Tasty Tidbits: Karen Young's Valley Restaurant and Food Round Up

Get over to any Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on Wednesday, January 4 for $1 hot or iced caramel cream tea lattes and caramel lattes for $1 from 4 p.m.-7 p.m.

If you want a taste of NYC DJ-ing in the 818, head out to Padri Restaurant in Agoura Hills. Dine in the restaurant or step into the Martini Bar where award-winning DJ Scott Blackwell, who’s worked the floors of Paladium, Studio 54 and The Tunnel, spins tunes on weekends.

Mr. Cecil's Ribs in Sherman Oaks is closed. There is a forwarding number to the Manhattan Beach location with no other explanation.

Panera Bread just opened in Encino at 16624 Ventura Blvd. (between Rubio and Petit)in the former Uncle Chen location.

Chef Joseph Gillard (formerly at Napa Valley Grille) has joined the Coral Tree Café/Red Room Food and Wine Bar as Corporate Chef. He will oversee the menu for the three Coral Tree locations, including Coral Tree Cafe and in Encino.

Chadney's Restaurant  in Burbank (across from NBC at 3000 W. Olive) has been boarded up for 15 years, but now the location is resurrecting as Casa Cabo Bar and Grill, which is set to open early this year.

Sweetsalt in Toluca Lake has gotten bigger, taking over the next door storefront. They are now open at 8 a.m. for breakfast and will soon start offering dinner and longer hours in early 2012.  Sweetsalt is a gourmet marketplace/cafe that is owned by Top Chef (season five) owner Alex Eusebio and his wife/ partner Sara Mann.

About this column: Find out what's in, what's out and specials around town in this roundup of restaurant news around the San Fernando Valley. Karen Young is the Founder/Editor of MyDailyFind.com, a lifestyle site with a free subscriber newsletter about where to eat, shop, play in the 818.