Chicago’s Etta opens in Culver City with live-fire cooking

Etta

Etta, which has a focus on hearth cooking and two locations in Chicago, will open at the Shay hotel on Sept. 2. Chef-partner Danny Grant and executive chef Brad Ray (formerly of Antico) will oversee the Culver City menu of pizzas, fresh pastas, farmers-market vegetables and large-format entrées such as whole Jidori chicken and a bone-in heritage pork chop with smoked plums. An open kitchen will showcase the live-fire cooking, and seating includes a wraparound patio, a dining room, a 60-foot bar and a private dining room. Etta will be open daily from 5 to 10 p.m.

8801 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (424) 570-4444, ettarestaurant.com

Thompson Hollywood hotel’s new rooftop lounge features bites from chef Lincoln Carson, plus live entertainment.

(Michael Mundy)

Bar Lis
A new rooftop bar has opened at the Thompson Hollywood hotel. The French Riviera-inspired lounge offers cocktails, wine, nightly entertainment — such as live jazz and DJ sets — and small plates and desserts from chef Lincoln Carson (formerly of Bon Temps, currently of Solvang’s Coast Range). Some of those dishes include oysters with rosé mignonette; ham-and-leek croquettes with sauce gribiche; and a bananas foster coupe glacée. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 5:30 p.m. until midnight.

1541 Wilcox Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 410-6210, barlisla.com

Liv’s

Restaurateur Rob White has closed his Chicken Bodega in Long Beach (the Whittier location remains open) and transformed it into Liv’s, a seafood restaurant that will open Sept. 3 and will use California oyster farms and local fishermen — such as San Pedro’s prolific Blue Boat Fish Company — for dishes like cioppino with fresh rock crab and a Thai-inspired tom kha soup spin on poke. Liv’s is open Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 9 p.m., offering indoor and outdoor seating plus takeout.

5327 E. 2nd St., Long Beach, (562) 343-2285, instagram.com/livson2nd

Wise Sons

Jewish deli Wise Sons is open in Culver City, marking the Bay Area chain’s first location in Southern California. Fresh, toasted bagels; smoked fish; latkes; house-baked rugelach; all-day challah French toast; and pastrami and corned beef smoked for almost seven hours are all on offer, and so is one item unique to the Los Angeles outpost: a tuna melt that’s griddled with Swiss cheese and horseradish aioli.

A kimchi reuben at Wise Sons. The Jewish-deli chain just opened its first location in Southern California, bringing fresh bagels, reubens, pastrami breakfast burritos and latkes to Culver City.

(Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)

The Wise Sons’ No. 19 is, of course, a nod to Langer’s, but there’s also a kimchi reuben, a mushroom reuben, a pastrami burger and more. Open daily for breakfast and lunch (later hours to follow), with indoor and outdoor dining, plus takeout and delivery and national shipping for pastrami.

9552 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (424) 298-8205, wisesonsdeli.com

Burger She Wrote

Pro skater Don Nguyen has teamed up with restaurateur Steven Arroyo (Escuela Taqueria) to open Burger She Wrote, serving smashburgers made with 100% American Wagyu on King’s Hawaiian buns cooked by chef Jules Crespy (formerly of L&E Oyster Bar). They also offer grilled cheese sandwiches, twice-cooked fries, a variety of house-made aguas frescas and, in a nod to Nguyen’s home state, an Oklahoma burger — which features a tangle of grilled onions. Open daily for dine-in and takeout from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

7454 1/2 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, instagram.com/burgershewrote__

The casual new burger counter offers smash burgers made with American wagyu beef.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Dear Bella Creamery

Cocobella, the plant-based ice-cream outfit serving classic and Taiwanese-inspired flavors, has rebranded and is now Dear Bella Creamery. To mark the occasion, founders Alice Cherng and Belinda Wei will offer $1 scoops on Sept. 5. The Hollywood ice cream parlor also is offering new items, including ice cream cups for dogs and milkshakes for humans.

1253 Vine St., Unit 12, Los Angeles, (323) 848-4672, dearbellacreamery.com