Michelin added five new Southern California restaurants to its California guide today, May 7, including chef Bernhard Mairinger’s Lustig which opened in Culver City in January, and Mediterranean-inflected Elf Cafe in Echo Park. Other additions include Cedro Italian in Newbury Park near Thousand Oaks; Lola Gaspar, a modern Mexican restaurant in Santa Ana; and Punjabi-style spot Manohar’s Delhi Palace in La Puente. These brand-new restaurant additions are eligible for Bib Gourmand or star designations later this year at Michelin’s annual awards ceremony.

Negroni’s new 90210 digs

Prolific Argentinian restaurant chain Negroni made it about a year on West Third Street before shuttering in late 2023. The restaurant resurfaced in April in Beverly Hills inside the former Mírame space on Canon Drive. Whereas the previous space was nearly all black like a set from the Addams family-inspired show Wednesday on Netflix, the new location is noticeably brighter, airier, and less gothic.

The menu looks mostly the same, with some smart reductions that focus on core dishes, such as cheeseburgers, pasta, risotto Milanese, beef carpaccio with shaved black truffle, and sushi rolls. The dishes complement a wide Negroni cocktail menu, plus other drinks that play well in the swanky lounge interiors and patio. Negroni is open daily from noon to 10 p.m. at 419 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA, 90210.

Jakob Layman

Lawry’s versus House of Prime Rib

Farley Elliott, former Eater LA senior editor, writes a comparison in SF Gate of Lawry’s The Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, which originated the British Sunday roast-style feast, and its rival to the north, the House of Prime Rib, in San Francisco. Many Bay Area denizens might not even realize that Lawry’s was the original, with the Southern California restaurant opening in 1938 and House of Prime Rib debuting in 1949.

“If all of this dining pomp and circumstance sounds tragically familiar to San Francisco’s many House of Prime Rib fans, that is very much by design. Again: The restaurants are basically identical — it’s just that Lawry’s did it first, and has done it more famously every year since,” writes Elliott, who ultimately says he prefers the tastier food of the San Francisco restaurant.

A late-night falafel star

Los Angeles Times critic Bill Addison highlights a new falafel star in Koreatown called Salam Falafel. It opened two months ago and serves falafel that are “smooth and sandy-colored inside, with murmurs of cumin and garlic, and an emphasis on exterior crunch.” The casual restaurant is open until 5 a.m. daily, adding to Koreatown’s already impressive late-night scene.

Lining up for Gudetama

TikTokers are observing the immense lines forming daily at Gudetama Cafe in Buena Park, which snake around the parking lot and retail development. The Sanrio-inspired cafe featuring a sad egg yolk cartoon opened on Saturday serving breakfast sandwiches, tater tots, and coffee drinks.