May 29, 2020: Daniel Cutler and wife Caitlin have overcome everything from civil unrest to predatory service fees at Ronan, their Italian restaurant on Melrose Avenue.
Food people are remarkably resilient. Even a pandemic can’t dissuade chefs and restaurateurs from feeding people, whether that’s in a restaurant, from home or a parking lot. Through the COVID-19 crisis, I still encountered many smiling culinary faces across L.A. Thankfully, we finally have more reasons to be optimistic and can envision better times. Please continue to support these strong, often underappreciated professionals more than ever.
July 8, 2020: Christophe Happillon started offering OYTOGO from The Oyster Gourmet, his stylish Grand Central Market stall.
July 14, 2020: Nguyen Bui prepared modern Vietnamese food from his West LA apartment through Ăn Cơm before popping up at Pearl River Deli in Chinatown.
August 6, 2020: Karen Wong and Ryan Wong run Needle, a modern Cantonese restaurant in Silver Lake.
September 3, 2020: Jack Benchakul runs Endorffeine coffee bar in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza.
September 11, 2020: J.R. Martin, Tatang chef and co-founder, participated in dineL.A. in North Hollywood.
September 13, 2020: Wedchayan Arpapornnopparat co-founded Holy Basil inside DTLA’s Santee Village food court.
September 21, 2020: Matt Chung and Jonathan Yang co-founded Thank You Coffee, a charitable, caffeinated endeavor that shares space with Paper Please in Chinatown.
September 24, 2020: Josh Buckwald makes and delivers fresh pasta and sauces with Orso.
October 24, 2020: Gianni Vietina co-founded Bianca in Culver City at the Platform.
November 1, 2020: Chase Valencia co-founded the modern Filipino restaurant LASA in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza before pivoting to Lasita.
December 14, 2020: Rick Dowells from Nuts & Bolts made a special donut delivery.
December 19, 2020: John Liu and wife Rica Leon co-founded Chifa with family members in Eagle Rock, serving Chinese-Peruvian comfort food.
January 7, 2021: Ki Kim and Arnold Byun partnered on Naemo, a modern Korean delivery concept.
January 25, 2021: Rose Wilde, Rossoblu’s pastry chef, popped up at sister restaurant Superfine for RE:Her with Red Bread pastries and bread.
March 6, 2021: House of Gluten founder Hannah Ziskin briefly operated out of M. Georgina at ROW DTLA before headed home to Glendale with pizza focused partner Aaron Lindell.
March 7, 2021: Tagalog Takeover chef Stacy Bareng, pictured with Phil Sanad, popped up at 1802 Roasters Café in Cypress Park and also appears at Summer Social Club in West Hollywood.
March 17, 2021: Angie Kim and Daniel Kim run multifaceted Interstellar in Santa Monica.
April 6, 2021: Joules & Watts Coffee roaster Max Gualtieri and barista Madeline McVeigh serve specialty coffee that wouldn’t just stand out in Malibu.
April 14, 2021: Linda Sivrican opened Sesame LA in Chinatown. She sources produce and flowers from local urban farms, stocks shelves with Asian staples and snacks, and works with elders (like mom Judy Nguyen) to offer flavorful prepared foods and pickles.
May 2, 2021: Lord Maynard Llera (Kuya Lord) and Andre Guerrero (The Oinkster) collaborated as part of Eagle Rock Brewery’s “Welcome to Our World” series that benefits Stop AAPI Hate.
Noted gourmand Hannibal Lecter and Michael Myers kindly appeared on posters to promote mask wearing.
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