Sun-drenched
Laya, The Flats, Monika Blunder, Cabo, August effect, best Valley restaurants, Sara Bareilles tix, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Hollywood oasis
The Skinny: Hollywood’s full of sun-drenched restaurant patios, but none as big as the 6,500-square-foot outdoor space at Laya, which opened early July. Designed by Studio Mood and outfitted with earthy, handcrafted furniture and a neutral palette, Laya sets a lovely backdrop for a Middle Eastern menu from chef Charbel Hayek. Hayek, a bit of a dynamo, won Top Chef Middle East at age 24, and opened LadyHawk at the Kimpton La Peer hotel in West Hollywood late last year.
The Vibe: Step off the street and through wooden archways to find a tranquil oasis with multiple spaces. Just past the host stand, a less formal bar and lounge is a prelude to the dining room, where sand-colored half moon booths line the patio’s perimeter. Stone columns and hanging string lights lend some gravitas to the space. Towards the back, a darker covered area hints at potential nightlife staging to come.
The Food: Having established stateside credibility at LadyHawk, Hayek continues to build out his profile with a sprawling menu. Start with one of the many dips, cannellini bean hummus with summer squash and harissa, or charred beetroot hummus topped with wild mushrooms, creme fraiche and dill. Next, a skewers section is the best place to focus, with wagyu beef, grilled vegetables and tahini, or octopus and cucumber tzatziki for a welcome freshness.
As long as you haven’t skipped over the fresh pita and goat cheese, doused with a generous amount of za’atar, it’s time to move onto mains. Spicy lamb and beef kafta, or chicken shawarma with garlicky toum both showcase Hayek’s knack for translating his culinary heritage into a Los Angeles setting. The kafta arrives accompanied by a parsley tahini, while the shawarma is served with pickled wild cucumber, a smattering of herbs, and butter lettuce. Dessert also splits the difference between Mediterranean simplicity — a rose soft serve with pistachio — and Hollywood decadence, the swirl of cotton candy on top.
The Verdict: While plenty of guests will seek out Laya for the setting, or its transmutable pre-game/post-dinner party vibes, the food’s precision is impressive. Hayek has calibrated a sophisticated, seasonal menu that will attract those in search of a new star chef and a great meal as much as those looking for a fun night out in Hollywood. Laya’s the rare place they’re virtually guaranteed both. –Caitlin White
→ Laya (Hollywood) • 1430 N Cahuenga Blvd • Tue-Wed 6p-12a, Thu-Sat, 6p-1a • Reserve.
LA RESTAURANT LINKS: The Hotel Bel Air enters its post-Wolfgang era • New taqueria Taqueria Frontera makes a splash in Cypress Park • Downtown restaurant Otium to shutter after service on Sept. 8 • Zinque eyes Westlake Village • California’s Michelin Guide star awards event was a little weird.
REAL ESTATE • Sold
Hardly flat
As we learned last week, the Greater Los Angeles area tallied 135 $10M+ residential real estate sales in the first half of this year — more than any other housing market in the country. Such lofty sales are relatively common in The Flats neighborhood of Beverly Hills, where Zillow says the average home value is $8.89M — appropriate for a neighborhood that includes the residential portion of Rodeo Drive.
Here for your Thursday browsing pleasure, three recent sales in The Flats, two of which hit the magic $10M number, and one that just missed it (despite coming to market at what turned out to be an aspirational $11.5M):
→ 626 Foothill Rd (The Flats) • 5BR/7BA, 6962 SF • massive residence with two-story foyer and two-car garage • Listed: 3/15/24 for $15.75M • Sold 4/26/24 for $13.82M • Agent: Susan Smith, Carolwood Estates.
→ 624 N Arden Dr (The Flats, above) • 6BR/4.1BA, 5942 SF • newly renovated Spanish-style estate with swimming pool • Listed: 4/12/24 for $10.29M • Sold 5/23/24 for $10.15M • Agent: Susan Perryman, Carolwood Estates.
→ 512 N Crescent Dr (The Flats) • 5BR/5.1BA, 6062 SF • mansion renovated in 2014, with hot tub and swimming pool • Listed: 1/29/24 for $11.5M • Sold 7/24/24 for $9.55M • Agent: Austin Krock, Sotheby’s.
LA WORK AND PLAY LINKS: The return of the real estate refinance • Steve Martin organizes LA Story show at Hauser & Worth • Total Wine & More opens in Brentwood • Canadian-Italian bakery Forno coming to Brentwood • Billionaire sued for removing sand from Malibu’s Broad Beach • Here come the 2028 Olympics — and the air taxis.
WORK • Thursday Routine
First blush
MONIKA BLUNDER • founder • Monika Blunder Beauty
Neighborhood you work in: Encino
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
My workplace is always changing. Sometimes I’m on set, but lately I’ve been really focused on my brand (Monika Blunder Beauty), so I’ll either be working from home, or visiting retailers and doing trainings. It’s really an ever-changing mixed bag. That’s one of the most fun parts of this job — every day is different.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Right now I’m in the midst of testing some new formulas for the brand. I’m almost finished formulating my new skin tint, and in the final stages of a really incredible luminizing blush — both of which I’m so excited about. We also just launched our Sweet Talk Lip Oils so I’ve been meeting with editors and buyers to walk them through the new oils.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I usually do date night with my husband, or we go on a double date with our friends. Our go-tos are Shu Sushi or Il Segreto on Beverly Glen.
Any weekend getaways?
I love to go to Cabo, it's a 1.5 hour flight from LA, and once I’m there, I can really feel like I got a mini vacation. You’re in a different environment with different culture, food and amazing weather. We always stay at the Montage — I love it there because it's one of the only Cabo hotels with beach access.
What was your last great vacation?
My last amazing vacation was Africa, one of my most special trips ever. We went on two different safaris, one in Botswana and the second one was in Pekwa. We also spent some time in Cape Town at the end of the trip.
GETAWAYS LINKS: SF cocktail master opens roadside burger stand Jumbo’s Win-Win in Anderson Valley • Burning Man tickets still up for grabs • Inside the new main terminal at PDX • The restaurant inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park offers smoking lava view • How to go car camping in your Porsche • The best new hotels of summer 2024.
WORK • Out of Office
Beached
Did financial executives on vacation contribute to last week’s market chaos? Possibly! Per the Financial Times:
Senior investors scrambled to respond to the global sell-off from their holiday homes, and junior traders struggled to keep up with the unfolding chaos as markets plunged then recovered this week. Those left at their desks said a lack of liquidity — the volume of money shifting around world financial markets, slowed by thin staffing over the holidays — made the market ructions worse.
We’ll wait for the Michael Lewis book to unravel whether twenty-something HBS grads in their first months on the desk are really to blame (for the ructions!). But there’s no denying that August is a historically bad time for bad things to happen at work.
I’m writing this from the beach myself, an admission that probably invites some sort of unexpected happening. Fortunately, there’s nothing in FOUND’s portfolio likely to blow up this week — no positions to unwind, no big transactions inching toward close. But I remember very clearly the times that there were — the hastily arranged calls and Zooms taken from rented rooms and porches ill-suited for serious work. Usually, they arrive just as you’ve submitted to the sounds of the surf.
Contrary to distressed traders’ anecdotes — like the merger arbitrage trader who told the FT about the one guy who lost millions on the Eurostar, heading to the Olympics, when he “went into the tunnel and… had no connection right when contagion was spreading” — it’s also possible that the pandemic and corresponding shift to WFH-readiness have taken away some of the jarring contrast of an August (or Thanksgiving, or late-December) surprise. Maybe it doesn’t hurt quite as much to be summoned back to your desk when your desk or “desk” is just a few steps away. What we lose in the blurring of work and life, we gain in the smoother transitions from one to the other.
Still, I’d never willfully plan anything important for these next few weeks. Leave it for September, when the beach is closed. –Josh Albertson
CULTURE & LEISURE • Bowling
The Gipsy Kings Featuring Nicolas Reyes • Hollywood Bowl (Hollywood) • Fri @ 8p • section F, $89 per
Sara Bareilles with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra • Hollywood Bowl (Hollywood) • Sat @ 8p • section F, $149 per
Bruno Mars • Intuit Dome (Inglewood) • Fri @ 8p • section C8, $622 per
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RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Restaurants, The Valley
Anajak Thai (Sherman Oaks), truly dazzling Thai food with omakase, natural wine, Thai taco Tuesdays