LA Eats

I was away in LA for work last week and whilst I was mostly busy with meetings and clients, I did manage to sneak to a couple of places on my hit list during my 4 day stay.

Now, everybody knows you absolutely must have a car to see the best of LA, I didn't have one, but I was staying and working in Santa Monica, so did my best to explore the area local to The Huntley Hotel and hitch a ride with colleagues as and when I could.

In-N-Out
I'm pretty sure nobody will care that I ate an In-N-Out burger, given that we are now so spoiled here in London but it was top of my list of must visit places and I wasn't disappointed.

Following the advise of literally everybody I spoke to, I ordered my cheeseburger animal style, which is not an advertised option that comes pimped with caramelized onions and special sauce.

Chips were nice, I wasn't aware these could be 'animaled' so missed out on that treat.  The chocolate milkshake was excellent.  Two things struck me, firstly how cheap it was and secondly, how most other diners seemed to be eating 2 burgers at a time.  I was saving room for more food later but at about $4 each for the meal, it's easy to see how things soon get out of hand in the US.  Also available on the 'secret' menu is a 3x3 or 4x4 option.  Heh.

Intelligentsia
Thanks to Daniel Young for tipping me off about Intelligentsia.   We went one morning for breakfast and there was a huge queue before 9am.  They really take their time making each cup, it is a chain, but it doesn't feel at all like it, the place has a laboratory feel to it with all kinds of filters and machines contributing to the production of each cup.  The choice of coffee bean alone is staggering.  I played it safe and went for a black cat classic latte which was sweet and rather mild.  I was in a jetlagged haze so could really have done with something a little stronger.

That beast is a cheese and bacon croissant which was pretty special.  Representing the USA, my colleague had a doughnut.  For breakfast.  When we left the queue was even longer.  Loved the place.

Blue Plate Oysterette
I snuck in some solo snackage right before I had to leave for the airport.  I propped up the bar at Blue Plate Oysterette a seafood bar on Ocean Avenue, overlooking the beach.  There is a chalk board where the daily catch is advertised, there is a huge selection of oysters, I had never heard of any of them so asked for recommendations and got these, 2 Laguna Bay, 2 Malpeque and 2 Chincoteaque.

The 2 closest to camera were the Malpeque and they were my favourite.  All were quite meaty and briney, I ate one of each by themselves then loaded the second ones with the shallot vinegarette and lemon juice.  I saw no use for the tomato sauce, but each to their own I suppose.  These were about $3 each.

I couldn't resist the lure of the lobster truffle mac and cheese for $20.  Maine lobster mixed through the mini conchiglie with an obscenely decadent cheese sauce, complete with stringy bits when you got a forkful.  It was so good.  I ate all this accompanied by 2 glasses of oyster bay and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Service was mostly lovely, American priding itself on hospitality.

From here, I waddled off, content and slightly tipsy, to the airport.  My bill came to about $60, so not cheap but it was an off peak time and the place was heaving, who doesn't love a bit of seafood on the seafront?

Other places I ate while I was there included Wabi Sabi (great sushi), Urth Cafe (good coffee and eggs) and Canal Club (don't do it).  Special mention to the crunchy rice spicy tuna at Wabi Sabi, I need to find them in London, any suggestions would be hugely appreciated.  Check them out.

I also loved Abbot Kinney.  It's a street with lots of independent shops and cafes, it's where Intelligentsia is and on Friday, they had tonnes of food trucks lining the street.  It's like Kerb or We Feast but supersized. Crap photos, taken from inside cab, but you get the idea, there was literally everything you could ever want, every type of cuisine represented, I was in awe.

Hope I'll be back soon, and next time I'll get my own wheels so I can explore further afield.  

In-N-Out
Culver City
13425 Washington Blvd
CA 90034
7/10



Intelligentsia

1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Venice, California 90291
 9/10



Blue Plate Oysterette
1355 Ocean Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90401 
 9/10



Wabi Sabi
1635 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
 8/10

Nordic Bakery

I've worked in Soho for yonks now and only just been to Nordic Bakery for lunch.  I got a closed gravadlax sandwich on dark rye, with a latte and loved it.

Most reports I've read on this place, have raved about the pastries, and they did look great, all lined up on the counter, cinnamon buns, blueberry buns, oven pancakes and rye muffins, each looked enticing.  Alas, I'll be exposing myself in a bikini this time in 2 days so am laying off the sweet treats in the run up to that.

Back to my sandwich, it came with some nice pickled cucumber and sweet mustard and dill dressing which really made it for me.  Delicious and filling and a lovely strong latte too.  The bread is also available to buy, might pick up a loaf next time. 

The savoury karelian pie looked particularly appealing, served with an egg butter.  I'll be back for that post bikini time.  Pretty reasonably priced too, only £3.85 for the sandwich.

Nordic Bakery
14a Golden Square
W1F 9JG
8/10

Boo in Australia - Melbourne Breakfast/ Brunch (Fitzroy)

One of the things which greatly appealed to me during the planning of my trip to Oz was the idea of having a glut of breakfast options in Melbourne along the lines of Lantana and Caravan here in London. And the coffee, I was promised amazing coffee and Melbourne certainly does not disappoint on that front.


Being based in Fitzroy North for the duration of our stay in the city, Dench Bakers was my firm favourite in the area. Approximately 1 hour after landing, I was camped here, enjoying a latte and avocado and danish feta on sourdough with a large chunk of lemon and a sprinkling of chives. So simple and soooooo good. Dench are bread suppliers to many other Melbourne restaurants.


I also tried their veggie breakfast, (why don't I eat always spinach for breakfast?) and many of their sweets as dessert at our pre Xmas feast at Jamie and Tori's were from Dench. Some friends have heard reports of snotty service but I always found them to be more than pleasant and we never had to wait for a table. Dench - I miss you.


Perhaps our second most frequented brunch venue throughout the stay was Arcadia on Gertrude Street. They don't seem to have a website but Gertrude street is home to many small independent clothing/music/art type shops and is also where the Melbourne branch of Books for Cooks can be found. The above Arcadia eggs was lovely, I always marvel at the beauty of a perfectly poached egg having seen many failed attempts both at home and when eating out.


The Mexican eggs were fantastic, scrambled eggs with tomato, avocado and coriander on sourdough. They also have a bewildering array of lunch salads, sandwiches and sweets, though I never had lunch here, my visits were always early, whilst the lunch display were being assembled. Nice coffee and muffins too.

Just 2 doors down from Arcadia lives De Clieu, another real favourite of mine and many others, it can be tricky to get a table at weekends. On our 2nd day here we met Rob and Olly for brunch and were still completely jet lagged so I neglected to take any pictures. I had the Breakfast De Clieu, a board with boiled egg, smoked ham, gruyere, tarragon mustard butter and baguette with a selection of jams. Everyone else on the table had the Brunch De Clieu, a fried egg with pureed cauliflower and mushrooms with truffle oil, veal jus, bacon and sourdough. They all raved.


Other popular dishes include a pork neck roti and a Reuben's special. Everything on the menu sounds lovely actually and I returned to try more but it was too late in the day and they had stopped serving food (at 3pm daily). Still in time for a great latte though!

De Clieu is the newest opening from the team behind Seven Seeds and Brother Baba Budan, both in Melbourne's CBD, see my next post for my thoughts on Seven Seeds.


Also very close to where we were based, with Megan and Dan was Jorg. We went here on day 3 of our trip, the sun was shining and we had a lot of travelling ahead of us to look forward to. The food was not of the standard to which, by day 3, we had become accustomed! Megs and I both had baked eggs, mine with tomato, peppers and cannelini beans, the other option with puy lentils and feta. I was disappointed that the yolks were hard and, as always with baked eggs + greed, we burned our tongues. Other dishes were on the small side and with Dench just around the corner, I can see why we were the only diners on a Sunday morning.


Across the road from Jorg sits the Tin Pot Cafe. They are a slightly cheaper option (most breakfast dishes will cost around $20, around £15 when we were there, and Dench increase prices by 10% on a Sunday??!)

The above bacon with scrambled eggs was okay, I had an english muffin topped with poached eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach, yay. Good coffee but a distinctly average breakfast by Melbourne standards. They open evenings too which many do not and the menu read very well, friends concurred that they had heard good things of the dinner dishes.


Rounding up the Fitzroy selection is Atomica Cafe. I was hungover and in need of serious sustenance so I ordered the veggie breakfast with extra corn fritter and an iced latte (it was a scorcher and we walked there). The smoked tomato was a revelation and this was just what I needed to prepare me for the pub crawl ahead of us.

I hope you can see that breakfast and coffee is something the Aussies really take pride in and do well. It's one of my absolute favourite things about Melbourne and the average quality is far superior compared to the standard greasy fry up available here. Unfortunately for us Brits, the Australian dollar is very strong at the moment so you'll need to take plenty of money, but it really was worth every penny for me.

Dench Bakers
109 Scotchmer St
9/10



Arcadia
193 Gertrude St (Fitzroy border Collingwood)
7/10



De Clieu
187 Gertrude St
8/10



Jorg
203 St Georges Rd
5/10



Tin Pot Cafe
248 St Georges Rd
6/10



Atomica
268 Brunswick St
7/10

Fernandez & Wells

I love London, there are still so many establishments on my wish list. Regular restaurant openings mean that list continues to grow rather than diminish each week. It's really very exciting and I find eating out is still the thing I enjoy spending the majority of my weekly pay on. Other expenditures just mean less ready cash for dinners out.

The abundance of places to dine at in Soho has meant it's taken me an age to get to Fernandez & Wells but I recently lunched at their espresso bar. Very good it was too. I had a chorizo and tomato stew with bread.


It was a massive bowlful with a generous hunk of baguette. I actually couldn't finish it.

The array of sandwiches, baguettes, buns, salads and pastries is really impressive. Everything is inviting, it's tough to choose. It's only a smidge more than you'll pay for a pret/eat type lunch and infinitely more satisfying. The toasted egg, prosciutto and watercress ciabatta was also a hit.


They serve meat and cheese platters, are open evenings here and at the larger restaurant on Lexington, or there's the cafe on Beak serving breakfast and lunch. Something for everyone and is a real gem to have close to work.

Fernandez & Wells Espresso Bar
16a St Anne's Court
Soho, W1
8/10

Monmouth Coffee

I love lattes. I have one every day of the week and have a self enforced break at the weekends. We have a great retro Kenwood coffee machine at home with which Thomas has perfected the foaming of the milk but not yet the coffee art, making patterns in the milk as you pour it.


Lattes from Monmouth Coffee are probably my favourites, they look and taste beautiful. I love their little shop on Monmouth Street where they also have a stunning display of pastries and cakes as well as fresh beans available to buy to make your own coffee. The staff are knowledgeable and always very helpful and the coffee is consistently superb. They are always busy and there's often a queue stretching outside and down the street. I got this one from their stall at Borough Market.


There are few places in London where you can be sure of getting a decent coffee, I'm almost embarrassed to say that most mornings I get my coffee from Pret, they use Rachel's Organic milk and there's one lady who makes it just how I like it, I know which days she works and when she isn't there, it's just not the same! I also love the coffee at Lantana, owner Shelagh stocks Monmouth coffee beans and the guys working there know how make a seriously good coffee. Then there's Flat White who many claim make THE best coffee in London, they are definitely in my top 3.

I've heard very good things of the coffee at Fernandez and Wells and Sacred Coffee but am yet to try either. It's great to see more and more independent coffee companies vying for top spot in London, the 3 large chains have had the monopoly for far too long.

Monmouth Coffee Company
27 Monmouth Street, WC2H
9/10