Bao on Ocean Avenue, Eddie Huang Cooks for Mr Porter and Stone Island at Chez Jay
Steven Yeun and Ethan Peck were among the guests as Huang brought his New York Baohaus to Santa Monica for one night.
Chez Jay has been on Ocean Avenue since 1959, and on Thursday night, September 17, it served bao. According to WWD, the online menswear retailer Mr Porter and the Italian sportswear label Stone Island took over the Santa Monica tavern for an intimate dinner with chef Eddie Huang, who brought his New York Baohaus concept to Los Angeles for one night.
WWD reports that the evening opened out back, in the restaurant’s outdoor area, where guests mingled over margaritas before being called inside. Inside it was a tight squeeze. WWD noted that the lived-in feel of the place, run by the late Jay Fiondella, was left intact, with old photographs of Hollywood stars lining the walls. Huang was photographed with Chez Jay owner Michael Anderson.
Mr Porter chief executive Toby Bateman and Stone Island president and chief executive Robert Triefus hosted a crowd of the brands’ friends, clients and creative community, WWD reports. MR Magazine called it an intimate, invite-only evening. The actors Steven Yeun and Ethan Peck were there, along with stylist Nausheen Shah, producer Kenny Beats, musician Alex Sowinski, model John Pearson, photographer Atiba Jefferson, Casey Fremont of Art Production Fund and the artists Paris Brosnan, Cam Hicks, Kohshin Finley and Delfin Finley.
Guests filled the booths, took the bar stools and crowded the tables in the middle of the room. Huang’s menu crossed Baohaus flavors with Chez Jay’s tavern cooking, both WWD and MR Magazine report, and the dishes read like a dare. There was Grand Marnier sand dab bao, bay scallop dan dan noodles and a Chinois steak au poivre.
Eventually, WWD wrote, Huang came out of the kitchen to thank his hosts, then worked his way around the room, collecting praise table by table and handing back his thanks.
The bao are gone, but the tavern stays put. Chez Jay opens daily at 1657 Ocean Avenue, until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and its Backyard space serves from Wednesday through Sunday.
