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Max & Helen's, became an instant phenomenon, with eight-hour waits and celebrity sightings. Running it are husband-and-wife team Lily Rosenthal Royal and Mason Royal , who are navigating viral fame while trying to build the neighborhood fixture they originally envisioned.
Four months after opening, Max & Helen's has settled into a rhythm — weekday afternoons feel like a true neighborhood spot, while weekends still draw destination diners from across L.A.In a city where diners have become increasingly scarce, Max & Helen's represents both nostalgia and community-building. The couple running it are proving that intentional hospitality — from thoughtful seating that sparks conversations to creating a space where everyone feels welcome — can matter as much as the food itself.) and Nancy Silverton — two of Los Angeles' most iconic food voices — were teaming up on the project. Still, the concept was modest: fluffy scrambled eggs, turkey club sandwiches and coffee refills. Named in memory of Rosenthal's late parents, Max and Helen — familiar faces to fans of his Netflix series — their unpretentious love of diner classics became both the menu's foundation and its guiding philosophy. Yet within weeks of opening in November, Max & Helen's had eight-hour waits, viral hot chocolate and celebrity sightings, including Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner and Selena Gomez. It came as a shock to the newly married couple running it all, Lily Rosenthal Royal, Phil's daughter and the diner's creative director, and her husband, Mason Royal, the director of operations, who oversees the kitchen. .Instead, Max & Helen's became a destination — the kind of place people plan their weekends around, wait four hours for and drive across L.A. to experience.Rosenthal and Silverton were never going to run Max & Helen's themselves — the plan was always to build it and hand it over. Royal, who has 12 years of restaurant experience, caught Silverton's attention during tastings. "Nancy was like,'I feel like Mason would be good as the guy running the show,'" Rosenthal Royal said. The couple had been developing their own pop-up when the opportunity at the diner arose, and suddenly they were running the family business. For Royal, working with Silverton has been a dream. For Rosenthal Royal, the project is deeply personal — a love letter to her grandparents and the diners her father grew up on. "We opened it almost selfishly because we live in Larchmont," she said."We wanted a diner for ourselves, for our friends, for our community."“Diners are democratic with a small D,” he told me last year when the project was still in development. Places where everyone is welcome, where community can flourish — something he felt was increasingly rare.The frenzy has now cooled slightly — while weekends still draw four-hour waits, midweek is much calmer. When I visited with my family on a recent weekday morning, the wait was about 45 minutes. We were seated in the corner banquette area, accompanied by crocheted cushions bearing the name"Max & Helen's." Along with the wood-paneled walls and the black-and-white family photographs, it felt more like a cozy roadside diner you'd stumble upon on a drive up the coast than something nestled among the lifestyle boutiques and specialty stores that crowd Larchmont Boulevard.I tried Nancy's omelet with herbs and farmer’s cheese, which was thin and crepe-like, folded perfectly at the edges, and impossibly fluffy, offering bursts of freshness from the herbs.It was transcendent, with golden, crisp ridges and deep pockets built to cradle syrup. Rosenthal Royal told me they use a three-day-fermented sourdough batter, a labor-intensive process that gives the waffle its distinctive texture and flavor.What truly set it apart, for me at least, was the whipped maple butter: airy and lush, melting into every nook, both indulgent and unexpectedly light. As for the price — it's a generous portion, and a comparable waffle at Mel's Drive-In in Santa Monica costs $13.50. Apparently, those extra few dollars equal rage bait these days. I was less impressed with the turkey club , well-cooked bacon, fresh vegetables and a spicy mayo. Nice nods to California diner cuisine. But the bread was a bit thin, without the heft needed to support the rest of the sandwich's company. Max & Helen's turkey club sandwich served with a side of tallow French fries and Lily's hot chocolate topped with a brûléed marshmallowStill, the tallow fries were exceptionally crispy, and the hot chocolate, $9.50, — another viral sensation — was stellar, thick and rich with a brûléed marshmallow on top. I even took the liberty of dipping a few fries into the chocolate, which turned out to be a genius move.Royal hasn't taken a day off since opening — a fact his wife is quick to call out with a laugh. Their partnership works because their roles complement each other: His operational rigor meets her's warmth and joy. "Mason runs a tight ship," Rosenthal Royal said."But we want this to be warm and fun and lighthearted." It's that balance — systems and soul — that they hope will define Max & Helen's beyond the viral moments. The pair hope Max & Helen's becomes an institution like Apple Pan or Musso & Frank — a place where, as Rosenthal Royal put it,"Max and Helen would feel at home, where everyone feels loved and seen and warm."A man recently came in with a gift, telling Rosenthal Royal he'd met someone at the counter she'd seated him next to. They're now dating.Beyond the diner, Rosenthal Royal is also releasing a children's book this spring, co-written with her father — a fitting parallel to their collaborative work at Max & Helen's. Three months in, they've built something bigger than they imagined. Whether it stands the test of time depends on whether the hype fades into something more enduring: a neighborhood fixture that just happens to make a really good waffle.explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.Roblox is a popular virtual world where players can make their own games and share them with other users. It markets to children and there are reportedly millions of users under the age of 13, according to the county.The lawsuit alleges that children in L.A. County have been “repeatedly exposed” to sexually explicit content and grooming on the platform. The complaint also claims that the company failed to put in place “effective moderation or age-verification systems.” “This lawsuit highlights what happens when big tech companies put profits over children’s safety,” Scott Kuhn, assistant county counsel, told LAist.In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Roblox said they “strongly dispute the claims in this lawsuit and will defend against it vigorously.” “We take swift action against anyone found to violate our safety rules and work closely with law enforcement to support investigations and help hold bad actors accountable,” the company added.A view of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development building in Washington, D.C., on Monday, March 30, 2020.California is home to 36% of the nation’s families with mixed immigration status receiving federal rent assistance. Those 7,190 California households are at risk of losing their housing now that the Trump administration is proposing to exclude mixed-status families from federal housing support.Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federally funded programs such as Housing Choice Vouchers or units in public housing projects. But citizens living with an undocumented spouse or parent have been allowed to receive such help. Nationwide, about 20,000 mixed-status families receive federal housing subsidies.Thursday that would exclude mixed-status families from federal housing assistance. Researchers with UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation note that Los Angeles is home to a disproportionate number of families who could be affected.“If this rule were to go into effect, these families will just increase the number of folks that are facing housing insecurity or at risk of homelessness,” said Julie Aguilar, a Terner research analyst.published Thursday, Terner researchers write that state and local governments could ease families through this transition by providing ongoing rental assistance, legal aid or one-time financial aid for moving costs of security deposits.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.The Culver City Council recently voted to turn the former Martin B. Retting gun store on Washington Boulevard into affordable housing. It’s the end result of community organizing that started a couple of years ago to prevent another gun store from moving in next to an elementary school.the store after a group of parents stepped in. The space is less than 1,000 feet from La Ballona Elementary School. It’s also close to a mosque, a senior living facility and Teffelson Park. After the council bought the property, the city asked for the public to submit ideas on what to do with it. Popular options included turning the space into affordable housing and an art studio/school. The council then directed staff to put out a request for project proposals that would include housing and a community space.The council voted Jan. 26 in favor of the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation’s proposal, which is a 67-unit affordable housing complex with a preference for local teachers and a ground-level art center.Megan Oddsen and Melody Hansen are members of Culver 878, who originally championed the idea for the city to buy the gun store. In a statement, the group said: “We're really just as happy today seeing what the council has voted to do with the property as we were on the day they voted to purchase it. It's no longer a gun store and we remain most thankful for that.” Oddsen added: “ I'm just really grateful that we have a city council that is moved by activism and can come together on a lot of the most important issues right now.” Culver City Councilmember Bubba Fish points to Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent remarks at a congressional hearing calling out the crime rates in the city and says that in a way, those remarks ignited a celebration of the city among community members. “ What people feel here, which is a real sense of community and a sense of safety, and it is in no small part because of the planning decisions that we make,” Fish said. “ This council has prioritized affordable housing above a lot of other things that we could be spending our money on. And that's because we recognize these are the things that truly make us safe.”this week that it’s updating its payout program for Eaton Fire survivors. Those who accept payments must waive their rights to sue the company over the fire.The company says it will increase legal fee compensation for those who use an attorney to submit their claim to 20% of net damages, up from 10%. Renters will also receive either three months of their pre-fire rent or the “monthly fair rental value” — as calculated by Edison’s — whichever is higher. Originally the offer included only three months of pre-fire rent for tenants. You can find updated sample offersA spokesperson for Edison said these changes will be applied retroactively. That means anyone who has a claim under review, an offer extended, or who has already accepted and received their payout should be contacted by an Edison rep this week about accounting for these changes.Andrew Wessels, a member of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network from West Altadena, called the changes “cosmetic” and said they don’t go far enough in providing desperately needed financial support for survivors. Wessels said Edison’s calculation for the monthly fair rental value “drastically undervalues actual rents.” The company's calculation for a home with a pre-fire value of $1.2 million, for example, sets a fair monthly rental value of $3,333 per month.for how Edison could better support fire survivors — which is endorsed by more than 200 local nonprofits and provides recommendations for addressing the escalating housing needs of survivors as theirruns out this year. “We're at a loss as to why Edison continues to tell the community what it needs rather than listening to what we have to say,” Wessels said.The company says that as of Feb. 18, 2,405 claims have been submitted, 593 offers totaling more than $183 million have been extended, and 86 claims have been paid out or are in process, totaling $18 million.Edison is changing how it plans to pay Eaton Fire victims. What you need to know
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