What’s Popping Up? A Lot Of Pride And The Brig Is Back

Known for its colorful interior and Southeast Asian inspired menu, for the month of June, Piccalilli is offering Love is Love, a pride-themed cocktail crafted to celebrate the LGBTQA+ community, made with Harry’s Berries strawberry puree, watermelon juice, lime juice, Velvet Falernum and Empress gin, naturally concocted with butterfly pea blossom to create its purple hue.

Randy’s Donuts is showing its support of four local LGBTQ+ centers in Los Angeles and Orange County in celebration of Pride. Launching a new inclusive Pride Flag Donut available at all locations, the donut shop will donate proceeds from the Pride Flag Donut and rainbow merchandise (socks, t-shirts and baseball caps) to South Bay LGBTQ Center, LGBTQ Center Orange County, San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center and Los Angeles LGBT Center.

In addition to the Pride Flag Donuts, Randy’s Donuts El Segundo will be designated as a donation drop-off location for Christopher Street West LA Pride’s Pride Makes A Difference campaign in partnership with Big Sunday from Friday, June 4 through Wednesday, June 30.

Love is Love (Courtesy Piccalilli )

For the month of June, Verve Coffee Roasters is offering a new seasonal beverage and partnering with the It Gets Better Project, a global nonprofit dedicated to empowering LGBTQ+ youth. Starting Tuesday, June 1, every Verve cafe in California will offer a Cascara Spritz for a limited time only, with a portion of proceeds from the beverage going to the It Gets Better Project. Verve’s Cascara Spritz is made up of Jamaica Cascara, Citrus Kombucha and topped with mint. Verve cafes will also have Love is Love bandanas and Pride stickers to give away to customers.

The Pie Hole and Los Angeles LGBT Center come together for the month of June at the center’s Liberation Coffee House, a 1,600 sq ft café and community space operated and staffed by graduates from the Susan Feniger’s intergenerational Culinary Arts program.

Liberation Coffee House will sell The Pie Hole’s signature “Pie Holes” (round bites of pie crust filled with sweet or savory flavors including strawberry, blueberry crumble, caramel apple, Mexican chocolate and Nutella) topped with Pride flags. The Pie Hole will also sell Pride Flag Pie Holes in bundles of four, six and 12 priced $10 – $30 at all locations, donating the proceeds to the Los Angeles LGBT Center to further support the Culinary Arts program – a three-month training program that prepares LGBTQ youth and seniors for employment in the restaurant and hospitality industries. Advance orders can be placed online for pick-up or delivery at thepieholela.com; catering options available as well.

Liberation Coffee House at the Los Angeles LGBT Center (Courtesy The Pie Hole)

Plus:

The Brig, the iconic Abbot Kinney watering hole, reopens Friday, May 28. Owned and operated since 2000 by the Reiss Co (Nueva, The Alibi Room & Vito’s Pizza) Dave and Patti Reiss will take guests back in time with an updated version of Babe Brandelli’s original dive bar featuring mid-century terrazzo floors, wood paneling, billiard table and a playlist featuring sounds of vintage soul and Rock & Roll. At the rear of the bar is the entrance to a newly added expansive patio.

Soft shell crab season is here and crustaceans from the Chesapeake Bay have arrived at Water Grill. Starting now through September, the restaurant will serve many different dishes using the star ingredient including wild Maryland soft shell crab with watermelon and cucumber salad and a brown butter soy ginger sauce as well as a crab roll with mango, pickled jalapeño, snow pea shoots, eel sauce and cilantro oil.

Emma Chamberlain’s coffee brand, Chamberlain Coffee, is taking over Levi’s, Century City this Memorial Day weekend from May 29 – May 31 (Saturday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.; and Monday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.) to celebrate the launch of Levi’s secondhand collection. Throughout the weekend, pop into the pop-up inside the Levi store and grab an 8 oz hot cup of their special Early Bird blend, available for purchase as well as select Chamberlain Coffee mugs and totes.

Thistle, the West Coast based meal delivery service, is paying L.A. diners to eat out this June. According to Google Adwords data, Los Angeles ranked in the top 10 slowest cities for post-pandemic restaurant recovery. Starting Tuesday, June 1 through June 30, Thistle Dines Out will encourage vaccinated diners to eat out and get something in return. Dine out at your favorite local restaurant, upload your receipt, and within a week you’ll have up to $25 to spend on Thistle meals. The company is offering up to $250,000 in credits to get 10,000 people back in restaurants. In an effort to help local businesses, no chains or delivery apps will be accepted. Participating restaurants include Great White.