Saffy’s

Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis’ latest Middle Eastern restaurant is rooted in traditional flavors and is set among a retro design from Morocco featuring layered colors and textures. Home-style cooking at the restaurant includes wood-fired shawarma rotisserie, lamb and pork kebabs, falafel wraps, salads and shakshuka. Coffee, tea, breads, pastries and classic desserts are offered next door. The wine list features coastal Mediterranean and island wines, focusing on small producers committed to healthy agriculture. 4845 Fountain Ave., (424)699-4845.

Saltie Girl opens in West Hollywood

Gather friends to enjoy seafood towers and wine at Saltie Girl, a beloved Boston seafood destination that is now open in Los Angeles. Founder Kathy Sidell’s inspiration comes from a wine bar experience while traveling in Barcelona. The interior offers high polished teak and brushed brass details evoking elements of a classic ship. An expansive raw bar is offered, along with one of the country’s largest tinned fish selections and toast options. Culinary director Kyle McClelland’s menu features Saltie Girl lobster roll and fried lobster and waffles served with sweet corn butter and spicy maple syrup. In addition to clam chowder, Saltie Girl serves lump crab toast with avocado and pistachios, and stracciatella. Contemporary preparations include moules frites and French Dover sole. The full bar showcases international and biodynamic producers, plus Saltie Girl’s proprietary rosé and champagne by-the-glass. Cocktails include the Saltie Martini with vodka or gin, castelvetrano olive, pickled onion and caviar. Sidell’s son Ben heads the pastry program, offering playful twists to classic desserts such as yuzu persimmon tart and apple tart tatin. As the founder of SweetBoy’s bakery, a rotating selection of SweetBoy’s cookies and SweetBuns are also available for pick-up in limited quantities on weekends. Call Resy for indoor and patio seating for all-day lunch and dinner service, Tuesday-Sunday. Walk-ins are welcome. 8615 Sunset Blvd. saltiegirl.com/location/saltie-girl-los-angeles.

Chef Diep Tran returns to Alma Backyard Farms

Renowned L.A. Chef Diep Tran brings her Banh Chung Collective back to Alma Backyard Farms to celebrate Tet – the Vietnamese New Year – on Jan. 14, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The annual gathering connects people and teaches them how to prepare banh Chung, a rich, sticky rice dumpling filled with pork, shallots and mung beans wrapped in banana leaves and boiled until tender. The event honors culture, diversity and inclusivity. Alma Backyard Farms is located in Compton behind St. Albert the Great church. It helps formerly incarcerated people re-claim their lives by re-purposing land into productive urban farms. Tickets are $50 per person.         801 E. Redondo Beach Blvd. eventbrite.com/e/ banh-chung-collective-2023-return-to-alma-backyard-farms-tickets-484366953597.

Moveable Feast elevated dinner experience

The new platform Moveable Feast offers elevated restaurant-quality dinner experiences from top restaurants and chefs to enjoy at home. Launched with Amanda Cohen’s Michelin-starred Dirt Candy in New York, Moveable Feast collaborates with award winning restaurants on a monthly rotating schedule. In addition to Dirt Candy, Moveable Feast’s founding restaurant partners include Albi, Washington D.C.; Birdie G’s, Los Angeles; Compère Lapin, New Orleans; Ernest, San Francisco; Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder; Jewel of the South, New Orleans; Nightbird, San Francisco; Octavia, San Francisco; Reverie, Washington D.C.; Roots Southern Table, Dallas; and Tail Up Goat, Washington D.C. Each month, guests can reserve a box from a different Moveable Feast partner with snacks, a family-style feast and dessert. The meals are cooked and refrigerated and come with easy-to-follow instructions, including a video on how to heat and plate the dishes. Moveable Feast reservation slots are available at moveablefeast.io.

Sprinkles honors 2023 Year of the Rabbit

Sprinkles and Gold House are teaming up to release a Gold Bunny almond red velvet cupcake for Lunar New Year. Inspired by Sprinkles’ Chinese American chief marketing officer Michelle Wong, the Lunar New Year cupcake was created to continue the bakery’s mission of honoring and recognizing cultural holidays and traditions. Wong worked with Gold House’s founders to create a cupcake reminiscent of food celebrations in Asian American households. This year, the focus is on almond cookies. The cupcake includes almond-filled red velvet cake atop an almond cookie crust. It’s topped with a decadent almond cream cheese filling. Both almonds and the color red are symbolic of good luck and fortune in Chinese culture. To gift, Sprinkles and Gold House are offering a Lunar New Year Red Box with three Gold Bunny almond red velvet cupcakes, plus three classic red velvet, three dark chocolate and three strawberry cupcakes, for $88. Each box comes with red envelopes for the tradition of gifting to loved ones and friends. Gold House is a nonprofit supporting members the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. The cupcakes are available at Sprinkles bakeries from Jan. 16 through Jan. 29. 189 The Grove Drive, (323)931-4498 and 9635 S. Santa Monica Blvd., (310)274-8765. sprinkles.com.