Where to find the best spooky foods and drinks for Halloween

While we’re not above devoting the entire month to consuming fistfuls of candy at our desk, there are plenty of other possibilities — like a vampire-themed pizza party delivered to your door — for Halloween feasting in Los Angeles. Here are some of the best of the October offerings.

Mystyx Kafe

The Black Magic (a.k.a. cold brew) isn’t served bubbling from a cauldron, but Julian Anguiano’s potions are still festive — and potent. At his Mystyx Kafe coffee cart, the owner whips up black-metal-inspired cold brews, lattes and Inferno Teas that are flavorful, strong, and a nod to the barista’s love of goth culture and metal, year round.

“It’s all for the aesthetic,” he said. “It’s not for satanic worshiping or anything. It’s just kind of fun — just getting out of the box and exploring a little darkness.”

Anguiano and his partner, Sol Castillo, explore that darkness together in East L.A. every week with drinks such as the Black Magic, White Magic (horchata cold brew drizzled with caramel), Mocha With Sin and Whips (cinnamon and whipped cream) and Inferno Tea (iced tea lemonade with a turmeric shot), made at a cart that’s frequently accessorized with items like fake skulls and strings of bats.

It’s the culmination of Anguiano’s adolescence and adulthood — which were steeped in acts such as Burzum, Cradle of Filth and London After Midnight, and his own performances in metal bands — and his years learning the coffee industry across L.A., including at Kreation and Tierra Mia.

Although the location can change upon occasion, you don’t need to send a raven scout to find Mystyx. The cart is typically open for business at the corner of North Rowan and East César E. Chávez avenues from Thursday to Monday — just a few blocks from Evergreen Cemetery.

Vampire.Pizza

If you tend to crave pizza more than the taste of blood, experiential pizza night Vampire.Pizza has returned to Los Angeles, providing an immersive vampire-themed game night along with a meal from Ghost Pizza Kitchen.

The original “Chapter 1: Welcome to the Vampire Revolution” option involves pizza delivered with an envelope attached to the box that contains game prompts and clues, plus QR codes that enable texts and video messages from various characters — including Belle, the leader of the vampire revolution. The new “Chapter 2: The Case of the Missing Vamp” also includes pizza delivery and clues in an envelope, but this game involves “time travel” to the 1920s to find a friend who can help lead the vampires to victory.

Anyone who completes a “mission” will receive a trick (a box of old toy clowns, say, or a personalized letter from a serial killer) or a treat (a Nintendo Switch, for example, or tickets to the Madcap Motel, an immersive performance-based walkthrough experience in the Arts District). Prizes that can’t be sent digitally will be delivered by “real vampires.” Delivery is available across more than a dozen L.A. neighborhoods, including Echo Park, West Hollywood, South L.A., Beverly Hills and Koreatown.

Vampire.Pizza can be ordered for pickup or delivery via bite.delivery now through Oct. 31; the cost is $29 per player, including pizza, and each game can be played by one to six participants. Recommended for age 8 and older.

Ice SCREAM!

The folks at Salt & Straw tinker with unexpected ice cream flavors year-round, but at Halloween, the menu takes a turn for the creepy (and the creepy-crawly): This October, five festive ice creams can be found at the shops in Venice, Larchmont, the Arts District, Studio City and Anaheim.

Offerings include a new version of the annual Great Candycopia, with Kit Kats, Reeses, Snickers and Heath bars in a base of salted butterscotch ice cream that’s studded with vanilla-bourbon-toffee almonds, and the return of Don Bugito’s Creepy Crawly Critters, featuring toffee-brittle-covered mealworms and chocolate crickets in matcha ice cream.

New Salt & Straw creations include the Jack o’ Lantern Pumpkin Bread, with a cinnamon-y ice cream blend of fresh pumpkin bread and whipped cream cheese frosting; the Black Cat Licorice & Lavender, which contrasts the lightly bitter notes of anise and fennel caramel with a floral salted lavender ice cream; and the vegan Double Bubble Toil & Trouble, which is a bright and effervescent bubble gum ice cream that pops and fizzes.