What To Eat This Weekend: Cannabis-Infused Boat Noodles, Thai Smashburgers, and “Grass & Ass”
Plus, a pizza festival and a respected chef from Toluca, Mexico comes to Pasadena to consult for a restaurant menu, including enchiladas divorciadas, and more.
Westchester
On Friday, April 19, Ayara Thai is offering "kancha" (cannabis)-infused boat noodles to get the drop on 4/20 and after a three-night celebration of Songkran (Thai new year) with an offering of moo krata dinners. The recipe taps an older Thai custom of cooking with marijuana, in this case in a broth that contains both herb and CBD oil. $24 a bowl, served on 4/19, reservations here.
6245 W. 87th St. Los Angeles, CA 90045. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Lines 102 and 115 - "Manchester/Truxton."
Downtown
Time to get your tickets for April 27th's Pizza City Fest LA, organized by Steve Dolinsky, Chicago's renowned "Pizza Guy." The festival will be held at L.A. Live and packed with 40 pizzerias cooking a multitude of pizza styles (from Neapolitan to Detroit-style) right on the spot using woodfired and electric ovens, along with drinks, sides, desserts, demos, talks, and the occasional Chicago-style sausage sandwich, all included in the ticket price.
Sawtelle
Ban Ban Burger, a new Thai smashburger spot, is opening tonight from the Tuk Tuk and Chao Krung team. Inspired by owner/sisters Katy Noochlaor and Amanda Maneesilasan's childhood experiences at their parents' restaurants and home kitchen, the menu features wagyu laab smashburgers, grapow smashburgers, panang fried chicken sandwiches, laab fries, Thai tea and pandan milkshakes, prik pao Lays potato chips, and more.
1644 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 4 - "Santa Monica/Corinth."
West Hollywood
Chef Charbel Hayek's Ladyhawk at the Kimpton La Peer hotel starts its Saturday and Sunday brunch this weekend, offering Eastern Mediterranean morning dishes like shakshouka, 48-hour fermented za’atar man’oushe, steak-and-eggs, and a brunch platter with akawi cheese, string cheese, labneh, black olives, tomatoes, cucumber, makdous, honeycomb, and two eggs any style.
10 AM to 2 PM, 627 N. La Peer Dr. West Hollywood, CA 90069. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Line 4 - "Santa Monica/La Peer" or Bus Lines 10 and 16 - "San Vicente/Melrose."
Pasadena
Pablo Salas, the Toluca, Mexico-raised chef known for his modern restaurant, Amaranta, and appearances on Iron Chef: Mexico, has collaborated on the new menu at Agents Only restaurant at Pasadena's Hotel Dena. New dishes include an array of quesadillas with options like lobster, skirt steak, shrimp, and roasted chicken, plus Baja-style fish tacos, shroom-topped queso fundido, yellow corn esquites, enchiladas divorciadas, and a grilled rib eye with chimichurri macha. For dessert? Churros and dulce de leche ice cream.
303 Cordova St. Pasadena, CA 91101. Closest Metro lines and stop: Metro A Line or Bus Lines 267, 501, 660, 662, and 686 - "Del Mar Station."
Downtown
Stripper Co-Op and Cage Free Cannabis present "Grass & Ass" on Monday, April 15, at an underground venue in Downtown (and on Zoom). The fundraiser combines erotic dancing with good, good sensimilla and a Jamaican-Caribbean buffet from chef Alex of Cali-Irie. Proceeds go to Cage-Free Cannabis, which works with cannabis growers and consumers who have been negatively affected by the war on drugs. Tickets here.
Culver City
To take the sting off tax week, Lustig chef Bernhard Mairinger is offering 10% off your lunch bill at his Culver City Austrian restaurant all this week, from April 16-19. So go on, have some schnitzel!
3273 Helms Ave. Culver City, CA 90232. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Line 33 - "Venice/Helms" or Metro E Line and Bus Line 617 - "Culver City Station."
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