Beverly Hills, CA, March 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:Carl Larsen
Jenn Salinas
jenn@mosaicpublicrelations.com
Beverly Hills, CA (March 13, 2018) – Crustacean Beverly Hills, the award-winning restaurant from House of AN hospitality group, is proud to announce that it will be reopening its doors today following an eight-month-long, $10 million dollar redesign at 468 N. Bedford Drive. The culinary hotspot will be home to not one, but two culinary concepts from Executive Chef Helene An and House of AN. Crustacean Beverly Hills officially opens its doors to the public on March 13 following a week-long blitz of star-studded events, including the 11th annual Women In Film pre-Oscar party hosted by Emma Stone. The An family has also decided on the name of their mysterious and newest restaurant that will be located upstairs from Crustacean and is set to open May 2018: Da Lat Rose at Crustacean.
Heralded as the “mother of fusion” cuisine, House of AN’s Master Chef Helene An and her signature Euro-Vietnamese fusion cuisine will remain a constant inspiration at both restaurants, yet each establishment will have two different dining experiences. House of AN has also chosen Chef Tony Nguyen to be at the culinary helm for both restaurants. Nguyen received critical acclaim during his tenure at House of AN’s Orange County restaurant, AnQi since 2014, and will work closely with Master Chef Helene An, to pay homage to the LA restaurant institution’s rich culinary history while bringing his fun and inventive approach to Modern Vietnamese cuisine.
Each floor of the current two-story structure will house a different restaurant with its own separate entrance. The first floor will be the new Crustacean restaurant featuring: a completely new menu composed of revamped Crustacean classics; Modern Vietnamese fare with a European sensibility; small plates, prix fixe tasting menus; and seamless indoor-outdoor seating on both S. Santa Monica Boulevard and Bedford Drive.
Crustacean standout starter dishes include: Tuna Cigars, instant smoke, brick de feuille, macadamia nut, Vidalia onion, and tobiko caviar; Surf & Turf Sashimi, wild salmon, A-5 Wagyu, crispy garlic, purple potato, tobacco chili vinaigrette; and Karate Salad, kohlrabi, black truffle, crispy Kennebec potato, garlic blossom. Entrees not to be missed include: Hearts of Palm, a vegan take on the “crab cake” with spicy aioli; Pho Soup Dumplings, holy basil, kaffir lime in a royal broth; Himalayan Salt Block Steak with either A-5 Wagyu Matsusaka (3 oz), Prime All Natural Rib Eye (16 oz), or Prime All Natural Filet Mignon (10 oz). And of course, Crustacean offers its globally known Secret Kitchen™ items including An’s Garlic Noodles and Dungeness Crab, among others.
The bar program at Crustacean has been completely changed led by beverage director Peter Barriga. The cocktails are a reflection of pairing Asian spice and flavors that possess wellness traits but also make well-balanced cocktails, going back to Chef Helene An’s yin and yang cooking philosophy. Expect numerous classic cocktails with exotic ingredients found nowhere else. Delectable drinks to try include the Turmeric Mule with turmeric-infused gin, turmeric syrup, ginger syrup, citrus, and soda water; Artichoke Old Fashioned with Cynar Amaro, Whitford Reserve Bourbon, Martel Cognac, Demerara five-spice syrup, and bitters; and the High Tea Penicillin which is a black tea-infused Chivas scotch blend, ginger and honey syrup, honey juice, and a black tea and lavender cloud.
The new floorplan of Crustacean will be highly versatile, accented with adjustable walls allowing for multiple dining experiences from intimate private soirees to large corporate events. The existing dining room will be converted into an extravagant U-shaped bar that spills onto the outdoor patio on Bedford Drive. Booth seating, communal tables, indoor and outdoor dining, a chef’s table with an open glass kitchen - where patrons can watch Crustacean’s chefs prepare its impressive fare - will be some of the architectural highlights. Connecting the main dining room and bar lounge will be a contemporary take on the restaurant’s signature “walk on water” aesthetic that has doubled in size.
And finally, the An family has officially decided on the name of the highly mysterious, secret project that will take residency above the staple Crustacean restaurant. Da Lat Rose at Crustacean will open in May 2018 and is named after the beautiful city in Southern Vietnam’s Central Highlands, where Helene An grew up as a child and is one of the most cherished places by the An family. Da Lat is also the home of the graceful and rare Da Lat rose. For the An Family, “Mama”, Chef Helene An, is that very rose.
Crustacean Beverly Hills has been a successful part of LA’s highly competitive dining scene for the past 20 years. “We’ve had such loyal patrons over the years, but as times passes, so do the palates of the next generation of Crustacean diners,” states House of AN CEO Elizabeth An. “What we’re unveiling on March 13 is the evolution of Crustacean cuisine that we hope to grow even further over the next 20 years to come.” As a part of this ambitious renovation, House of AN has also signed another 20-year lease at the current Crustacean Beverly Hills address. As a result, the City of Beverly Hills officially proclaimed March 12 as “Crustacean Day” in celebration of the reopening of Crustacean and honoring its 20 years in Beverly Hills.
June Her from Jh2 Architects in Newport Beach, CA was the talented architect for the extensive renovation of Crustacean, while Elizabeth An was the lead conceptual interior designer.
For food pics, please click here. For drink pics, please click here. For interiors, please click here. For chef photos, please click here. For menus, please click here.
About House of An
House of An (www.houseofan.com) is an industry-leading group of multi-concept establishments in the restaurant and foodservice industry, run by the women of the An family, a close-knit unit of passionate chefs and food service professionals. Their portfolio includes their original location, Thanh Long in San Francisco, CA which opened in 1971, and the original Crustacean located in San Francisco, which opened in 1991. In 1997, the opening of their award-winning Crustacean Beverly Hills where Executive Chef Helene An creates her famous, award-winning Euro-Vietnamese fusion cuisine, took House of An to another culinary level. An Catering, open since 2007 and lauded as “Star Caterer to the Stars,” allows fans of the restaurant to bring the secrets of the family's kitchen with them to events large and small. In December 2009, House of An expanded yet again with new concept AnQi, a gourmet bistro experience located at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA. In June 2010, market garden café Tiato opened in Santa Monica, CA. More than 45 years ago, the An family introduced a new genre of Asian-fusion cuisine to America, as recognized by Smithsonian Museum in 2007. With an evolved concept of Crustacean Beverly Hills, House of AN is embarking on the next chapter of innovative Modern Vietnamese
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