Longtime Hollywood coffee shop Stir Crazy quietly flipped into a weekdays-only dinner destination last week. The original cafe opened in 1994 and closed last August after 28 years in business. The building’s new owners — Mackenzie Hoffman, Macklin Casnoff, and Harley Wertheimer — debuted Stir Crazy’s latest iteration on Monday, May 1 following eight months of planning and construction. “Adopting the name speaks towards our desire to embrace the energy of the original Stir Crazy,” Hoffman tells Eater in an email. “An unfussy, community-driven hang-out — but imbue it with the spirit of elegant, warm, and enlightened cafe culture.”
With a newly revamped interior and a beer and wine license, the new Stir Crazy is serving light Mediterranean-leaning fare by Casnoff, who has a fine dining background and also owns a canned apple juice business. On the menu are small and large shareable plates, like marinated tomatoes, anchovies with herbs, celery salad, and crudo with pistachio and lemon. Hoffman, a former beverage operations manager and sommelier at the Four Horsemen in Brooklyn, is charged with the wine program that has an eye toward provenance and sustainability.
Stir Crazy is located at 6903 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038, and is open Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Daytime hours are slated for the future.
Free Thrifty ice cream for Mom
The Rite Aid chain of pharmacies is offering a buy one, get one deal this Saturday, May 13 in honor of Mother’s Day. The BOGO promotion only applies to single scoops of Thrifty ice cream, and no flavors are off limits.
A fundraiser featuring all-star AAPI chefs
Crustacean in Beverly Hills is hosting a fundraiser for the non-profit Regarding Her on Monday, May 15 featuring an all-star lineup of AAPI chefs including Helene An of Crustacean, Katianna Hong of Yangban Society, Shirley Chung of Ms Chi Cafe, Jazz Singsanong of Jitlada, and Della Gossett of Spago. Tickets to the Cooking With Her event are priced at $1,000 per seat and include a 10-course, pan-Asian menu with wine pairings. The menu is below.
Sunday roast at Bar Moruno
Silver Lake’s Bar Moruno is serving a Sunday roast for $75 that includes a main protein and two or three side dishes. On the menu for the next two Sundays (May 14 and May 21) is rotisserie pastrami short rib served with rye flatbread, sauerkraut, pickles, and macaroni salad. According to a restaurant representative, the portion size is enough to generously feed two. The Sunday roast is inspired by the legendary Family Night dinners at Campanile and Sunday Suppers at Lucques.
Restaurants to boycott, according to Redditors
L.A. Taco shares news that Redditors are chatting up a storm about local businesses they boycott and the reasons why. The thread’s 600-plus responses thus far mention national chains like Chick-fil-A and local spots including Sqirl and Original Tommy’s.
Stunt food comes to LA
Processed cheese giant Velveeta just teamed up with local chocolatier Compartes on a line of savory-sweet treats. The “TruffVel” chocolates have a white chocolate shell and Velveeta cheese filling; a box of five goes for $24.95.