Cool kids club
Azizam, best butchers & fishmongers, ARTHA, Valerie Confections, hot NYC restaurants, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Mint condition
The Skinny: Popular Persian pop-up Azizam is now a permanent Silver Lake fixture situated on a prime stretch of Sunset Boulevard, serving seasonally driven, homestyle cuisine, lunch through dinner.
The Vib: Olive green accents and warm counter service set the stage. Daily specials are scrawled on a mirror near the register. There are a few seats inside, but most of the dining room is al fresco, outfitted with wood tables and pale, multicolored stools. Given the location on Sunset, sidewalk patio, and tapped-in crowd, one could argue that Azizam is filling the gaping hole left by the 2020 closure of beloved Israeli joint Mh Zh (whose former digs are now home to MidEast Tacos).
The Food: Dips, salads, soup, rice, and stews, plus house-made barbari bread to mop everything up. Everything is shareable, so come with friends. Highlights include an allium-laced yogurt dip, the refreshing mint-flecked shirazi salad, and tender turmeric chicken over fava bean rice. To drink, try the sekanjabin spritz, a shrub made of mint, honey, and apple cider vinegar, or a Shams Gold (a Persian pilsner).
The Verdict: Azizam is the cool new kid on a cool block. –Emily Wilson
→ Azizam (Silver Lake) • 2943 Sunset Blvd • Thurs-Sun 12-10p, Mon 5-10p.
LA RESTAURANT LINKS: LA’s next big fine dining taquero is cooking out of a West Adams backyard • Ambitious new French bakery Petit Grain Boulangerie taking over Broadway Baker space in Santa Monica • Meet the local pioneers of the movement for better ice in your cocktail • The who’s who of beer cool.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Wellness
Filling the gap
Studio City’s retail scene is moving so fast, it’s hard to keep up. But when self-proclaimed "wellness sanctuary” ARTHA opened a second location on Ventura Boulevard in what was formerly a gigantic Gap, I took notice.
In a serenely well-appointed space, ARTHA offers myriad classes from meditation to Pilates, and treatments like cryotherapy and sensory-deprivation flotation, both for members and drop-ins. There’s a big beautiful fitness studio and 12 Netflix-equipped, infrared sauna rooms. Instructors include in-demand names like Rebecca Benenati, Joe Kara, and Micki Duran. Memberships start at $169/month and day passes at $29. Add-ons including massage and endermologie are also available. –Isabel White
→ ARTHA (Studio City) • 12169 Ventura Blvd • Mon-Thurs 9a-9p, Fri-Sun 10a-6p.
→ ARTHA (West Hollywood) • 8873 Sunset Blvd • Mon-Thurs 9a-9p, Fri-Sun 10a-6p.
WORK • Thursday Routine
Chocolatiering
VALERIE GORDON • founder • Valerie Confections
Neighborhood you work in: Echo Park & Glendale
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
It’s bustling at Valerie Echo Park — casual community energy surrounds our little corner on Echo Park and Lucretia Ave. Breakfast sandwiches in different forms are rolling out of the kitchen, along with salted maple lattes and Sir Owlverick's drip coffee.
What’s on the agenda for today?
This morning, I’m finalizing specials at Valerie Glendale, in addition to shooting content and recipe-testing new items for afternoon tea and playing with looks for new merch.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Too many! I’m having brunch at Saltie Girl. It’s very close to my home, and I’m in love with everything about this restaurant. Ronan is a very frequent family stop, as I can’t say no when our kids ask for their pizza (particularly the Spicy Clam). Oy Bar in Studio City is another possibility. The owner Jeff is a doll, and I love the variety on their menu. I also love Thai Town. The Hainan chicken from Heng Heng Chicken Rice is glorious (ask for the duck blood). Speaking of chicken, Pollo A La Brassa sounds great right now.
How about a little leisure or culture?
Hunkering down with a couple of new books. Book Soup is a favorite weekend stop for sure. We’re so lucky to have opportunities to experience incredible art in Los Angeles, and Luna Luna is pure stimulation. Also, this busy life requires Pause. I truly crave this place — from the contrast therapy to the floatation tanks, nothing restores me more than an hour of quiet floating here.
Any weekend getaways?
The Alisal Ranch for life. A ranch resort, my home away from home, just two-and-a-half hours north of Los Angeles (but a world away). Horseback riding, no television, long hikes, western-style cabins… it’s the best. I host BBQ Bootcamp there every year, which never feels like work.
What was your last great vacation?
We spent spring break in London and our dining and food list was robust. A few highlights: The River Cafe, St. John, Towpath Cafe, Jolene bakery, Violet Bakery, London Borough of Jam, and Fortnum & Mason. As for culture: Tate Modern, The British Museum, Highclere Castle, Westminster Abbey. My spreadsheet was packed!
LA WORK AND PLAY LINKS: Pushed by all-cash offers, SoCal real estate prices keep rising • Westside neighborhoods hit hard by State Farm home insurance cancellations • Gorgeous Neutra house in the Hollywood Hills lists for first time in decades for $3.8M • Why Ed Ruscha show that wowed NYC is even better at LACMA • Bruno Mars to open Inglewood’s Intuit Dome with two August concerts • New plan to curtail black market for golf tee times: $10 deposit per golfer.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Reunited
Black Crowes, Greek Theatre (Griffith Park), Fri @ 8p, section A, $161 per
Me'shell Ndegéocello, The United Theater on Broadway (Downtown), Sat @ 8p, upper balcony right, $69 per
Jeff Tweedy, Largo at the Coronet (West Hollywood), Sun @ 8p, GA, $397 per
GETAWAYS • New York City
New NYC restaurants report
For your New York City travel planning, please enjoy FOUND NY’s report on the most intriguing restaurant openings of the first quarter:
For an instant hit: Penny, the upstairs sequel from the team behind East Village wine bar Claud, is less than a month old, but the plaudits are rolling in. Emails one FOUND correspondent: “Delightful experience, Parisian vibes. The oyster confit, Dover sole with bone marrow béarnaise, and bread + butter + anchovy, all excellent.” Another tells us: “Penny was FANTASTIC. I had 16/19 dishes on the menu and not a single miss. The brioche is insane — ordered it twice.” FOUND NY itself weighed in this week with a full report: “Penny is the seafood bar New York City has been missing.”
→ Penny (East Village) • 90 E 10th St.
For under-the-radar excellence: Sappe, a new Thai spot on 14th Street from the team behind another NYC Thai favorite, Soothr, and Theodora, a new Middle Eastern restaurant from the Miss Ada folks in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
→ Sappe (West Village) • 240 West 14th St.
→ Theodora (Fort Greene) • 7 Greene Ave.
For a delightful surprise: Sip and Guzzle, the new bi-level establishment in the heart of Greenwich Village that pairs Tokyo cocktail culture with outlandish menu concepts. Somehow, it all works.
→ Sip & Guzzle (Greenwich Village) • 29 Cornelia St • Walk-ins welcome.
For a tasting menu: At the high-end, the tasting menu counter Blanca tucked behind Roberta’s in Bushwick reopened; NYT critic Pete Wells just named it the second best restaurant in New York City. There’s also an crucial new Midtown omakase counter, Sushi Sho, as revealed in FOUND by way of Hawaii, but you’ll need to plan far in advance on this one, or get lucky off the waitlist — it’s booked out through May.
→ Blanca (Bushwick) • 261 Moore St.
→ Sushi Sho (Midtown East) • 3 East 42st St.
For the hot take: Of course, we can’t round the quarter out without mentioning Frog Club. On the heels of early correspondent reports, I very much enjoyed an evening at the bar with an old friend — a perfect use case for this West Village newcomer from Liz Johnson of Horses and its extremely festive room (above). It was great to get in just before the backlash; we’ll return during the coming backlash-to-the-backlash sometime in late Q2. –Lockhart Steele
→ Frog Club (West Village) • 86 Bedford St • Dinner Mon-Thurs • Email knockknock@frogclub.nyc for reservations.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Repairs underway on collapsed Highway 1 by Big Sur, no timeline on completion • The Superbloom is happening… at LAX • But across Southern CA, the poppies aren’t popping • Four months in at new Palm Springs restaurant Alice B., the food is ‘consistent and forthright’ • The prettiest coastal road in Northern California that you haven’t heard of.
ASK FOUND
A few FOUND subscriber PROMPTS for which we are seeking intel:
Who makes the best martinis in town (besides Musso & Frank)?
Which tailors can I place my trust in?
What’s your favorite restaurant in LA (if you haven’t told us already)?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@itsfoundla.com.
GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
Butchers & fishmongers
McCall's Meat & Fish Co. (Los Feliz & Santa Monica, above), top-notch meat, fish, and seasonal produce, plus pantry provisions