Eastside Food Bites

Highland Park: Brunch at Ba Restaurant

January 31, 2013

When Ba Restaurant opened on York Boulevard almost a year ago, it gave a decided yank to Highland Park’s gentrification tightrope. Part of the new wave of restaurants and shops on the neighborhood’s trendiest street, the French restaurant came on the scene with a teeny menu of 20-something dollar entrees and without the populist bent of [...]

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Silver Lake: Heywood’s Ode to Grilled Cheese

January 10, 2013

Fact: grilled cheese, as with pancakes and steak, always tastes better when someone else makes it. Heywood, the newish grilled cheese shop in Silver Lake, has ambitiously taken up the task. Named after John Heywood, a 16th century British writer who once wrote an ode to cheese, the little eatery is, itself, an ode to [...]

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Eagle Rock: Creative Sandwich-ery at Dave’s Chillin’-N-Grillin’

December 21, 2012

Order one grubby thing and one (relatively) sensible thing, then split both. That’s the way my husband and I usually navigate menus. This best-of-both world’s tactic works well at a place like Dave’s Chillin-N-Grillin, where there are plenty of options of either persuasion. The Eagle Rock sandwich shop has a big, but not overwhelming menu [...]

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Quick Bite: Fish & Chips from Alhambra’s Hot Red Bus

December 3, 2012

A reader recently tipped me off to the charms of Hot Red Bus in Alhambra, and I thought I’d pass the word on to you. The new British-Indian restaurant comes from the creators of Ma Jasmin’s, a mainstay prepared food booth in the Alhambra Farmers’ Market. The decor of the Main Street location is Brit [...]

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Silver Lake: Malo’s New Menu

November 9, 2012

Admittedly, I’ve been bored with Malo for a while. I used to go all the time, but eventually my enthusiasm waned. Of course, I still had love for the habanero and cream salsa and ground beef and pickle tacos, but neither kept me coming back. For that reason, news that Chef Robert Luna had re-vamped [...]

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Los Feliz: Sandwiches and Cookies at The Trails Cafe

October 22, 2012

Sure, Griffith Park is one of LA’s most majestic treasures. The Central Park of LA, it’s truly an outstanding public space with lots of fantastic attractions—Travel Town, the Carousel, pony rides, hiking trails, baby swings…you name it. But, something it also has, though rarely acknowledged, is one of the best veggie sandwiches in LA. The [...]

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Atwater Farmers’ Market: Milk Man Cheese

October 13, 2012

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: I love the Atwater Farmers’ Market. Lately, I find myself buying more and more of my family’s weekly staples there—fruits, veggies, chicken, eggs, bread, olives, and granola. I’m even considering picking up some soap next time. One of my favorite splurges is cheese and butter from [...]

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GIVEAWAY: Win 2 Tickets to Rocktoberfest at LA Live!

October 4, 2012

Wolfgang Puck and KISS’ Gene Simmons are hosting Rocktoberfest at Live LA October 15-21, and I’m giving away two tickets. If you win, you get 2 General Admission tickets, which will let you sample German beer and Wolfgang Puck’s California twist on German food, and a commemorative stein to take home. There will be live [...]

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Pasadena: Rustic Italian from Trattoria Neapolis

October 3, 2012

Trattoria Neapolis, Pasadena’s new Italian restaurant, has just made my list of favorites in the South Lake District (this esteemed list also includes Cham Bistro and Pie ‘n Burger in case you were wondering). There are plenty of reasons to love this restaurant. For one, the ambiance is fantastic with high ceilings and natural lighting on [...]

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Highland Park’s Best Kept Secret: Brunch at Garvanza’s

September 19, 2012

By all rights, Garvanza’s should be wildly popular, but its tucked-away location keeps it undercover. The neighborhood restaurant focuses on pan-Latin flavors with an emphasis on high quality local ingredients. The produce is fresh and seasonal, and the service is super friendly. A lot of people, including me, are rooting for it. The bulk of [...]