{"id":453535,"date":"2026-09-04T16:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/453535\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T16:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:56:13","slug":"after-years-of-loss-barman-matthew-biancaniello-returns-with-a-new-orleans-oyster-pop-up-in-chinatown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/453535\/","title":{"rendered":"After Years of Loss, Barman Matthew Biancaniello Returns With a New Orleans Oyster Pop-Up in Chinatown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles\u2019s celebrated barman Matthew Biancaniello is back. This month, he\u2019ll get together with the Evangeline Swamp Room<\/a> on September 17, 2026, to host an oyster and cocktail pop-up that nods to the rich foodways of New Orleans. The collaboration between one of Los Angeles\u2019s most innovative bartenders and Chinatown\u2019s popular New Orleans\u2013themed bar represents a comeback of sorts for Biancaniello.<\/p>\n

As one of Los Angeles\u2019s longtime cocktail mavericks, Biancaniello was instrumental in transforming the bars at Library Bar from 2008 to 2012, and at the Hollywood Roosevelt<\/a>, where he evolved the hotel bar into an ingredient-driven cocktail destination. He published Eat Your Drink in 2016 and ran crowd-pleasing pop-ups throughout the region where he experimented with unconventional preparation techniques, ingredients from his own garden, tinctures, and drew a following that regularly sold out his events.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Biancaniello was recruited by Calamigos Guest Ranch and Beach Club in Malibu to open his first 12-seat restaurant at the property. One month after opening, Mon-Li<\/a>, a bar and restaurant that served a cocktail tasting menu and small snacks, was destroyed in the Woolsey Fire<\/a>. The fire began a series of challenges for Biancaniello. He tore his calf and was diagnosed with sciatica, while his mother, brother, father, and in-laws died within four years of one another. In 2024, Biancaniello underwent major back surgery. During recovery, he grew a newfound love for swimming. (On September 13, Biancaniello will appear in a documentary that tracks his recovery and swimming obsession: Rhythms: An Indivisible Marathon Swim<\/a>.) \u201cThat was the only thing that made me feel good, and I was hooked,\u201d says Biancaniello. \u201cI swam 21 miles from Catalina Island back to Palos Verdes last September. I\u2019m currently training for a 15-mile swim in New Zealand for January 2027. I\u2019m just happy that I\u2019ve come through it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just happy that I\u2019ve come through it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Matthew Biancaniello<\/p>\n

At the Evangeline Swamp Room pop-up, Biancaniello will merge New Orleans flavors with his unorthodox approach. \u201cWhen I broke away from the Library Bar, I would infuse alcohol with food,\u201d says Biancaniello. \u201cI loved doing alcoholic oysters then and haven\u2019t done them in a while. I love the dichotomy of what Marcus and Eunah do, and felt that they have strong passions and sensibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on September 17, Evangeline Swamp Room\u2019s menu will serve Biancaniello\u2019s Pimm\u2019s Cup with Weiser Farms melon, rhubarb, and lemon balm. His spin on a Negroni starts with Aquavit and combines a leeks- and cornichon-infused Dolin Blanc, Salers Gentian Ap\u00e9ritif, and briny Dirty Sue Olive Juice. The Asian pear and curry leaf Sazerac shooter balances sweet and savory with a vanilla bean pastis, Peychaud\u2019s Bitters, and a candy cap mushroom. Attendees can choose between three types of alcoholic oysters, including one with green Chartreuse, jalape\u00f1o relish, and fried capers. Each cocktail (and oyster) ranges from $9 to $20, and comes with a complimentary lovage and bronze fennel\u2013infused water. If taking part in the tasting menu, expect a shiso leaf Dolin Blanc vermouth amuse bouche, or pay to sample it \u00e0 la carte.<\/p>\n

The $55 tasting menu includes lovage water, amuse bouche, Sazerac, and three oyster shooters. The $75 tasting includes each oyster offering plus a cocktail. In true Biancaniello style, he will offer a secret drink menu and, as he tells Eater, some classics from previous pop-ups.<\/p>\n

According to Evangeline and Little Jewel of New Orleans<\/a> owners Marcus Christiana-Beniger and his wife Eunah Kang-Beniger, the pop-up makes an ideal fit for the bar. I agree: Back in the mid-2000s, I used to visit Beniger\u2019s after-hours loft where he\u2019d experiment with cocktails (often wild and savory combinations) while bartenders and waitstaff imbibed post-shift until the early hours. For the New Orleans\u2013born Beniger, meeting Biancaniello started the inspiration for the September collaboration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Southern boy, so when I met Matthew, we just clicked,\u201d says Beniger. \u201cThis will run the gamut of oyster exotica. Go on our oyster odyssey, go nuts, and imbibe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Los Angeles\u2019s celebrated barman Matthew Biancaniello is back. This month, he\u2019ll get together with the Evangeline Swamp Room…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[5894,48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-453535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-intel","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}