Westside Dining Scene, September 23, 2021
By Dolores Quintana
Etta Now Open in Culver City
Etta, Michelin-starred Chef Danny Grant’s rustic Italian cuisine restaurant, opened a new Culver City location earlier this month on the ground floor of the Shay Hotel in Ivy Station. The restaurant boasts 240 seats, with indoor and outdoor dining. Some of the menu items will include wood-fired pizza with summer corn and Jimmy Nardello pepper and dry-aged roasted branzino with tahini ricotta and charred eggplant. Diners can also enjoy wood-fired picnics of 40 oz bone-in hearth roasted short rib or whole grilled lobsters stuffed with bubbling shrimp, king crab, and “love”. These picnics are also served with hearth bread, lettuce cups, cucumbers, and yogurt sauce. In addition to wine and cocktails, a special “porrón and Polaroid” gives diners a Polaroid camera loaded with a roll of film and a porrón of wine so they can take instant photos of their special night.
Primo’s Opens in Former Stan’s Donuts Space
Primo’s Donuts, one of Los Angeles’ most beloved doughnut shops, has opened a Westwood Village location. Located in the space that formerly housed Stan’s Doughnuts, Primo’s will have cake and yeast doughnuts, an espresso bar and regular coffee from 7 am each day until they sell out. They will be selling Primo’s newest menu item, the ice cream doughnut sandwich. A Culver City location and outdoor seating in Westwood are coming soon.
The Draycott Honoring Firefighters
To honor firefighters during Fire Preparedness Month, The Draycott Restaurant in Pacific Palisades is continuing to raise money for their highly successful “You Give. We Cook. They Eat” program. Draycott has been collecting money to deliver food to first responders and frontline workers since the beginning of the pandemic. Even after Los Angeles’ stay at home order has been lifted, the restaurant is still delivering meals to first responders. You can donate at their Go Fund Me page here or while visiting their restaurant at 15255 Palisades Village Lane. As their website states, “Your donations to the program will directly support local firefighting heroes by providing meals to those on the front lines”.
Little Fatty Opening Adjacent Restaurant
The Taiwanese soul food restaurant, Little Fatty, has announced that they will be opening a sister restaurant near their Mar Vista location at 12204 W. Venice Blvd. The new venture will be called Big Fatty and will be more of a pizza and burger spot with an upscale dive bar atmosphere. Patrons will be able to enjoy live music on a small stage at the new restaurant, which will be a 2,658 square-foot location with 110 seats. Owner David Kuo has not yet set an opening date.
Venice Whaler Opens Santa Monica Location
Local institution The Venice Whaler opened another location in Santa Monica September 18. In the former Ma’Kai space at the corner of Broadway and Ocean in downtown, Santa Monica residents can expect The Whaler’s laid back party atmosphere and famous fish tacos, chowder fries, raw oysters, and the shared meal, The Tower 10.
