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July 7, 2008
Stylish Six: More Great Doughnuts in Los Angeles
Filed under: San Gabriel Valley, Best Of, Eastside, South, Midtown, Westside, Eat — StyleGuide @ 1:28 pm
I’m in the midst of a doughnut obsession, as you may have noticed here and here. Since Los Angeles reigns as the undisputed doughnut capital of the world, I suppose it is a matter of civic pride. In that spirit, here are six more standard bearers.
Dumpy strip mall + two letter names = amazing doughnuts? Apparently. Try:
1. DK Donut & Bakery: Thanks to StylishGuide.com reader and At Home at Home blogger Laure for recommending this Santa Monica gem. Mmmm….
2. S.K. Donuts & Croissants: Head to Mid-city near Park La Brea and sink into a moist, luscious buttermilk bar or rich cruller. Bonus: It’s open late for post-bar-hopping appetites.
Doughnut as architecture — these two shops prove it works:
3. Randy’s Donuts: The gigantic doughnut atop this Inglewood shop is like a big, fat, sloppy welcome-home kiss after landing at nearby LAX.
4. The Donut Hole: Thrill the kid in you with a special trip out to a random intersection in La Puente for a doughnut that you actually drive through (see the video here). The architecture is icing on the cake, so to speak; the main attraction is the fresh doughnuts within.
More goodness:
5. Stan’s Corner Donut Shoppe: This legendary shop has been crafting gourmet doughnuts for more than 40 years. If your timing is right, Stan himself will recommend his favorites — welcome help since he probably has more flavors than there are parking spots in all of Westwood.
6. Tang’s Donuts: The bear claw — big as the real thing, fat with fluffy cinnamon-spiked dough — is worth attacking. Nights bring an eclectic Silver Lake crowd, including hard-core chess addicts, to the grungy strip mall location.
June 23, 2008
Bella Pita: Falafel in Westwood, California
Filed under: Westside, Eat — StyleGuide @ 8:23 pm
I’m a big believer in focus. Tiger Woods on the green focus. Skinny dog next to the barbecue focus. Drill-bit/pinpoint/eye-on-the-prize type focus.
Hence I have a great appreciation for Bella Pita.
This unassuming Westwood shop has pared its entire operation down to the bare minimum. It’s like they’ve taken everything you’d expect from a dining establishment, examined it, then figured out how to eliminate it or delegate it so they can focus on what they do best: delicious, super-cheap falafel pita.
Boy does it work. Take the three quick steps from the front door to the counter to place your order. Bella Pita doesn’t cook it until you order it, so wait until your three falafel patties — light, moist and flavorful — are delivered from the deep fryer and nestled into a soft, warm, fresh-baked pita.
That’s it. That’s all they do.
They don’t load your pita for you — that’s delegated. A sharp salad bar offers roasted cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage and pickled turnips, hot sauce, white sauce, and hummus pumped from a ball-park-style ketchup dispenser.
Next they eliminated variety. The spare menu sports about six choice, tops. Ambiance? Gone. While they have a clean, spacious kitchen, the entryway is shunted off to a space the size of a VW bus (only with less seating than a VW bus). Decor? Forget it.
At Bella Pita, get your pita, pimp it out as fat as you want, then get on your way. Now that’s focus.
Price: $
Where: 960 Gayley Avenue, Los Angeles, Ca 90024
Call: 310.209.1050
More cheap eats that come wrapped in bread:
May 12, 2008
Hot reader tip: The Coop Pizza in Palms
Filed under: Westside, Eat — StyleGuide @ 6:51 pm
According to a 0.26-second Google search, New York is the birthplace of Hip Hop, Punk, Memorial Day, Teddy Roosevelt and the U.S. Navy. All great stuff, but on reflection, one of the state’s top contributions to mankind must be New York-style pizzas. Distinguished by thin, flexible crusts, light on the cheese and sauce — they are huge and filling and greasy and marvelous.
Because of this, finding great New York-style pizza joints in Los Angeles is an avocation adopted by thousands of NYC transplants, and The Coop — recommended by Stylish Guide reader Kate — delivers.
In its Palms location since the beginning of time (in L.A. terms, the 1960s is the beginning of time), The Coop doesn’t exactly make it easy to enjoy their great, low price pizza.
They only take cash — so hit the ATM on the way. The friendly staff will move slower than rush hour traffic on the adjacent 10 freeway — so call ahead or stick with ordering a slice. The inhospitable, elevator-sized counter area doesn’t offer even a lowly barstool to waiting customers — so get your pizza and get out!
When you do finally get a fresh-from-the-oven-hot pizza, aromatic with basil-infused sauce and flour from the hand-tossed dough, squirrel the box away to your car. Forget decency as you steam up the windows, huddled together as you slide generous slices out of the box. Carefully lower it into your mouth baby-bird-style. Marvel at how your annoyance at their skid-row-motel-style service fades away into grateful bliss with each bite.
Bottom line? Come for a simple slice to eat on the run, or call ahead so your pizza pie is waiting when you walk in. With all due respect to Teddy Roosevelt and Hip Hop, you had me at the pizza, NY.
Price: $
Call: 310.837.4462
Where: 10006 National Boulevard, Los Angeles, Ca
Related links | More slices:
April 29, 2008
Great French Bakeries in Los Angeles
Filed under: Best Of, Westside, Downtown, Midtown, Eat — 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:
April 9, 2008
Mateo’s: Smoothies, Ice Cream and Juice to make you forget Jamba Juice
Filed under: San Gabriel Valley, Westside, Midtown, Eat — StyleGuide @ 8:19 pm
This stuff is so addicting they should be selling it in little packets on the corner.
Instead, the smoothies that will hook you like a junkie are sold out of bright, clean shops in dingy neighborhood strip malls.
The local Mateo’s mini-chain serves up smoothies, juices, ice cream and popsicles in the Oaxacan tradition — rich, creamy, and chock-a-block with fresh ingredients.
The best way to get started? Choose a smoothie — something fun like orange/papaya/mango. Consider it a gateway to their 100 percent vegetable and orange juices. Called Vampiros, a single sip will make you feel like you’ve added a year to your life. Beets — the not-so-secret ingredient — give them their blood-red hue and a slight sweetness (think sugar beets). I personally know of people who would pawn grandma’s pearl necklace for carrot/beet/celery/strawberry Vampiros.
You can get your pleasure to-go with Mateo’s rich, fruity popsicles, $1.50 apiece. Scoops of ice cream or sorbet in flavors ranging from the familiar (strawberry, cookies and cream), to the interesting (watermelon, walnut) to the exotic (smoked milk, soursop), are stimulating choices as well.
Just don’t come crying to me when you blow your paycheck on a wild, fruit-crammed weekend, and your pants get a little snug.
Price: $
Where: Four locations:
1250 S. Vermont Avenue #105, Los Angeles, Ca, 213.738.7288
4222 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, Ca, 323.931.5500
4929 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, Ca, 310.313.7625
522-B E. Vine Avenue, West Covina, Ca, 626.919.2090
January 31, 2008
Stylish Six: Great Hot Dogs in L.A.
Filed under: San Fernando Valley, Best Of, South Bay, Westside, Midtown, Eat — StyleGuide @ 7:46 pm
Hot dogs are the perfect StylishGuide food — carefully prepared with pride, yet inexpensive enough to indulge without breaking the bank.
We’re blessed with so many stand-up dogs in Los Angeles, I’ll honor them in shifts. First, favorites in L.A. Soon I’ll share the greats in the Valley — a virtual hot dog heaven.
1. Pink’s of Hollywood: This is the closest thing to a hot dog institution in town. There’s something about sitting in the cheap patio chairs in the tiny parking lot on a glistening Southern California day, settling into a chili cheese bacon dog topped with cool fresh tomatoes, and dripping fluorescent constellations of grease across the paper tray — it kindles something profound. It doesn’t make any sense, but it somehow fills me with a feeling of connection, like finding home. That feeling may explain the long, long lines. That, and the wildly inefficient counter service system, of course.
2. Carney’s: Eating in a converted train-car on the Sunset Strip can bring out the 6-year-old boy in anyone, and the dogs are great too. Visit a second location in Studio City.
3. Skooby’s: You’d expect this tiny Hollywood Boulevard stand to be a typical tourist rip-off operation. But the red and white bedecked, cute as a button, clean as a whistle shop with the tattooed and pierced staff actually slings some of the best dogs in town, as well as perfectly seasoned fries with aioli dipping sauce. A second location opened in Hermosa Beach.
4. The Stand: This is the black-tie dining experience of hot dog joints, with gourmet toppings and an upscale ambiance. Bring a date to the Century City, Encino or Westwood locations. Monday nights feature one-dollar dogs.
5. Let’s Be Frank: This is no ordinary catering truck outside Helms Bakery in Culver City. The 100 percent grass-fed beef hot dogs and organic toppings come with a foodie pedigree — Sue, who works the stand, came from the legendary Chez Panisse. At $5/dog, each bite is an investment in guilt-free eating (the dogs have no hormones, antibiotics or chemicals and are lower in calories than typical hot dogs).
6. Dodger Stadium: Grilled, nearly a foot long, and the perfect accompaniment to a game, it’s not surprising that Dodger dogs are among the most popular dogs in baseball. For the truly glutenous, $35 will buy you a ticket in the right field bleachers and unlimited Dodgers Dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn and Coke.
Honorable Mention
As a global chain, Costco is no “L.A. Original,” but I can’t ignore the fact they’ve asked only a buck and a half for a meaty Polish dog and soda for as long as I can remember. Top with sauerkraut, relish and onions before sinking into that sweet dog. It soothes the soul after the madness of Costco shopping.
January 29, 2008
Stylish Six: Great Hot Sandwiches
Filed under: Pasadena, Best Of, Westside, Downtown, Eat — 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.
November 22, 2007
Gifts for people you don’t know very well: Diddy Riese
Filed under: Westside, Shop, Eat — StyleGuide @ 7:03 am
There are always those people you don’t know very well, but around this time of year, a holiday gift “expectation” seems to surface. Maybe it’s your neighbor. Or the postal worker. Or that creepy guy at work whose name you don’t know but whom you don’t want to risk alienating by getting everyone else a gift but him.
For a personable “impersonal” gift, try Diddy Riese in Westwood. Those same big, fresh, rich, soft, cheap cookies (a buck for three) that have customers lining up around the block also make affordable gifts.
For $4.75 they’ll pack a dozen in a bright red bag — ready to be handed over to a lucky recipient. If you want something bigger, try a tin with 18 cookies for $10.50 (cash only).
I know, I know, parking in Westwood can be rough. You can find two hours free parking before 6 p.m. at the public garage at 1036 Broxton (Broxton is southbound only at that point, so come from Le Conte or Weyburn). Walk about a block north and you’re there.
Unlike all those bath product gift sets that probably never get used and just make the rounds each year, Diddy Riese’s cookies won’t get re-gifted — and will probably even be shared. Now that’s a gift.
Price: $-$$ (cash only)
Where: 926 Broxton Avenue, Los Angeles, Ca 90024
Call: (310) 208-0448
October 31, 2007
Stylish Six: Great Doughnuts in Los Angeles
Filed under: Best Of, San Gabriel Valley, Westside, Midtown, Eat — StyleGuide @ 8:21 pm
“Doughnuts?” The term doesn’t seem to do these “fine American pastries” justice. Here are six of my favorites (including an homage to JFK’s favorite German doughnut):
1. Donut Man: Don’t think about it, just drive. Glendora’s crown jewels are strawberry- or peach-stuffed, fluffy glazed wonders (in season), weighing in at nearly a pound each. See the video here.
2. Rockenwagner Bakery: The famed chef turns out Berliners Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays from his Culver City shop. Mmmm, jam filling….
3. Primo’s Westdale Doughnuts: This old-school shop is in the shadow of the 10 and the 405. Their butterfly doughnut nearly brought me to tears. You need more reason than that?
4. The Gumbo Pot: Beignets are doughnuts, New Orleans-style. Click here for more about these deep fried, powdered sugar-loaded, airy sweet treats from the L.A. Farmer’s Market at Third and Fairfax.
5. Frittelli’s Doughnuts & Coffee: Doughnuts in the 90210 – without the expected attitude or prices. Friendly staff can guide you through their vast selection with prime ingredients like Tahitian vanilla and Meyer lemon zest.
6. Bob’s Coffee and Doughnuts: Plain cake goodness, daily at the L.A. Farmer’s Market. Neat kitty- and dinosaur-shaped doughnuts, too.
Where are your favorite doughnuts?
September 27, 2007
Santa Monica Dreaming — Callahan’s Restaurant
Filed under: Westside, Eat — StyleGuide @ 6:46 am
Wilshire Boulevard begins in a forest of modern glass and steel skyscrapers in L.A.’s downtown. It passes through the Pico Union district, one of the most densely populated areas in the country, then dissects bustling Koreatown. Through Tar Pits and by LACMA, winding through Beverly Hills and Westwood, around Brentwood. Then, a few blocks before it drops off into the Santa Monica Bay, the Boulevard passes a diner called Callahan’s.
Callahan’s was established in 1927, so for 80 years the restaurant has been slinging hash and witnessing (and seemingly ignoring) Wilshire’s slide into urbanity. Slip onto a vinyl stool at their mile-long lunch counter and you’re decades into the past.
The restaurant’s look is vintage, but not faux vintage (like Johnny Rocket’s or another great restaurant, S&W Country Diner in Culver City).
Its soda fountain (pictured) stretches as long as a couch, with more than a dozen pockets that probably once held jimmies and chocolate sauce, left unused but kept sparkling clean like a museum exhibit. As coffee technology and tastes evolved, Callahan’s invested in new machines, lining the new ones next to the old, industrial-sized Bunn machine butted up to compact cappuccino maker. Ancient green vinyl booths match the mint walls.
Their menu offers traditional coffee shop fare, but their 2+2+2 breakfast — two eggs, two slices of bacon or links of sausage, and two hot cakes, which runs a nostalgic $3.95 — caught my eye.
Authentic old school diner with undeniably old school prices.
Price: $ (prices starting at $3.95)
Where: 1213 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, Ca 90403
Call: 310-394-6210
Do you have a favorite vintage haunt? Where?