What's the Oldest Restaurant in Silver Lake?

This article ran in the Los Feliz Ledger in 2019, but the demise of Café Tropical seemed like a good time to republish it. 

BY PAT SAPERSTEIN ON MARCH 28, 2019

What’s the oldest restaurant in Silver Lake? With rising rents and upscale options fast replacing old favorites, a handful of longtime spots remain.

Though it’s been through many owners and several names, Millie’s has operated as a diner in the same spot since 1926, so it would appear to be by far the longest-running restaurant in the area—though in Atwater, the Tam O’Shanter opened in 1922.

Not many locals remember Millie’s before its first hipster rebirth, when Paul Greenstein bought the diner in 1984. The Devil’s Mess—now its signature dish—is just one of the many names Millie’s has had over its long history and the diner recently opened its first spin-off in Pasadena.

Perhaps the next oldest is the Red Lion, which is seeking city permission to upgrade and remodel after opening in 1959 as a British pub—it switched to a German theme in 1963.

The year 1962 was a big one for restaurants in the area: Taix French restaurant moved to Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park that year, after starting out downtown in 1927. Also opened in 1962 were Casita del Campo, still going strong on Hyperion Avenue, and El Cid, which was a curious jail-themed restaurant in the 1920s before turning to flamenco dancing.

In the early 1960s, thousands of Cuban refugees settled in the Echo Park and Silver Lake areas, opening travel agencies, shops, bakeries and restaurants. Few of those spots remain, but Cafe Tropical, which opened in 1975 and and El Cochinito, in 1988, give a glimpse of what the area once known as “Little Havana” was like during that era.

From Ed Ruscha's Sunset Boulevard

Locals were worried when Cafe Tropical’s distinctively purple-painted building was sold last December. Manager Alfredo Morales says that although the building’s ownership changed hands, there are currently no plans to sell the business or change anything.The clientele no longer features cigar-smoking Cuban gentlemen like it did in the 1980s, but it remains a favorite for the flaky guava cheese pastries and cafe de leche, as well as providing a community space for numerous meetings each week for the recovery community.

On a recent weekday morning, longtime customer Robert Williams said he appreciates how Tropical is “welcoming to all kinds of people.” Williams said he was happy to find it nearly the same when he returned to Los Angeles after moving away for more than 20 years.

A recent visit to El Cochinito showed the 31-year old restaurant is still a vibrant gathering place for the community, despite upscale arrivals like Trois Familia next door. Families and friends pack the mini-mall restaurant for hearty fare including one of the best Cuban sandwiches around. Another standout is the giant plate of lechon asado (slow-roasted pork), with sweet plantains, black beans and rice.

Up until the 1990s, Sunset Boulevard used to be lined with burrito joints, pupusa stands and old-school Mexican restaurants including El Chavo, El Conquistador, Zamora Brothers and La Parrilla. Just a few are left. Yuca’s on Hillhurst opened in 1976, while Tacos Delta has provided an informal option in the Sunset Junction area since 1981 and El Siete Mares, which operates several locations, started out in 1968.

Gentrification and the influx of higher-income residents are affecting businesses across the greater Eastside, and it’s inevitable that some of these old favorites will not survive. So as always, think about supporting Silver Lake’s restaurant pioneers along with the newcomers.

 

Jonathan Gold on Silver Lake-Area Restaurants: 'It didn't just reflect a Silver Lake afternoon; it was a Silver Lake afternoon'

Courtesy Jazz Singsanong

Many have eulogized Jonathan Gold far more eloquently than I could, but when the Los Feliz Ledger asked me to look back at the restaurants he loved around the Silver Lake area, I was happy to comb through his reviews.

One of the many admirable things about Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer Jonathan Gold, who died July 21 of pancreatic cancer at 57, was that he didn’t slavishly chase trends. Oh, he was quick to try the newest place to open, and excited to tell his readers about it, but he was also faithful -- sometimes inscrutably faithful -- to some of his old favorites, places that managed to hang on for decades as flashier spots opened around them. Those old favorites included East Hollywood’s Marouch and Thaitown’s Sapp Coffee Shop, which re-appeared like clockwork each year on his 101 Restaurants list.

When he wrote about Sqirl, you just didn’t get a review of a place that served toast. You got a literary disquisition, a reference to a place in Spain that only served toast, his knowledge of Jessica Koslow’s deeply-flavored jams from the farmer’s market.

Even when they were served with a side of gentle ribbing, his reviews managed to sum up how the food fit into this point in time, the neighborhood -- essentially what it felt like to be there, not just to eat there.

“I ate this toast outside in a sort of side yard next to the restaurant, chased with sips of milky espresso, in full earshot of the auto body shop up the street and the banda music pounding from the passing cars. It didn't just reflect a Silver Lake afternoon; it was a Silver Lake afternoon,” he wrote when Sqirl first opened.

Gold had a deep reverence for Thai food, one of the formative cuisines of Los Angeles, from the comforting boat noodles of Sapp to the fiery Isaan cooking of Night+ Market to the possibly even more incendiary Southern Thai dishes of Jitlada. On his first visit to Jitlada under the cooking of the late Tui Sungkamee, he wrote about the kua kling curry, “The heat was almost unbearable, and I was surprised to briefly lose muscular control of my knees, but the curry was undeniably better, more balanced in flavor, than it had been in its slightly deracinated version. And then the endorphins kicked in.”

Night+Market owner Kris Yenbamroong has said that his West Hollywood restaurant risked failure until Gold stepped in to write about it.

“He literally pulled us back from the brink,” the chef, who went on to open Silver Lake and Venice locations, told the L.A. Times.

At Kismet, the food reminded Gold of the vegetable-driven cooking of Alice Waters, and his descriptive powers were in full flower.

“You dip tiny halved turnips into sweet butter glazed with salty-tart preserved lemon and chase them with a draught of fizzy natural wine,” he wrote.

Gold admitted that restaurants in the Silver Lake-Los Feliz area tended to be more trendy than serious, but he admired Alimento, saying of owner-chef Zach Pollack, “Silver Lake may be an appropriate place for chefs as well as musicians to go indie.”

At Salazar, he spent a lot of time contemplating whether they got the flour tortillas right, but he also seemed to relax into the restaurant’s Austin-eque atmosphere.

“The side dishes are kind of great,” he reminded, “gooey potato purée with small, plump sausages floating in it like strawberries in oatmeal; chilled, fire-blackened corn kernels tossed with chiles, cream and herbs; beans cooked with all manner of pig products.”

One of his last reviews was of Freedman’s, the nouveau-Jewish deli on the Silver Lake-Echo Park border whose opening chef spent time at Noma. As a uber-nosher who was eating at Junior’s Deli in Westwood long before the entire staff of Freedman’s was born, he seemed bemused, captivated, and utterly intent on capturing the restaurant’s essence -- in the singular way only Gold could do it.

Tintorera Restaurant in Silver Lake: A First Look

Hidden Sunset Blvd. entrance

Tintorera's main dining patio

New restaurants are opening in Silver Lake, Atwater and the surrounding area faster than I can keep up with them. Last week Sweetfin Poke in Silver Lake and Journeymen and Good Measure in Atwater, this week Tintorera in on Sunset Blvd. in Silver Lake. I was invited to try Tintorera with some other writers.

Stylish indoor bar area at Tintorera in Silver Lake

The space: Tintorera (a type of shark in Spanish) is located in the old Cowboys & Turbans space, which has been completely overhauled to create a spacious enclosed patio. As at Salazar, most of the tables are outdoors with a small indoor bar area. What will happen in the winter? "We will think about that later," says chef owner Maycoll Calderon, whose sceney restaurant Huset in Mexico City is designed with the same outdoor feel. At night, strings of lights brightly illuminate the large patio, which is set to get an even larger extension with an outdoor bar.  

Tamarind mule comes with a giant chile garnish

The bar: The indoor bar is smartly designed with au courant leafy wallpaper, marble counters, and large globe lighting fixtures. An array of cocktails with Mexican touches (most are $14) include the Tamarind Mule with mezcal, ginger, tamarind and pineapple and the milk-glass green Aguacate with tequila, horchata, avocado and pineapple juice. Three different mocktails are offered for the non-imbibers, which is a nice touch.

snapper aguachile

grilled tuna with ginger rice ($34)

The food: At the moment the menu is small, but Calderon, a native of Venezuela, assures that other dishes will be added. The focus is on ceviches and grilled fishes and meats, including a hamachi tostada ($14), roasted red snapper ($34)  with a bright sesame emulsion, and NY steak ($68) with a subtle black mole sauce topped with nuts. 

Prime NY steak with black mole

The verdict: The patio instantly shoots near the top of Silver Lake's best patios, and once the outdoor bar is installed, it's likely to be a very hopping spot. Calderon will likely need to add some appetizers and small plates to keep repeat visitors engaged, as there is currently a lack of snacky options. Prices are on the very highest end for the area, although the ribeye at Salazar is not far away at $58. Prices in this range should be reserved for the most innovative menus with excellent service, so we'll see if Tintorera can bring its excellent Mexico City reputation to hard-to-please Angelenos.

Tintorera, 2815 Sunset Blvd., is currently accepting limited reservations in a soft opening mode. Grand opening to come in the next few weeks. 

Fat Dragon Review: Upping Silver Lake’s Chinese Restaurant Game

A communal table sparks conversation at Fat Dragon

Residents of the Silver Lake and Los Feliz area have spent decades waiting for good Chinese food to hit the area. Tired of hearing “Just go to Chinatown,” or “Monterey Park is only 15 minutes away,” we were thrilled when Pine & Crane opened a few years ago and significantly upped the Chinese food game.

Now along the same stretch of Sunset Blvd., Fat Dragon has joined the party, adding those guilty pleasure dishes like orange chicken that so many people crave, but with a light and modern approach.
Located in the same mini-mall that houses boho brunch spot Trois Familia, Fat Dragon has no lettered sign, just a neon dragon glowing above the storefront. As at Pine & Crane, you step up to the counter to order and the food is then delivered to the table. Some people are confused by the prominence of the tea menu on the board behind the counter, thinking it’s just a teahouse, and Fat Dragon does have a wide selection of teas. But don’t be fooled. There’s a full menu of crowd-pleasing Chinese dishes carefully prepared using high-quality ingredients like Mary’s chicken and Angus beef.

This isn’t San Gabriel Valley-style Chinese -- spice levels are on the subdued side, and there is no toothpick lamb or braised eel to be found (five-spiced quail is probably the most adventurous dish). Most dishes are clean-tasting with lots of fresh vegetables, though there are still plenty of indulgent and/or deep-fried choices. Honey walnut shrimp is almost dessert-like and too rich for just two people, but a few bites of the beloved banquet dish are just right. Orange chicken is deep-fried like the familiar mall version, but fresh orange slices and a light touch with the sauce keep it from being cloying.

Ma-po tofu at Fat Dragon

Some less common dishes well worth trying include Dragon fried rice, with Chinese sausage and bacon combined with the unusual addition of kohlrabi; and pork jowl stir-fry with dried tofu. Mapo tofu and Szechuan eggplant are both exceedingly solid versions. Mild-flavored moo goo gai pan and pan-fried noodles include plenty of vegetables, while dry-fried string beans, cauliflower and orange tofu are among vegetarian choices. The menu isn’t large -- hot and sour soup and more dumplings would probably be popular additions. And the Szechuan spicy wontons are perfectly good, but won’t make anyone forget the ones at Chengu Taste.

Crucially, Fat Dragon, which is part of the Sticky Rice group of restaurants, works with a number of delivery services including GrubHub, Caviar and Postmates, so that Holy Grail of good Chinese delivery is now accessible to the Silver Lake-Los Feliz area. But the food, especially fried items, is even better when eaten in the restaurant, which has a large communal table in the center as well as tables along the wall. There’s no beer and wine, but cold brew wild berry hibiscus, lychee lime green tea, and Hong Kong milk tea keep the drinks interesting. And not to be ignored: the housemade fortune cookies with irreverent sayings blow any mass-manufactured ones out of the water.

Upscale ingredients and a central location mean a meal for two will run at least $50, but the quality and flavor makes it well worthwhile.

Wolfdown Review: Secluded Spot Flies Under the Radar in Silver Lake

Citrus radicchio salad at Wolfdown

Here's EatingLA's review of Wolfdown from the Los Feliz Ledger. Click through to see how many forks it received.

In the four years since Nicky D’s stopped serving pizza on Rowena Ave., Silver Lake has changed a good bit. Restaurants in the area have upped their game; real estate prices have climbed. Maybe because of its understated Rowena location, the seven-month old Wolfdown, which replaced Nicky D’s, has flown somewhat under the radar.

Wolfdown, which focuses on Asian-influenced dishes, comes from Jason and Chrissy Kim, the owners of Forage, the Sunset Junction cafe that incorporates produce fresh from neighbor’s gardens. The Kims freshened up the funky bungalow, and the woodsy patio now sparkles with twinkly lights, while several seats at the bar look out over the open kitchen inside the cozy house. Like at Forage, the menu highlights bright bits of acidity and crunch that put the spotlight on startingly fresh produce. But unlike Forage’s counter, this is a full-service restaurant with wine, beer, and sake.

The top of the menu offers shareable plates like tangy citrus and radicchio salad textured with crispy wontons, or grilled calamari with lemon and mayo. Coconut black rice ($13) melds several intriguing flavors: deeply flavored oil-roasted vegetables, nutty rice, and fresh pea tendrils.

black rice with root vegetables at Wolfdown

The fact that chicken and shrimp dumpling is listed as a singular item might tip you off that it’s not a plate of potstickers: It’s more of a large pancake with a delicious dumpling filling on the inside, though the presentation is unexpected. Brussels sprouts are slicked with chili oil and contrasted with crispy chicken skins, while other vegetables like beets and broccoli also get their flavor amped up with olives or black bean sauce. The kitchen knows how to make vegetables complex and fascinating in a way that completely escapes some of the vegan restaurants in the area.

Main courses include proteins like Korean fried chicken with spicy chili or soy honey butter and slaw ($25); noodles with beef cheeks; or a $45 Prime New York steak with herring butter. Braised black cod ($25) arrives in a ceramic bowl in which pieces of buttery fish alternate with chunks of purple daikon, swimming in a lightly sweet and spicy sauce with a side of fragrant Mori’s rice.

Pan-Asian restaurants often get a bad rep for covering everything in sickly sweet soy-based sauces. Luckily, Wolfdown’s much more nuanced dishes include plenty of tart notes to balance the sweetness, while sauces are differentiated with varying flavors like miso, sesame, and regional sauces like Korean kochujang.

Desserts also incorporate creative uses of fruits and vegetables, like sugar snap pea gelato with strawberry shortcake or black and blueberry compote with dense, creamy peanut butter semifreddo --a sophisticated take on peanut butter and jelly.

Black- and blueberry compote with peanut butter semifreddo at Wolfdown

Is there anything not to like? Both the menu and the servers can seem a bit quiet and serious -- a few more snacky hors d’oeuvres or welcoming bites might give the menu a little more sense of fun and generosity. Or how about a ramen night once a week? Dinner for two will run around $100 -- fairly standard for the neighborhood, though still a splurge for many. But overall, Wolfdown’s setting is relaxed and the cooking is perfectly calibrated.

Kettle Black Review: The Right Formula for Silver Lake

Kettle Black's housemade pappardelle with maitake mushrooms

A few months ago, we took a look at Sawyer, one of the newer additions to Sunset Junction. Now we visit its sister restaurant, Kettle Black.

The side-by-side restaurants share the same kitchen, though the menu and decor are completely different. At Kettle Black, the chef is Sydney Hunter III, formerly of French standouts like Petit Trois.

The pair has in common a similar grasp on what the area’s diners seem to want right now: eye-catching interior design, solid cooking and a casual, buzzy atmosphere.

Kettle Black is perhaps an unlikely name for a rustic Italian restaurant.

The small front patio is enclosed on three sides with a heater, so even in cool weather it’s a fine place to watch the passing fashion parade on Sunset Boulevard.

In the center of the room, a long tall table with backless stools might not be the best place for a lengthy dinner, but it’s fine for catching up with friends over drinks.

As at Sawyer, there’s a full bar available, so start with a refreshing gin, cucumber and Thai basil cocktail, or bourbon revved up with tea and amaretto. Happily, happy hour runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. every day of the week, with $4 Italian beers, $6 wine and several $8 cocktails along with a few snacks.

The dinner-only menu focuses on vegetables, pasta, pizza and a few mains like branzino, a flat iron steak with a pleasant char along the edges, or roast chicken.

Arugula salad at Kettle Black

Pizzas with toppings like potato and egg or prosciutto and arugula are fine, but we like to concentrate on the jazzed-up vegetables, and the very competent pastas.

Vegetables are some of the stars of the menu, with vinegar, salt and chiles giving a flavorful oomph.

Eggplant is charred to amp up its soft lusciousness, then slicked with tart-sweet saba vinegar and doused in garlic and chili flakes. A simple arugula salad is the perfect lemony foil to rich pasta dishes, topped with a flurry of almonds, pecorino cheese and pickled chilis.

Cauliflower goes far beyond the familiar roasted or fried preparations that have redeemed the once-boring vegetable’s reputation. Fried capers, pine nuts, pickled raisins and savory bagna cauda (anchovy sauce) turn the vegetable into an umami bomb.

Another star of the menu is pappardelle, with housemade noodles that have just the right bite and a dusky sauce of maitake mushrooms swimming in nasturtium butter.

limoncello cake at Kettle Black

For dessert, Italian-accented sweets like limoncello cake strewn with fresh berries or panna cotta with stone fruit keep things light and refreshing.

Kettle Black’s menu isn’t large, and the food isn’t incredibly ambitious, but the restaurant does exactly what it sets out to: create a lively spot that works for both drinks and snacks or a full dinner, with food that won’t leave you feeling weighed down.

Kettle Black
3705 W. Sunset Blvd.
Silver Lake

Trois Familia Review: Does French Technique Work With Mexican Flavors?

This review originally appeared in the Los Feliz Ledger.

When French chef Ludo Lefebvre first started doing innovative pop-ups around town and then opened the tasting menu-focused Trois Mec and its little sister Petit Trois, he probably wasn’t thinking Mexican-French fusion.

But the perpetually forward-thinking Frenchman and longtime Los Angeles resident doesn’t slow down for long, and so when the former Alegria location in a Silver Lake mini-mall came up for lease, he decided to honor the space’s roots in his own European way, with help from partners Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook of Animal.

Trois Familia serves only breakfast/brunch/lunch in a much more casual atmosphere than their other restaurants, with colorfully painted walls, picnic table seating and no reservations.

Silver Lake residents probably never knew they wanted French burritos or chorizo crepes, but now that they’ve got it, they’re plenty happy to put their name on a list and wait for a spot on the communal benches on the mini-mall sidewalk. Boho decor touches include succulent pots lining the walls and a turntable and records on a corner shelf. When a baby starts bouncing to a vintage punk song by the Slits, it’s hard not to be caught up in the festive ambiance.

These are Mexican dishes filtered through Lefebvre’s lens of French technique, and they’re unlikely to be like any you’ve seen before. A beet “tartare” tostada is only nominally Mexican, though it rests on a perfectly crunchy and tender tortilla round and is topped with a delicate avocado creama that could be the snooty cousin to guacamole. It’s more akin to a Russian salad, with a light creamy dressing…and then, a hint of heat creeps up on you towards the end, gently nudging you to remember that you are in some kind of imaginary Mexican territory.

That breakfast crepe filled with salty chorizo custom-blended by their meat supplier is topped with a perfectly-cooked egg and striped with more of the luscious avocado crema; the flavors somehow simultaneously evoke a creperie in Brittany and a quesadilla from the streets of Mexico City.

If there’s a signature dish, it’s the hash brown chilaquiles. Crispy potatoes stand in for the traditional tortilla chips, while “salsa macho” gives the dish an acid jolt. There’s very little resemblance to the dish it’s named for, but it has its own terrific flavor. The only issue is that at $9.95, you’ll really want two, and then you’ve spent $20 for two eggs -- before even ordering the $5 cup of Heart coffee.

I’ve never made it as far as the churro French toast, because as much as I love Salt & Straw ice cream, who needs it for breakfast? The menu changes frequently, so if anything made with the creamy, cheesy Anson Mills grits makes an appearance, snap it up. The only dish that slightly underwhelmed was the burrito, which didn’t quite add up to enough flavor as rustic beans overshadowed the delicate garlic brown butter. For something more filling, try the double decker potato tacos or chicken Milanesa.

Fans of homey desserts will go wild for the tres leches birthday cake.There’s no alcohol, but there are a few decadent drinks like the house-made horchata, Nutella malted “iced hot chocolate” and an Abita root beer float.

It’s pure Silver Lake of the moment -- so how much you will like Trois Familia will depend on how much you’re willing pay for breakfast, whether you miss Alegria and how happy you are to be eating in one of Ludo’s restaurants right in Silver Lake.

Three and a half forks

Trois Familia, 3510 Sunset Blvd., 323-725-7800

Silver Lake's 365 by Whole Foods: Here's What You Will and Won't Find

The old Ralph's parking lot has been slightly reconfigured and cleaned up

Will you shop at a Whole Foods without a butcher or fish counter? Will you miss the giant wheels of cheese and the organic yoga clothes? That's what you'll need to weigh when deciding how much you'll embrace the first-ever 365 by Whole Foods, which opens on Glendale Blvd. Wednesday at 9 a.m. The focus is on grab and go items or prepared to order items like pizzas and hot dogs (including a roast carrot dog!), with a healthy dose of technology to speed things up.

The store has an open feel with many of the items in low glass cases

What you won't find:
Beauty products (there are some supplements however)
Butchers and fishmongers
A cheese counter
A bakery counter
Any vestiges of old-school crunchy health-food store aesthetics
A juice bar? I don't think there's a juice bar

This is a teabot. It's a bot, that makes tea.

What you will find: 
A coffee bar that also serves beer.
A teabot
Most of the familiar packaged foods from Whole Foods
A decent selection of spirits and wine and a solid beer selection
A stripped-down industrial look that's more reminiscent of Fresh 'n Easy
A lot of touchscreens, including one in the wine area that offers tasting notes
Lots of food you won't have to actually cook

I got a sneak peek tonight, and though many of the items are stocked, most of the prepared foods won't be out until Wednesday. The LCD price displays weren't activated yet, so I couldn't get an idea of the pricing. Here are some early pics.

Stable produce is stacked in boxes out in the main store, while more delicate items and salads will be behind the glassed-in, air-conditioned area at the rear

The bulk selection is more modest than at Whole Foods

The Allegro coffee bar also serves beer and wine

Order pizzas, bahn mi dogs and sandwiches at this kiosk, and they'll deliver to one of the tables in the eating area

As in some European markets, you weigh your produce before checking out

There are several self-serve checkout kiosks to speed your exit

Vegan cafe By Chloe opens next week next to 365

Do you think you'll be able to do much of your shopping at 365? Or would you have preferred a real Whole Foods or a regular supermarket?

Casbah Cafe and Alma Closings: It's Not the Media's Fault

(Casbah Cafe photo courtesy of Harriet's Tomato)

There was a time when the Casbah Cafe seemed like the kind of place I might stop in every day on the way to work and find a crowd of regulars. Local artist Jon Huck was usually hanging out there with a few friends, and at the time it was about the best Silver Lake had to offer, especially if you weren't a fan of the Coffee Table or Backdoor Bakery. The sad truth was that all three had pretty terrible coffee. It was the early 2000s and Intelligentsia, Lamill and all that followed were still several years off, and L.A.'s standard for cappuccino was fairly low. I never quite became the regular I imagined, since I find it hard to give up my home-brewed coffee, and after all, I had a job to get to and would never be the kind of flâneur for whom Casbah seemed made to order.

But like everyone in the neighborhood I appreciated its funkiness, its quirky selection of Moroccan textiles and South American teas. It was a place you could meet up with a friend to chat and not feel rushed, the kind of place you thought would be there forever until suddenly it wasn't. The management posted a statement Thursday making now-familiar accusations of gentrification, landlord troubles, rising rents and increasingly corporate environments. Read the full statement on EaterLA. I'm not sure what the answer is to those problems. I dislike boutiques where I can't afford anything, but I like good coffee and good cheese. I don't think landlords should use any illegal tactics to get businesses out and I think every effort should be made to help beloved community businesses survive, but it's also hard to understand why they wouldn't need to charge the market rate to survive as property owners.

But what I do understand is that it's not the media's fault for not supporting Casbah, as the cafe's statement said. That's the nature of restaurant coverage and most news and content -- there has to be a news hook, or a reason to write about the place. Casbah got plenty of coverage when Sunset Junction first became hip, but inevitably it was upstaged by the massive wave of new businesses that have opened since then. Would it have gotten more media attention if a quality coffee program was offered, or a better menu? Quite possibly, if it was promoted in the right way, though maybe not, if the economics of the place still rested on regulars hanging out for hours after buying just a cappuccino.

Strangely, the media and the expectations it creates was also at least partly to blame for the recent closure of Alma, according to chef Ari Taymor -- but for the exact opposite reason: It brought too much attention to the tasting menu-focused Downtown restaurant that started as a pop-up.

Damned if we do, damned if we don't? We get it, running a restaurant is extremely challenging, whether it's for two years like Alma or 20 years like Casbah -- which by the way, pretty damn good run, right? Sure, it's the media's responsibility to treat restaurants fairly, not to jump in with early negative reviews and to try to have just a little compassion for hard-working chefs and entrepreneurs. But it's not our job to help you revitalize a restaurant that never got a menu update or served a memorable dish, and it's definitely not our job to NOT let readers know about a place we think they should know about. Unless, of course, we want to save it for ourselves, and then you won't hear about it.

So restaurants, blame greedy landlords or fickle investors or changing tastes -- but please don't blame the very people who would love to help you spread the word if you're doing good work. We're on your team, really. Now Yelpers, they're another story altogether.

Even Before Clifton's, L.A. Had Crazy Themed Restaurants

Here's a story I did for EaterLA timed to the recent re-opening of Clifton's about some of Los Angeles' craziest early theme restaurants, from pirates to jails to questionable African fried chicken huts. Read the full story at LA.Eater.com.

The Jail Cafe on Sunset where El Cid stands now. (Courtesy LAPL)

Even before the woodsy Brookdale Cafeteria opened in 1932, theme restaurants were an essential piece of Los Angeles's dining culture. The city is famous for dining establishments shaped like tamales, hotdogs, airplanes, and doughnuts. Some theme restaurants enriched the experience with garishly costumed waiters and entertainment, though they seldom attempted to link the fare with their outlandish facades. 

Lamill Coffee Freshens Up Menu, Streamlines Premium Coffee Program

Silver Lakers pack Lamill to work, caffeinate and socialize

When Lamill Coffee Boutique opened seven years ago, EatingLA wondered whether it might be "too spiffy for scruffy Silver Lake?" Well, Silver Lake isn't so scruffy anymore, and since 2008 the area has seen the arrival of various new wave coffee purveyors such as Intelligentsia, Dinosaur, Caffe Vita, Sqirl, Go Get 'Em Tiger, Proof Bakery, Broome St. and many more. But Lamill's fanciful decor stands above the plywood aesthetic of the more minimal spots.
Lamill is one of the few coffee roasters that is actually local (Groundworks and Bar Nine are a few of the others), and over the years the Silver Lake Blvd. cafe has simplified its beverage program to bring it more in line with what the neighborhood prefers. Gone are the pricey and whimsical concoctions like "coffee and a cigarette" with tobacco-infused whipped cream -- more recently the cafe has moved to offering a half dozen freshly-roasted blends and single origin coffees available with three brewing methods: Clover vacuum brewing, hand drip or French press. Fortunately the excellent Hong Kong Milk Tea is still on the menu along with a dozen other tea selections from Lamill's own label.

Boursin omelette with roasted tomatoes

Chef James Trees (Hutchinson, Michael Mina, Whist) has given the menu a freshening up, with house-made pastries and maple espresso brioche donuts, a wide brunch selection and lunch and dinner entrees. When Lamill opened, the neighborhood was aghast a the prices, but now they're in line with the rest of the area. On the menu for breakfast and brunch are the ubiquitous avocado toast smeared with what must be an entire avocado; smoked salmon toast; a terrific, classic Boursin omelette; Eggs Benedict and chicken and waffles.
If you don't tend to think of Lamill as a place for lunch or dinner, think again -- try a croque monsieur, shrimp 'n grits, the Lamill Burger, steak frites or salads. There's also wine and six different craft beer selections. Lamill is open until 10 pm, 11 pm on weekends.

Lamill Coffee Boutique
1636 Silver Lake Blvd.
323-663-4441

Go Get 'Em Tiger: Hyperion Gets a Coffee Energy Infusion

Reko Ethopian filtered coffee gets the day started alertly

The stretch of Silver Lake between Sunset Junction and Broome St. on Rowena is lacking some good coffee action. Say Cheese is serviceable but other than that, might as well just get a free sample at Trader Joe's. So it was exciting to see Go Get 'Em Tiger, the serious coffee outpost from Larchmont from Kyle Glanville and Charles Babinski (this year's U.S. champion barista), open a coffee pop-up.

Coffees available include the unusual turmeric/ginger/almond/macadamia cappucino

Located in the former Lucky Duck space, where Hyperion meets Griffith Park Blvd., it's only for four months or so while they ready their new location next to Bar Covell on Hollywood Blvd., but we'll take it, and hope that maybe another quality caffeine outpost will take over that location. It's a pretty basic operation -- a few pastries, a few bags of coffee available and a focus on espresso, cappucino and filtered coffee. The almond/macadamia milk infused cappucino ($5) is plenty rich despite the absence of milk products, with a hint of nuttiness. Filtered coffee ($4) is smooth and bright, with enough for two cups in each carafe. It kept me focused and alert all day, and as I once told FoodGPS, I felt like a better person after drinking it. Which seems well worth $4. Also, the L.A. Family School dads are pretty stylin, so there's that.

Go Get 'Em Tiger
2630 Hyperion Ave.
Open 7 am to 2 pm or so, until August or so

El Condor Creates More Spacious Tequila-Sipping Areas as Dustin Lancaster's Empire Expands

After nine months using basically the same footprint as El Conquistador, El Condor owner Dustin Lancaster of Bar Covell and L&E Oyster realized the tiny upstairs bar and secluded back bar weren't creating a very good flow in the Silver Lake modern Mexican bar and restaurant. The feng shui just wasn't working, he explained, so a long L-shaped wooden bar now stretches across the entire downstairs area for maximum margarita-ordering efficiency. The front patio is now glassed-in while the cozy upstairs balcony is strictly for seating.

The menu has been streamlined just a bit -- though some are sad to lose the tortas and main dishes, it seems tacos and tequila (along with quesadillas, chips and enchiladas) are what the people want. There's also a fine selection of mezcals and carefully-crafted Mexican-influenced cocktails that are a world away from El Conquistador's neon green swill. Happy hour is 5-7 pm and 10-12 am.

Blending Courvoisier, Averna, Aperol & Sambuca, @elcondorLA's Hidden Path cocktail is a dark, licoricey mood-piece. pic.twitter.com/yujRJJdGrp
— Matthew Chernov (@MatthewChernov) January 21, 2015

With the boutique Hotel Covell set to open any day upstairs from Bar Covell, Lancaster is a very busy guy. He's also getting very close to opening Augustine, a wine bar in the Covell mold on Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks. After Home State and Mother Dough, the Covell block is filling up fast: The former two-story house next to Bar Covell is already set to feature a Go Get 'Em Tiger Coffee in six months or so; Lancaster is hoping that McConnell's Ice Cream will possibly join the coffee crowd.

Bowery Bungalow Brings Modern Mediterranean to Silver Lake

Bowery Bungalow is located near the very end of Santa Monica Blvd. in Silver Lake

What: Bowery Bungalow recently moved into the vintage bungalow occupied by Sompun Thai for more than 40 years. The owners were ready to retire, so the space was taken over by George Abou-Daoud, owner of Hollywood spots like Bowery, Delancey and Urban Garden. The concept is modern Mediterranean (as in Middle Eastern), in a relaxed setting with wine, beer and a sweet hidden patio.
Where: 4156 Santa Monica Blvd., Silver Lake, 323-663-1500
The Space: Freshened up with whitewashed plank walls, Moorish tile floors, pressed tin ceilings and Bowery's signature subway tiles, there's not really anything in the rustic decor to signify that you're in for a culinary trip to places like Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt. But that's fine, since this is a modernized take on what's already found across East Hollywood and Glendale.

The Food: The trick with modern Mediterranean is to make sure that it's at least as tasty as Zankou, Marouch or Carousel -- putting kale in tabbouli doesn't necessarily make it better, for example. So far, so good at Bowery -- several of the dishes we tried take familiar ideas to a new and even better place. Grape leaves are stuffed with spiced chickpea puree and the spices used in merguez sausage for an appetizer that's perfect for both vegetarians and meat eaters. Roast cauliflower with dukkah, falafel patties with spiced heirloom carrots and okra and smoky babaghanouj with a side of blackened shishito peppers all strike the right balance of traditional dishes executed with better ingredients and more assertive spicing. Couscous royale with a variety of fresh vegetables makes a striking presentation, though the name is odd since it implies bowls of fragrant broth and platters of meats to go along with the vegetables and grain, whereas this is just a vegetable side dish.

Main courses include decidedly non-Muslim items such as Baby back ribs with grape molasses and pork belly skewers smoked over Japanese binchotan coals as well as pan-roasted seabass, a variety of kebabs, lamb dishes and a "Reuben" sandwich with Anatolian dried beef. But the showstopper is Chicken Musakhan, which features tender chicken stewed with onions and sumac served in a Yorkshire pudding. Apparently the Palestinian version is served over a foccaccia-like bread but this Colonial twist is deliciously successful.

goat cheese combines with ricotta in Egyptian Konafah dessert

The Drinks: Beer and wine only; the craft beer selection is solid with about 10 rotating taps and some interesting selections like Mother Earth Pin-up Pale Ale.

Would I return? Definitely. Of course, prices aren't falafel-stand cheap, but the quality seems worth it, the beer is good, the familiar patio is still there and it's convenient for a variety of eating preferences.

(I was invited to try this restaurant.)

Haché Burger: A Much-Needed Burger Specialist for Silver Lake

The Roaring Forties at Haché Burger

Here's a quick first look at a new neighborhood spot, Haché Burger, in the former Tarascos location on Sunset Blvd. It sounds French but the fries, at least, lean Dutch at this very casual spot which for now serves burgers, fries, beer and that's about it. But the prices are reasonable for the area and it's a solid burger that with very small tweaks could be a great one.
The food: Four burgers are on the menu all around $6. They're crafted from Angus sirloin that's always ground within the past four hours. The Karma has American cheese and Karma sauce; the Habanero has chiles and queso fresco; Swiss Onion and the Roaring Forties with mushrooms, horseradish and blue cheese. It's a loosely-formed patty that the owner (who also has Mick's Karma Bar in Irvine) calls ground steak instead of hamburger (haché means ground in French). Triple-fried French fries come with a variety of sauces including satay and garlic.
The drinks: Draft craft beers are just $5; there's also two wines, soft drinks, strawberry basil lemonade.

The space: A large outdoor patio is surrounded by plants to soften the Sunset streetscape. It's great for kids, as long as they like burgers.The soundtrack, unfortunately, is made up of loud generic oldies that fight the neighborhood's indie style.
The verdict: It's a juicy, flavorful burger with a good-quality brioche bun and the right amount of toppings. If Haché seasoned the patty with salt and pepper before cooking, it might be even better. Fries were solid but a coleslaw or pickles option would be nice too. We'll definitely return -- after all, we need to find out the difference between Karma sauce and Monkey sauce -- but we'll ask for our burgers to be seasoned first. This area could always use well-priced options since many of the other new places aren't very affordable for the young Sunset Junction crowd.
Haché LA
3319 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake
323.928.2963

Quick Bite: Wood Firms Up Silver Lake Pizza Competition

What: Wood Handcrafted Pizza
Where: 2861 W. Sunset Blvd. at Parkman -- you can't miss it if you look for the giant Tom's Burgers sign
The Goods: Wood was launched a few months ago by Erik Martirosyan, whose family started Big Mama and Papa's Pizza in Hollywood and famously delivered to the Dolby theater while the Oscars were in progress. Wood is a higher-end artisan pizza place with a larger menu of appetizers and salads, and beer and wine coming in a few weeks.

wood-burning oven behind the prep counter

The Neapolitan-style pizzas range from basic margarita ($12) to arugula and prosciutto ($17) to the Ellen special with vegan cheese, avocados, balsamic glaze, etc. ($21). At a recent tasting, I found the tender, stretchy crust quite appealing, dotted with crispy spots from the wood-burning oven. The lamb sausage-topped pizza is a savory nod to the owner's Middle Eastern heritage. I didn't try too many appetizers but I liked the grilled broccolini. Overall this is a very competent Neapolitan-style pie.

Lamb sausage pizza

 The Look: Very spare. Though no traces of the burger joint remain, the room could use some art or homey touches.
What to Order: lamb sausage pizza, mushroom pizza, prosciutto pizza, broccolini. Here's a link to the menu.
Would I Return: Perhaps. There's no delivery, plus we're still pretty jazzed about De Sano. But that crust was pretty compelling. There is a small parking lot in the rear.

(I was invited to try this restaurant.)

El Condor: The Mexican Restaurant -- And Margarita -- We've Been Waiting For

El Condor is brightened up now, with some cool lighting fixtures

Change is hard for some people. Particularly for the faithful customers of gaudy, goofy, El Conquistador, who apparently loved their neon-green margaritas, paper decoration-festooned ceilings and ho-hum Mexican fare. Those former customers might not warm to El Condor, the completely new restaurant in the same Sunset Junction spot.

Best.margarita.ever.

But they would be very shortsighted. El Condor comes from the owners of Bar Covell and L&E Oyster Bar, who have done much to bring better food and drink to Silver Lake and Los Feliz.

Pambazo sandwich with chorizo

El Condor is just what a neighborhood Mexican restaurant should be: a place to get a killer margarita, some delicious chips and maybe something more, with a cool ambiance. The restaurant attracts a crowd as stylish as at the owners’ other spots, and it’s not unusual to see a well-known actor or two. But it’s still easy to drop in for a lazy Sunday happy hour drink (4 p.m.-6 p.m. nightly) or family dinner after the Tuesday farmer’s market.
The whole restaurant has been opened up, stripped down and cleaned up, and the decor is now a groovy — but not kitschy — mix of colorful Mexican tiles, carved-wood window frames and a distinctive brass and frosted glass chandelier.

Carnitas taco plate

The Mexican dishes have a California sensibility, and while they're a far cry from gloppy old-school beans and rice plates, the menu is fairly small and not terribly adventurous. Tortas, quesadillas, tacos and enchiladas are the centerpieces, but there’s also a few main dishes, like a carne asada or chicken plate ($18) and a pricier fish plate. Salads include a fine chopped combo of grilled corn, peppers, avocado, beans and queso fresco, and kale with pepitas ($12), because Silver Lake.

Start with a bowl of crispy, just-fried chips and salsa. If you’ve already ordered the tart and potent house margarita, you may have a hard time ever leaving. Or try La Llorona, a super-refreshing and unexpected combination of mezcal, hibiscus, ginger beer and pineapple, or the spicy Amor y Chile cocktail that packs a dual mescal and tequila punch. Guacamole is also first-rate and if you add a gooey pot of Queso Flameado (baked Oaxacan cheese) with savory mushrooms or chorizo on top, you might be tempted to stop right there. The torta sandwiches ($13 to $14) are messy but fun, especially the Milanesa — just the thing to pair with a Michelada. Soft tacos ($12 to $13) are served three to a plate on homemade, organic tortillas with quality meats with tangy pickled vegetables. Flavors can be a bit restrained, but adding some of the housemade salsa should fix that.
Prices may seem a bit high but are on par with other neighborhood Mexican restaurants that have full bars. The difference here is that not only is the food fresher and prepared with more care, the terrific cocktails blow away most of the others. Sure, it’s the new Silver Lake, but it’s one we can get behind.

This review first appeared in the Los Feliz Ledger. Click through to see how many forks El Condor received.

El Condor
3701 Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake, (323) 660-4500