OPENING TOMORROW: LOCK & KEY Bar/Lounge

Ok I've been here twice already but it opens up tomorrow for the public. It's nestled in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles and features great drinks, great food and an awesome ambience. I mean it's not every night you walk up to the bar and bump into Nasir Jones, you know the legendary emcee you guys may know as NaS. I missed the tastemaker's tasting tonight but I know it's good. Hopefully soon I'll have a full write up for you as far as just the food. But for now check out this write up I found on the spot after the jump, oh and I have a slideshow for you there too.

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NEW VENUES - CAFE ENTOURAGE

So right in the W building in Hollywood a new venue is opening up tomorrow...Cafe Entourage. The spot is 24 hours between the days of Thursday to Saturday so you can grab dinner, late food and turn around and come right back again for breakfast...and then do it all over again.  With things like rib-eyes, pizza and breakfast food you really can't lose.  1600 N. Vine in case you were wondering...

GOOD FOOD: THE SMOKIN' JOINT (VIDEO)

My mother actually told me about this spot the other day...turns out one of my aunts is friends with one of the owners somehow.  So she said I should check it out and sent over a link to this video for the restaurant as it has been voted a 2010 nominee for best new BBQ place in Los Angeles on Best of LA TV.  Looking at the video the portions look huge and tasty.  The restaurant is located in West Hollywood on 3rd, pretty much near places like Berri's, the Beverly Center and more.  So when you get a chance peep out The Smokin' Joint and tell your friends.  Seeing it's about lunch time it seemed like this would be the right time to show this to ya'll...

NEW VENUES: TINGA..."THE MEXICAN ROSCOES...?"

So I've been hearing this rumor of a new restaurant that's something between a traditional Mexican food restaurant meets Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles.  Seems odd but then again they are food types that us "Angelenos" love to eat.  The restaurant is right there on La Brea near American Rag and all the other festive stores that section of La Brea is known for.  For the most part they stick to the traditional mexican food items and put their twist on things...like the "Dog Snout" salsa...because it's that hot apparently it'll make your dog's nose run.  On Sunday is when they really get festive and give you their take on chicken and waffles.  You get fried chicken with a tequila syrup drizzle served over a bed of buckwheat waffles made with horchata.  Sometimes they even make a french toast or "Pan Dulce French Toast(that would be Mexican sweet bread with homemadedulce de leche)".

142 S. La Brea Los Angeles 90036; Open Now.

NEW VENUES: TE'KILA

I have no pictures of the food so far but this was formerly La Cantina right on Hollywood Blvd.  It's a barn style set up with the wood walls and offers many of the mexican food favorites including an array of tacos.  Now, though I don't know how the food is or what is on the food menu we should embrace the fact that this place has 100 different tequilas...there is one that goes for 75$ a shot.  With a tequila menu like that you can make the food work for you.  The restaurant will open on August 9th.

6541 Hollywood Blvd
(west of Hudson)
Los Angeles, CA 90028
323-960-2404

NEW VENUES: RED O RESTAURANT

The only restaurant of Rick Bayless not in Chicago opens next week right here in Los Angeles right on Melrose, west of Crescent Heights.  A mexican restaurant that you wouldn't guess was a mexican food place looking at the pictures.  You can start making reservations on Tuesday and the restaurant doesn't open until May 26th.  The place has 14ft chandeliers, antique bells and other decadent items.  You can sit at the bar, a communal family style table or more intimate settings.  You can get real intimate and sit along a 25ft fireplace with floating candles and try sample premium tequilas...nice.  There are also leather swings near the bar...hmmmmm.  Website is right here.  And you can call 323.655.5009 for that reservation...someone lucky can take me here for my bday.

NEW VENUES: WESTSIDE TAVERN & THE LANDMARK THEATERS at WESTSIDE PAVILION

So it's not brand new but fairly new and to be honest I've been sleeping on the spot.  But a meeting brought me over to this spot and I was very much feeling it.  The new Landmark theater has plenty of state of the art things going on with the marquee boards, ticket kiosks, concession menu displays and more.  The layout is very modern and spacious and the entertainment factor almost surrounds you.  The lifestyle elements are very trendy with a lounge in the lobby that features a full bar and flatscreens so you can catch that game score and a drink before taking your date to see the popular movie choice of the evening.  You can even do the whole dinner and a movie experience if you eat at the Westside Tavern just below the theater.  With many choice entrees, appetizers, a full bar and decadent layout, you can impress your date and not feel rushed between the dinner and movie venues.  To check the menu go here and to see what movies are playing, go here.

NEW VENUES: LA VIDA (HOLLYWOOD)

This Mediterranean spot won't be open until the 16th but if you're looking for a nice spot that many haven't been to you can impress your date on Valentine's Day by getting a reservation here.  She'll love you for taking her to a place that's not open to the public, show's you know how to treat a girl special.  Brought to you by the Sunset Entertainment Group (Cabana Club, The Green Door).  They open at lunch and have things like a Sonoma Lamb Burger with Cucumber Yogurt Dressing or even the "box lunch" which gives you two salads, entree, dessert, soup and bottled water all for $15.  A studio badge will give you 20% off of happy hour or lunch for the rest of this month.

Dinner gets even more interesting with the menu so check it out.  You can elect to sit in an enclosed courtyard, inside with intimate lighting, near a fire pit, fireplace and more.  Also in the near future expect for tables to be moved out and the kitchen closed down to allow for partying including VIP areas and bottle service.  For now the first way to enjoy this spot is to hit up their website or call them at 323.962.0800 and get a Valentine's reservation for their soft open.

GOOD FOOD: UMAMI BURGER

So there is malt liquor tempura onion rings, a selection of different burgers, different flavored condiments to keep your burger company such as Umami Ketchup, Dijon Mustard, Roasted Garlic Aioli and more, plus a good small simple assortment of burgers (sometimes it's better when burger places stick to the burgers). Originally from Washington D.C. the LA spot has been gaining some popularity recently so I feel we should check it out. Umami has to do with taste to get the concept go here...whatever that means over there plus the way things look, I'm about it. Check out their website here. Right over here on La Brea between Olympic and Wilshire (points).

NEW VENUES: EAST

A new classy restaurant is now present in Hollywood from the creators of MOOD and MyHouse. I'm wondering if this is the spot that Lamar Odom was investing in...looks similar to the one he ate at with Rob Dyrdek on Fantasy Factory...if you saw the episode you know what I'm talking about. Write up below:

The first restaurant from David Judaken's Syndicate Group (Mood, MyHouse), East reveals itself slowly. A 10-foot-wide glass fireplace keeps the front lounge visible from the street, its paper walls and Balinese yoga chairs flickering mysteriously behind flame. Past that, a raw bar like a block of ice, where you might enjoy your sashimi with Miso-Mustard Cream or Southwestern Chipotle-Lime Sauce.

And then: a black lacquered chef's table, risen up from the floor by gnarled trunks, rooted at the gateway to the main dining room out back. Under a 65-foot skylight far, far above, you'll want to snag one of the carved-wood confessional-style booths across the rear wall. (Yes, designer Dodd Mitchell was here.) After some ceviche prepared tableside, and some Caviar With Truffle Crème Fraîche if you're really buying all this recession-over talk, the time will come for French-Asian-ish shared plates of Carpaccio and Tartar With Quail Egg and Drunken Sake-Infused Tofu.

Official opening is October 6th, the website is here.

GOOD FOOD: GYENARI in CULVER CITY

So just like Long Beach is constantly developing just outside of Los Angeles, Culver City is doing the same thing within Los Angeles. I know I've told you about RUSH Street, well next door to it is Gyenari...a Korean BBQ place. I stopped by today and got the lunch special BBQ platter. You get to pick 3 of 5 meats for your platter. Now here is the fun part...in the middle of your table is a grill...the waiter/waitress turns on the flame, brings out the meat selections and toppings (onions, kimchee, etc) and you get to grill your own food the way you want it. I had the spicy chicken, a spicy pork and beef. You also get salad choices, soup and rice to eat along with it. The menu has alot more entrees..but I figured if this was my first time eating here, I should try the main feature, the BBQ. Other offerings can be viewed here. The restaurant has plenty of seating, a nice bar and sexy lounge area, happy hour everyday, wood paneled ceilings, a nice bridge over water from the lounge/lobby to the dining areas. Located at 9540 Washington Blvd, Culver City CA 90232. GO!!!

PS: Great place to go for drinks (even dinner) before a movie outing at the Pacific Theaters on Washington. Just saying.