New in Silver Lake: Zanzabelle, Soycafe

Silver Lake continues to spout new eating, drinking and snacking sites:
Zanzabelle is a darling cafe next to the Coffee Table on Rowena with ice cream, pastries, candy and vintage toys. Cafe seating on the grassy front lawn includes kid-sized Adirondack chairs and umbrella tables for grown-ups.
Soycafe is a tiny Vietnamese cafe next to Cuffs bar on Hyperion...it's open on weekdays only for breakfast and lunch. Viet, the owner, makes his own soymilk as well as bean curd topped with ginger. I didn't ask him what possessed him to open a fresh soymilk cafe on a godforsaken stretch of Hyperion, other than that the rent must be reasonable. He'll be serving Vietnamese bahn mi sandwiches as soon as he can find a baguette that meets his exacting specifications...he also has Vietnamese iced coffee, granola with soymilk and pennywort juice. After Googling, I find that pennywort is good for arthritis, depression, memory, digestive problems and just about everything else that could possibly ail you.
Also opening soon are Jade, the raw foods restaurant, and Franklin Hills Cafe, also on Hyperion.

Taste test: Pentimento

A group of Variety editorettes convened at Pentimento for a pre-wedding lunch, and I was interested to see whether the restaurant had changed much since it opened a few years ago. I think my favorite thing about the L.A. County Museum of Art restaurant, owned by the Patina Group, is watching the assorted museum patrons lunching and walking by. I like the assortment of elegant older ladies-who-lunch, imaginatively-dressed art school students, inner-city uniformed school groups and moms trying to instill a little culture in their kids. A man wearing a full King Tut golden hat with ear flaps while eating completed the picture. The ladies-who-lunch were all eating beautifully composed salads, so we followed suit, trying the tuna and white bean, the salmon and arugula and various chicken salads.

tuna with white beans, a hint of pesto and "balsalmic essence"
Most of them looked much better than they tasted -- perhaps the patrons prefer their salads underdressed. When we tried to get more pesto dressing for the tuna salad, they brought us instead a small crock of "balsalmic essence," which our British colleague dubbed "treacle" -- not really what you'd want to pour over an underdressed salad. The desserts were rather nicer, with a light panna cotta with rhubarb, a trio of creme brulees and several chocolately choices.
Verdict: With hard cement floors and lots of glass, it's not really a place for quiet conversation, as the sound bounces everywhere. Service is painfully slow, which seems antithetical to a place you stop in while en route to see the exhibits. The outdoor patio might be nice on a cooler day, but most of the food looks better than it tastes. Maybe it's better to go directly to their $15 afternoon tea and skip the real food.

Fooditude at Yi

LA.com's new dining newsletter Fooditude held its launch party last night at Yi Cuisine, the pan-Asian, Filipino influenced restaurant in the space that used to be Tahiti on Third. LA.com's Dining Editor Leslie Balla was in my Mediabistro food writing class a while ago with Litty Mathew, who makes Modern Spirits Vodka, and Charles Rosenberg, who writes for LA.com and Distinction. So it was kind of a class reunion over dim sum and martinis as we sampled Yi's appetizers. I liked their har gow dim sum filled with shrimp, the corn scallion fritters, the tatsoi salad, and the sweet but delicious rock shrimp tempura. Some of the other dim sum were less succesful, but I'm looking forward to returning to Yi for some of the more ambitious Filipino-style dishes -- perhaps Adobo pork belly or braised oxtails in peanut sauce! It's also a great space with an outdoor patio, two different indoor rooms, running water and a tranquil spa-like atmosphere.
(Thanks to Yi's website for the fountain photo.)

Random news....

I always wanted to try the tofu kaiseki restaurant Umenohana in Beverly Hills, but never got around to it. Only about six months after it opened, it's already closing at the end of August -- apparently too much tofu, too formal, perhaps just too Japanese for the West side crowd.

On a far less exalted note, the Briazz pre-packaged sandwich and salad place on Wilshire near LACMA is now O to Go, which has sort of a take-out orgasm connotation. Apparently they've switched to all-organic, which is a nice idea. Unfortunately, the wild salmon caesar I tried there yesterday was virtually tasteless. They could at least borrow the garlicky caesar dressing from the otherwise undistinguished Johnnie's Italian next door. They better still have the chicken chili, my default healthy lunch, or they're in serious trouble.

Next up on my lunch list to try: Pistachio Grill in Beverly Hills; sandwiches at Boule and M Cafe de Chaya, which co-worker Joe Adalian says is both tasty and healthy.

Mini-review: Pinocchio's, Burbank

Sometimes you just need to eat something that tastes exactly like it did when you were a child, or a teenager. Fortunately, since I grew up in L.A., I can replicate some of the tastes of my childhood fairly easily, although many are long gone. Continuing the childhood theme from the Smokehouse, below, we had lunch at Pinocchio in Burbank on Saturday. It was actually Pinocchio in Santa Monica, on Santa Monica and 14th, where I spent much of my teen years, but they're virtually identical. Except the Santa Monica one had a dive bar with Pong tables in the back, whereas the Burbank one has the very credible Monte Carlo Italian market in the front. I moved in with my boyfriend at the tender age of 17, and although I was an ambitious cook, I was not terribly consistent or energetic. So more often than not, we walked across the street to Pinocchio's for dinner, where $1.50 bought a massive plate of eggplant parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, etc. and garlic bread.
Well, it's up to an outrageous $5.95 now, but I'm happy to report the eggplant parmesan tastes exactly the same as it did when I had my first date there in 1975 or so. Matt was happy with his spaghetti and Italian sausage plate, although we could barely walk afterwards. Not that you could possibly have room, but Monte Carlo now has a pretty nice gelato bar in the front of the market. And they're building a covered patio next door, so dining on beautiful Magnolia Blvd. should be even nicer soon.
Pinocchio/Monte Carlo Market
3103 W. Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank
(818) 845-3517

Happy Blogiversary!

Left, lunch at Big Sur Bakery; right, homemade pesto, bruschetta

with homegrown tomatoes and syrah in the woods

Eating L.A. is one year old this month...a year ago I posted a few things before going to Big Sur for our annual camping weekend. We just returned from a week of eating, hiking and napping at Big Sur and I realized I've been doing this an entire year already! It's been a great year for blogging -- Eating L.A. has talked about cupcakes on Good Food, been invited to taste hot dogs, gelato, Thai food and more, made quite a few new friends and received dozens of really nice emails. Lots of other people are now blogging about eating in L.A. -- the more opinions, the better.


We cooked some pretty good meals at the campsite -- carne asada, dry-aged natural burgers, chili, mojo chicken and more -- and the only time we ate out was at the Big Sur Bakery. In addition to their great breads and baked goods, they serve a full lunch and dinner menu. It's not cheap, but nothing is in Big Sur. At lunch, we had split pea soup, garden salad with lemon dressing and a tomato and cheese sandwich on asiago sourdough and a creamy quiche. That's right, I actually ate raw tomatoes in Big Sur. But I'm going to have to stick to a policy of homegrown tomatoes only, I'm afraid.

Ask Eating L.A.: Any Chinese in Glendale?

A reader asks,
" I live in Glendale but seem to go elsewhere (Pasadena and Burbank) for food. Besides Carousel, Mandaloun, Gaucho Village, are there any decent ethnic places in Glendale? Seems like there is NO good Asian restaurants in all of Glendale. Any suggestions?
Sincerely, Leticia"
We all feel your pain, Leticia, but I'm afraid that there isn't much good Asian food in Glendale. As far as other ethnic places, you might try Porto's for Cuban food, Raffi's and Elena's for middle Eastern, and Lola's on Brand for Peruvian chicken. Since Vietnamese seems to be the hot Asian cuisine of the moment, try Blue Hen in Eagle Rock or wait for Indochine to open in Atwater. Readers, any other suggestions?

Drinks report: The Smokehouse

I'm glad we had to come back through the Valley after going to Minibar, as Hollywood seemed very crowded indeed on a Hollywood Bowl Saturday night. That way, I could take Matt to the Smoke House, which I've been meaning to do for ages. The Smoke House has been serving workers from Warner Brothers and nearby studios since 1946, and I hate to say, but I've been going there nearly that long. Well, not really, but I spent quite a lot of time there as a little girl eating their great garlic toast and Monte Cristo sandwiches because my dad's animation studio UPA was right next door and he ate lunch there every single day for 25 years. After a few very small plates at Minibar, we probably should have ordered a Monte Cristo as well, but another time. Instead we continued the mojito theme because the Smoke House had them on special that night for a remarkable $5.50 each! Since they were twice the size of Minibar's, that makes them one fourth the price, sort of. We hung out watching young Burbank couples on dates, large groups of middle aged ladies whooping it up, and an inordinate number of key grips and best boys wearing baseball caps, shorts and white sneakers while a pleasant jazz combo tuned up. I wish I was a martini drinker, because the worn red leather booths seem to call for very chilled, very dry martinis. I think I'll be back soon for some garlic toast and a few more bathtub-sized mojitos -- who wouldn't be?
Archived comments:
Doran said...
My Dad worked at Warners at lot and I too spent a fair amount of time as a child scarfing down the Smoke House's garlic toast. The last time I was there was (Yikes!) about 30 years ago on my very first date! While the meal was *much* better than the date, I haven't been back. I'll need to correct that.
Miles said...
When I worked at Disney, I used to go at leat a few times a year. It's best around the Holidays. Doesn't matter what holiday. Just go because they do it up. And the garlic bread is to die for.Plus, when I was growing up, my grandparents lived in Toluca Lake and it was the family gathering place.It's not to be missed.
BBQ Junkie said...
How's their BBQ? With a name like Smokehouse they have to have some on their menu.
Anonymous said...
What you haven't been to the SMOKEHOUSE???? Oh, please! Get it together already! First, ask for the BEST batender in the world...HECTOR. He may not remember your name but he will remember your poison! Mixes up the best drinks...my favorites, Apple Martinis and Bloody Marys!!! Mmmm Delicious!And if you're eating food today...Veggies don't leave before sinking your teeth into some hot Cheese bread. Carnivores grab a cut up NY steak or prime rib!!! You won't regret it!

Taste test: Orris

I saved the last stop on my small plates quest to report on last, because it was my favorite. Unfortunately I chickened out on the photos, because I didn't want to stop eating to take pictures and because flavor of the dishes at Orris was more remarkable than the look. Don't go by the menu posted on the website, because the specials and the regular in-house menu is much more interesting.
Orris is a small, narrow restaurant near my old stomping ground Hide on Sawtelle. It has a spare, modern Japonaise design with a small patio in front. They don't take reservations, so we arrived early on a Sunday evening and there were plenty of tables. When I go to A.O.C., I usually want to try everything because it all sounds so good. And yet when I looked at the menu at some of the other places, I couldn't decide what I wanted and asked my friends to pick some dishes. At Orris, though, Matt and I were practically fighting each other to choose dishes. First up was the grilled romaine with parmesan, a sort of updated Caesar salad. Matt said the cheese activated the charred flavor of the lettuce, which was a good way to put it. Some small garlicky croutons would have put this dish in nirvana territory, but it was pretty close anyway.
Next we had fried free range chicken a la Japonaise, which are basically the fanciest chicken nuggets you'll ever have, with a spicy cocktail sauce. Quite tasty, but perhaps not the most interesting dish on the menu. Then we tried the filet mignon with roquefort butter sauce -- extremely tender and flavorful, although why don't any of these places have salt on the table? Did they pass a law against it and I missed it? It's just that as a fairly recent beef eater, I prefer my beef with a sprinkle of salt, although the roquefort butter was certainly a savory topping.
My favorite dish was the mousse of shrimp ravioli in shitake cream sauce, which had an ultra rich, velvety flavor. In fact I could have easily eaten a large plate of the ravioli and the romaine and given up on small plates altogether. We passed on dessert, as the choices didn't seem as tempting as the other dishes. But now I wish I had tried the smoked salmon on potato pancakes, as they looked cute and delicious. There is a nice selection of wines by the glass and several good beers in addition to sake, although the dishes really aren't very Japanese in flavor, despite the Japanese chef and location.
Verdict: Yes, we have a winner. Bill was about $60 with one beer each, but we probably should have ordered five dishes instead of four, which was a touch light.
Archived comments:
Anonymous said...
This restaurant is far better than can be conveyed in the story. Sit at the counter so you can see the action and chat with Shiro. On alternate nights, Sushi Tenn right next store is the best traditional sushi restaurant in L.A.! This street is amazing. Get your hair cut at Taka, then go to dinner.

Taste test: Minibar

Barbecued shrimp with cactus, avocado creme fraiche, and tamarind reduction

Continuing the small plates theme, we stopped by Minibar after a screening at the Egpytian. The screening was of a Hong Kong film called Dumplings, seemingly the perfect thing to watch before a nice dinner. It's about a TV star who fears her youth is fading and turns to a woman who cooks up some very special dumplings in her kitchen which hold the secret of eternal youth. They involve ginger, chives, homemade wrappers and...I can't really reveal the secret ingredient. Let's just say our appetites were slightly compromised when we walked into Minibar. The place has a very of-the-moment design in aqua, brown and orange with big, silly Keane paintings -- very fun, but they may have to redecorate everytime the current style changes. It was pretty empty with just a few 40ish Valley couples discussing their kids' schools and older guys in Mervyn's Hawaiian shirts. I have nothing against the Valley, but this place looks really cool inside, and some of those guys were ruining the decor with their clothes.

The perky server brought small complimentary glasses of Spanish cava, a nice touch.
We ordered duck confit eggrolls, barbecued shrimp, beet salad and salmon and brie phyllo rolls. The eggrolls were tasty, but there were just four small bites. The shrimp, though, was nice and meaty and the avocado creme fraiche sounds too chi chi, but just tasted like nice rich guacamole. Everything was much better than I expected for more of a loungish space, although salmon and brie probably isn't the best combination. The mojitos were great, with most tables sampling the pomegranate varieties.
My main beef with this place was the horrible music, everything from Van Halen to "The Entertainer" to "Rock the Boat" -- it was like being trapped on my junior high schoolbus playing KHJ AM. I understand that later in the evening they play electronica -- were they trying to please the Hawaiian shirt guy with the seventies tunes, or what?
The verdict: A cute place to stop in for a mojito and some snacks if friends in the Valley want to get together with friends from Hollywood or beyond. Like at all small plates places, you'll spend a little more than you wanted, you'll leave slightly hungry and you certainly won't have a doggie bag.

Taste test: Meson G (now closed)

I have a short article on small plates in Friday's VLife Weekend, but I haven't gotten around to posting reviews of the places I tried yet on the blog. I'll start off with Meson G, the restaurant owned by the Aubergine people, which had some spotty reviews as well as chef changes when it first opened. Here's the post I did for Chowhound, which unfortunately had to be removed because apparently they had some trouble with shilling from the restaurant. If that's true, that was certainly poor judgement on the part of Meson G!

OK, caveat is that I'm pretty sure they don't know I write articles and publish a blog, but not 100% positive. We sat at the counter overlooking the kitchen so we could watch the action -- it's pretty comfy for a counter. The design is beautiful, especially the bar areas with the zebra carpeting. First, they brought us an amuse of a small corn puff filled with warm corn soup -- delicious, I could have awhole bowl of those instead of popcorn to snack on. We ordered about four plates and the first one, hearts of palm salad with almonds arrived with a nice sashimi dish we didn't order...on the house, the server says! It was raw fluke with heirloom tomato and watermelon...not entirely sure about the tomato/watermelon combo, but an interesting experiment.The hearts of palm salad was nice and refreshing, and offered a healthy counterpart to our other meatier, fishier dishes.Then our Maine diver scallops arrived, very tasty little critters but served with not-very-interesting spinach. We saw a platter of soft shell crabs being prepared -- normally since it was "Big plate Tuesday" they only do four crabs at a time at $55 a platter -- we begged and they give us one on a plate with a nice garlicky romesco sauce. Crispy and perfectly cooked, and it never appeared on the bill! Then we had the striped bass with sauteed arugula...the least successful dish, tasted like some fish I would quickly broil with some bagged spinach for an easy dinner at home -- no discernible flavor other than decent quality cooked fish. Kathy liked the veal hangar steak more than I did, although the sunchokes accompanying them made me vow to investigate this little-used vegetable further. The veal was tender but not as flavorful as a lot of other steak I've had lately.

We couldn't decide between the cheese plate and a dessert. The server overheard our indecision, and although we chose the molten chocolate cake with caramel ice cream, he brought us a (yet again!) comped mini-cheese plate. Very nice cheeses, including a yummy French triple creme, a Tallegio, etc. with small dots of fruit preserves. The ice cream didn't have that distinctive caramel flavor I crave, so I'm afraid the dessert rates as just ok.

The verdict: I guess for the most part the small plates didn't really blow me away compared to AOC or Orris -- either the combinations were a little too ambitious, or they lacked a punch of flavor. But the restaurant was certainly generous, and it was fun watching the kitchen action. This would be a good place for a date, or to bring people from out of town...hopefully people who will be paying for you.
Total was $120 for four small plates, dessert, four glasses of wine...about the same as AOC, I guess. I hope everyone who eats here gets such special attention -- perhaps it was because we were the only two people at the counter.

New feature: Ask Eating L.A.

This week I'm starting a new feature -- Ask Eating L.A. I'm not trying to horn in on Chowhound or Jonathan Gold, just to offer my own perspective on eating around L.A.
This week, Whitman, who is new to L.A., asks:
"I'm curious what you think are the best places to eat in Silverlake. In particular, what do you recommend for (i) Indian; (ii) Japanese; or (iii) Mexican food? You should post a 'top 10' list of your favorite places to eat in Silverlake."

OK, Whitman, here goes: For Indian, I'll go with Agra, but I also like India's Sweets and Spices in Atwater. Tantra has a swell design, but it's a little pricey, and the service is often spaced out and downright bad. I don't dislike Electric Lotus as much as others do, but perhaps it's seen better days.
For Japanese, Saito is a great sushi bar, and there's not much else to choose from in the immediate area. If you want more interesting cooked dishes, ramen, etc., you'll have to go downtown to little Tokyo.
For Mexican, I'm pretty faithful to Malo. I used to like the food at Alegria, but I had to give up because the service was so bad. I also like Barragan's in Echo Park, and I hear good things about the taco truck on Alvarado near Von's.

Here's my Silver Lake/Los Feliz/nearby top 10:
1) Gingergrass
2) Malo
3) Saito
4) Nadpob Thai
5) Mae Ploy Thai
6) Madame Matisse
7) KP's Vietnamese Deli
8) Rambutan
9) Millie's
10) Barragan's
Honorable mention to Vermont, Yuca's, Alcove, Agra, India's Sweets and Spices, etc. I still haven't been to Cliff's Edge and I don't like Cafe Stella, Edendale Grill, Masa, El Conquistador, etc. Cirxa is now closed, by the way, and none too soon.
Oh, and you didn't ask, but here's my top 5 local bars:
1) Johnny's
2) Mixville at Edendale Grill
3) Red Lion
4) Little Joy
5) Footsie's
Archived comments:
shooz said...

Would love to see a similar list for my area, the eastern outskirts of West Hollywood -- it is a tough place to find good eats!

Whitman said...

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much for the advice!

Anonymous said...

What do you order at Mae Ploy? I have never had anything that knocked my socks off there... I think Dusty's is a good option too (not on the top 10 list).

Pat Saperstein said...

I still haven't been to Dusty's or Aroma...so many places to try! At Mae Ploy, I like the eggplant salad, the tofu larb, the crab noodles, the spicy mint noodles, the spicy beef salad...I don't know that it knocks your socks off exactly, but it's pretty solid stuff for the area, and they deliver.

Foodie Universe said...

I definitely agree with you on Gingergrass; however, I thought Rambutan was only slightly above average--the food was pretty good, but didn't do anything to impress me. Also, the restaurant was very loud and crowded on a Saturday night, and the service was on the stuffy side.

Their sign looks just like the sign for Akwa, a sushi restaurant in Santa Monica. Do you think there is a connection?

Anonymous said...

solid list, thanks for posting it!

I'd add El Cochinito, the Cuban restaurant next-door to Alegria (which, I agree, doesn't deserve a place on this list). El Cochinito's lechon asado and pollo dishes and fried plantains are all fantastic! good prices too.

love your blog!

Anonymous said...

Here's a topic for you:

Best working person's breakfast in the area.

As opposed to 'best Silverlake trust fund recipient's late morning breakfast in hipster/slacker cafe'.

Anonymous said...

not meaning to incite class warfare here, just a thought. In other city's there are places where fast, tasty and reasonable means something to folks who need to be somewhere at 9AM every day.
I get a blue-collar kick and carb-heavy start to the day at Rick's on Riverside once in awhile.

Anonymous said...

Nice list, thanks. But, it seems that one place is conspicuously absent: Blairs. Not even an honorable mention?

Product of the week: Coconut ice cream

When I was shopping for my Asian barbecue last week, I came across this wonderful ice cream at the Silom Thai supermarket on Hollywood Blvd. It's called Sweetened Coconut Milk with Fruit, Coconut Pulp flavored. The amazing thing is that it's incredibly creamy, smooth and flavorful, and yet the only ingredients are coconut milk, sugar and coconut. No dairy products or stabilizers -- just coconut. It's fairly healthy, too, with 150 calories and 8 grams of fat per half cup, which is about half of Ben and Jerry's. It comes in a little rectangular plastic box which is about a pint for about $3.50. It's seriously good.

Weekend notes

Like Franklin Avenue's Mike Schneider, I am fascinated with the Filipino food offerings at the Eagle Rock Mall. But unlike Mike, I don't have a Filipina wife to guide me. So after getting a brutally satisfying chair massage outside Target, I stopped in at the brand-new Goldilocks Bakery and Food Shop to see what was on offer. Goldilocks has a vast array of Filipino baked goods, including large flans and tres leches cakes to go -- good for a party -- and more unusual items like a whole mess of bright purple ube pastries.
Ube is purple yam, but I have a feeling Goldilocks helps out the color a with some purple food coloring in some of those nearly fluorescent sponge cakes and yam danishes. I tried a small cheese tart, which was kind of like a Chinese egg custard tart with the addition of coconut chunks, and a chicken pie with a nicely savory raisin and minced chicken filling. The sparkling clean coffee shop next door is like a Filipino Denny's, with breakfast combos of longaniza sausage and eggs, tofu custard, and eggs benedict made with smoked Filipino bacon.

Silver Lake's Gingergrass is expanding into the gallery space next door, and none too soon, since it's always too crowded for me to go. I also heard Silver Lake Wine was expanding into the back of Rockaway Records, but nothing seems to have happened yet.

If you're looking for a very well-made tuna melt, check out Dave's Chillin' and Grillin' in Eagle Rock next to Swork. Unfortunately Dave has discontinued his snow crab melts, but maybe he'll bring them back. Dave is a very friendly guy from Massachussetts who's doing a great business with other shopowners in the area.
While you're there, stop in at Colorado Wine Company. We were there on a sweltering Saturday, and although it was 100 degrees in Eagle Rock, inside the knowledgable owners were pouring refreshing sangria and sauvignon blanc. Although I'm normally strictly a red drinker, I ended up walking out with a bottle of prosecco and a bottle of French rose to counter the heat.

Drinks digest: Sake House Miro

(I'm sure the Sake House won't mind if I borrow a photo from their website.)

I'm filing this one under drinks, because while Sake House Miro does have izakaya dishes, yakitori and sushi, they serve more as accompaniments to the sake, beer and soju cocktails. It's not really an eating destination, but it's a great option in this under-served neighborhood near La Brea and Wilshire. As the website points out, the Sake House is a lot like walking into a neighborhood pub in 1970s Tokyo with Godzilla posters on the wall, vintage Japanese pay phones and cozy settees. The sushi at Sake House is serviceable, but I haven't really gotten to the cooked dishes yet. I'm looking forward to trying out their house fried chicken, grilled yellowtail collar, black cod, tofu steak with bonito and chile skewers. The friendly server recommended the smooth Kaori sake. Most sakes are in the $8 range for an ample glass; the cloudy unfiltered sake is $12 a bottle. With 15 kinds of sake to choose from, 2 for 1 sake on Mondays and 2 for 1 beer and soju on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, this is a fun spot to stop in after work or before a movie for a drink and some small plates.
UPDATE: Sake House also makes a great bibimbap. See my review here.
Sake House Miro
809 S. La Brea
(323) 939-7075