First Bite: Urth Caffe (Melrose, LA)

After an entertaining and delightful dinner at Sushi Sushi on North Beverly, Jenn and I went out for brunch at the Urth Caffe. I had been hoping to check out some of Suzanne Goin's cooking at the Hungry Cat, but it just wasn't meant to be (which is too bad, considering everything I'd read; I had planned to stop at the Santa Barbara location for lunch, but they don't serve it, and then on Saturday morning, the LA branch wasn't serving brunch. Next time).

Back to the Urth. Since Jenn lives in walking distance of the Avalon Hotel (pictures) where I was staying (mostly overrated if you ask me, though you haven't), she gave me the choice of going to the close Urth Caffe or the cute one. I looked back, quizzically, and asked if one had better food, and if they both had outdoor seating. She said they were both identical, so I went for the cute one (Melrose). Why not?

I was hungry, but had no idea what I was getting myself into. When I got to the front of the line, about 10 minutes' wait, I ordered the assorted bread basket with Brie, a small dolce cappuccino, a side of eggs, and a side of potatoes (and a brownie. I hadn't had my morning chocolate fix). I'm not sure what I was thinking, since the bread basket came with five breads, but when the waiter came my plates filled the table. Filled it.

The cappuccino was good (not as good as Intelligentsia) but the bread basket was not terribly exciting. The demi-baguette shaped loaf was the best, followed by the bagel. The rest were unexciting. Bland. Crumby (which is to say unsuitable for the Brie).

Jenn's caramelized banana bread pudding was the star of the day. The subtle sweetness, beautiful bananas, and the little pot of sweetened cream made this a near perfect breakfast in my eyes. And it made me long for Birmingham a bit. It's true.

Urth was fine, just don't order the bread basket, eggs, and potatoes unless you want to share it with at least one other person. The caramelized banana bread pudding was to die for.

"I feel like I'm going to die every day" basically sums up my motoring experience in L.A. Jenn said it, but I definitely felt it. More than a bit scary for driving.


Don't forget our flickr site.

First Bite: Lo Mejor de Michoacan

Holy frijoles. I cannot believe the tacos at Lo Mejor de Michoacan in Paso Robles, Calif. Incredible. The filling, the sides, the (soft, warm, delicate but sturdy) corn tortillas, I can hardly convey how unbelievable their food is. Well, perhaps stating the fact that Kim and I ate there three days in a row will suffice.

Over the few days, we had three different kinds of tacos (carnitas [pork], camarones [shrimp], al pastor [pork with slightly sweet pastor sauce]. Additionally, we tried some chicken and pork tamales and chicken mole.

We both loved the carnitas (Kim ordered them every time), but the shrimp tacos were just as good. The Tacos al Pastor were all right. The pastor was bit chewy, and lacking in the usual pineapples and sauce. It was, however, similar to the tacos al pastor I had at La Casa de Tacos back in SpaHa.

Their chicken mole was also in the highest order. Perfectly balanced mole. It balanced the salty, sweet, and piquant, and the chicken fell off the bone. Not the prettiest picture but damn it tasted good.

Go to Lo Mejor. It is el mejor. The best. It makes me sad to leave. Take a look at some of our other delicious photos on flickr.

First Bite (sip): Intelligentsia

After my ridiculous exit from LAX, I made a quick stop for some much-needed nourishment. I wasn't particularly hungry, per say, but the delicious Southwest Airlines in-flight meal wasn't going to hold me over for the three-hour trip to Paso Robles.

A bit of research into LA hot spots led me to Intelligentsia, a new-ish coffeehouse in Silver Lake. Their mothership may be in Chicago, but the bohemian-hip cafe seemed very much in its element. Eater LA had the biggest part in getting me there. I needed a place to go. They had it. Done.

I shouldn't have been so surprised at the lack of food, but the moist, dense marble poundcake and pleasantly wet cappuccino more than compensated for the lack of harder savories. Plus, I thought the higher caffeine-to-body mass element might make the drive a bit better. (In retrospect, it just made me jittery and more impatient in the city's trademark traffic.) I'm not sure what else to say. The coffee was of the highest calibre. Hot enough, strong enough, pretty enough. The cake was so much more than I've come to expect from places known for their coffee, which is to say it tasted like cake.

It was quite easy to find, and the coffee is beautiful. The barristas grind and brew it on the spot, so it's pretty damn fresh. I found the staff to be quite knowledgeable and friendly. The comments on the LA Times Daily Dish site are moderately entertaining. One person noted that a visitor would never want to drink regular coffees ever again. I wonder if they meant Folger's, Starbucks, or sidewalk coffee trucks.

Question of the day: What is regular coffee, anyway?

There are many more exciting pictures on our flickr site.

First Bite: FR.OG

So, media night at the new kirsh/virot FR.OG. Some food and drinks were served while guests were given a chance to wander around before tomorrow's real opening. There's been a quite a bit of buzz surrounding this opening, with some dating back to summer 2006.

The food and drink skewed toward Moroccan and Asian. Waiters passed spiced scallops with peanut sauce, pork egg rolls, herbed cucumber/tomato skewers, and tomato soup. Herbal flavors like basil, cardamom and anise dominated each (with the exception of the tomato soup, which, as you might expect, was dominated by tomato). The drinks were similarly themed, with a lychee ginger/rosewater (gin) martini, and a beautifully spiced FR.OG (vodka) martini with cardamom, star anise. Both were good, but the latter rocked: pleasant aroma, good mouthfeel (though it tasted more early-winter than mid-spring).

Adjacent to Spring Street Natural, the space is an often interesting mix of modern and traditional, but is ultimately disappointing. Don't get me wrong, well-placed design elements like the Moroccan-patterned frosted glass, shadow-throwing Asian lanterns, and a mirror-mosaic spiral staircase hold together the modern French colonial theme, but those effects are mostly lost in a great white sea of empty wall and ceiling. The smaller room downstairs has a chill, loungy feel but much of it is lost because of the feet of nearly-white wall - a lower ceiling would have served them well; they could help cut the lost space by draping a translucent patterned fabric from the ceiling (as they do on the walls).

According to a waiter, it seats 105 (close to 50 in the main room, some at the bar, and 30 to 40 downstairs).

First Bite: BRGR

There's been a lot of buzz about brgr, a new Chelsea burger joint, and I think it's well deserved. The patties are similar to the Shake Shack, but they're more expensive (mine was about $8), a bit tougher, and not quite as salty. The creative preparations and quick service will get my burger-eating face back down there in short order.

I got the beef burger with avocado, raw onion, and Gruyere. It tasted the part, but I was somewhat disappointed by the cheese; I'd expected more bite from the Gruyere. It was its normal nutty self, but didn't do much else.

A lot of people have been talking about brgr. Mostly positive stuff, a few negative. OOH, and a burger list from NY Magazine.


Special thanks to Alaina B. over at flickr for the photo.