Photo credit: Caroline on Crack

Aguachiles at Petty Cash

Big-name chefs are doing big things this summer. Opening June 4 is L.A.'s newest clam "shack" Connie & Ted's. Chef-owner Michael Cimarusti's (Providence) friends and family previewed the goods last week; the rest of us are soon to follow.

Possibly the most notable recent opening is Petty Cash Taqueria, a collaboration between Bill Chait and chef Walter Manzke, with assists from food blogger Bill Esparza and chef Guillermo "Oso" Campos Moreno. For Angelenos whose first memories of Manzke's cooking are not Bastide but Church & State, where the chef convinced many guests of the worthiness of pig's ears, the pig ear nachos are utterly fitting.

In more opening news, Pa-Ord Noodle has a second location in Hollywood. Come for the familiar boat noodles, crispy pork and fried squares of nearly gelatinous swine that offer a nice bite to accompany slices of broccoli swimming in soy sauce. Turn the page for the latest restaurant openings and closings:

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Flickr/Muy Yum

Kushiyaki skewers at Ozumo

Here's some news for fans of Santa Monica's Ozumo: Early next year, the sushi bar will be relocating from its space in Santa Monica Place to a beachside sort just east of the Pier, where it will "evolve" in a new Izakaya restaurant called Bamboo, run by much of the same management team and staff behind Ozumo, including chef Toshio Sakamaki .

But we haven't gotten to the best part: Bamboo's ordering system will revolve around "groundbreaking iPad technology," allowing guests to see images of the dishes, place orders, and provide "interactive experiences," which will "[teach] about the history of the Izakaya dining tradition." Just don't wipe your greasy fingers on the screen after consuming a few chicken skewers.

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via Food GPS

Uni Ceviche by Josiah Citrin

For those who missed out on Food GPS' Ceviche Nights, which ran last weekend and this past Sunday, it looks like you'll have another shot to sample raw creations from guests chefs next year.

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D. Solomon

Bar Ama

Josef Centeno dubbed his new restaurant "Bar Amá" in homage to the foods his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother cooked in his native San Antonio, Texas. (Amá is short for mamá.) But don't expect a replica of their kitchens. "It's the food I grew up with, but my version," says the chef.

Bar Amá is slated to open Sat., Dec. 15, just down the street from Centeno's Bäco Mercat in downtown's Old Bank District. At first, hours will be 6 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 5:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. Friday through Saturday.

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via Helen Springut

Jeremy Fox

If you were already a little confused about how the whole Jeremy Fox/Barnyard thing was playing out after the announcement earlier this month that Fox would no longer be involved in the upcoming Venice project, then today's newest announcement doesn't simplify things.

Up next for Fox is a project he's calling Old Soul, a run of dinners from Dec. 6-9 and Dec. 13-16 which will be held at Square One Dining in East Hollywood. Organizing the event is this is not a pop-up, a new "culinary incubator" program from Helena Brown and Helen Springut, both of whom were formerly part of the Barnyard team. Old Soul plans to continue its run after the holidays and will offer a four-course $50 prix fixe menu that will change weekly. Those who attended Fox's Barnyard "debut" at Test Kitchen likely will recognize some of the dishes planned for Old Soul.

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Amy Scattergood

Eva Restaurant

In an unique move, and in light of recent parking related issues, Mark Gold, chef/owner of Eva restaurant, made a plea via his newsletter and Facebook fan page, asking friends of the restaurant to help them raise money towards appealing to the city for a variance on their parking situation. The variance would allow them to have parking spots more than the mandated 750 feet away that was initially denied. Everyone who contributed to the successful campaign will be receiving credit at the restaurant. In a weak economy, is this the future of keeping businesses open? Move over Kickstarter.

According to city law, they must have parking spots within 750 feet of the restaurant -- which does have limited parking in the barely navigable back alley. The building itself, which Gold does not own, has been operating as a restaurant in several iterations for more than 10 years with a variety of solutions to the where-does-one-park issue. No solution so far has worked out or appeased the very vocal neighborhood association. The building, which has already required numerous upgrades, is zoned for commercial use, but the lease does not adequately address parking.

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A. Scattergood

Chef Bryant Ng at The Spice Table

This week brought some (temporarily) bad news from Little Tokyo: due to damage caused by a pipe leak earlier this month, The Spice Table will be shuttering for lunch service. Chef Bryant Ng explained to us that the equipment used to bake the baguettes for the banh mí sandwiches was non-functional, and since those tasty sandwiches comprised a good portion of the lunch menu, a shutdown became an unfortunate reality.

Ng also dropped the news that The Spice Table will relocate to a new location within the next six to 12 months. The move was prompted in part by the flood damage (which is now all but repaired) but also because The Spice Table's current site sits directly in the way of a proposed Metro station that's slated for construction in the near future. "In our view, it made sense to try and find a new location during this down time, since it was something we would have to do eventually anyway." Ng hopes to relocate somewhere in Little Tokyo, but admits that the new location could pretty much be anywhere, depending on what spaces are available around town.

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Mozza

Salumi at Mozza's Scuola Di Pizza

Beginning Jan. 1, 2013, the salumi night that Scuola Di Pizza chef Chad Colby has been hosting on Thursday nights will go to a four-night-a-week format, open every Mon.-Thurs. from 6-10 p.m. The change cements the idea that Colby is doing something with his salumi bar that is its own restaurant concept entirely.

"When we opened the Scuola, I revived an opportunity to cook in a pleasantly different format, small focused dinners and we've learned that guest interaction with the kitchen leads to more adventurous diners," Colby says. "The cured meats have actively been a pet project over the past two years, but the desire to learn and execute the craft has existed for over six years. So basically there's a great feeling of satisfaction when I see a full plate of salumi being served."

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G. Snyder/Anne Fishbein

Miso paiche with camote (left), Ricardo Zarate (right)

It looks like the Marina del Rey dining scene will get a much-needed shot in the arm in early 2013, thanks to chef Ricardo Zarate and his business partner, Stefan Bombet. The duo behind Picca and Mo-Chica are planning a new concept called Paiche [pronounced pie-chay ] set to open in the Waterside complex on Lincoln and Admiralty (which also houses Sugarfish and Mendocino Farms) within the first few months of next year.

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C. Soudry

RIP La Provence

Celebrating the "change" in season (it's L.A., come on), restaurants around town are revamping their menus, adding new happy hours (City Sip, The Parish, Dominick's, etc), prix fixe specials and pumpkin everywhere they can. Known for creating menus from scratch, Test Kitchen returns to Sotto with a kickoff dinner on October 1 featuring Rocco DiSpirito and guest chefs Neal Fraser and Quinn Hatfield -- Ori Menashe will host this year's Test Kitchen at his soon-to-open restaurant Bestia, in downtown's Arts District.

In more opening news, The Matthew Kenney Culinary School offers students a raw food education at Santa Monica Place. Studio City is now home to customizable pizza shop, PizzaRev and XEN Lounge. On the Westside, U-Mini, Pressed Juicery and The Lime Truck, in brick-and-mortar form, are opening soon in Westwood Village.

While some kitchens are getting fired up, others are turning off the burners for good. After nearly 40 years in business, L.A.'s premier Moroccan restaurant Dar Maghreb has closed, reports Grub Street LA. And La Provence Patisserie and Café is no longer serving decorated coffee drinks and French macarons in to a chichi Brentwood crowd.

Read on for a September list of openings and closings:

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