Here are a few spots for eats and drinks that we are looking forward to seeing open:
1. We were very excited to pass on to you that last month was National Grilled Cheese Month, and now we're gearing up for the impending opening of Culver City's Meltdown, which is a (mostly) grilled cheese eatery that's slated to open as early as this week. Their menu, which is available online, looks like an ooey-gooey haven of hot cheeses and their many tasty companion foodstuffs. We like the looks of their Cleo Breakfast Melt (dill-chive cream cheese, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, and caramelized onions on rye bread), the Cheddar, Ham & Apple Melt, and a couple of their Sweet Melts, like the Brie & Apricot or the Goat Cheese, Fig & Honey.
Meltdown | 9739 Culver Boulevard, Culver City | (310) 838-MELT (6358)
2. One of the best meals we've ever had came from Craft in NYC, which is a major player in the Craft family of restaurants, like Craftsteak (steak-centric eats), Craftbar (drinks and small eats), and 'wichcraft (gourmet sandwiches), which are predominantly in the Big Apple, but slowly migrating in various forms Westward. Craft's menu is made up of a series of lists of items, like mains and sides, and you and your companions mix and match, sharing the plates family style. You know Craft's owner, Tom Colicchio, from both fabulous seasons of Bravo's Top Chef, and as soon as the doors open (we're hearing June 1 now) we're going to head over to Century City to see how the LA outpost compares to the original.
Craft LA | 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Century City
3. Osteria Mozza is the bigger, badder sister of the much-talked about Mozza, at the corner of Melrose and Highland. We've rolled our eyes a bit about Mozza, and its apparently "to die for" (hmmm...) pizza, but we're more excited to get a taste of co-owner Mario Batali's food, which will be comprised of salumi, seafood, pasta, and meat dishes, pairing with co-owner Nancy Silverton's mozzarella bar. Blame the Food TV network for airing that maudlin Chefography on Batali, or all those Iron Chef America eps we've seen with the orange clog-sporting chef wins battle after battle, but we've developed a soft spot for him, and are eager to have him on our coast.
Osteria Mozza | 6602 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles | (323) 297-0100
So what restaurant(s) are you waiting to see open, open, open?
