Ricardo Zarate has a new Latin American destination: Short Stories Restaurant - Los Angeles Times
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Ricardo Zarate has a new Latin American destination: Short Stories Restaurant

A smiling man in an apron stands in the dining area of a restaurant.
Chef Ricardo Zarate is opening a new restaurant within Short Stories Hotel next month, as well as leading the boutique hotel’s food and beverage menus throughout the property. Here, he is seen at restaurant Rosaliné in 2017.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
By Stephanie BreijoStaff Writer 
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Short Stories Restaurant

One of L.A.’s most prolific Peruvian chefs is set to open a restaurant in Fairfax next month. Ricardo Zarate — formerly of Rosaliné, Picca, Paiche, Pikoh and others — will head a Latin America-meets-California restaurant within the forthcoming Short Stories Hotel, a boutique hotel expected to open Feb. 14. Zarate plans to source from local farmers, dairy operations and butchers — as well as the neighboring Original Farmers Market — for dishes such as avocado arepas, halibut tiraditos and marinated salmon anticuchos at the hotel’s main dining destination, Short Stories Restaurant. Zarate also will oversee the property’s various food and beverage programs alongside Leo Grifka of Grifka Group (which owns and operates the hotel). Short Stories Restaurant is set to open with dinner service only and then expand to breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch.

115 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, shortstorieshotels.com

An overhead photo of mezze at the Brandy: labneh, marinated olives and fresh bread.
The Brandy, a new combination restaurant and hookah bar, is serving Mediterranean fare with nightly live music in Glendale.
(The Brandy)
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The Brandy

A Mediterranean restaurant and hookah bar is now open in Glendale, bringing pastas, charred branzino, mezze, fortified-wine cocktails and live jazz to Brand Boulevard. The Brandy, from owners Hovig and Jizell Chahanian, launched in late December in the former home of kebab shop Royal Vanak and offers a full-service restaurant indoors with a hookah bar on the patio. DJ sets and other music can be expected daily, with live jazz reserved for Sundays from 7 to 10 p.m. The Brandy is open for dinner service from 5 p.m. to midnight Sunday to Wednesday and from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday to Saturday, with lunch service to follow.

108 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, (818) 396-4828, thebrandy.com

A photo of a pickle-topped fried chicken sandwich against a colorful wall at Bellflower's SteelCraft food hall.
At Bellflower’s SteelCraft food hall, fried-chicken chain Lea Jane’s Hot Chicken just planted its first flag in California.
(Lea Jane’s)

SteelCraft’s new additions

SteelCraft, a regional chain of three alfresco food halls built from shipping containers, has added some new vendors to its roster. The latest addition to the Bellflower location is Lea Jane’s Hot Chicken, a spicy fried chicken shop with outposts in Denver and Houston. On the menu is 24-hour-brined Nashville-inspired hot chicken in three spice levels: Southern, medium and “Clucking Hot.” In SteelCraft’s Garden Grove location, there’s a new tea shop from husband-and-wife team Adam and Sharon Go, who also own neighboring Filipino-and-Korean food stall Barrio. They launched Tea Otter in late 2021, offering boba and milk teas, plus slushies and other items such as a tres leches-inspired tea. Lea Jane’s is open in Bellflower from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily; Tea Otter is open in Garden Grove from 11:30 a.m to 8:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Lea Jane’s: 16500 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower, leajanes.com. Tea Otter: 12900 Euclid St., Garden Grove, instagram.com/teaotter. steelcraftlb.com.

A colorful lineup of boba teas and iced teas at the Garden Grove food hall SteelCraft shop Tea Otter.
Garden Grove food hall SteelCraft recently added a new boba shop—selling teas, slushies and smoothies— to its vendors.
(Tea Otter)
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Bossa Nova downtown

The Brazilian restaurant with locations in Hollywood, West Hollywood, Hawthorne and Rancho Park has opened a downtown outpost for owner Aurélio Martins and chef-owner Francisco Freire’s pão de queijo, linguiça, pastas, kibe, pizzas, sandwiches and more. The local chain, now nearly 30 years old, also serves beer, wine, cocktails and pitchers of Brazilian ponche, or punch. The new location offers indoor and outdoor seating, and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

321 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite B, Los Angeles, (213) 377-9440, bossafood.com

The Terrace yoga

Hollywood rooftop restaurant the Terrace is becoming a free yoga studio, at least for the next few months: Beginning Jan. 15, the Thompson Hotel’s alfresco cafe will offer free yoga classes each Saturday through the spring, with every class including free mimosas or fruit juice. The hourlong classes will begin at 9:30 a.m. and run in collaboration with Venice studio Love Yoga. Spaces can be reserved by emailing [email protected].

1541 Wilcox Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 465-1234, hyatt.com/hotel/california/thompson-hollywood/laxth

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Stephanie Breijo

Stephanie Breijo is a reporter for the Food section and the author of its weekly news column. Previously, she served as the restaurants and bars editor for Time Out Los Angeles, and prior to that, the award-winning food editor of Richmond magazine in Richmond, Va. Born and primarily raised in Los Angeles, she believes L.A. to be the finest food city in the country and might be biased on that count but doesn’t believe she’s wrong.

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