WHY Jidori chicken, cornmeal pancakes with grilled shrimp and chipotle cream, Mexican Coke, $5 burger night, and bargain wines. WHAT One of the leaders of the Echo Park boom (it’s not evil gentrification, it’s a renaissance!), the Park is stylish in a barren, homespun way, with empty frames on stark walls and a simple patio [...]
May 18, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY For 40 years, Jesse Gomez’s family has been turning out ‘careful-the-plate-is-hot’ Mexican food at El Arco Iris, an old-school hub of Highland Park life. Now Gomez has created a new-school, loft-like place serving regional Mexican dishes, as well as twenty-some tequilas and what may well be the best margarita Downtown. WHAT This is not [...]
May 12, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY A top contender for L.A.’s best fish tacos. WHAT Still called by its former name, Tacos Baja Ensenada, this stylish lime-green former burger stand turns out seemingly weightless battered fish tacos whose textural contrasts of crunchy cabbage, crackly battered, moist fish and tart, rich crema are an epiphany. A tiny ceviche bar serves blends [...]
May 5, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Warmth, a strong sense of neighborhood and a serious approach to food—and, more importantly, to Mexican chocolate in all its forms. WHAT The name was a poor choice—everyone stumbles over it—but everything else about this richly colorful café/deli/market succeeds. You order at the counter to eat in the café or out on the patio, [...]
May 4, 2012 | Posted in
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There are no snappy sayings about a grey sky start to the month of May (although we’d opt for summer garden bounty in June). No matter; the perfect way to put some Spring in your May Day step is to snap up tix to the second annual Taste of the Eastside taking place this Sunday, May [...]
WHY Starry Kitchen spices up the Downtown lunch scene with a modern, irreverent approach to Vietnamese-influenced cooking. WHAT California Plaza is a little less corporate with the success of freewheeling Starry Kitchen, which started as an underground restaurant in the owner’s apartment. You pick a protein (free-range lemongrass chicken, the famed crispy tofu balls, spicy [...]
April 29, 2012 | Posted in
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Important reminder! Cinco de Mayo is just days away! Get into fighting shape for the yearly drinkathon at the META “Art of Tequila” Fundraiser at Mas Malo this Saturday, April 28th, from 7:00 – 10:00 pm. The META (Making Education the Answer) benefit will provide mentorship and scholarship to SoCal Hispanic youth. Tequila sponsors 1921, [...]
WHY A multi-purpose, festive Mexican spot with killer tequila selections in Downtown’s cocktail gulch. The downstairs rec room is fab for private parties. WHAT Silver Lake favorite Malo has spawned a bigger Downtown sister location in a cavernous and often deafeningly loud historic jewelry store. Hide out in the ’70s flashback basement lounge, or sip [...]
April 19, 2012 | Posted in
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April may bring showers, at least this year, but it also brings grilled cheese sandwiches. Is this the sequel to “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”? Even better, it’s Grilled Cheese Month! Clever Clementine is making it oh-so-easy to indulge in your fave melted fromage treats by combining comfort food with charity. This Saturday, April 14th from [...]
WHY All manner of fresh and fragrant exotic spices and a tea annex, too. WHAT Hidden down a Sunset Junction passageway, Spice Station is filled with spices and dried herbs from around the world. With dozens of salts (ghost pepper salt!), chiles and colorful flavored sugars, the shop offers many ways to make cooking exciting, [...]
April 6, 2012 | Posted in
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