Los Angeles’s celebrated barman Matthew Biancaniello is back. This month, he’ll get together with the Evangeline Swamp Room 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’s most innovative bartenders and Chinatown’s popular New Orleans–themed bar represents a comeback of sorts for Biancaniello.
As one of Los Angeles’s longtime cocktail mavericks, Biancaniello was instrumental in transforming the bars at Library Bar from 2008 to 2012, and at the Hollywood Roosevelt, 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.
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 bar and restaurant that served a cocktail tasting menu and small snacks, was destroyed in the Woolsey Fire. 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.) “That was the only thing that made me feel good, and I was hooked,” says Biancaniello. “I swam 21 miles from Catalina Island back to Palos Verdes last September. I’m currently training for a 15-mile swim in New Zealand for January 2027. I’m just happy that I’ve come through it all.”
At the Evangeline Swamp Room pop-up, Biancaniello will merge New Orleans flavors with his unorthodox approach. “When I broke away from the Library Bar, I would infuse alcohol with food,” says Biancaniello. “I loved doing alcoholic oysters then and haven’t done them in a while. I love the dichotomy of what Marcus and Eunah do, and felt that they have strong passions and sensibilities.”
From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on September 17, Evangeline Swamp Room’s menu will serve Biancaniello’s Pimm’s Cup with Weiser Farms melon, rhubarb, and lemon balm. His spin on a Negroni starts with Acquavit and combines a leeks- and cornichon-infused Dolin Blanc, Salers Gentian Apéritif, and briny Dirty Sue Olive Juice. The Asian pear and curry leaf Sazerac shooter balances sweet and savory with a vanilla bean pastis, Peychaud’s Bitters, and a candy cap mushroom. Attendees can choose between three types of alcoholic oysters, including one with green Chartreuse, jalapeño relish, and fried capers. Each cocktail (and oyster) ranges from $9 to $20, and comes with a complimentary lovage and bronze fennel–infused water. If taking part in the tasting menu, expect a shiso leaf Dolin Blanc vermouth amuse bouche, or pay to sample it à la carte.
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.
According to Evangeline and Little Jewel of New Orleans 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’s after-hours loft where he’d experiment with cocktails (often wild and savory combinations) while bartenders and waitstaff imbibed post-shift until the early hours. For the New Orleans–born Beniger, meeting Biancaniello started the inspiration for the September collaboration.
“I’m a Southern boy, so when I met Matthew, we just clicked,” says Beniger. “This will run the gamut of oyster exotica. Go on our oyster odyssey, go nuts, and imbibe.”
More for the table
- With the holiday weekend upon us, now’s the time to revisit Eater’s recently updated cocktail bar crawl. And because we care about how you eat, get into some barbecue. Our map spans from Simi Valley all the way into Garden Grove. There’s more than one way to prepare meat over fire, and Korean barbecue could be a worthwhile adventure over Labor Day Weekend.
- If you’re a barbecue aficionado, you may also want to check out the end-of-summer blowout barbecue at Hotel Bel-Air. Executive chef Ralf Schlegel has invited Los Angeles chefs behind restaurants like Funke, Ospi, the Benjamin, Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery, Moo’s Craft Barbecue, Ryla and more to serve a communal barbecue dinner on Tuesday, September 15, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $350 per person and available on SevenRooms.
- Eater curated a robust list of where to eat for Rosh Hashanah in Los Angeles this year. The holiday begins at sundown next Friday, September 11.
- The iconic Jumbo’s Clown Room for cocktails and dancers temporarily closed due to vermin, writes Karen Palmer for SF Gate. Lucky for Los Angeles, it reopened Wednesday, September 2.
