Ever since opening L.A. Live 10 years ago, the renaissance of downtown Los Angeles continues to expand, with new restaurants and venues always coming online.
The latest: Wolfgang Puck Catering launched its newest event venue, City Market Social House, in March. Taking up residence in the new City Market South development in downtown’s Fashion District, the more than 12,000-sf space offers close proximity to the Los Angeles Convention Center and L.A. Live festivities, making it an ideal off-site event venue.
A mix of indoor and outdoor spaces give planners a lot of flexibility. Its 2,111-sf outdoor courtyard space, for instance, is dotted with comfy couches, chairs and planters, while its indoor warehouse space provides a blank canvas for a variety of events, including conferences, opening and closing receptions, fashion shows and even concerts. Attendees can move from indoors to outdoors easily via the roll-up doors that extend between the two spaces.
The 2,100-sf kitchen means that the creative menus for which Wolfgang Puck is known are available, designed to change with the seasons. This spring season’s menu features burrata and avocado crostinis, charred Spanish octopus and fresh “painting salads,” an array of baby iceberg lettuce, lime or strawberry-rhubarb vinaigrette, yogurt goat cheese, and powdered and shaved garnishes—all of which meld together to form a dish inspired by Jackson Pollock’s artwork.
For interested groups, the kitchen can also be used for a “Cook like Wolfgang” cooking class. The catering chefs will instruct attendees on how to make some of the celebrity chef’s signature hors d’oeuvres, including tuna tartare in sesame miso cones and hand-formed tortelloni pasta. The class includes a Wolfgang Puck–branded cutting board and apron for each participant.