Do you ever think about what it takes for you to consider living in a certain neighborhood? For me, it's always been two things: a friendly coffeehouse and a good bookstore. Local independent bokstores are hard to come by in Southern Cali, but Cafe de Leche is doing its part to make Highland Park eminently livable.
A friend of mine, affectionately known as The Miss to her high school students in Boyle Heights, is considering moving to the area, so she gave us a little tour. We walked through the sloping streets around York Boulevard, the city's main drag. Some blocks consisted of big, stately houses, others housed some smaller homes. York combines shops where you can buy water and piñatas with a hip bar and now, Cafe De Leche.
The aesthetic is at once slick and welcoming. Clean space, one brick wall, beautiful mural across the opposite one, and an orange bicycle mounted on one wall.* A kids' play area towards the back, because, guess what? The hipsters are having babies. There are little Latin nods throughout the space, with Spanish labels on the coffee accoutrements and sweets from wonderful Porto's bakery. (And speaking of coffee accoutrements, they have a tall bottle of sugar syrup along with everything else, for easy dissolving in your iced beverages. So very civilized.)Cafe de Leche's friendly vibe starts with the ladies behind the counter. When my drink order fell through the cracks, they made it up to me with a flaky guava pastry on the house. It was delicious, as was my cappuccino (which, according to Eating LA, is made with Intelligentsia beans).
Highland Park is new territory to me -- I don't know much about the area. But, with Cafe de Leche holding fort on the corner of York and Ave 50, I believe the Miss can call it home.
Cafe De Leche is at 5000 York Boulevard, at Avenue 50.
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* Is this a coffeehouse trend? I'm sitting in Massimo's Mudspot right now, and they've got a bike on the wall, too. Hmm.
Highland Park sounds dreamy. I hope The Miss is successful in her search. For your sake!
ReplyDeleteGood Luck, The Miss!
ReplyDeleteI miss LA and all the fab places it has to visit!
ReplyDeleteoh claudia, looks like you've managed to get to some fab places yourself! your photos make portugal and snowy london, and a fluffy cappuccino look dreamy! you make me miss sicily, though i've never been there!
ReplyDeleteand yes, brad and tor, i think highland park will be a good fit for the miss. too bad it's so damn far!
Hi Tannaz,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight on Cafe de Leche. I'll have to give them a try the next time I visit my friends in the area. :)
(BTW, side note: I just got a recommendation from a friend to try Den's Tea - they specialize in a large variety of Japanese Green Teas! I'll let you know how it goes when I order something from them.
http://www.denstea.com/
hmm, this looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteAre all of the girls who work there lesbians? Does it matter? Sometimes, when I'm sitting there trying to read, I come to believe, as I believe this very moment as I write this, that I'm in love with Sara......................
ReplyDelete