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Tom's Guide
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
5 best movies like 'Nonnas' to stream right now
If you were charmed by the rich flavors, fiery grandmothers and second-chance warmth of 'Nonnas' on Netflix, you're probably already craving more cozy, character-driven stories with heart. It's no shock that 'Nonnas' has taken the No. 1 spot — it's the perfect comfort watch. Led by Vince Vaughn as a grieving son turned restaurateur, the movie brings together a powerhouse cast of Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire and Brenda Vaccaro as a group of opinionated, pasta-slinging grandmothers who steal every scene (and maybe your heart). So, what should you watch next once the credits roll and the craving for another serving kicks in? Whether you're drawn to stories about food, found family, or feel-good comebacks, here are five movies like 'Nonnas' to stream right now. If 'Nonnas' made you want to call your mom and cook something from scratch, 'Chef' will have you Googling 'how to make a Cubano' by the end of the first act. Jon Favreau stars as Carl Casper, a burnt-out L.A. chef who loses his high-profile restaurant gig and ends up reinventing his career (and reconnecting with his young son) through a scrappy food truck road trip. Much like 'Nonnas,' 'Chef' is a story about healing through food, rediscovering joy in unexpected places, and how love (and flavor) can bring people back together. Bonus: It's filled with mouthwatering cooking sequences and boasts a killer soundtrack. Buy/rent on Amazon Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. 'Julie & Julia' is an easy next watch after "Nonnas" as it also focuses on the celebration of tradition, flavor and women who cook with both passion and a little sass. This dual-timeline dramedy follows the true stories of Julia Child (Meryl Streep, in full delightful form) discovering her culinary voice in 1950s Paris, and Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a modern-day New Yorker cooking her way through Julia's cookbook as a way to escape the chaos of her own life. The result? A rich, funny, and deeply comforting story about food, purpose and the joy of starting over — one recipe at a time. Buy/rent on Amazon For a fun, food-filled rom-com that mixes family drama with romance, 'Little Italy' hits all the right notes. Just be warned: It's one of those movies that's so bad, it's good. Set in Toronto's vibrant Italian district, the movie follows childhood friends Nikki (Emma Roberts) and Leo (Hayden Christensen) as they fall in love ... while their families are locked in a decades-old rivalry over their competing pizzerias. It's cheesy (pun intended), lighthearted, and full of familiar tropes, but that's part of the charm. If you're in the mood for something fun and fluffy that still celebrates love, heritage, and a well-tossed dough, this one's for you. Just don't expect a masterpiece. Stream it on Peacock Though it's been a cult classic for years, 'Big Night' still feels like a hidden gem when it comes to food, family and the drama of running a restaurant. This heartfelt, Italian-American film follows two brothers, Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci), who own a failing restaurant and are desperately trying to save it with one last, ambitious meal. While 'Nonnas' focuses on a family-run eatery with plenty of sass and love, 'Big Night' delves into the sacrifices, the passion, and the sometimes heartbreaking dynamics of pursuing a dream for your family. Buy/rent on Amazon While 'Couples Retreat' isn't exactly in the same vein as 'Nonnas,' it's a well-known Vince Vaughn comedy featuring his classic humor. The movie centers on four couples who venture to a tropical resort for what they think will be a relaxing vacation, but it quickly turns into a series of emotional (and comedic) challenges as they confront their relationship issues. Vaughn, alongside a stellar cast including Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell, delivers laughs while also exploring the complexity of love and commitment. It's not quite about family-run businesses or the kitchen, but this one is perfect if you're in the mood for a lighthearted yet insightful comedy that still gives you a feel-good vibe. Stream it on Netflix
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Restaurant Road Trip: Café Rosé
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — Café Rosé in Suncrest started with cupcakes, but it's grown into much more. The garden-themed cafe now occupies the space that housed Slight Indulgence for many years. 'Fourteen years ago, we started The Cupcakerie downtown,' said owner Anna Carrier. 'I knew this location my whole life and the people who owned it were ready to retire, so I approached them and said I'd like to move my business here and expand it.' Café Rosé opened in early 2024 with a soup, salad and sandwich concept, but it quickly expanded to include wine, beer, burgers and chicken salad sandwiches. It continues to offer wines and gift baskets, just as Slight Indulgence did. Restaurant Road Trip: Neighborhood Kombuchery 'One of our most popular items is our BLT,' said Carrier. 'It has a peppadew aioli on it and people love that. Our strawberry almond goat cheese salad is very popular as well as our harvest salad that has dried cranberries and walnuts on it. Our chef's Cubano sandwich is fantastic. I think it would rival most Cubanos on the East Coast.' Carrier described the aesthetic as having a 'garden vibe.' It's also painted ever-so-slightly pink on the interior, giving the feeling of being inside a wine bottle. 'We offer brunch all day. That's something a little different for Morgantown. And we also offer a frozen rose,' said Carrier. 'We add our own house purees to all of the flavor—mango, strawberry (and others) and it has rose wine in it.' The Morgantown native said that her favorite part of owning the restaurant is the community that is forming around it. 'One of my favorite things is at the end of the night when I see three tables come together and none of them knew they were going to be here and everyone gets to kind of catch up,' said Carrier. 'It's kind of cool to have that vibe.' You can find Café Rosé at 3200 Collins Ferry Road in Morgantown. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
Chicago Tribune
29-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
One mile, more than a dozen Latino-owned cafes: How Pilsen's coffee culture is growing across 18th Street
18th Street from Halsted to Ashland. Roughly a mile's distance in walkable Pilsen. All styles of art line the buildings, doors and businesses here — cartoony murals, motifs of Indigenous art, portraits of community faces, stylized writing in English, Spanish and Arabic. There are taquerias, tattoo shops, kitschy vintage stores, nonprofit community services, James Beard-nominated restaurants and a library named for late activist Rudy Lozano. But a change has been happening over the past five years. Pulsing through and around 18th Street like heartbeats in a central artery, there are now over a dozen independent, Latino-owned coffee stores. Once, there was only one, Cafe Jumping Bean. When it opened in 1994, Jumping Bean was something new, providing freshly ground beans, an affordable menu of sandwiches and drinks and curated art to the corner of 18th and Bishop. Now, there's much more competition. The most buzzed-about is Anticonquista Café, which rehabbed a previously vacant building on 18th and Morgan and debuted March 2. A caffeinated tour of Pilsen might start on the east side, slightly off 18th Street at the vibrant La Malinche Coffee & Tea House on Halsted. There, with pink prominent and a bountiful menu, patrons sit and work and chat over sweet Cubano coffees with turkey pesto paninis. Turn onto 18th Street and get a cardamom or panela latte from Anticonquista and take in the leather, wood, revolutionary Central American literature and coffee-roasting equipment. Near Blue Island, A Cup of Joe on 18th Street is run by the Villareal family. Its café de olla is vibrant next to the skeletal designs on the walls. Take a detour one block to Dark Matter's Sleep Walk Chocolateria & Cafe and get a spicy dolor de oro, which uses its Unicorn Blood espresso blend, habanero, cinnamon and honey. And then, of course, there's Jumping Bean, where there's always a line for affordable and extra-caffeinated options, like a 'Screaming Bean,' or a choco espresso, which has four long shots of espresso, plenty of chocolate, and whipped cream. Eleazar Delgado, Jumping Bean's founder, said he and his wife, MariCarmen Moreno, recently discussed the growth in cafes. They see the competition as a healthy sign, and while openings might be occurring around the city, he's seeing it happen rapidly here. 'We couldn't figure it out,' Delgado said. 'Why Pilsen? Why isn't this happening in Little Village? Why isn't this happening in Englewood?' He brought the conversation to Jumping Bean's staff. Delgado had concluded there were nine cafes. The staff quickly added a few more to the list and settled on 14 from Halsted to Damen. But the core question — why has the growth been so rapid? — is still difficult to answer. Cafes are frequently taken as a sign of a changing neighborhood: people being pushed out, new demographics, more bougie tastes. Delgado faced this criticism when he opened over 30 years ago, but eventually Jumping Bean became an essential part of the area. Now, the new cafes, the overwhelming majority of which are Latino-owned if not Pilsen originals, encounter similar comments, alongside excitement for new, fresh food options. A changing Pilsen It's not the first time the neighborhood has changed. While it is now known as a Mexican area, many from that community recall it as a bastion of Czech-Bohemian immigrants when they arrived in the '70s and '80s. 'We didn't really have coffee shops back then,' said Monica Garza, a longtime Pilsen resident and nonprofit worker. At the time, the diners and restaurants served coffee brewed from a can of Folgers. Garza never developed a taste for coffee, but Jumping Bean has been a regular fixture with her friends and adult nieces. She credits the old immigrant community for welcoming in the new one and sees another change happening now. 1 of 3 Cafe Jumping Bean owner Eleazar Delgado and his niece, manager Valerie Delgado, in the longtime coffeehouse at 1439 W. 18th St., in the Pilsen neighborhood on April 11, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) What distinguished Jumping Bean in the '90s was the novelty of a communal space and their understanding of coffee culture. As 20-somethings working in bars or working-class jobs, Delgado, his brother, artist Guillermo Delgado (who designed the iconic Jumping Bean logo, their merchandise and some interior work), and their peers needed a place to spend late nights and little money. They traveled north to Lincoln Park and Evanston to visit late-night cafes there. '(In Pilsen), restaurants didn't want you to hang out over a cup of coffee,' Delgado said. 'Every time I go back to Mexico, I'd always go to a cafe to hang out and talk.' So they brought that culture to their neighborhood. The building was previously a barber shop, and the second floor had a gorgeous skylight once used for photography. Soon it was a new spot for community members to congregate over coffee. But it didn't come without a little controversy. 'Coffee shops and the artists are the first to get blamed,' Delgado said of neighborhood change. His niece, Valerie Delgado, has seen all the change firsthand; she's been working at Jumping Bean for nearly 30 years and is now a manager. Her uncle and father got her a job as a waitress as a teenager — they hoped it would keep her out of trouble. She credits the cafe with 'saving' her life. When she first started, she was a 'no sabo kid' — meaning she spoke broken Spanish. Now Valerie speaks with customers in a fluid mix of Spanish and English; she learned it completely on the job. She's optimistic that Jumping Bean and the rest of the cafes will succeed together. 'I'm all for small businesses,' she said of the new cafes opening up. 'If there was a Starbucks, that would be a different story.' New wave For a long time, it was rare to see a new cafe survive in the neighborhood. There was only Jumping Bean for decades, though a few shops opened and closed in the meantime. Then, Dark Matter, a small Chicago chain that now has opened a New York location, opened Sleep Walk Chocolateria & Cafe in Pilsen in 2019. The storefront has been repainted in Dark Matter's distinctly cosmic and whimsical art style. Like many of its peers in the neighborhood, the company is Mexican-owned; its beans are sourced from Central America and its chocolate, turned into bars in-house, from Mexican regions like Chiapas. 'People come in and think it's still the bakery,' said Adriana Serrano, a barista at Sleep Walk. 'They remember it back in the day being El Nopal.' That's because one thing that remains, beyond the neighborhood memory, is the retro 'El Nopal Bakery' sign that Dark Matter kept intact. New customers might come in looking for a panaderia and come out with barrel-aged coffee beans, quality coffee-brewing equipment and little chocolate medallion samples. You won't find that specific combination at other cafes on 18th Street. Nearly all of them use Chicago roasters like Metropolis or Intelligentsia, but they all attract and serve different clientele and offer different specialties. The new and old cafe owners in Pilsen acknowledge the shifting landscape and pains of rising rents and costs but note that their spaces provide a community service. Their response to critical community members is the same as Delgado's all those years ago — they want to bring something new to the community. At La Malinche, that's an array of surprisingly tasty teas (or tisanes) made with real fruits that become edible as they rehydrate in the water. 'I'm coming from a chaotic city, where change is the only constant,' said La Malinche's Hector Aguirre, who immigrated from Mexico City in 2016 with his wife, Yvette Valdez. 'We've got to keep working and look at opportunities. Maybe this could become a thriving economic corridor.' In addition, owners and staff say they welcome the increasing diversity with excitement. On a recent Friday afternoon, Aguirre welcomed a Spanish-speaking Muslim customer with Arabic greetings. 'We're using our coffee as a vehicle for cultura,' said Gabriela Villareal, co-owner of A Cup of Joe with her husband and son. A Cup of Joe's first location in 2019 was near Midway where they had moved, but the family chose to open their second location in 2022 closer to their roots. It's a common story with business owners here. They grew up in tight-knit Mexican communities in Pilsen or Little Village but left the neighborhood to raise children or search for better opportunities. When they had the ability, they decided to settle back down in the place they called home. 'Pilsen has a way of sucking you back in, which is a beautiful thing,' said Marco Rodriguez of Urban Treez, which opened in 2020. 'It did that to me, I think.' He, too, had left the neighborhood but returned with a business plan. He initially considered a vape shop but he said he wanted to provide a different, better model for youth in the neighborhood. 'I think intention is the key word,' Rodriguez said. 'What do they want to do? That's why I didn't do a vape shop. I'd sleep better knowing I'm serving smoothies.' Though many are seeing success, it's still a difficult market. Justin Peralta started Synergy Coffee in 2024 as a pop-up but closed down recently. A passionate coffee fan and roaster, he specialized in Chiapas-grown beans that supported a women's farming group and refugees in Mexico. He's not from Pilsen but chose the neighborhood for many reasons, including his wife. 'She said the North Side doesn't have any sazon, any flavor,' Peralta said. He quickly picked up on the energy in the neighborhood. 'The cultural vibe that's (on 18th Street) right now, there's a lot of cultures coming in… .There's a lot of ways you can introduce coffee to all the different individuals.' Peralta's focus was on pour-overs, a more labor-intensive technique that often results in a 'brighter' cup. But when his wife faced health complications, he took a break from Synergy to care for her and picked up a full-time job. He hopes to return to the neighborhood and still roasts and sells beans out of his home. Anticonquista Café Across the United States, immigrants are producing new takes on cafe culture, integrating culinary, cultural and storytelling elements from home. Pilsen is no different. At the core of Anticonquista Café's philosophy is family farming, fair prices for workers and supply chain justice. Its beans are roasted in Chicago, but the coffee comes from co-owner Elmer Fajardo's family farm in Guatemala. 1 of Fajardo's teenage immigration to the United States was economically motivated; partially, he hoped to get better prices for his family and others. He recalls his father getting paid $10 for 100 pounds of coffee cherry. From a very young age, he learned the agricultural practices behind coffee. 'I think I started drinking coffee when I was 3 years old,' Fajardo said. In Chicago, he met Lauren Reese; they got married in 2018 and co-own Anticonquista. To import Fajardo's family beans into the country, the team at Anticonquista had to learn the intricacies of import laws, local business law and best agricultural and culinary practices. In essence, they developed their own supply chain from scratch. Fajardo and Reese personally roast their beans in a roastery in West Town. The menu at Anticonquista's first cafe highlights items that reflect Central American takes on food and coffee. Before the move to Pilsen, Anticonquista was primarily a mobile business. They're gearing up again for farmer's market season, but the cafe is now the main location where customers can find their beans. Fajardo and Reese were interested in opening in Pilsen because of its long history of working-class families. 'Pilsen has a really long history of activism within it,' Reese said. 'There's a history of the working class that bridges the different racial communities that have moved in and out of Pilsen.' In this first month of service, the business put up a sign discouraging video conferencing; they want to make sure vulnerable immigrant populations are not surveilled in their space. They said they've been approached about holding private educational events for those groups about their civil rights. The food menu is small but inclusive, including a vegan ceviche. They're continually looking for ways to integrate more of the farm's produce into their menu. Their cafe de olla has been a staple since their farmer's market days and something Fajardo grew up with. They've made some modifications, including adding cardamom to the family recipe that typically includes cinnamon and cloves. 'We didn't grow it that much before,' Fajardo said. 'There was always cardamom in the farm, but not that much.' This is the kind of advantage of being based in a family farm; they can add fresh ingredients to their menu from the harvest. One thing's for sure: Anticonquista won't be the last new take on a Latino-owned cafe on 18th Street; recently, signs for Pink Flores Bakery & Cafe went up. 'Yeah, I saw that. I actually saw that before our interview and I completely forgot about it,' said Eleazar Delgado of Jumping Bean. 'Like, another one! Oh my goodness.' But even as rents rise, gentrification displaces local residents and more cafes open, the neighborhood still stands proud in its working-class history. 'Pilsen has a lot of their original people who fought to get a high school here (and) a library here,' he said. 'Pilsen fought that whole gentrification thing and we're still fighting it to this day.'
Axios
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Monday Munchies: One food truck, many cuisines
You can do anything, but you can't do everything. Unless you're Papa's Grill food truck. 🌮 🍔 🍳 🥪 The intrigue: I went here because I was feeling brave yet skeptical about a place serving Caribbean food, burgers, Mexican eats, breakfast and sandwiches ranging from chicken parmesan to a Cubano, all on one menu. Turns out, they know what they're doing. 🍽 What I ate: I sampled a couple of tacos ($3 each), a patty melt with fries ($13) and a mofongo plate with chicken ($17). Mofongo is a smashed plantain dish served with rice and your choice of chicken or pork. 🇵🇷 Yes, but: They were all solid, but the Caribbean plate was clearly the best, with well-seasoned chicken, rice and plantains, and I'll be ordering off the Caribbean menu again. 🚚 The vibe: Papa's Grill is at City Pump in downtown Rogers, a collection of food trucks anchored by The Botanical bar. Let everyone get what they want and eat together outside at a picnic table.
Los Angeles Times
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Acclaimed Heritage Barbecue chef takes on classic diner food in vintage Quonset hut
What happens when one of the country's rising-star barbecue chefs launches a diner? At Santa Ana's new Le Hut Dinette, the latest project from San Juan Capistrano's Heritage Barbecue, seven-day pastrami slides into gooey melty sandwiches and brisket goes into piles of chili cheese fries. 'I've always been a really big fan of the diners, and they're kind of dying off,' says Heritage's pitmaster and co-owner Daniel Castillo. 'You're starting to see a resurgence, but we lose more than we gain right now.' Castillo, who is a nominee for best chef: California in this year's James Beard Foundation Awards, operates his restaurants with his wife, Brenda. When approached about opening their own diner inside a vintage Quonset hut, they jumped at the opportunity and tapped Taco María alum Ryan Garlitos as the executive chef. They've devised a sunny, rotating menu that includes pastrami sandwiches, smoked-turkey clubs and a Cubano made with coppa ham, which, like the pastrami, is cured and smoked at Heritage. Chickens also smoked in San Juan Capistrano get shredded and added to Le Hut's Caesar salads, which are spiked with an anchovy crumble and slices of bright cara cara oranges. For a caffeine fix — a necessity at any diner — there are mugs of $1 Cafe du Monde chicory coffee. On weekend evenings, the menu flips to a more elevated diner that pays homage to the past with more modern techniques. You might find steak Diane with mushroom cream dripping over a 10-ounce New York strip, or a hearty smoked beef rib with a mushroom demi-glace, oregano rice and binchotan-grilled vegetables. Garlitos weaves his Filipino heritage into this menu, as well as other culinary influences such as Japanese or Mexican, a nod to his time at Taco María. Weekend brunch will kick off on Mother's Day weekend. The menu is evolving, but will likely include pancakes and brisket with eggs. While Heritage Barbecue focuses on craft beer, Le Hut Dinette spotlights wine, especially natural wine, with most pours produced in California and Texas. There are also ciders and co-ferments; beer options include the standards one might find at a diner, like Miller Lite. In contrast to what the Castillos describe as the no-frills masculine setting at Heritage Barbecue, the couple wanted to create a more fun, feminine space for the diner: pink terrazzo floors and what Daniel Castillo calls a Wes Anderson color palette. They salvaged booths, formica tables and chairs from shuttered diners in the region and sourced mismatched plates from thrift stores. They scoured eBay for vintage napkin holders. They wanted a cozy and authentic, lived-in feel to their restaurant. 'All this stuff is true to it,' Castillo says. They hope to use the space to host collaborative dinners with other chefs, and already offer items from their next-door neighbor, 61 Hundred Bread (see below). Next year, they plan to expand Le Hut Dinette with an adjacent deli and bodega, selling sandwiches as well as smoked meats by the pound. It's been a busy time for Castillo. In addition to being in the running for the James Beard Foundation Award, earlier this year he quietly exited his business partnership in Oceanside brewhouse Heritage Beer Co., which recently closed and will reopen under a new name sans the Castillos. On May 3, the husband-and-wife duo will launch yet another concept: a casual restaurant at Bolsa Chica State Beach. SeaSalt Smokehouse will offer handheld items such as tri-tip sandwiches and nachos. It is, he admits, a lot happening at once. 'I feel like I'm in the right mind to be able to accomplish these things now, and my wife, of course, is amazing,' says Castillo, who struggled last year with depression and anxiety. 'If it wasn't for her I would not be able to do this, 100%.' Under the pressure to maintain a successful restaurant that garnered national praise, Castillo sought help from his family and took steps that included therapy and quitting drinking. 'I know there are a lot of chefs out there that know exactly what that feels like,' he says. Castillo hopes to use more of his time — and his new diner — to help chefs who might also be struggling with mental health issues. He's hoping to platform and host organizations, such as the Southern Smoke Foundation, which provides resources for members of the restaurant community in need. He's also made mentoring his own chefs more of a priority. 'These guys are the future,' he says. 'I want them to know what I went through and that we should be able to talk about these things.' SeaSalt Smokehouse by Heritage Barbecue at Bolsa Chica State Beach, 18751 Pacific Coast Hwy., Huntington Beach, opens May 3. Le Hut Dinette is open Sunday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. 730 N. Poinsettia St., Santa Ana, The pastries and loaves of bread are some of the Southland's most creative, with ube cream and blue corn masa peeking through laminated croissant dough and crusty loaves of sourdough. 61 Hundred Bread's chef-founder Karlo Evaristo was raised in the Philippines and named his business in honor of his old zip code. He weaves his heritage through the Santa Ana bakery's offerings with ube cruffins and fresh, fluffy pan de sal. But he also riffs on other cultures' touchstones with large loaves of panettone; pillowy sourdough shokupan; croissants filled with Oaxacan cheese, chile and garlic; sourdough chocolate babka; and Evaristo's signature item, the viral blue corn masa sourdough loaf. Evaristo says he 'went a little crazy during the pandemic' in his obsession with sourdough, and it's what launched 61 Hundred Bread as a cottage business. That quickly ballooned into one of Orange County's most popular pastry go-tos. (Prior to that, he cooked at Studio in Laguna Beach and cropped up in L.A. as one half of pop-up Adia.) In November he opened his first bricks-and-mortar, which draws lines out the door for fresh pastries and ube cream-top lattes. 61 Hundred Bread is open Thursday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., or until it sells out. 728 N. Poinsettia St., Santa Ana, (714) 884-4323, One of the South Bay's most famous chefs — whose restaurants include Fishing with Dynamite, Manhattan Beach Post, the Arthur J and RYLA — recently debuted a long-awaited restaurant in Hermosa Beach. David LeFevre tapped Fishing with Dynamite chef Alice Mai to collaborate on AttaGirl, a Mediterranean-leaning restaurant and bar with live-fire cooking and fresh pastas. The chef-partners serve a menu that connects the similar climates of Los Angeles and the Mediterranean Coast. There's fresh pizza with a range of mezze, house-extruded pastas (with clams and anchovy breadcrumbs, or lamb bolognese), farmers market vegetables, show-stopping plates of skewers, and large-format dishes such as chicken tagine and a spiral of spinach feta pie that receives a tableside pour of lemon béchamel. The wines are sourced primarily from the Mediterranean and California, echoing the dinner menu, while cocktails feature ingredients such as limoncello, saffron, hazelnut orgeat and clarified pineapple. AttaGirl is open Sunday to Wednesday from 5 to 10 p.m., and Thursday to Saturday from 5 to 10:30 p.m., with brunch service planned for the future. 1238 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach, (424) 600-2882, One of the city's top taquerías recently expanded with a new location — and an entirely new menu. Villa's Taco's, one of the 101 best restaurants in L.A., unveiled the third bricks-and-mortar restaurant in its expanding chain, but unlike the other Highland Park outpost and the stall in Grand Central Market, Villa's Tacos #3 is all about seafood. The new Highland Park spot takes over the former La Estrella Tacos stand, adding fresh color to the walk-up taqueria with murals dedicated to the Dodgers and Highland Park. The freshly made blue corn tortillas and maximalist ethos found in the first two Villa's restaurants can also be found at #3, though it diverts from char-grilled meats with a seafood-centric menu. There are beer-battered, rice-bran-coated fried fish and shrimp tacos with mango pico de gallo and cabbage in a nod to Baja's taco style, the main inspiration owner-founder Victor Villa turned to when opening this location. There are plates of shrimp with rice, as well as a few vegetarian options and what Villa calls 'fine dining tacos in the hood, with hood prices': Spanish octopus with potato purée and roasted tomatoes ($6), wild-caught mahi mahi with black beans and salsa macha ($5) and a market-price take on surf-and-turf that sport Japanese Wagyu, mahi mahi, bone marrow butter and carrot purée. The salsas are bold, the fish is fried to order and the lines — like the other Villa's — can wrap around the block but still feels like a party. Villa's #3 is open Thursday to Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. 6103 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, A pint-size panadería is reimagining classic Mexican pastries with new spins and techniques in Highland Park with fresh conchas, cafecito specials and more. Santa Canela is the latest operation from the team behind Loreto and LA Cha Cha Chá, and is fronted by the aforementioned restaurants' pastry chef. Patina vet Ellen Ramos, who was raised in nearby El Sereno, is now piping conchas with burnt-vanilla chantilly cream; frying to-order custardy-centered churros into the shape of 'L.A.'; and filling fluffy doughnuts with strawberry jam laced with morita chiles for a lingering burn that balances the sweetness. Savory items make an appearance too, with a soyrizo-and-potato croissant; a cecina focaccia sandwich with kale chimichurri; and a chicken tinga tart that's inspired by Ramos' mother's home recipe. The pastries rotate at this 720-square-foot bakery, with more specials available on weekends. To drink, look for burnt-cinnamon lattes and cafe de olla. Santa Canela is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 5601 N. Figueroa St., Unit 120, Los Angeles, There's a new hand roll bar in the Arts District, and while Sama specializes in temaki, the robata is constantly firing with kushiyaki: miso cod, skewers of chicken hearts, pork belly with spicy mustard, beef tongue with yuzu kosho and more fly out from the semi-open kitchen. Other hot plates include tempura, unagi curry and lobster dashi pasta, but a large focus from chef-founder and SBE Group alum Lester Lai is sushi. Sama offers a range of classic hand and cut rolls such as blue crab, yellowtail and salmon, as well as a few signatures, including the Sama, which tops toro and truffled uni with shaved, salted egg yolk. Roll add-ons include caviar, uni and tempura flakes, among others, while sashimi features bluefin tuna with ikura and burrata; salmon carpaccio with yuzu vin; and seared toro with cured egg yolk. Sama is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. 897 Traction Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 265-7047,
