It's hard to keep up with all the restaurant and bar openings, closings, chef swaps and revamps that happen every day in this city. What's worth spending your money on and what's all just hype? We're here to help you out with that. At the end of each month, I'll give a recap of the most exciting additions to enter LA's dining and drinking scene, whether it's a new ice cream shop or a creative cocktail bar. Here are a few March openings that are worth a visit:
WOLF (Melrose): Chef Marcel Vigneron (you may recognize him from season two of Top Chef) has opened his first restaurant, a beautiful space featuring seasonal "flower to root and noise to tail" cooking. The menu is inspired by the varied culinary map of LA, with dishes that include vadouvan lamb rack, hamachi crudo and, of course, fried chicken and waffles for brunch.
Donut Farm (Silver Lake): You can throw a stone and hit a donut shop in LA, but who's to say we don't need another one? Donut Farm, which has locations in the Bay Area, opened in Silver Lake this past month, bringing gourmet vegan donuts to the eastside. The flavors here are incredibly unique—whiskey tangerine fig, matcha green tea, Mexican hot chocolate, to name a few—and there's an organic, vegan coffee bar to supply you with your caffeine hit for the day.
Trejo's Tacos (Mid-Wilshire): Fans of actor Danny Trejo waited anxiously for Trejo's Tacos to open; when it finally did a few weeks ago, the lines were gargantuan. Now that it's calmed down a bit, head to the La Brea stand for beef brisket tacos, cheesy bean dip and Danny's Super Rice.
Cape Seafood & Provisions (Fairfax): Michael Cimarusti has been dominating the LA seafood game for quite some time now, but he's taken his love for the ocean even further with Cape Seafood & Provisions, a shop where you can purchase custom cuts of fish along with scallops, oysters, shrimp and more. Housemade provisions include clam chowder, crab cakes and cocktail sauce; for all you East Coast natives, it's a little taste of home.
Birdies (Downtown): I was bummed when Mabel's, the small and sporadically open chicken and waffles spot Downtown, closed late last year, but a new fried chicken eatery has opened in its place. Chef Jason Harley is making fried chicken dishes (including a breakfast sandwich), donuts and coffee, along with rotating specials.
Tokyo Cube (Hollywood): The Cahuenga Corridor received a new tenant in March with the arrival of Tokyo Cube, an Asian Fusion restaurant that leans towards Japanese cuisine: tempura, sushi, miso soup and udon noodles. The space is clean, the food is affordable and inventive, and hopefully Tokyo Cube will avoid the Cahuenga curse and stick around for a while.
Shake Shack (West Hollywood): Yup, it's here. The Roadside Double, the Shack Stack, the fries, the custard—LA's first Shake Shack has arrived, and it's not going anywhere (in fact, it's already expanding). Put aside your In-N-Out loyalty and give this East Coast transplant a shot.
LudoBird (Hollywood): Chef Ludo Lefebvre continues his reign with a new outpost of LudoBird. The comfort food eatery (which has another location at the Staples Center) opened up at Universal CityWalk, where it can now offer its famous fried chicken to groups of teenagers and beleaguered parents.
Did you miss our favorite openings from February? Check out the list from last month.