WHY Good-enough Groundworks coffee, a hang-as-long-as-you-like vibe and a location in the hip Arts District. WHAT This ahead-of-the-curve Arts District coffeehouse is an offshoot of Venice’s expanding Novel Café. It’s scruffily pleasant, staffed by heavily tattooed young folks, and it has a big menu of wraps, pastries and salads—although we stick to the coffee and [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY A good selection of veggie burgers, and respectable beef burgers, too. WHAT Better than its sibling on Melrose, this Astro is full day and night. It’s the usual fast-food menu—burgers, dogs, fries, pastrami—with a few interesting additions, like the fiery chicken quesadilla. The crowd can get a little rowdy in the wee hours. WHO [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY For ‘slow’ fast food that’s really tasty: pulled pork, rotisserie chicken, burgers, Belgian fries, fresh salads and monster cupcakes. WHAT A former drive-through got a near-complete makeover but still retained its ’60s A-frame goofiness. The gimmick is fast food prepared the slow way, with quality ingredients—a burger joint for people who read Cook’s Illustrated [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Café con leche, fresh-squeezed fruit juices, guava cheese pastry and a hearty Cuban sandwich. WHAT Catch a vestige of Silver Lake before it was completely gentrified at this funky Cuban café, which was once filled with actual cigar-smoking refugees. WHO A regular and longstanding crowd of bohemians. 2900 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake, 323.661.8391 [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Unusual and very good pizza made with a cornmeal crust that’s almost like a good hush puppy, crunching with each bite. Try the one with pancetta and red onions. WHAT A tiny, cheerful café flagged with market umbrellas and small outdoor tables, serving unusual and delicious pizza by the slice or whole, to eat [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Profoundly addictive crisp-skinned chicken, one of the most delicious in town, marinated in citrus juice, garlic and chiles and spit-roasted over a wood fire. WHAT A friendly Peruvian café with amazing roast chicken and fries, as well as good seafood dishes, including ceviches. Make sure to try the Peruvian chile sauce with your chicken. [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Intensely aromatic rotisserie chicken, the skin soaked just right with salt and seasonings. WHAT The spits never stop spinning at Zankou, which turns out hundreds of richly flavorful chickens a day, either to eat here or take home. Once the chicken drops below the finger-melting temperature (which takes a while), you tear it up [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Cheeseburgers and banana cream pie. WHAT This no-frills diner with a long counter and even longer lines serves fantastic burgers, very good short-order breakfasts and house-made pies that are famous enough to draw folks from around Southern California. In fact, just about every food group on the wall-mounted menu has its passionate devotees, including [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY The Kobe burger, made with American Kobe beef, smoked mozzarella, caramelized onion, tomato, mixed greens and herb mayo on a ciabatta bun, attracts burger buffs from as far away as Woodland Hills. WHAT This born-in-1952 fast-food institution has been spiffed up for a new era, with gleaming tile and shiny tables. The food is [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY A chance to live the California dream without actually checking in. WHAT Ah, the good life: lunch at an umbrella-shaded table overlooking the pool of this grande dame hotel, iced tea or Chardonnay in hand. Order a flawless chicken Caesar, a gorgeous Cobb or a rich turkey pesto panini and watch the world’s troubles [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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