D. Solomon

Bar Ama

Most diners at Bäco Mercat have probably tried to guess chef Josef Centeno's upbringing from what they see on their plates. Jonathan Gold has observed that the menu mixes "flavors from Italy, France and Western China, Georgia (U.S.) and Georgia (eastern Europe), Tuscany and Peru." In fact, the chef comes from San Antonio, Texas. Hence, the new restaurant he plans to open next fall: Bar Amá. The menu? Tex-Mex, the food Centeno grew up with.

Centeno's family's cooking inspires the menu, which may include "my great-grandmother's enchiladas, my grandmother's menudo and my mom's rice and beans," he says via email. Plus items such as guacamole, queso, ceviche and grilled meats. To drink, he plans to serve Mexican beer, mezcal and tequila.

More >>

MAI

Pedalers Fork

Bicyclists will have a new destination this fall when Pedalers Fork restaurant opens in the heart of Old Town Calabasas. Now under construction, its goal is to create a bike-friendly venue, offering food, coffee, drinks and even bike paraphernalia, tours and repairs.

"We wanted to create a sort of full-stop bike cyclist hangout that really has all the components, from food, to coffee and café culture, which is really integrated into the cycling community," says Gideon Kleinman, head of creative and marketing for Pedalers Fork. "Also, cyclists love to stop and have a beer at the end of a ride. We wanted to bring in somewhere we could do all of that."

More >>

Hooters

The search for America's next top bikini-clad waitress is on. The Hooters bus has hit the road to search for its 2013 calendar girls. Its mission: "To provide our customers with something beautiful to look at every single day of the year! We provide over 200 girls in each of our calendars." Over the next three months, two teams of photographers will take more than 20,000 photos, travel to 200-plus cities and photograph at least 600 bikini-clad girls.

The bus will hit Los Angeles from May 14-16. "The photo tour is the most grueling and rewarding part of the year for our team," says Dylan Melcher, the photographer for the calendar. "It is a chance to get out to the local markets and see firsthand the excitement and anticipation of the Hooters Girls as they vie to be featured in the Hooters calendar." The full tour schedule can be found here.

More >>

C. Soudry

Newly opened BierBeisl in Beverly Hills

Adding more raw fish to Sawtelle Boulevard, morinoya is Little Osaka's newest "authentic hole-in-the-wall izakaya," serving tapas dishes including yakitori and oden as well as sushi and sashimi. The Slice Truck also is settling into the area with its first brick-and-mortar restaurant, fulfilling owner Dave Hanley's vision of a little, local independent pizza place. Opening on Sawtelle between Coffee Tomo and Blockheads Shaved Ice is Seoul Sausage Company, the Korean catering company that's gained a following for its kalbi and spicy pork sausages at several food festivals over the past year.

From the owners of the Roger Room and Il Covo, the Pikey, a British gastropub replacing Coach & Horses, offers bites such as cardoon and sunchoke soup with bone marrow, braised lamb shank and crispy pig's ear salad from the Spotted Pig chef. On Main Street in Santa Monica, Brick+Mortar replaces Saluté Wine Bar (opened in 2008).

In other news, Acapulco in Westwood closed its doors after 33 years in business. The decision to close was based on the location's recent business performance, Rick Van Warner, a spokesman for Acapulco's parent company, Real Mex Restaurants, told The Daily Bruin. After less than a year, Taberna Mexicana in Beverly Hills has shuttered. We had high hopes. The one-of-a-kind Japanese maid cafe Royal/T Cafe announced its upcoming closure after five eventful years in Culver City -- there will be a few more art shows and the Tea Lovers Festival throughout May.

Read on for an April list of notable openings and closings:

More >>

G. Snyder

Blind Barber in Culver City (secret bar not pictured)

Culver City's Newest Bar & Barbershop:
NYC import Blind Barber, a combination barbershop and speakeasy located inside the Culver Center on Washington and Overland Boulevard, is hosting its soft opening -- starting next week and extending to the May 17 grand opening. Blind Barber's website bills itself as "a return to the 'Roaring Twenties,'" and promises "[a] concept [that] goes well beyond cuts, shaves and cocktails within a barbershop and lounge, but rather expands into all realms of the modern gentleman: Fashion, Music, Lifestyle, Grooming and others."

A door behind the retro barbershop leads to a full-on bar decked out in dark wood and red steel chairs, along with a small kitchen that will specialize in grilled cheese sandwiches. The coolest part? Each haircut will net you a free cocktail, such as the Sweeney Todd, made with Creole bitters, or the Smoke and Dagger, jalapeño-infused Cointreau.

More >>

Anne Fishbein

Chef David Myers at Comme Ça

It looks like chef David Myers will be adding to his roster of popular restaurants, which include Comme Ça in West Hollywood and Pizza Ortica in Costa Mesa, by opening a new restaurant in Century City in late 2012.

The as-yet-unnamed restaurant will be located on the first level of the Century, the 41-story skyscraper of luxury condos nestled between CAA and Fox Studios and filled with a variety of high-profile tenants.

If this doesn't sound big-league enough already, the developer behind the project is Related Inc., which also owns New York City's Time Warner Center, a property that is home to some of the country's most lavish restaurants, including Thomas Keller's Per Se and Masayoshi Takayama's Masa.

More >>

The Charleston

Ginger Kiss

Springtime is upon us -- you can tell by the pastel-colored clothing and cocktails around town. Hopeful newbies and restaurant industry pros to look out for this season include Japanese ramen noodle shop owner/comedian Menji Miyata, bibimbap peddler/Bibigo project manager Matthew Kim, mixologist Salvatore Calabrese and burger connoisseur Adam Fleischman, to name a few.

As some of our favorite bars close (Lou's days are numbered, Palate Food + Wine), others emerge, not necessarily taking their place.

A 1920s-themed "gastropub," The Charleston, recently took over the shuttered Angels space on Wilshire Boulevard. There you'll find toasted mac 'n' cheese, short-rib tacos (small but highly recommended), marinated olives, bacon-wrapped dates, pulled pork sliders and cocktails served in spiffy glasses (try the Minted Mule). We visited the intimate bar on opening weekend (Saturday night) to find a packed house. In more opening news, Los Angeles Brewing Company opened with 100 beers on tap and Tortilla Republic debuted with a list of 50 tequilas (yes, they have their own wall).

Read on for a March list of notable openings and closings:

More >>

C. Soudry

Miyata's tsukemen

Upon entry to the newest ramen shop on Sawtelle Boulevard, you're welcomed with shouts of "Hello, thank you for coming" in Japanese. Miyata Menji opened less than one week ago, taking over the shuttered GR/eats space. With its flagship location in Osaka, Japan, Miyata offers a simple menu with just two offerings: tonkotsu ramen with pork broth, teriyaki beef, shallots and fried tomatoes; and tsukemen with steamed noodles, anchovy cabbage, grated cheese, minced pork, vegetable potage, tomato and croutons.

Owner and "famous comedian" Menji Miyata wants to spread his food to the world, explains vice president of operations Akihiro Kanda. The 26-seat, cash-only restaurant, which opened on March 23, has yet to make any public announcements of its debut and is relying heavily on word of mouth and foot traffic for customers. "The ramen business is blowing up," says Kanda. On a recent rainy Sunday afternoon, the place was packed with families and solo ramenites.

Across the street, signage is posted for Clusi Batusi, a pizza joint opening this summer. More details to come.

More >>

Umami Burger

Adam Fleischman is a busy man with seven Umami locations throughout California, the launch of Umamicatessen downtown and recent announcements of the chain's expansion to Westwood (this summer) and the Grove.

With the restaurateur's roots already established in Westwood Village, 800 Degrees opened in January with a Chipotle-style pizzeria concept. Fleischman's newest venture on Westwood Boulevard is "U-Mini," a test lab for Web and app ordering, tablet-only customer service and other "fine dining, fast food" elements, i.e., no waiters (good luck with complaints). By summertime, there will be three popular burger joints within a one-mile radius (Five Guys, In-N-Out, U-Mini).

Customers can order in advance and have food waiting for them on VerTerra, biodegradable, disposable dinnerware. The 1,200-square-foot space in Westwood Village will have 45 seats and the menu will be an edited version of the original with new test products.

More >>

Brinker International

Maggiano's chef

For those of us who are sensitive or allergic to certain foods, eating out can sometimes feel more like a trek through a minefield than a relaxing dining experience.

Thankfully, certain restaurant chains with local presence are taking steps to make dining out safer for those with food allergies, which is a step in the right direction considering the myriad of potential pitfalls for contamination and the very grave consequences for falling into one.

If you're one of the 12 million people in the United States with a food allergy, you know what we're talking about. It's not just worrying about ordering a safe dish -- it's also stressing over things like: Did the cook use the same gloves and tools to prepare all the meals, putting you at risk for cross-contamination? Was this salad made from scratch, or did someone just pick the nuts off of an already assembled salad? Does the kitchen staff understand that even a spec of an allergen can make you really sick?

More >>