The October Hit List: Mohawk Bend, Edobox, Berbere, and More

Venice’s Aussie-owned cafe has expanded to Larchmont, bringing its activated charcoal smoothies, blue algae bowls, avocado toast, harvest salads, and lots of immunity-boosting buzzwords (turmeric everywhere) east. The space is gorgeous, with abstract art from Mexico City artist Rafael Uriegas, ceramic pots, handwoven light fixtures, and wall-size doors that open to sidewalk seating. When it’s time to indulge, wood-fired pizzas, fish and chips, beer, and biodynamic wines await.

We’ve all become accustomed to serving ourselves during the pandemic, so pouring your own beer, cider, hard seltzer, or wine from a room-length of self-serve taps isn’t that unusual for a night out. Just blocks from the Venice pier, the beachy vibe and chef Jason Fullilove’s seafood-inspired menu — things like lobster rolls and rockfish ceviche — is just what you want after a day on the sand.

Tezeta Alemayehu, or chef Tete, as her family and friends know her, made a name for herself serving Ethiopian-inspired vegan food at Smorgasburg. At Berbere, her first brick-and-mortar concept, she riffs on dishes she cooks for her own family, things like rosemary root salad, avocado toast with berbere almond spread, clay-pot garbanzo stew, and injera made in-house daily. There’s also a juice bar with smoothies, because you can never have too many smoothies in Santa Monica.

You’ll get a little bit of everything from all over the globe at this Valley hang, but there’s nothing wrong with that. From lobster sliders to Cajun gumbo, chilled oysters or oven-roasted seafood with yakisoba, and Wagyu burgers or skillet fried chicken, it’s a choose-your-own adventure kind of menu. Cocktails run the gamut, from classics to a little mezcal number with Aperol and grapefruit.

Vegan with a Vietnamese slant, this is one of the oldest plant-based restaurants around Los Angeles. The downtown location (the original opened in Fountain Valley in 1997) features more than banh mi and noodle and curry dishes, with raw-food takes on tostadas, burritos, and even salt and pepper “shrimp.” Set right near the cultural center of DTLA, it’s a good alternative for pre-museum and concert-going.

Although only 10 years old, it feels like Echo Park has grown up around this California-centric restaurant and bar. Set in a former theater, almost everything on the menu, including beers flowing from 70 taps to artisanal spirits and ingredients that make up the mostly vegan dishes, comes from the Golden State. A big win for the neighborhood, which has found its way back after a long pandemic hiatus.

After doing the books for Wes Avila, to become sole operator of Guerrilla Tacos in the Arts District, Brittney Valles is expanding her vision outside of DTLA. Gogo’s, named for her mother, is a fast-casual spot with bright pink detailing and retro design that stands out on its corner, where Silver Lake converges with Rampart Village, Historic Filipinotown and Koreatown. There are meat, seafood, and vegetarian options for tacos, burritos, and quesadillas; prices are kept low; and there’s soft serve to keep everyone happy. And eating here helps a good cause: a dedicated amount of sales goes to the Juan Carlos Cantoni Foundation, which supports youth and mental health in L.A.

If the name doesn’t give it away, there’s a tropical oasis awaiting inside this downtown Santa Monica cocktail lounge. With lush greenery, romantic lighting, live music, and a menu that draws inspiration from paradise dreamscapes like Mexico, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific, it’s the getaway you can take without one ounce of pandemic worry — but maybe a few ounces of mezcal (with mango and Tajin, aka  the Angry Bird, a must-have).

People either come for Makoto Okuwa’s stunning bento boxes with black cod miso or karaage chicken, or the first-rate sushi and sashimi; sometimes it’s both. And that’s the beauty of this indoor-outdoor hideaway right along Santa Monica’s bustling Main Street. Okuwa, a protege of famed Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, creates a high-end experience for the casual California lifestyle. That means dining in for a post-beach date night or taking home dinner to the family.

If driving to Pacific Palisades is akin to flying to Europe, make the trip worth it with a glass of wine and some salumi at this intimate little wine bar. Owned by the same husband-wife duo behind the adjacent Cinque Terre, the small space has a big wine list with bottles from Italy and California — get a taste, enjoy a flight, or share a bottle. To eat, snack on breaded olives, daily changing pizzettes, and plenty of cured meats and cheeses, just like you would on vacation.

A Southern California staple, the iconic Middle Eastern-inspired rotisserie chicken has landed in Downtown L.A. near 7th and Grand. Bright, modern, and dare we say, clean, dine-in or get all your Zankou favorites: chicken, shawarma, falafel, and kebabs to-go. Absolutely don’t forget the (extra) garlic sauce and bright pink pickles. DTLA residents take note: it can also be delivered.