The month of March in L.A. is known for many things. Angelenos can always expect… Actually, I have no idea what March in L.A. is known for and I’ve lived here close to four decades, but this March the country’s current culinary capital will be known for chef collaborations. Food collabs—from Jon & Vinny’s constantly-rotating list of visiting chefs at Animal to Taco Bell’s and Doritos’ loco love child—are always a guaranteed draw if the elements are just right, and these upcoming specials are no exception. Here are a few of L.A.’s March collabs you don’t want to miss.
Kali’s “Kollaboration” Dinner
Tomorrow—Tuesday, March 6—prix-fixe and elevated-dining fans will be going back to Kali for a one-night-only, five-course feast from the farmers-market-hyper-focused Larchmont Village master, Kevin Meehan. Joining him are his friends Neal Fraser of Redbird, Nyesha Arrington of Native and Tim Hollingsworth of Otium. As with any visit to the black-garlic-dusted Melrose Avenue shining light of a kitchen, California-sourced, artistically-piled plates are guaranteed to please.
Tickets are $95 per guest, or $125 with wine pairing. For reservations call 323-871-4160.
Sweetgreen x Nancy Silverton
As the story goes, a 1970s pre-Spago-desserts-and-La Brea Bakery-baguettes Nancy Silverton wandered into La Scala, ordered the famed Jean Leon Salad and fell head over flour-caked chef heels in love, and more importantly, felt inspired. Thirty years later, with the 2006 opening of Pizzeria Mozza, Nancy’s Chopped made its debut. Since then, the salami, shaved-parmesan and pepperoncini gem has nearly usurped its Beverly Hills predecessor, earning L.A.-household-name and must-order pizza pairing status. Nancy admits it’s her favorite Pizzeria Mozza dish; can a James Beard Award winner and star of Chef’s Table be wrong? Find out for yourself at all Sweetgreen locations.
Nancy’s Chopped Salad, featuring Sweetgreen+Silverton exclusive tweaks on the original—such as kale, mozzarella and pickled celery—is priced at $12.50 throughout Los Angeles.
Dog Haus x Stephanie Izard
A cluttering, El Niño-level downpour of out-of-town big-name chefs recently planted edible flags in Los Angeles, but with Dog Haus’s just-launched Stephanie Izard sausage special, we’ll happily indulge in our first official taste of the Chicago-based Top Chef champion and newly anointed Iron Chef. Her creation, Everybody Lap Cheong Tonight, runs now through April and features a sweet and smoky chicken-and-pork lap cheong sausage dressed in savory mayo, sweet-and-spicy pepper relish and scallions, and it’s all hugged tight in Dog Haus’s signature grilled King’s Hawaiian rolls. And you won’t need Tom or Padma at the judges’ table to let you know what’s what. If you miss this one, you might as well pack your knives.
For each Everybody Lap Cheong Tonight ($7.99) sold, $1 will be donated to No Kid Hungry.