Little Saigon’s Tay Ho Restaurant opens in San Gabriel
Tay Ho Restaurant
Family-inspired Vietnamese food chain Tay Ho has just opened a spot in San Gabriel serving quick-and-casual banh cuon, garlic noodles, bún, rice plates and other dishes. Founder Vivian Yenson grew up in her parents’ banh cuon shop, watching them make and sell their rice paper crepes and other Vietnamese specialties. Now in her statewide chain, she specializes in the crepes and uses a five-day process to make them. Tay Ho also offers Vietnamese spring rolls, banh xeo crepes filled with either pork and shrimp or mushroom and tofu, plus noodle salads, chicken wings, and slow-drip Vietnamese iced coffee, among other items. The San Gabriel Tay Ho is takeout-only (other locations offer full service). You can also find Tay Ho in Westminster’s Little Saigon, as well as in Sacramento, Santa Clara, San Jose and, later this year, Chino Hills. The San Gabriel location is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
529 E. Valley Blvd., Suite 118B, San Gabriel, (626) 778-1000, restaurant.tayho.com
Desert 5 Spot
A sprawling western-themed, 5,000-square-foot rooftop bar is now open in Hollywood. Desert 5 Spot — with decor influenced by Pioneertown, Joshua Tree and vintage Palm Springs — is on the roof of the new Tommie Hotel and features a mechanical bull, a 1967 jukebox, live rock and county music, cocktails tinged with prickly pear and agave, and large-format drinks served in cactus-shaped containers. Recently chef Wes Avila opened Yucatán-inspired restaurant Ka’teen on the ground floor; in the spring, Avila will debut a menu of lighter, street-food-leaning bites for Desert 5 Spot. The rooftop bar and lounge is open 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday to Saturday.
6516 Selma Ave., Hollywood, desertfivespotla.com
The Wine Beach
A new wine shop in Long Beach is focusing on small-batch wines made along California’s Central Coast. The Wine Beach offers pours by the glass, as well as flights, and pairs them with cheese boards, small plates such as baked artichoke dip and bacon-wrapped dates, gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, pizzas, and s’mores and tiramisu. The bottle shop and wine bar also offers a monthly wine club that showcases independent and harder-to-find labels, two bottles at a time. The Wine Beach is open Tuesday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday noon to 8 p.m.
5351 2nd St., Long Beach, (562) 434-6777, thewinebeach.com
Hi Note
Roy Choi, the celebrated chef behind Kogi, Chego, A-Frame, Locol and other restaurants recently launched Hi Note, a line of pantry products created to replicate chef-quality cooking at home. The first release — a plant-based cacio e pepe pasta seasoning called Cheezio Pepe — sold out within one week; the restock is scheduled for late February, with a new product launch slated for March. Each box, containing three seasoning packets, runs $14.99.
Broad Street Oyster Co. Santa Barbara
Broad Street Oyster Co. is expanding. The Malibu seafood shack, noted for its lobster rolls, natural wines and a rotation of specials, has opened a temporary location in Santa Barbara in mixed-use space Kim’s Service Department. The new location is set to run until a permanent Santa Barbara location opens elsewhere. While Malibu’s restaurant is takeout-service and patio-dining only, the Santa Barbara space allows for indoor dining and plated service, with a pared-down menu of Broad Street’s most popular items: fried clam strips, stone crab claws, seafood towers, live sea urchin and lobster rolls among them. The Santa Barbara location is open 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. daily.
418 State St., Santa Barbara, broadstreetoyster.com
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