By: Matthew Kang
March 10, 2025·3 min read
Ojai Valley Food & Wine, one of the country’s now major regional food festivals, returns to the Southern California town this weekend with events from Thursday, March 13 to Sunday, March 16. Taking place at the luxe Ojai Valley Inn, most of the festival’s main packages have been sold out for some time now, though tickets remain for grand tastings on Thursday night and Sunday afternoon. The lineup includes names like Nyesha Arrington, Grant Achatz, Mei Lin, Evan Funke, Eunji Lee (NYC’s Lysée Bakery), Alice Waters, and William Bradley (Addison).
Thursday night’s event (with runs $495 plus $111 in fees) features Jeremiah Tower, Claudette Zepeda (who recently opened a big new restaurant in Leucadia/Encinitas just north of San Diego), Nancy Silverton, Deau Arpapornnopparat (Holy Basil), Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger, Jonathan Waxman, and Andrew Zimmern. The Sunday afternoon event costs the same as Thursday’s and showcases Christopher Kostow (Meadowood/Charter Oak), Jon Yao (Kato), Justin Pitchetrungsi (Anajak), Katianna and John Hong (Yangban), and Marcus Jernmark (of the forthcoming Lielle in the former Bicyclette space).
There are plenty of other wine seminars and tastings (with information available here), but those who want to check them out will have to plan ahead for next year’s event. A chef attending this year’s event described this and similar events like Pebble Beach Food & Wine as “summer camp for chefs,” which explains the relatively high attendance rate of big names.
Helping out Children’s Hospital LA
Innovative Dining Group restaurants Boa Steakhouse, Katana, and Sushi Roku are partnering with Make March Matter to contribute $2 for every dessert sold at the restaurants this month. The funds will support Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; diners can finish meals with Boa’s carrot cake or Sushi Roku’s chocolate churros. Boa has locations in West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Manhattan Beach while Sushi Roku serves in Newport Beach, Manhattan Beach, Pasadena, and Santa Monica. Katana is located at its more than 20-year perch in West Hollywood.
Ceviche Stop’s return in La Puente
Culver City Peruvian restaurant Ceviche Stop has resurfaced at 1425 Valinda Avenue in La Puente with a pre-launch dinner scheduled for March 14. Tickets for the dinners cost $85 per person and include a five-course tasting menu. Expect Chef Walter Adrianzen’s restaurant to open shortly after the preview dinner.
Dining in West Hollywood
Eat + Drink West Hollywood, a month-long initiative to support restaurants in the Los Angeles County city, will support food and beverage workers that were affected by the wildfires with a $1 donation made for every OpenTable reservation from March 7 to March 31. Visit West Hollywood will donate up to $10,000 to Restaurants Care during the month, with a list of the participating restaurants and bars on its website.
Zouk is coming to LA
One of Asia’s hottest nightclubs, Zouk, with locations in Singapore, Malaysia, and Tokyo, is coming to Los Angeles. The new club is a partnership of Sam Nazarian’s SBE, who will run day-to-day operations, and Zouk founder Hui Lim. The grand opening is scheduled for March 14. The nightclub has a key location inside Resorts World Las Vegas and takes over the former Nightingale at 643 N. La Cienega Boulevard. DJ Politik will be the club’s opening headline act, with more information listed on Instagram.
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