At a typical start to the week in Los Angeles these days, you can count the number of good restaurants that have bothered to open for dinner on one or two hands.
And yet, at 9 p.m. on a Monday not long ago, the Silver Lake hotspot Pijja Palace was absolutely raging.
The parking lot of the popular Indian sports bar, shared with an unremarkable budget motel, was packed with more than 200 people attending an Industry Only LA party — top LA chefs, wheeling and dealing restaurateurs, food writers and other industry insiders, all happily eating, drinking and swapping war stories about city life andthe weighty cost of doing business in LA right now.
There were flavorful sliders, compliments of the house; dim sum brought in from so-hot-right-now dumpling spot Paradise Dynasty; hot tenders finished with salmon roe. Physician and chef Yoon Sung fired Wagyu-topped Korean pizzas from a portable oven, while Disney animator-turned-chef Sarah Sanders set out her carrot cake.
There was no order to the delicious madness — just chefs showing up and feeding whoever was closest, whoever’s hand wasn’t already filled with a pint of beer, or a mezcal lychee fizz cocktail, the latter compliments of trendy dining investment and rewards app inKind.
Car and foot traffic swirled by on Sunset Boulevard, but the scene, tempting to all, was off limits to most — as evidenced by a small sign taped up near the entrance to the lot, letting everyone know this was a private affair.
Industry Only began as a loose network of chef friends coming together — but has grown into one of the West Coast restaurant world’s most sought-after gatherings and, increasingly, a place where real opportunities are born.
For a few hours on weeks when it happens, this is one of the most important spots in the LA restaurant world — hidden in plain sight, fueled by the people who cook, serve, write about, and shape the city’s food culture.
From Michelin-starred chefs to line cooks just entering the industry, all are welcome — and many show up for an evening of cooking for each other. The guest list can also veer into the unexpected. At one gathering, club DJ Spider ended up spinning for the crowd — which included OnlyFans star Kazumi, who’d been invited by a chef pal.
The party is mobile, moving through the LA sprawl, based on whoever wants to host — froma popular pizzeria in a San Fernando Valley strip mallto the offices of restaurant-tech company ChowNow. At the latter event, nearly 400 chefs and hospitality workers packed the building and sidewalk — eventually drawing complaints from neighbors and threats of police involvement.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
