A new gelato bar with 12 flavors including fig and mascarpone? Yes, please
Haute Mess gelato
In addition to its sandwiches, salads and imported wines, European-inspired market and deli Haute Mess is now home to a gelato bar. The Fairfax-area cafe makes and scoops 12 flavors of fresh gelato using ingredients from the farmers market. Flavors include saffron with rosewater, Amarena cherry, fig and mascarpone, and a cashew-based vegan gelato.
7673 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 621-4556, HauteMess.LA
Nomad Eatery
This new South Bay restaurant serves a mashup of cuisines, with dishes such as lamb wraps, spaghetti Bolognese, chimichurri steak frites, and steamed mussels in coconut milk and lemongrass. The diverse dishes are tied together under the concept of the patera, a shallow bowl with origins in antiquity that is suited to a range of sharing, serving and dining functions. The bar program offers pisco, tequila and other spirits, with seasonal cocktail options such as a rhubarb negroni. Open for dine-in and takeout from Tuesday to Sunday, with indoor and patio dining.
2041 Rosecrans Ave., El Segundo, (310) 606-5500, NomadSouthBay.com
HomeState Pasadena and Sherman Oaks
Fresh off opening a walk-up window in West Adams, L.A.’s Tex-Mex bastion of margaritas and breakfast tacos is expanding with two more locations. HomeState’s forthcoming Pasadena space is expected to open the first week of June with outdoor seating and the local chain’s full menu — including its signature spicy palomas and frozen margaritas. Later this year, HomeState is set to launch its first location in the San Fernando Valley: a Sherman Oaks restaurant housed in a former auto garage, also offering the full menu.
1992 Lincoln Ave., Pasadena; 13424-28 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, MyHomeState.com
Din Tai Fung’s new vegan options
Din Tai Fung has been experimenting with various egg substitutes and recipes, and on May 11 the Taiwanese dim sum chain will unveil a handful of items that are vegan versions of some of the restaurants’ most popular dishes. Options will include a plant-based version of Din Tai Fung’s wontons in chile oil — stuffed with glass noodles, bok choy, jicama, bean curd, and shiitake and wood ear mushrooms in wrappers tinted green with spinach juice — as well as the signature fresh, house-made noodles, now vegan and served either in chile oil or sesame sauce with peanuts. They will be available at all Din Tai Fung locations.
Locations include: 400 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, (626) 446-8588; 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, (424) 382-1118; 177 Caruso Ave., Glendale, (818) 551-5561; 21540 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, (310) 214-1175; 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, (714) 549-3388. DinTaiFungUSA.com
Descanso’s ‘plancha room’ flip
Costa Mesa’s Descanso is turning its interactive “plancha room” into a more casual, street-taco-inspired weekly dinner space every Tuesday, starting May 25. Expect $2 tacos and $3 quesadillas from executive chef Fonzy De Zuniga, in addition to an all-night happy hour and a new tableside tequila cart.
1555 Adams Ave., Costa Mesa, (714) 486-3798, DescansoRestaurant.com
Soom Soom Fresh goes national
L.A. Mediterranean chain Soom Soom Fresh is expanding this year, bringing its falafel, house-made hummus and grilled kebabs to New York, Atlanta, Seattle, Berkeley, Minneapolis and beyond through a new partnership with virtual food-hall platform C3.
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