Hello Kitty’s 40th anniversary Hungry Hunt: Pink cheeseburgers, cute pins

Hello Kitty fans, grab a sticker and mark your cute calendars. In addition to the upcoming first-ever convention and museum retrospective to celebrate Hello Kitty’s 40th birthday, Sanrio on Wednesday is announcing plans to turn the city into a Hello Kitty Hungry Hunt food adventure with themed Hello Kitty meals, sweets and beverages around Los Angeles.

From Oct. 24 through Nov. 21 at participating venues, each Hungry Hunt menu item will include a collectible pin depicting Hello Kitty sipping boba or nibbling on doughnuts, sausages, pizza and the rest of the special menu items. The Hungry Hunt map will help hunters find the treats and track their progress. After the recent excitement about Hello Kitty Spam musubi made by Roy Choi at the Line Hotel (the official hotel of the Hello Kitty 40^th anniversary) Sanrio set out to organize the cutest food experiences it could dream up. Hello Kitty vittles will include burgers, ramen, sushi, sweets and drinks.

Participating restaurants include several downtown locations. Lemonade will offer a Hello Kitty lemonade and corresponding pin. The menu at the new Plan Check, opening soon on Wilshire, will feature a Hello Kitty bento box created by chef Ernesto Uchimura filled with a pink-cheese-topped burger, fries and spicy tuna salad, served with a green tea latte and a strawberry cruller doughnut with ice cream. Zip Sushi in the Arts District will serve a special sushi creation. In Little Tokyo, Xlixe Pizzeria will cook up extra cute Hello Kitty slices. Chado Tea Room plans to bake scones to serve with special tea. Cafe Dulce will fry up Hello Kitty doughnuts to add to the daily menu of green tea, red bean and fresh-fruit-topped treats.

More options around town include Daikokuya on Sawtelle serving up bowls of Hello Kitty ramen, Seoul Sausage making a Hello Kitty sausage and Lollicup preparing a Hello Kitty boba drink. In West Hollywood, Dylan’s Candy Bar at the Original Farmer’s Market will scoop up Hello Kitty sundaes. Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes West designed a custom Hello Kitty cupcake served with the Hello Kitty pin holding a slice of cake.

In total there are 11 Hello Kitty Hungry Hunt food offerings and pins. All of details about the Hello Kitty Con, the exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum and Hungry Hunt can be found at www.sanrio.com.