STUDIO CITY: Ventura Blvd. in Studio City is exploding with restaurant openings, Eater reports. The newest kid on the block is Take a Bao, which is the second outpost of the Century City mainstay--an opening is expected early next month. Interesting menu items include tofu popcorn and lemongrass caramel chicken wings.
BEVERLY GROVE: Work is progressing on the replacement for Pane e Vino on Beverly Blvd., near Crescent Heights. To be called Sarima, the restaurant will feature olive oil-drenched Italian/Californian fare, and will open around February.
DOWNTOWN: Josef Centeno, chef of Lazy Ox Canteen, is putting finishing touches on Bäco Mercat in the Old Bank District. Expect Centeno's usual innovative food, including the bäco, a sandwich/taco/pizza hybrid. It opens for lunch on Monday.
SANTA MONICA: Santa Monica Place has claimed its first resto victim: Xino. The Chinese place apparently did fine business on weekends but was dead while we're all at work. Closure imminent.
· Eater LA [Official Site]