Neighborhood Nibbles

Mid-city West is getting fun (as much as I still wretch a little when I say Mid-city West)! To wit:

L.A.'s Original Farmers Market Cookbook: Meet Me at 3rd and Fairfax. Someone (namely Joann Cianculli) did the footwork and collected recipes from nearly every stall at the iconic Third and Fairfax Farmers Market, in addition to fun anecdotes about the 75-year-old market. I live a half-block away from the Farmer's Market, and it has been my own backyard/dining room for the last seven years. So, I love this. According to Eating LA, I will finally learn the secret behind the awesome mee goreng at Singapore's Banana Leaf, and get Nancy Silverton's hailed spec for ground beef from Huntington's Meats for perfect hamburgers, plus recipes from Lotería, The Gumbo Pot, Magee's, and more. And according to Tasting Table, there was a book signing at Anthropologie Thursday night. Hopefully they still have some signed copies on hand this weekend!

West Third Street Spring Stroll. These little Third Street events are always nice, but now that the weather's getting warmer, it's the perfect time for one. Hopefully they'll offer some good valet parking events like they did for the last one, but even if not, discounts, specials, and refreshments mean people will be out walking around. Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3.

[photo: westthirdstreet.com]

Cook's Library Closing April 30

I just read in one of the LA Times blogs that the Cook's Library, a cozy little cookbook shop on West Third that I've walked over to on many a Saturday morning, is closing on April 30. I've always felt lucky, and a little awe-struck, that this shop, and the Traveler's Bookshelf next door, managed to stay in business year after year -- these small specialized independent bookstores seem like an anachronism on a stretch flanked by Borders on one end and Barnes and Noble on the other (not to mention Amazon.com looming everywhere). According to the article, Cook's Library has been in business 20 years. So sad to see it leaving the neighborhood.

Expect markdowns on the store's entire stock starting next week.

[thanks erinsikorskystewart for the photo]

West Third Street Holiday Party Tonight

West Third is doing it up for the holidays! For one, there's the holiday party tonight, which you should go to because these things are always fun. It's from 6 to 9 pm, and will feature refreshments (usually this means you'll be walking down the sidewalk sipping wine, which I love), music, special sales, and more. Here's the kicker: Free Universal Valet Parking: drop your car off at any valet station between Fairfax and La Cienega, and pick it up at any station. Kind of amazing.

Some other details:
- lots of stores will be participating, but I know that specifically, Kiss My Bundt will have specials on hot chocolate, coffee drinks, and small bundts, a drawing for free bundts, and will be launching two new holiday flavors: egg nog and mint chocolate. Yum!
- Stores will be staying open until 9 pm the next two Thursdays as well.
- West Third will be offering free universal valet parking from 10 am to 6 pm every Saturday and Sunday between now and December 25th. And they're considering making this a permanent thing! Hello, holiday spirit!

Bundt Kissing Begins Tomorrow

Just got word that Kiss My Bundt, a bundt cake bakery on West Third about 50 steps from my apartment, opens tomorrow. They've got a big grand opening planned for September 6, but they soft-open tomorrow at 8 am. Chrysta Wilson, the owner of Kiss My Bundt, was really warm and generous when I randomly emailed her soliciting contributions for the Bake Sale earlier this year. She hand-delivered a couple trays of little bundts, and I'm happy to report, they were super fudgy and delicious. She also claims better-than-Coffee-Bean coffee, which is good because it means we can go there for reasons other than stuffing our faces with bundt cake goodness, though that's what we really want to do.

Anyway, go tomorrow, go again on September 6, and maybe a few times in between. And welcome to the neighborhood, Kiss My Bundt!

Kiss My Bundt is at 8104 W. Third St., just west of Crescent Heights.

[thanks kissmybundt.net for the photo]

the dearth of coffee beans around here

It looks like a Coffee Bean is coming to the corner of Third and Crescent Heights. This is great news, as I was really getting tired of having to walk all the way to the one on Third and La Cienega, or the one a block away, at Third and Fairfax, or the one about 5 blocks from that one, at Third and Martel. I mean, sometimes as I'm walking past the Coffee Corner and the Starbucks in the Farmer's Market to the crepe place to get an iced cappuccino, I think to myself, there really aren't enough places to get a decent coffee in the area. I mean, granted there's Bagel Broker a block up Fairfax, Mani's all the way down Fairfax, and the espresso bar at Whole Foods in between, just across from Frank's keeping it real with their delicious regular coffee; and yeah, there's Doughboys (ahem, not at the moment, but usually), and Little Next Door right, well, next door. And of course there's Joan's, Toast, Alfredo's, and Who's on Third, and I guess, the Seattle's Best Coffee inside Borders, and the Starbucks in the Beverly Connection, and the Starbucks and the Coffee Bean inside the Beverly Center. But seriously, is it too much to ask for a couple coffee shops around here? Geez.

The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Little Next Door

I was walking on Third Street Saturday morning, as I've done a million times before, but this time, surreally, the sidewalk in front of Doughboys was completely empty. The crunch of tables, pancakes the size of film reels, and droves of waiting Hollywoodistas that generally buzzes around was conspicuously absent. In fact, the whole place was closed. Two pieces of paper posted on the door gave interesting dimension to the story: First a handwritten one, to the effect of "we're closed for renovations". Second, one with the seal of the State of California, all official and stuff, announcing that they were shut down for violating health codes. Bummer.

C&C: Little Next Door

I've never been to Paris. But of course, I'm taken in by its mystique thanks to countless filmmakers, novelists, artists, and even food bloggers. I've never had the cliched Parisian experience of languishing for hours at a sidewalk cafe, sipping wine, smoking cigarettes, writing in your moleskine, and finding yourself. Or rubbing elbows with quotidian fashionistas as a charming grocer hands you the perfect peach at a sidewalk market. I mean, this is the land that inspired Annie and Eric to smuggle no fewer than fourteen cheeses (imagine that gloriously stinky suitcase!) back home. Of course I'm smitten.

Paris is a little far away for a day trip, but I can play pretend. The other day as I was sitting on the patio at Little Next Door, enjoying the perfect breakfast, Parisian cliches came to life before my eyes! There was a woman sitting behind me, wearing hot pink stilletos and smoking her cigarette through a slim black holder. There was an unreasonably handsome man in a beret humming loudly to himself.

The cozy shop is appointed perfectly to be the quintessential Parisian cafe, plucked from the streets of Montmartre (or so I imagine). One wall is lined with jars and jars of homemade preserves and pickles: fig jam, preserved lemons, pickled pearl onions, and tiny jars of harissa with cheerful orange rubber washers. The opposite wall houses the extensive wine collection, and in between are pastries, chocolates, charcuterie and cheeses, fresh-baked breads, and more. Everything beautiful, everything evocative.

Even my croissant was a bit of a gamine. The flirty thing came on a vintage plate adorned with roses and hummingbirds, and somehow its twists and curves were a bit more curly, a bit prettier than usual, and it had the lush taste and texture to go with it. It really was a gorgeous thing. And its golden crust was the perfect scoop for the rich foam atop my bowl of cappuccino.

As my neighborhood slowly turns into pretend Europe, it gets easier to get lost in the illusion. Or maybe I just am getting more willing to make believe.

[Incidentally, this character is spending New Years in Paris and Amsterdam. Hopefully he'll share some stories so I can swoon over the city even more.]

Little Next Door is at 8142 W. Third Street, one block west of Crescent Heights.

the ladies who breakfast

It's an unfortunate inevitability in this town: bad people happen to good restaurants. After all, Hollywood has to eat! (although you wouldn't guess it looking at some of the very people I'm talking about...). After a while, it's like, I don't care if you have the best ahi steak this side of Tsukiji Fish Market, there are only so many yippy lap dogs and microskirt/ugg-boot combos I can wade through before it's just not worth it.

This is why, on a average weekend morning, you will rarely see me at Toast. The scene wafts around the place so thick you can taste it. Maybe it's me, but it just makes breakfast unpleasant.

Which is kind of sad, because Toast is actually a pretty delicious restaurant, especially for breakfast. Their egg dishes are huge, fresh, and have great flavor combinations, and the fruit bowl that can come with most meals is outstanding. Not a few overripe chunks of canteloupe and 4 red grapes, but a wide variety of fresh fruits, berries, sometimes mango, sometimes fresh coconut, and often prettily garnished with a slice of star fruit. They even carry shakshuka - the middle eastern specialty of eggs simmered over a stew of tomatoes and peppers. The menu definitely has some things going for it.

Fortunately, I was recently schooled on when to go to Toast. The secret: early in the morning, especially on weekdays. This is the way to do it! My friends Rachel and Heather meet once a week for breakfast. Last week, they were meeting at Toast, a few blocks from my apartment, and they kindly invited me to join them. Going to Toast at 8 am on a weekday is a completely different experience than I was used to. There was no 4-people-deep crowd surrounding the place waiting to get called to their table. I simply walked over, found Rachel and Heather sitting at a table on the sidewalk, and sat next to them.

Not wanting to induce grogginess right before work, we went for lighter fare. They each got scrambled egg whites and turkey sausage with the famous fruit, and I tried their granola. It did not disappoint. Restaurant granola is a crapshoot, but this had big nutty chunks and whole almonds, and was toasted to a deep golden brown, bringing out the light sweetness.

Half an hour later, I headed to work, feeling much more accomplished than on your average morning. I had a nice walk through my neighborhood, learned much about the glamorous life of a gallery owner, and discovered a pleasant new breakfast spot just down the street.




Toast is at 8221 W. 3rd street, at Harper. It's open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and red velvet cupcakes.

for a good time, follow these instructions

1. Walk to El Carmen, step through the thick red curtain, and immediately make believe you are in the movie Desperado. Dim red lighting, paintings of Mexican wrestlers on black velvet, hundreds of varieties of tequila. The ambiance is slick and stylish, but muy misterioso.
2. Take seats at the end of the bar, in order to maximize interaction with cute bartender.
3. Order chips and salsa with your drinks -- they come fresh and hot, and so thin and crisp that they're translucent.
4. When cute bartender brings over a round of unsolicited tequila shots and emphatically commands, "Don't argue", don't argue!
5. When the jukebox plays the Violent Femmes' "Please Don't Go", do a silly little barstool dance.
6. Order a glass of their pineapple-infused tequila on the rocks. Steal a glimpse of the bartender as he pulls it from the tap of a giant jug filled with hefty chunks of fresh pineapple. Sip slowly and enjoy the subtle hint of bright fruity flavor, knowing that for this drink alone, you'll no doubt be returning to the bar this summer.
   
7. Swoon a little bit when cute bartender nochalantly calls you 'baby' while closing out the tab.
8. Hobble back home, immediately fall into a deep sleep, dreamless save for sweet visions of luchadores sweetly tucking you in.
   

El Carmen is at 8138 W. Third St., just west of Crescent Heights, next door to Doughboys.

I've Found Mr. Right

...in chocolate form that is.



I don't fall easily. Some might say I'm picky, but really I just have high standards. When it comes to chocolate, I have a few requirements, and if they're not there, the relationship just isn't fullfilling. Why settle, right? So what do I look for in an ideal chocolate? First of all, make it dark. Milk chocolate is sweet and friendly, but there is something about dark chocolate that really makes my knees weak. Slightly bitter, definitely complicated, it leaves you wanting more. Secondly, it has to be fudgy. I like my chocolate rich and dense (hopefully Chocolate Mr. Right's human counterpart will have at most one of these traits). So, I can go for a congenial coffee with a polite piece of chocolate bundt cake, but leave me with a flourless chocolate cake, and I will devour it.

This morning, I took a walk down my Third Street. The Cook's Library, a cozy little cookbook shop a few blocks down, was having a sidewalk sale, and I was eager to check it out. First though, I needed coffee. I stopped in at Joan's on Third, because I love that place and because, by 10 am, it was already 300 degrees outside and Joan's makes an incredible iced cappuccino.

Waiting in line, I gazed at the delicious baked goods on display behind glass. Through a sea of sugary cupcakes, something chocolatey caught my eye. A small cylinder, about the size of a mushroom. I had to have it. This little guy was called a chocolate bouchon (I later learned that bouchon is French for wine cork -- cute). I ordered, waited antsily, then grabbed my coffee and my bouchon, got myself out the door, and took the first bite. The chemistry was palpable. This chocolate was for mature audiences only. No saccharine sweetness here, just the depth of quality cocoa powder, the slightest tease of sweetness, and an incredible smooth rich texture. Two bites later, the whole thing was gone, but I firmly believe this is the start of a long devoted relationship. Je t'aime mon petit bouchon!