Latest news with #Blackish
Eater
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
The Biggest Los Angeles Restaurant Openings in May 2025
Los Angeles is no stranger to restaurant openings , whether splashy openings in iconic buildings helmed by big-name chefs, a humble neighborhood spot, or a pop-up leaping into a permanent space. Consider this monthly rundown a go-to guide for the newest and boldest debuts across the Southland. Badash Bakes - Pasadena When Badash Bakes opened its doors on April 29, sweets enthusiasts started lining up at her new storefront on Colorado Boulevard, just east of Marengo Avenue, right away. Waits might run 60 minutes or more for owner and pastry chef Ashley Cunningham's traditional and beautiful ceremonial grade-matcha cinnamon rolls, coffee, matcha lattes, red velvet cake, banana bread loaf, blueberry muffins, brownies, and banana pudding. She also refreshes the display case with fresh cookies all day long, with s'mores, toffee chocolate chip, matcha, and a slightly salty and sweet cornbread disc. Staff frequently bring freshly baked goods to the display case, but most still sell out. That's mostly due to Cunningham's massive TikTok following and her ample experience at LA restaurants. Badash Bakes started in an industrial kitchen before opening in Pasadena. Though open since late April, Badash Bakes' grand opening is on May 31. Baby Bistro - Chinatown Baby Bistro started as a sold-out string of rotating pop-up dinners by chef Miles Thompson (Allumette, Michael's) and partner Andy Schwartz, and now has a permanent home in Chinatown as of May 8. It's a charming 100-year-old Victorian bungalow that seats 35 in the same Alpine Courtyard complex as Perilla and Baker's Bench. The duo's new restaurant is where Thompson brings a new menu showcasing farmers market ingredients at their peak, accompanied by Schwartz's wine selections. Though the set-up seems somewhat close to a tasting menu format, Thompson insists it is not. Always check the menu to see what Thompson procured and prepared, like the turnip tofu dish that uses Gardena's artisan Meiji Tofu, and bread baked in a hotel pan with Walla Walla onions, butter, and onion seeds; deglazed with mirin; and finished with a light soy sauce. AC Barbecue - Century City Two of Los Angeles's most prominent Black comedians and actors — Anthony Anderson ( Blackish ) and Cedric the Entertainer (real name Cedric Antonio Kyles; The Neighborhood, Barber Shop ) — opened a food court restaurant called AC Barbeque on May 7 inside the Westfield Century City. The restaurant's smoked meats incorporate flavors and styles from their upbringings in Compton and St. Louis. AC Barbecue occupies a prime slot toward the front of the mall's rooftop food court deck. The restaurant is inspired by Anderson and Kyles' A&E show, King of BBQ. The pair brought on pitmaster Burt Bakman (Slab Barbecue, Trudy's Underground Barbecue) to develop a menu of St. Louis ribs, smoked chicken, chopped brisket, chicken wings, and pulled pork. Baekjeong - Koreatown After closing at Chapman Market in January 2024, renowned Korean barbecue chain Baekjeong returned to Los Angeles with a new flagship location in Koreatown, which opened on May 7. Open for more than a decade before its closure and relocation, Baekjeong became wildly popular for its lively dining atmosphere and high-quality meals like thinly sliced brisket and boneless short ribs. The new expansive location, situated on Eighth Street, is a return to form for the restaurant, offering beef and pork combinations for grilling, alongside doenjang jjigae, gyeran-jjim (steamed egg), and kimchi pancakes. At the new location, Baekjeong's senior director of culinary operations, chef Samuel Kim, introduced a dry-aging program, alongside lunch bowls and sets. Baekjeong doesn't accept reservations, so be prepared for waits on busy nights. Miznon - Downtown On May 10, legendary Israeli chef Eyal Shani opened the first West Coast location for Miznon, an international Middle Eastern street food chain where the specialty is pita sandwiches. Miznon (which translates to 'canteen' or 'cafeteria' in Hebrew) debuted in the former Sari Sari Store, and diners can try the folded cheeseburger a la smash burger pita filled with dill pickles and a savory sauce. The menu also features pita packed with roasted cauliflower and tahini, and the steak and egg pita with sour cream, tomato, Lebanese cucumber, salsa, and green onions. As with Miznon's other locations, Shani will create a signature pita that reflects regional flavors after he visits Los Angeles later this year. The Tel Aviv-based restaurant made its U.S. debut in New York's Chelsea Market in 2018 and has since expanded to Singapore, London, Paris, and Las Vegas. Cento Raw Bar - West Adams Cento Raw Bar, a restaurant by the team behind neighboring Cento Pasta Bar, opened on May 12, serving seafood towers, crudos, and caviar sandwiches in an otherworldly space that resembles a sun-washed sea cave. The restaurant comes from chef Avner Levi, director of operations Adrien D'Attellis, and creative director Brandon Miradi; Avner's first restaurant, Cento Pasta Bar, opened in December 2021 after a long-running tenure as a pop-up at Downtown's Mignon Wine Bar. At Cento Raw Bar, Avner serves a seafood-oriented menu that's meant to pair with wine and cocktails. Raw shellfish like oysters, uni, Peruvian scallops, and crab legs are served on a custom-made modular glass tower designed by Miradi, alongside hamachi crudo, cold squid ink noodles, and '90s club-inspired cocktails. Bar Benjamin - Hollywood Melrose hotspot the Benjamin has taken over the upstairs space of its Melrose venue, which used to house disco-infused cocktail bar the Moon Room, and transformed it into Bar Benjamin. Opened on May 13, the new bar comes from a continued partnership between the Benjamin founders Ben Shenassafar, Kate Burr, and Jared Meisler, with cocktails by Jason Lee (n/soto, Baroo) and Chad Austin (the Mulholland, Bootlegger Tiki). The bar is inspired by Shenassafar's travels through cities like Mexico City, Tokyo, London, Chicago, Paris, and New York, and the unique cocktail bars each destination offered. Bar Benjamin serves a menu of inventive and classic cocktails like a miso-infused Manhattan, the tom kha flavored Tommy Boy, and a fesenjoon-inspired brandy and tequila cocktail. Bar bites are available to pair, like beef tartare, strawberries and cream, and deviled eggs. Hasi Bread - Del Rey On May 13, one of Los Angeles's most viral new bakeries, Hasi Bread, opened a retail shop and cafe in the Del Rey/Mar Vista area on the corner of Centinela and Washington Boulevard inside the former Hot Cakes Bakes. It's the first permanent standalone location for the farmers market favorite that sells its popular yellow-and-blue sourdough bread, along with pastries and coffee. Founded by baker Matias Barang in 2018, the signature pea butterfly flower and turmeric-tinted loaves have been a staple at Erewhon and farmers markets in Brentwood, Westwood, and North Hollywood. Mixtape - Westlake Village Musician, producer, and DJ Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson opened a burger spot with a twist in Westlake Village food hall, Neighborly, called Mixtape on May 19. Though Mixtape might appear as an old-school burger joint with soft serve called 'Saturdaes,' they prepare double-stacked patties and chicken tenders without beef, gluten, or seed oils. All the burgers are made with chicken or vegetarian patties and served on gluten-free buns. The Classics Chicken Sandwich comes with gluten-free crispy chicken, mayo, and dill pickles on a toasted and buttered sesame seed brioche bun. For burgers, the OGB Royale offers a choice between a single or double chicken patty, with American cheese, dill pickles, grilled onions, and lettuce. There are gluten-free chicken tenders and a plant-based burger made with shitake mushrooms. Lucia - Fairfax Upscale Afro-Caribbean restaurant Lucia opened on a busy stretch of Fairfax on May 28, from owner Sam Jordan. Jordan tapped Jamaica-born Adrian Forte to be Lucia's executive chef; before joining the restaurant, Forte previously competed on Top Chef Canada ; worked as a private chef for Virgil Abloh, Drake, and Alicia Keys; and authored Afro-Caribbean cookbook Yawd . Lucia features dishes from across the Caribbean and African diaspora, filtered through Jordan's travels, Los Angeles's dining culture, and Forte's experience. A Jamaican patty comes stuffed with spiced wagyu beef, tucked between flaky layers of yellow pastry, while fish is swapped for lychee in a vegan ceviche with a light sorrel sauce and rice paper cracker. The menu also spans dishes like fried saltfish and fig croquettes, Trini Mac Pie, loaded rice and peas, and fried chicken. Bar Avoja - Hollywood Bar Avoja, a new Roman-inspired cocktail lounge from acclaimed chef Evan Funke and Giancarlo Pagani, the managing partner of Mother Wolf Group, opens in the short-lived former Mars cocktail bar space, tucked behind Mother Wolf, on May 30. At the bar, Funke serves a menu influenced by handheld Roman street food, alongside folded and thin-crust pizza and cocktails. Frittatina di carbonara is filled with spaghetti swirled with guanciale, black pepper, and egg, while the puffy, folded Portafoglio is topped with oxtail meatballs and braised greens. Cocktails, wine, and mocktails are available to pair with Funke's cooking at the reservations-only lounge. La Ola - Beverly Hills Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills debuted its new rooftop restaurant, La Ola, on May 30. The coastal Mexican restaurant features a menu from executive chef Jesus Medina, comprised of dishes like shrimp aguachile, carne asada platos, and tuna tostada. During the daytime, La Ola serves a more laid-back menu of tacos and paletas, while the evening brings short rib carne asada, octopus chicharron, and a tlacoyo topped with asiento and rib-eye carpaccio. Cocktails, available all day, include margaritas, a clarified strawberry daiquiri, spiked horchata, and a slushy welcome shot. Marathon Burger - Venice After receiving a warm reception for its Melrose shop in March, Samiel 'Blacc Sam' Asghedom (the brother of the late entrepreneur and rapper Nipsey Hussle) will debut Marathon Burger's second LA location on Saturday, May 31, in Venice Beach. His team will sling crispy-edged smash burgers on the Venice Beach Boardwalk next to the pickup basketball courts and Muscle Beach in a space once occupied by another LA burger favorite — the Window. Sign up for our newsletter.
Daily Mail
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE We starred in iconic TV commercial. Over the last 26 years, our catchphrase has helped us through tough times
For many, the iconic 'whassup' Budweiser ad was a cultural hit imitated in parties, bars and school lunchrooms across the US in the early 2000s. For four Philadelphia friends, it changed their lives forever. The 1999 Super Bowl commercial opened with Charles Stone III watching a game on TV while drinking a Budweiser beer before he got a phone call from friend Paul L. Williams, who was doing the same. Then walked in Fred Thomas Jr. wearing a bright yellow jersey, who asked Stone the now-famous line: 'Whassup?' Stone replied the same line, sticking his tongue far out of his mouth, before telling Thomas to pick up the landline phone. The same exaggerated catchphrase was then repeated... well, repeatedly, before he asked: 'Where's Dookie?' The camera then cut to Scott Martin Brooks, who was typing away at a clunky old desktop computer. 'Yo?' Brooks answered, prompting Thomas to call out the inside joke again. A chorus of 'whassup' filled the phone line by the real-life friends, and the rest is TV history. The catchphrase would permeate society deeply with worldwide recognition as people across the globe began doing their own versions of the loud but friendly greeting. More than 25 years later, the commercial has altered the lives - and careers - of Stone, Brooks, Thomas and Williams. 'None of us even imagined it would blow up the way it did,' Brooks exclusively told the 'The day we found out we got the commercial, we just assumed we'd make a nice little chunk of money and go on with our normal lives,' he added. 'I kept working my job for the first couple months!' Stone is still a director and has even directed four episodes of the popular sitcom Blackish and an episode of Friday Night Lights. His most recent work, The Underdoggs, which features Snoop Dogg, is an Amazon Original. Thomas has gone on to become a cameraman for CBS, and Williams now manages a real estate business. As for Brooks, he still does some acting work, but his recent kidney transplant took him out of commission for a bit. The actor was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2016 and received his new organ in February 2024 after years of treatment. 'My kidneys failed in 2023, and I went on dialysis,' Brooks told the 'Kidney disease pretty much curtailed my acting,' he continued. 'I had several week-long stays in the ICU, I was on a bunch of meds that had awful physical side effects, and I had a catheter sticking out of my chest! 'I was offered a couple of roles that I had to turn down because I looked like Chet from Weird Science! I've just spent the last year recovering. I had a few complications, but things are under control now and I'm doing very well.' Prior to his transplant, he made his acting rounds and even hosted a show on ABC. Now, he mainly makes guest appearance spots on podcasts and TV shows, including CBS' Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials special, where their ad was ranked fourth. Brooks still recalls being in Stone's Brooklyn, New York, apartment when Anheuser-Busch called the director to offer them the Super Bowl ad deal. The ad stemmed from a short film Stone had shot using the catchphrase in hopes of moving his career toward making films instead of music videos. 'His manager entered the short into some film festivals, people in the industry saw it, started making VHS copies of it and sending it to their friends, and that's how it landed in the hands of Vinny Warren, an ad exec at DDB Chicago,' Brooks told the 'He showed it to August Bush IV, VP at Anheuser Bush. He loved it, and they made Chuck an offer to direct a series of commercials.' And the crew of boys - who became friends as teenagers in Philadelphia in the 1980s - actually used the greeting in real life back then. Although, they don't use it much anymore. 'Me and the guys stopped saying 'whassup!' to each other years ago as we got older, we came up with other silly ways to greet each other,' Brooks said. 'Some of my friends will say it to me every now and then, mostly to break my stones!' And their friend group still stays strong, with the men talking to each other often, despite living in different cities. 'I talk to everyone fairly regularly, mostly through phone, text and DMs, since we're spread out all over the country,' Brooks told 'We get together whenever we're all in the same city.' And although Brooks wouldn't reveal how much money they've made off the commercial - and the ones that came after - he said they did pretty well. 'Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's impolite to bring up politics, religion, or money! I'm kidding,' he joked. 'We did OK. I'll just say this; we landed on the Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2000! We came in ahead of David Blaine and the Baha Men!' The ad was so popular that Brooks still gets recognized every once in a while. 'I still get recognized from time to time, even with the grey beard! I was at a wedding two weekends ago, and one of the guests asked to take a photo. It's flattering,' he told Whenever the ad pops up again on social media, the comments of the post explode. Understandably, the friends aren't quite ready to let go of their iconic characters. 'We've been trying to pitch the idea to Budweiser, as well as other brands, to see if they'd like to use us in some ads,' Brooks revealed. As for a revival, it may be in the works, but only time will tell if a new generation will be yelling 'whassup' at each other.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tracee Ellis Ross Reflects on "Grief" Over Not Marrying or Having Kids, and Reveals Why She Prefers Dating Younger Men
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Tracee Ellis Ross has had a dextrous life and career to date, but that doesn't mean she's totally without regrets. Like any woman, Ross has made difficult choices, some of which involved her romantic life and whether she'd start a family. In a new interview on Michelle Obama's IMO podcast, Ross got candid about "grieving" certain aspects of life she didn't experience, and revealed why she prefers dating younger men. During her appearance on IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, the 52-year-old Blackish actress explained (via People), "A lot of men my age are steeped in a toxic masculinity and have been raised in a culture where there is a particular way that a relationship looks." She continued, "Anything that starts to smell of that for me—I did enough of it where I was controlled and felt like I was a possession or a prize—I just have no interest in it. And I will not do it again." Ross also praised what she perceived to be an "openness" in younger men, saying, "I have long been past the age where I feel like it's my job to teach somebody or grow them up. That, I'm not interested in." The Black Mirror star noted that, despite loving her life, she also "grieved" certain milestones she didn't reach—something many people contend with as they age. "I grieve the things that I thought would be and that are not," Ross said during her podcast appearance. "I'm not married. I don't have children, and I think I grieve that at times." However, Ross refuses to settle, especially when it comes to romantic relationships. "As much grief does surface for me around not having children and not having a partner, I still wouldn't want the wrong partner," she noted. "I'm not interested in that." As for what she is looking for in a romantic relationship, Ross told the hosts, "You have to make my life better. It can't just be, 'I'm in a relationship to be in a relationship.' So even though the grief does emerge and that comes and I hold that, I think of what I've done." She continued, "I wake up every morning trying to do my best. I didn't wake up one morning and be like, 'I'm going to mess this day up.' So I must be where I'm supposed to be."
Express Tribune
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Tracee Ellis Ross reflects on single, child-free life in new interview: "Grief does emerge"
Tracee Ellis Ross has opened up about her personal journey as a single, child-free woman in a revealing conversation on the latest episode of the 'IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson' podcast. . The Blackish actress shared that while she occasionally feels grief about not having a partner or children, she remains committed to living life on her own terms. 'As much as grief does surface for me around not having children and not having a partner, I still wouldn't want the wrong partner. At all, I'm not interested in that,' she said. Ross emphasised that any future relationship must add value to her life, saying, 'You have to make my life better, it can't just be 'I'm in a relationship just to be in a relationship.'' She described a deep sense of accomplishment from navigating life independently and acknowledged the emotional work involved. 'Even though the grief does emerge and that comes and I hold that, I think of what I've done,' she said. 'I think I woke up every morning trying to do my best… So I must be where I'm supposed to be.' Reflecting on her life's achievements, Ross spoke about the courage required to be single in a society that often equates fulfilment with marriage and family. She credited her strength, independence, and a close circle of friends for creating a rich, meaningful life. Still, Ross admitted she desires companionship but finds it difficult due to outdated gender expectations. She noted that many men in her age group hold onto rigid notions of masculinity, which can be a barrier to forming deep connections.
