Get inside Bayside soon

While the official opening of Bayside knockoff dinner party Saved By the Max isn’t until May 1, a new rendering shows pretty clearly what the West Hollywood restaurant location should look like when all is said and done. Expect, of course, lots of bright tones, neon touches, and cultural markers from the show. There’s even an area where diners can eat inside a replica of Mr. Belding’s office.

What’s more, the Saved By the Max team is going to be opening up brunch during its run as a way to get more customers inside, and tickets go on sale for that event starting today at noon. These brunches won’t actually happen until June though, so plan accordingly.

Burger problems

According to Grubstreet, Flippy the burger chain robot only lasted one day on the job in Pasadena (he got cut off after flipping about 2,000 burgers). The automated burgermaker still hasn’t overtaken humanity as the end-all, be-all of fast food efficiency, it seems.

Wine winners

Great news for longtime Bestia sommelier Ryan Ibsen, who was just named a 2018 somm of the year by Food & Wine.

The Long Beach poke story

Long Beach has two new locations of Poki Cat, a Corona-based raw fish shop with a pretty fascinating history. It’s all been chronicled by the fine folks over at the Long Beach Post.

Art and Michael’s

Michael’s in Santa Monica is hosting an evening of art and food from James Beard rising star chef finalist Miles Thompson. It’s going down on Thursday, March 22 with performance artists Kathleen Kim and Helga Fassonaki, plus wine by som Roni Ginach. Tickets are $75 a head.

Food halls and beer

Food GPS is on the case of all this craft beer taking over local food halls, from SteelCraft to Grand Central Market to the new Glendora project anchored by Smog City.

Sajj arrives

Sajj Mediterranean is now open at 22245 El Paseo in Rancho Santa Margarita. The Northern California wrap and bowl spot is doing a whole weekend of giveaways, while also donating 10% of sales to local schools.

Party at Factor’s

The famous Factor’s Deli is throwing a huge, celebrity-studded party later this spring with the likes of Adam Perry Lang, Nancy Silverton, Jonathan Waxman, and more. Check out the lineup for the multi-course meal then get on tickets because they won’t last long. All proceeds go to the Simon Wiesenthal Center.