Openings of the Week: Trying to Claim Our Turf -- or at Least a Place in Line -- at Territory BBQ and Records and Intelligentsia's Venice Coffeebar

Jessica Ritz

Hard to miss Territory BBQ and Records.

Territory BBQ and Records soft opened in Virgil Village via Brooklyn last week and is starting up for real around now. While we haven't been able to actually try the hardcore food yet, it isn't for lack of trying. Lines have been out the door of the compact, eye-popping turquoise space located on a funny corner just north of the 101 on Hoover (the street's function as the original City of Los Angeles boundary makes for oddly shaped lots), and staff was regrouping on earlier this week to prepare for the next wave.
534 N. Hoover, Virgil Village, (323) 662-4100 or www.territorybbq.com.

Get your caffeine jitters under control and be prepared to wait when Intelligentsia's Venice Coffeebar officially opens on May 22. The Friday-night party is all about showing off the main product and café, while celebrating with free food from friends-across-town Silverlake Wine and Wurstküche. Its spatial/functional concept with four espresso stations -- including one with the showpiece 1972 La Marzocco -- and Ana Henton's design isn't a facsimile of the Sunset Junction venue. So don't expect to see Barbara Bestor's happy commingling of plywood and hand-painted ceramic tile, or anticipate lining up single-file by one main counter.
1331 Abbot Kinney, Venice, www.intelligentsiacoffee.com.