WHY The brownies and lattes at the coffee bar. WHAT It serves three meals a day, plus weekend brunch, but we like it best for breakfast: good brewed coffee, chocolate croissants, frittatas built to order, brioche french toast and homemade granola. Lunch is fine, but on crowded days service can be slow. The Farm’s real [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Good, cheap dumplings and other Shanghai dishes that you can eat here or have made quickly to take out. The scallion pancakes are even more essential to order than the dumplings. WHAT A little more downmarket than nearby (and much more famous) Din Tai Fung, this friendly café and takeout joint is also known [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHAT While this might seem like just another trendoid truck, it’s true that Indian street food is ideally suited to serving out of a catering truck. This one specializes, of course, in dosa (crisp sourdough rice-and-lentil cakes), cooked to order and topped with chutneys or things like eggs, masala (curried potatoes), caramelized onions, mushrooms and [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHAT This rider on the mobile-truck bandwagon makes solid, respectable barbecue, notably the brisket and pulled-pork sandwiches, the faux-pork vegetarian sandwich and the baby-back ribs. , @BarbiesQ, barbiesq.com. Cash only. Region: Citywide Features: Dinner, Lunch, Vegetarian Price Range: $10-$16, $10-under Cuisine Type: Barbecue
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY This isn’t the cheapest sharpening service around ($5.10 to $25 per knife), but it’s worth it just to get a look in the mobile workshop, a handy guy’s dream come true. And the work is excellent. WHAT This mobile sharpening truck appears at a few places in Southern California, including Koontz Hardware (8914 Santa [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Gleaming home espresso machines to drool over, and maybe even buy. WHAT Pasquini’s got some competition now that Intelligentsia is selling gear for the home barista. The range isn’t large, but it’s smart and thoughtful, from $7,500 hard-plumbed La Marzocco espresso machines that are sturdy enough for a small café, to simple little machines [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Wonderful and wonderfully inexpensive Salvadoran home cooking: pupusas, empanadas with cream, sopa de res (a stew-like beef soup) and thick Salvadoran-style horchata. WHAT In a faded cottage on a worn stretch of Beverly lies a wonderful Salvadoran café, staffed with incredibly nice women who deliver hefty pupusas filled with cheese and loroco (flower buds [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Straightforward and satisfying Malaysian curries, salads and rendang chicken, presented with more flair than you’d expect of a Farmers Market stall. WHAT Melding the flavors of China, Thailand and even India, Malaysian cooking is richly spiced but not hot, sweet but not sugary, and this order-at-the-counter spot in the Farmers Market represents the cuisine [...]
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WHY A little bit of Queens in Highland Park (which is, now that we think of it, the Queens of L.A.). WHAT It’s not the lightest pizza in town—the crust is on the substantial side, and the cheese overpowers the sauce—but there’s no denying the appeal and comfort of this old-school New York Italian pizza, [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY A fairly deep and thoughtful tap-beer selection, excellent fish ‘n chips and spinach pie, and a pretty normal crowd for Melrose, especially midweek. WHAT The crush is too much for us on weekend nights, but otherwise we’re always happy to stop into this brick-walled pub and restaurant for a Guinness and a steak sandwich [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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