Jason Neroni previews Superba Snack Bar

Jason Neroni is in the middle of construction of his new restaurant Superba Snack Bar, the Venice spot he's opening with partner and Pitfire Pizza co-founder Paul Hibler. He'll be focusing on pastas, but "no tagliatelle, no pappardelle, no angel's hair." Neroni says he has discovered some pasta dies with unusual shapes, such as for creste di galli -- or "cockscomb," because the macaroni-shaped pasta has a frill that looks like one. 

Earlier this week Neroni staged a mini Superba Snack Bar pop-up at the Pitfire Pizza in West Hollywood, where he served chicken liver mousse and lardo with balsamic cherries; Eclectic Acres greens with Superba ricotta and pickled jalapeño dressing; pizza with pureed ramps, Taleggio and smoked bone marrow; and rye rigatoni with lamb Bolognese, black garlic and smoked ricotta salata. For dessert: black pepper panna cotta with strawberries, anise hyssop and vin cotto. 

Neroni says he won't be making pizzas at Superba, but do look for the sandwiches that he'll be serving at lunch, such as his porchetta with wild arugula, preserved lemon and garlic confit on a springy roll. "This is delicious," said one diner. To which Neroni replied: "It's porchetta!" 

Superba Snack Bar is scheduled to open at the end of June.    

533 Rose Ave., Venice.

ALSO:

Here's what's rotting at David Chang's Momofuku kitchen lab

First Impression: End of communism at Rivera

Mo-Chica to open May 30

-- Betty Hallock

Photos: Pasta, top; pizza; and chicken liver. Credits: Betty Hallock

Del Monte Speakeasy and the awesome history of Prohibition tunnels

Did you know that during Prohibition whiskey boats from Canada would anchor offshore of Venice and row their whiskey barrels to utility tunnels and catacombs under the Venice Pier that led to the tony hotels and bars that lined the boardwalk?

I didn't. But I love the idea. It's so very "Boardwalk Empire." Apparently the Del Monte Speakeasy below the nearly century-old bar the Townhouse was a major booze distribution hub, and rumor has it that a tunnel connected it to King Eddy's Saloon in downtown L.A. That may not be true, but if it is I'm going to find that tunnel and walk it myself (with a bottle of whiskey, of course).

Anyway, you can learn all about the history of Del Monte Speakeasy and more in this story from Friday's nightlife pages in Calendar.

ALSO:

Sunday supper at Eveleigh

A Getty dinner, putting on the Ritts

Fava beans and pecorino make for a nice snack

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: An Amaretto sour is served at the Del Monte Speakeasy. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

The Venice Neighborhood Meet takes place April 7

If you like strolling crafty gatherings with specialty foods, indie fashions and live music while taking in some beachy air on what has been dubbed "the coolest block in America," then you're in luck. The new Venice Neighborhood Meet goes down Saturday, April 7, on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice.

More than 50 L.A.-area vendors will be showcasing their wares at what Venice Neighborhood Meet organizers say is a collection of "meticulously curated" goods. Some of the featured local treats: Amella Caramels, Sugarbird Sweets & Teas, Coldwater Canyon Provisions, Friandise Pastries, Hepp’s Salt Barrel, Ice Ice Shavie, Vici Victual, The Rice Creamery, Oliovera and Out of the Box Collective. 

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Westminster Avenue Elementary School, 1010 Abbot Kinney Boulevard (at Broadway), www.thevenicemeet.com.

ALSO:

Pig & Beer is happening; 1886 has new cocktails; set your DVRs to 'Food Forward'

Trouble rolling out pie dough? No problem!

It's Taco Tuesday at Arturo's

-- Betty Hallock

Pop-ups in Venice: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Alma and Kali Dining

Lately, pop-up dining central might be the neighborhood of Venice. Maybe it's the by-the-beach location or its bobo residents. Whatever the reason, here are a few to check out:

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing took over the old Capri space on Abbot Kinney Boulevard late last year. The pop-up kitchen is managed by chefs Brian Dunsmoor of Axe and Kris Tominaga of Joe’s Restaurant. The restaurant was due to end its stint this month but is now in negotiations to extend the operation in the same space for an additional six months while a permanent space is secured; good news for all those who have yet to try the restaurant's reasonably priced, market-driven dishes. The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday. 1616 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, wolfinsheepsclothingrestaurant.com.

Chef Kevin Meehan of Cafe Pinot started hosting dinner parties in Culver City earlier this month through his new project, Kali Dining. The pop-up dining experience features a frequently changing menu and location. Meehan prepares and serves a four-course prix-fixe meal for guests in a casual, intimate environment. The dinner series, which costs $65 per person and currently runs Wednesday to Sunday, is on in Venice through early March. And did we mention that he hunts his own hogs too? Kalidining.com.

Another pop-up restaurant new to the scene in Venice is Alma. With only a couple of weeks under its belt, the eatery serves weekly changing three- and five-course prix-fixe dinners ($35 and $55,  respectively) Wednesday through Saturday. Housed inside cafe Flake on Rose Avenue, Alma is the brainchild of Dinelle Lucchesi, a former director of an underground social club in San Francisco, and Ari Taymor of San Francisco's Bar Tartine and Flour + Water. Taymor's creations will highlight American cuisine with dishes such as garlic and oyster stew; smoked lentils, carrot, milk skin and nettle; and popcorn with chocolate and soy caramel. 513 Rose Ave., Venice, almafoodandwine.tumblr.com.

ALSO:

Folklore: Hearthland

Test Kitchen tips: Sea urchin

Girl Scout cookie finder iPhone app

-- Caitlin Keller

Top photo: Kevin Meehan of Kali Dining; bottom photo: braised wild hog with smoked potato puree, peas and prosciutto. Credit: Mike Sanfratello. 

Roy Choi to open Sunny Spot next week

Roy Choi of Kogi, Chego and A-Frame says he'll be opening new restaurant Sunny Spot on Nov. 18 in Venice in the former Beechwood space -- "think roadside cookshop, where every day's a holiday."

Inspired by the cuisine of the West Indies, Sunny Spot's menu runs the gamut from double-fried jerk chicken and  rum-glazed prawns to slow-roasted whole goat and papaya-guava honey pot salad with crushed cashews, red onion, lime and tarragon (pictured). 

Brian Butler, who created the cocktail list at A-Frame, put together the drinks menu at Sunny Spot. Expect a little hibiscus in your Air Mail and Nicaraguan rum in your Old Fashioned.

822 Washington Blvd., Venice, (310) 448-8884, www.sunnyspotvenice.com.

ALSO:

Susan Feniger's dog likes us

Band of Outsiders is cookie-crazed

5 Questions for ramen master Shigetoshi Nakamura

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: The papaya-guava honey pot salad with crushed cashews, red onion, lime and tarragon at the new Venice restaurant Sunny Spot. Credit: sunnyspotvenice.com.

Hotel Erwin's newest addition, Barlo, opens Thursday

The Hotel Erwin has opened its newest restaurant addition, Barlo, located on the ground floor of the Venice hotel. Barlo offers hotel guests and locals a laid-back setting to sip on refreshing cocktails and munch on reasonably priced eats before or after heading to the beach.

Executive chef Jason Wiggin and food and beverage director Ryan Wingo have created a seasonally changing menu with not comfort food per se but comforting food using organic ingredients. The menu includes plates such as a purple kale salad, shrimp and grits, pork belly buns and beet pickled "deviled" eggs; bar snacks include anchovy puffs, truffle frites and bacon caramel corn; daily changing desserts; house-made ginger ale; and seasonally driven libations including the Porch Swing with Hendricks gin, gooseberry preserves, watermelon juice and lemon and the Disappear with Tito's vodka, Clear Creek pear brandy and house-made sour syrup.

A brunch menu is in the works, and winter-inspired drinks -- Bourbon with apple butter -- are expected to pop up on the cocktail menu come November.

Barlo at Hotel Erwin, 1697 Pacific Ave., Venice, (424) 214-1063, barlovenice.com.

ALSO:

Italian marroni chestnuts available from Correia Farm

'Food and the Art of Consumption' exhibition

Tacos Clarita lives!

-- Caitlin Keller

Photos: From top, Barlo at Hotel Erwin and shrimp and grits. Credit: Caitlin Keller / Los Angeles Times

Larry's in Venice opens today (with nothing over $15)

Mark and Erwin Sokol (of Hotel Erwin) have teamed up with Waterloo & City chef Brendan Collins and director of operations Carolos Tomazos to pay tribute to the art community of Venice Beach with an art-inspired eatery that opens its doors for business Tuesday.

Larry's -- named after local artist Larry Bell, a pioneer of California minimalism -- features an interior bar inspired by the artist's mirrored and translucent glass and plexiglass cubes of the 1960s and an outdoor patio with a beer garden-like atmosphere.

Facing Windward Avenue is an art wall on the restaurant's exterior. A self-portrait of Bell rendered in neon by artist Ohashi serves as the eatery's logo, hanging high above the art wall for locals and tourists alike to look up to (in the literal and metaphorical sense, perhaps).

The menu at Larry's features daily chalkboard specials, charcuterie and pizzas (like the Brussels sprout, bacon, parmesan and chile vinegar or the green chorizo, egg, chipotle and tomato sauce) along with various gastropub-ish plates such as barbecued eel and foie gras terrine or green curry mussels -- all $15 and under.

Larry's is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Larry's, 24 Windward Ave., Venice, (310) 399-2700, larrysvenice.com.

ALSO:

Ginger grater?

Bouchon Bakery opens in Beverly Hills

Demitasse now pouring coffee in Little Tokyo

-- Caitlin Keller

Photos: Dustin Downing

Axe reopens on Abbot Kinney

Axe, Venice's beloved neighborhood eatery, is back in business (since last Wednesday) after being closed down for renovations last August following a small fire.

With slight changes in opening hours and subtle changes made to the menu, owner and executive chef Joanna Moore aims to maintain sustainability and consistency, as before, in her approach to fresh, market-inspired dishes. Joanna's menu at Axe is full of grains, nuts and vegetables, which the restaurant describes as California soul food, nourishing the body and spirit.

Regulars will be happy to know that a replaced ceiling has vastly improved the restaurant's sound level and a few native trees have found a new home to complete the restaurant's interior decor.

Axe, 1009 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (310) 664-9787, axerestaurant.com.

ALSO:

Food Porn Lab

Tsujita L.A.

5 Questions for Mirko Paderno

-- Caitlin Keller

Photo credit: Saam Gabbay

Gjelina ordered to cut number of seats

Your favorite Venice restaurant patio may soon be shrinking. After last month's decision by the West L.A. Planning Commision to limit Gjelina's number of seats to 60 (including only 14 on the patio), the city Department of Building and Safety this week has issued an "order to comply." That means an inspector will be dropping by to check on the number of seats, and if the planning commission's decision is flouted the restaurant's conditional use permit could be jeopardized. 

Gjelina owner Fran Camaj could not be reached at the restaurant for comment. But Venice Stakeholders Assn. President Mark Ryavec, who has helped lead a charge against the squeeze on parking along Abbot Kinney Boulevard and increasing noise from patrons at bars and restaurants, expects the planning commission's decision to send a message to restaurateurs. If Gjelina wants more than 60 seats, the number allowed under its current permit, it has to apply for a new permit and provide additional parking. 

"This is the tip of the iceberg. [Gjelina] is the most egregious case of what's happening on Abbot Kinney," Ryavec said. "Our neighborhood is both blessed and bedeviled by this new popularity of Abbot Kinney and all the new establishments. Many of the buildings have got grandfathered parking, which means they don't provide any parking. And so the patrons are all parking in the residential neighborhoods." Ryavec said that some Venice Stakeholders Assn. members counted up to 120 seats at Gjelina. 

Meanwhile, the battle for better parking in Venice continues to be waged. The Venice Stakeholders Assn. is contesting plans for another Camaj-owned restaurant down the street, which would provide stacked parking via a car lift. "Our advisor-architect says it's not credible," Ryavec said.  

Gjelina, 1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (310) 450-1429, www.gjelina.com.

ALSO:

5 Questions for Micah Wexler

Restaurant reviews and finds, mapped

Cow Appreciation Day, brought to you by Chick-Fil-A

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: The Gjelina patio. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

With all due respect: Cake

About the only way you're going to get cake these days is if you bake it yourself. Cake, other than the flourless chocolate variety, is not the mode anymore in restaurants. Pastry chefs are more into intricate individual desserts. But then I'm forgetting Sharlena Fong's red velvet and  salt peanut cakes at the Nickel Diner downtown. Correction: Revise to "mostly out of fashion."    

So. Once you've beaten the sugar into the butter and added the eggs one by one, folded in the other ingredients, buttered and floured your cake pans and baked the cake, serving it on a plain plate isn't going to do it. Your cake creation needs to be presented in all its glory on a proper cake stand.     

Where to get one? At the shop next door to Intelligentsia on Abbot Kinney in Venice. Sorry, but they were locked up when I took the photo and there is no sign or number out front, and I'm certainly not going to drive  back to Venice to get that info. Never mind. You should have no trouble finding the store, and anyway, you probably need to pick up some of Intelligentsia's Black Cat espresso beans to serve with a slice of cake.

-- S. Irene Virbila

Photo by S. Irene Virbila / Los Angeles Times