Two notable Bay Area restaurant chains are coming to Los Angeles. The first is Napa Valley’s iconic Gott’s Roadside and the second is Mr. Pickles sandwich shop, which opened its first SoCal location in Van Nuys yesterday, July 8. What Now LA reports that Gott’s Roadside has confirmed an expansion to Downtown Santa Monica, bringing fried egg-topped California burgers, ahi tuna tacos, and chicken kale Caesar salads sometime next year. Gott’s Roadside’s original restaurant in St. Helena opened in 1999 as Taylor’s Automatic Refresher and has grown to eight locations, winning a James Beard America’s Classics award along the way.
Mr. Pickles Sandwich Shop opened its first store in 1996 in San Mateo, growing to 54 locations in Northern California and six in Arizona. The menu specializes in California and Italian deli-inspired hot and cold sandwiches, such as the Santa Maria made with tri-tip and served on crispy rice flour-topped French rolls called Dutch Crunch. The Goomba and Mama Mia are two new sandwiches for Van Nuys; the first is filled with capicola and pepperoni, while the latter comes with warm meatballs and melty pepper jack cheese.
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An ode to Long Beach’s Golden Burgers
Reporter Brian Addison writes an elegy for fast-food diner Golden Burgers, which closed on July 7 in Long Beach after four decades of business. The restaurant is now converted into an Eat Fantastic location, which operates in Lomita, El Segundo, and Torrance, among other South Bay cities. Like many Southern California fast-food diners, Golden Burgers served an eclectic menu of American, Greek, and Mexican dishes.
Take a stroll through a modern Candyland
SF Gate has a story on Jack’s Candy in Downtown Los Angeles, a 90-year-old business that sells one of the most extensive selections of candies and sweets on the West Coast. Writer Karen Palmer says the warehouse is like a love child of Willy Wonka and Costco. Ten years ago, it moved from a retail space to a 50,000-square-foot industrial facility under the ownership of Shafiq Ahamed, whose family bought the business in 1980.
Craft beer coming to Echo Park
Despite the contraction of the craft beer industry in Los Angeles, such as the noteworthy recent closure of Eagle Rock Brewery, Torrance’s Monkish Brewing will open a new location in Echo Park, reports What Now LA. Monkish Echo Park will join the redeveloped commercial project Echo Exchange on Sunset Boulevard, adding to the brewery’s Torrance home and Anaheim beer garden.
More DineLA deals to know about
Maple Block’s $15 lunch deal has a choice of chopped brisket sandwich with potato salad or coleslaw, Sante Fe chicken salad, or chicken Caesar salad. The Culver City and Grand Central Market barbecue spot also has a reasonable $25 dinner with a smoked meat plate and a choice of soft drink. Kids under 10 eat free, which is a great bonus.
Those looking for brunch should head to Cabra Downtown for a $35 deal with plenty of Peruvian dishes, including chorizo skewers and chicken tacu-tacu.
Michael’s on Naples in Long Beach has an elegant $65 per person dinner with cavatelli, porchetta, and panna cotta.
Lunetta in Santa Monica’s $35 power lunch features a Maine lobster roll and nectarine crisp for dessert.
A day in the life of an LA street vendor
CBS News has a well-made clip of a Westlake fruit cart vendor named Angelica, who recently survived a gun robbery where the perpetrators took off with over $1,500. Angelica came to the U.S. when she was 13 as an undocumented immigrant and serves raspados (fruity shaved ice drinks) with help from her four children.