (213) 389-6711, instagram.com/cafe/
Closings
Wolfdown
Forage owners Jason and Crissy Kim have closed Wolfdown, their creative, Korean-inspired Silver Lake restaurant . In a glimmer of hope to fans, however, the couple promises to “rethink a few things” and “bring good food and good times to the neighborhood we call home.”
Komodo
Both locations of Komodo, the restaurant that introduced L.A. to inventive Asian curiosities like the “pho-rrito,” are now closed. Co-founder Eric Tjahyadi, currently of Pasadena’s Bone Kettle tells Eater LA the closure is due to a “mutual decision” among partners.
La Celaya
The 50-year-old Echo Park family bakery closed its doors at the end of October. According to local news website the Eastsider, the Sunset Boulevard address will become a restaurant and shop from the owners of Tamales Alberto, with the departure leading to a loss of one of the neighborhood’s last panaderías.
Eat your way across L.A.
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