Halloween deals: Ray's and Stark Bar, Locanda del Lago, Farmshop

Ray's and Stark Bar: Executive chef Kris Morningstar has created a three-course prix fixe menu to celebrate Halloween for $45 per person. There's jack-o’-lantern soup with ricotta toast and sage-pumpkin seed pesto, “Meat and Bones” hanger steak with bone marrow and green pomme puree, and a chocolate and orange mouse with crispy rice tuile for dessert. The restaurant has also created a specialty cocktail, the Apple Jackerac, a twist on the classic Sazerac with the flavors of fall. As a bonus, LACMA will be extending the hours until midnight for the Tim Burton exhibit so diners can peruse the collection after their meal. LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 857-6180, www.raysandstarkbar.com

Locanda del Lago: Locanda del Lago is offering an 11% discount on all its Halloween-inspired menu items. To receive the discount, guests must mention the password “Hal-LAGO-ween” to their waiter.  Discounted menu items include the pumpkin pie cocktail made with Santa Monica Farmers Market pumpkin puree, Tru organic vanilla vodka, Frangelico, Baileys and cinnamon; roasted bone marrow with crispy saffron-Parmesan risotto cake; house-made ravioli di zucca (pumpkin) with amaretti cookies, sage and brown butter; and more. 231 Arizona Ave. (at the Third Street Promenade), Santa Monica, (310) 451-3525, www.lagosantamonica.com.

Farmshop: The bakery at Farmshop has created a myriad of spooky Halloween cookies to celebrate the holiday. The almond sugar cookies come in all shapes and sizes. You will find a bat, pumpkin or candy corn-shaped cookie for $1 each or a headstone or glazed ghost for $2.25 each. For $3.35, a box of skull and spider vanilla shortbread cookies covered in dark chocolate is available. And a pack of five pumpkin ganache sandwich cookies is $6. 225 26^th St., Suite 25, Santa Monica, (310) 566-2400, www.farmshopla.com. 

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3 Halloween Events: Bouchon fried chicken, Rivera menu, and Gonpachi prix fixe

-- Leah Rodrigues

twitter.com/ LeahRodrigues24

Photo: Farmshop cookies. Credit: Farmshop

'13 Days of Halloween' at Village Bakery

"The 13 Days of Halloween" start on Wednesday at Village Bakery & Cafe in Atwater Village. On each of the 13 days leading up to Halloween, the neighborhood bakery offers a different scary treat. By Halloween Day, all 13 will be available.

It's sort of like an Advent calendar for Halloween rendered in baked goods -- starting with witches' fingers shortbread (pictured above). Other treats include: monster eyeballs, ghost meringues, jack o' lantern pumpkin tarts, skeleton gingerbread men, chocolate mice, skull cookies, mummy rice krispy treats, mini pumpkin cakes, black cat cookies, bat brownies, serial killer cookies and skeleton cupcakes. Other Halloween treats, not part of the 13 Days of Halloween, also will be available. 

3119 Los Feliz Blvd., Atwater Village, (323) 662-8600, www.villagebakeryandcafe.com.

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-- Betty Hallock

Photo credit: Village Bakery

3 food events you should know about: Mexico's bicentennial at Test Kitchen; 'Tampopo' at Royal/T; '13 Days of Halloween' at Village Bakery

 

Mexico 2010: The Test Kitchen this week celebrates Mexico's bicentennial by hosting Baja chefs Diego Hernandez, formerly of Restaurante Uno in Tijuana; Ismene Venegas of Restaurante La Contra del Parque in Ensenada; and Guillermo Barreto of El Sarmiento restaurant in Ensenada. On Wednesday and Thursday, the three will prepare a spontaneous six-course menu; $50 per person. On Friday and Saturday, Joshua Gil of Mitla, the modern Oaxacan restaurant that he and Bricia Lopez plan to open next month, is offering a five-course menu for $55: sopa de guias with squash vines, chepil, zucchini stems, blossoms, chochoyote and chinicuil sauce; tlayuda of white white beans, mole coloradito, avocado leaves, cactuses and shrimp; braised turkey with hoja santa, black beans, poleo and bean masa tortillas; venison with yellow mole; and guava sponge cake with Oaxacan chocolate and goat milk caramel. 9575 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 277-0133, testkitchenla.com

Ramen and a movie: Royal/T starts its fall entertainment line-up for "Nighttime @ Royal/T" on Wednesday with a screening of Juzo Itami's "Tampopo," the classic cult film about ramen culture in Japan. Before the screening in Royal/T's back lounge space, Jordan A. Yamaji Smith, a lecturer in Japanese studies and comparative literature at UCLA and Long Beach State, will discuss "Food, Sex, Satire in Modern Japan." A special ramen menu will be available in the cafe starting at 6 p.m. The film starts at 7:30 p.m.  8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 559-6300, www.royal-t.org.

Countdown to Halloween: There are still a few days left of "13 Days of Halloween." Until Sunday, the Village Bakery in Atwater Village is featuring a different Halloween treat each day. Peanut butter and dark chocolate "monster eyeballs," bandaged Rice Krispie treat mummy heads, green marshmallow witches' fingers, and meringue ghosts dipped in chocolate and toasted coconut have been a few of the featured baked goods that baker-owner Barbara Monderine has dreamed up. 3119 Los Feliz Blvd., (323) 662-8600, www.thevillagebakeryandcafe.com. 

 -- Betty Hallock

Photo: Balloons over the Angel of Independence in Mexico City in celebration of Mexico's bicentennial. Credit: Marco Ugarte / Associated Press. 

Sampler Platter: Agura sushi soft-opens, absinthe in Rome, Halloween cupcakes

A cupcake so cute it's scary, a Roman milk bar and a new sushi restaurant on La Cienega lead our food news roundup.

-- Teetotalers may be more depressed than drinkers. Time
-- Absinthe in a chocolate shake? Welcome to Latte Piu, a milk bar in Rome that’s patterned after "Clockwork Orange's" Korova. Los Angeles Times
-- Agura sushi on La Cienega soft-opens. Blackburn + Sweetzer
-- Figs, cupcakes, Guy Fieri and seven more things David Chang and Anthony Bourdain hate. Grub Street LA
-- San Diego Meat Co. recalls 925 pounds of beef products due to E. coli threat. Los Angeles Times
-- Red Mango has a new seasonal flavor: pumpkin spice.
-- Most adorable Halloween cupcake ever? We Love You So

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: It looks innocuous, but the Diavaolo, a chocolate milkshake with 80-proof absinthe, packs a big punch. It's served at Latte Piu, a milk bar in Rome. Credit: Baxter Holmes / For The Times