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April 29, 2008
Great French Bakeries in Los Angeles
Filed under: Best Of, Downtown, Eat, Midtown, Westside — StyleGuide @ 7:15 pm
If I had to guess, I’d venture that my love of bakeries came from my mother. Her idea of lunch out was splitting a sandwich five ways so we could main-line Napoleons, cream puffs, pain au chocolate and cinnamon rolls.
I’ve spent a good part of my life ever since searching for great pastries. For rich, inexpensive breakfasts, afternoon treats, or part of a healthy lunch (according to my mother), here are some of my favorite local French bakeries:
1. Hotcakes Bakes: When I visited the Mar Vista shop, there were actual French people running the shop. Seems authentic to me. Try the delightful canele.
2. Frances Bakery: Head downtown for artful French baked goods, Little Tokyo style. The sweet almond croissant will make your eyes glaze over — they’re that good.
3. Delice Fine French Kosher Pastry & Bread: On Pico west of La Cienega, a Kosher bakery with light buttery flaky croissants. Mmmmm….
4. La Maison Du Pain: Two sisters living the dream — dumping corporate jobs to open a French bakery on Pico in Mid-Wilshire. Croissants, tarts, bread – this is the kind of place where you’ll want to eat your way through the line-up.
Where else can I find great French baked goods? Share, share, share!
Related links | More sweets:
January 29, 2008
Stylish Six: Great Hot Sandwiches
Filed under: Best Of, Downtown, Eat, Pasadena, Westside — StyleGuide @ 9:29 pm
Bread + Meat = Art? With these six hot sandwiches, you betcha.
1. Eastside Market: The universal sign of good cheap eats? Watch where government employees go. Sanitation workers in orange coveralls, City Hall staffers in suits and ties, firemen in uniform — they literally spill out of the door and onto the sidewalk at this odd, ancient downtown sandwich shop. Try the #1. It packs two links of the best homemade sausage in town into a soft Italian roll, then tops them with tomato sauce and grilled peppers and onions.
2. Philippe’s: This is a Chinatown oddity — a cavernous old school, All-American sandwich shop with sawdust on the floor. The line for the counter can number in the scores, but still moves along at a good clip. It seems an unexpected choice, but the turkey sandwich, paired with rich blue cheese and dipped in aromatic broth, delivers big-time.
3. Spring Street Smoke House: While Eastside Market and Philippe’s have been around forever, a new downtown treasure opened last year. Legend has it that on the other floors of the same building that houses Spring Street, the owner cooks for inmates in County lock-up. But this ain’t no prison grub. For a sliced brisket sandwich, they low smoke the beef in a Texas smoker, then deli slice it, pile it high atop a french roll, and smother it with homemade BBQ sauce.
4. Langer’s: If I could eat just one sandwich for the rest of my life, it would be Langer’s #19. Rough-hewn pastrami with bits of fat still clinging to the edges is served on soft rye bread; a thick layer of creamy cool coleslaw completes it. A $12 sandwich may seems excessive, but Langer’s sandwiches transcend that ancient equation of bread and meat. It is an experience that touches your soul. In MacArthur Park, no less.
5. Europane: It’s not surprising that this Pasadena bakery is legendary for pain au chocolate, since the owner formerly baked for Campanile and La Brea Bakery. What is surprising is that they also serve a stunning meatloaf sandwich. The sandwich is toasted, topped with tomato and lettuce, spread with homemade mayo and mustard and finished with tender grilled onions. There’s a choice of fresh, homemade breads for your sandwich – the rosemary currant bread was unbelievable. Another perk of getting lunch from a top-notch bakery? The free cookie on the side.
6. Bay Cities Italian Deli: Hit this Santa Monica strip mall deli and grocery for knock-your-socks-off sandwiches. You can skip the super-long line at the deli (even though there are amazing cold sandwiches there, too) and head to the much shorter hot sandwich line near the entrance. Their sausage sandwich, served steaming and tightly wrapped in foil, is nearly as good as Eastside Market’s, but their hours are much better.
December 10, 2007
Breakfast Under Pressure: Dim Sum at Empress Pavilion
Filed under: Downtown, Eat — StyleGuide @ 8:45 pm
If your idea of an enjoyable weekend breakfast doesn’t involve people screaming at you in Chinese while shoving steaming steel carts at you, then maybe dim sum at Empress Pavilion isn’t for you.
But if you are up for a little adventure with a cosmopolitan feel, this is the place to get big heaping spoonfuls of it for not a lot of cash.
Dim sum, typically referred to as Chinese breakfast food, looks like little appetizers or pastries. Women push steaming trolleys the size of shopping carts around the dining room, offering guests different types of dim sum served three or four pieces to a tin.
My first visit was stressful because we were a table of neophytes. There’s no time to acclimate yourself to the regulation basketball court-sized dining room or peruse the menu (I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a menu). The mayhem begins the minute you take a seat.
The carts come charging, and we learned quickly to just say yes to a whole bunch of stuff (2-3 tins or plates of dim sum per person). Otherwise, after the initial onslaught there can be a wait before carts return to your part of the dining room.
This is the sweet spot — when the pressure ends and you can sip tea, sample the flavors, relax and chat.
We’ve eaten like kings till we were stuffed for as little as $8 a piece.
Price: $-$$
Where: 988 North Hill St., Los Angeles, Ca 90012
When: Go early on weekends (9 or 9:30 a.m.) to avoid the lines
Call: 213-617-9898