Echo Park
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Taste of the Eastside: Sights and Bites
May 08 2012
I was invited to attend Taste of the Eastside, which I sadly had to miss last year. The whole shebang took place last Sunday at Barnsdall Park in Los Feliz. I got there right on time, so I was able to try everything relatively unmolested. Here are some of the things I tried. Those up there? Pavlovas with blackberry and lemon meyer preserves from Atwater Village’s Proof Bakery.
Here’s the rest:
Conchinita pibil taco from Yuca’s in Los Feliz. Very tender.
Buffalo-style cauliflower with vegan blue cheese from Mohawk Bend in Echo Park. I hardly missed the chicken.
Cinnamon rolls and red velvet cupcakes from Auntie Em’s in Eagle Rock.They were nice enough to turn over two rolls for me.
Echo Park: Debbie Does Poutine, Four Brix Adds Wine
Sep 12 2011
Here’s what I know about poutine:
- Traditionally it’s a dish comprised of fries, gravy and cheese curds.
- It hails from rural Quebec, but can now be found Canada-wide—they even sell it at McDonald’s.
- It was invented in the 1957 by restaurateur Fernand Lachance. He shook up a bag of cheese curds and fries, and violà, poutine was born.
- In the 50s,“poutine” was slang for “a mess,” which is exactly what Fernand said when he saw what was in the bag.
- Up until a few years ago, poutine was considered pretty low-brow in Quebec, served mostly in greasy spoons, but like a lot of other comfort foods, it’s made its way onto some fancy restaurant menus. You can even get it with foie gras for $23 at at famed Au Pied Cochon in Montreal.
I should also add that it’s freaking delicious, which is why I was—and I never use this word—stoked when I got an invite to try out The Poutine Truck, Debbie Lee’s (also of the Ahn Joo truck) newest food project. Even better was that this gravy fries extravaganza was to take place at Echo Park’s City Sip, where Four Brix wine would be paired with each poutine course.
Filthy gorgeous.
The Poutine Truck offers traditional and more laissez-faire varieties of the dish. The abbreviated menu gives you the choice 3 gravies (brown onion beef gravy and chicken or veggie veloute) and 3 locally-sourced, organic cheese curd varieties (plain, garlic herb and firehouse), which are generously laid upon freshly cut and made-to-order Kennebec potato fries. You can also take your poutine to the limit by adding bacon, chicken or flatiron steak.
Echo Park: Sneak Peek of Mohawk Bend’s Food & Drinks
Jul 20 2011
Long anticipated or dreaded, depending on your point of view, Mohawk Bend is finally opening in Echo Park later this month. The “drinking and eating outpost” has taken over the former Ramona Theater space next door to Elf restaurant and will be serving a mostly vegan menu along with some vegetarian and meaty dishes.
Last night I attended Mohawk Bend’s media preview party, and I have to say I was pretty impressed with the transformation. Designed by Spacecraft, the once-forlorn theater is now an impressive modern space, boasting high ceilings, patio seating, skylights, exposed brick, vintage beer signs, and an atrium-like room with long communal tables and a fireplace.
Food-wise, it wasn’t bad. While I wasn’t blown away by anything, I did enjoy most of what I ate. High marks go to the Petite Sirah dipping sauce that came with the Fire Roasted Artichoke and The Flash Gordon Salad with flash-grilled Little Gem lettuce (similar to hearts of romaine), grapefruit, avocado, pickled onions and dill dressing. Owner Tony Yanow says the locavore/organic menu will change weekly to reflect the seasonal comings and goings of produce.
Echo Park: Xoia Has a Birthday, You Get Free Tacos
Jun 24 2011My first meal at Xoia Vietnamese Eats elicited a mixed review. I had nothing but love for their beef pho and salsa, but I was a little down on some of their other specialties. In the year since, however, the Mexican-tinged Vietnamese restaurant has really thrived, becoming a worthy mainstay on Echo Park’s Sunset Blvd.
While Xoia’s original menu has come into its own—their Lemongrass Pork Carnitas Bahn Mi even made the Gastronomer’s list of LA’s best Vietnamese sandwiches—their new dishes have rounded things out rather impressively. I’m crazy for their very addictive and outrageously delicious Bunrria, a birria-meets-bún bò Huế dish, complete with rice noodles, slow-pressure steamed red chile beef, and a smokey broth made from said beef. I swear, I dream about that stuff.
If you haven’t given Xoia a try (and even if you have), tomorrow would be a good time to stop in. Xoia will be celebrating its first birthday and you’ll get a free Pho Beef Taco or Vietnamese Coffee when you order an entrée. Yeah!
-Valentina
Echo Park: Vegan Ice “Cream” at KindKreme
Mar 21 2011
I guess you can’t really call it ice “cream”, but the raw vegan desserts at KindKreme will most likely con your cravings into submission.
Taking up half of the Sunset Blvd. storefront most recently occupied by Mooi, this is the small vegan chain’s third Los Angeles location. Also sharing the new space is Sage Organic Vegan, a full-service restaurant (from the owners of Millie’s) that’s already earning heaps of praise—the Jamaican Jerk Burger is suppose to be out of hand. But we went strictly for some scoops.
The flavors available during my visit—honey chai, banana chocolate swirl, chocolate salted caramel, ginger basil among them—made for some tough choices. But, I eventually settled on chocolate and caramel apple, both of which were rich, creamy and very satisfying. The well-rounded texture is created by non-dairy bases of coconut, almonds, almond milk and cashews. I guess that also makes this stuff nutritious. Yes!
Echo Park: A Big Slab of Pizza from Two Boots
Mar 09 2011
Restaurant chains aren’t always bad. My proof? Two Boots Pizza. Mostly scattered around New York City for the last 20 something years, the pizzeria chain’s Los Angeles station has become a mainstay on Echo Park’s Sunset Blvd. It’s taken me awhile to get myself there—two years to be exact—but as of this weekend, I’m a fan.
Pizza is a touchy subject, but I have no beef with Two Boots. The giant-slab slices (a pizza style that’s hard to come by in LA) have a crispy crust with a scattering of cornmeal grit—a pizza quality I love. As far as comparisons go, I preferred Two Boot’s lighter, less chewy crust to the bagel version at Abbot’s Pizza in Venice, another well-respected proprietor of great big slices.
Things to Do This Weekend in LA: Pie & Beer, Eat My Blog Bake Sale, Holiday Cocktails and More Ideas
Dec 03 2010 My Candy Cane Cream Faux-reos for the Eat My Blog Charity Bake Sale this weekend.
There’s lots of stuff to do this weekend around LA—a few things on the Eastside and a few that require driving:
Eagle Rock: Pie & Beer is popping up at Eagle Rock Brewery on Sunday from 12-6pm. I Heart Pies will be selling their popular sweet and savory pie varieties, which all go great with handmade beers.
Echo Park: Stop by Allston Yacht Club for some holiday cocktails. They’re mixing up drinks with names like Figgy Pudding and The Accursed Fruitcake. You can read more about them here.
Maybe after, you can walk over to Xoia for some Bunrria, a new dish they’re debuting this weekend. Chunks of beef are marinated birria style and served in a rich beef broth with Bun noodles. You can garnish with onions, cilantro and salsa. They’ll even add a tortilla if you’re so inclined.
Downtown LA: Taste of Mexico is hosting a celebration of 200 Years of Mexico’s Cuisine at the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana on Saturday from 5-10pm. They’ll be food from the likes of Guelaguetza, tequila, mariachis and Oaxacan dance performance. Tickets are $100 at the door or $75 presale.
Hollywood: LA Street Food is teaming up with MAMA to host Less Mall More Melrose. Food trucks like Lobsta Truck and Me So Hungry will feed you while you shop for deals on Melrose, between Fairfax and La Brea.
West Hollywood: LA food bloggers and restaurants will be selling their baked goods in front of Tender Greens on Saturday from 10am-4pm. Menu includes: eggnog muffins, candy cane mashmallows, whoopie pies, bacon brownies and tons more. Plus, there’ll be dog treats! Proceeds go to Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
Have a great weekend, and eat good stuff!
-Valentina
Echo Park: Terrible Service but Good Food at Mooi
Nov 24 2010
“Is this some kind of performance art?”
That’s the question Josh asked as we watched the staff at Mooi try—with the urgency of molasses—to seat a restaurant full of people for a 9 o’clock pre-fixe dinner service. The minutes ticked, some poor girl fell off the rickety wrought-iron chair she was made to sit in, and yet-to-be-seated patrons looked forlorn as we all waited for the restaurant to get its shit together.
It was a weird scene, but I wasn’t surprised. The reviews on Yelp, which rail on the aloof service, have been scathing (and I mean scathing) since Mooi opened last spring. Still, I’d heard great things about the food, and boy, do I love a pre-fixe. Plus, there have been reports that time might be running out for the raw/vegan restaurant, and I wanted a taste.
I’m glad I got one because the 4-course Italian meal by chef Anne Lee of New York’s Pure Food and Wine and Mooi owner Stephen Hauptfuhr really made up for the evening’s ramshackle start.
Echo Park: Small Plates & Good Vibes at Allston Yacht Club
Nov 04 2010
Allston Yacht Club was off my radar for too long, but I think I’m going to add it to my repertoire. I spent my Election Day night (thanks for your sanity, California) in the small Echo Park bar restaurant, which has a casual, unpretentious vibe and a full menu of satisfying small plates inspired by Japanese, Italian and Indian flavors, to name a few. I know some prefer a focused menu, but I didn’t mind AYC’s United Nations approach. Plus, I was lucky enough to have The Minty as my drinking/dining companion, and she was familiar enough with the menu to help steer (pun intended) us in a good direction.
Cookbook: Dinner from Echo Park’s New Green Grocer
Oct 01 2010
Locally-grown, organic and quality foods are hard to find in eastside neighborhood markets, so I was psyched when word came that Marta Teegan of Homegrown was opening a green grocer in Echo Park. When I finally stepped into Cookbook, I wasn’t disappointed. The tiny shop carries an abbreviated yet satisfying collection of fruit, veggies, cheese, and pantry staples like flour, sugar, green tea, coffee and various cooking oils. Spotted: very hard-to-find Matiz Sugared Tortas, Spanish olive oil crisps encrusted in sugar and spiked with anise.
But I wasn’t looking for sweets—my Cookbook mission was to find fixings for an effortless meal. I was directed to an incredibly tempting selection of fresh pasta and sauces catered by Heirloom LA (they also supply some pretty yummy-looking sandwiches in the deli case). After some tortured deliberation, I chose the Mushroom Ravioli, which had a hint of citrus flavor, and some very meaty Wild Boar Bolognese. To round it out, I grabbed a block of parmesan, served myself some Cerignola olives and asked for a small container of the picturesque roasted peppers and kale from the deli case.
