Internet-Favorite Chefs TwayDaBae and Alvin Cailan Open Studio City Mini Food Hall | Eater LA
"Opened July 2 in Studio City, this new food hall brings some of the internet’s favorite chefs under one roof and operates more than a dozen locations in Northern California with a brief earlier stint in Orange County. The concept employs a single kitchen and uses recipes from well-known chefs and food personalities, allowing diners to pick and choose meals from a Cheesecake Factory-level of options; the model aims to maintain consistency and efficiency to improve profitability amid rising ingredient, labor, and rent costs. The Los Angeles outpost departs from the brand’s mostly takeout-and-delivery history in Northern California by offering on-site seating, cashiers, greeters, and servers, and it entered the Los Angeles market seven months after Neighborly’s debut. On any given visit diners can get an Oklahoma-style smash burger from Alvin Cailan (of Chinatown’s Amboy) loaded with bacon or chiles; Vietnamese broken rice plates from Tuệ Nguyen with blackened chicken or braised pork belly; Mexican carne asada or chicken adobada rice plates from cookbook author Rick Martinez; fried chicken from Proposition Chicken; and eastern Mediterranean dishes by Einat Admony such as a green falafel topped with pickled cabbage and sumac red onion. Most dishes are reasonably priced under $20 (many hover around $10 before taxes and fees). Dessert options are limited to items like berry sauce–covered nachos and a molasses chocolate chunk cookie. Competitor Neighborly has already announced new Los Angeles locations, indicating momentum for the new-school food hall concept." - Matthew Kang
