My Favourite Places to Eat in LA
Hiya,
I was in LA about a month ago and have been meaning to put this blog post together since then. I’ve finally got round to it and I hope you’re hungry!
Here are some of my favourite places to eat in Lala land.
If you’re in Venice Beach, swing by Egg Slut. You can eat in, but I don’t know why you would when it’s only 30 seconds from the beach.
The food is pure filth, but in the very best way. Think brunch in a bap. This is me falling in love with an eggy, bacony, burgery, roll. Be warned though, you will definitely need napkins (and if you do eat on the promenade, brace yourself for some very curious seagulls).
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COFFEE COMMISSARY
If you’re looking for excellent coffee, juice or a breakfast burrito, Coffee Commissary is the place for you. It’s really great spot in a nice little area. Just off Santa Monica, on Fairfax. If you go on a Sunday morning, on the crossroads is a vintage market. It’s so bloody hip that I’ve never felt less cool anywhere in my life!
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GRIDDLE CAFE
Prepare to queue for the best pancakes on planet earth. I waited an hour in the rain for these bad boys but they are epic in both taste and proportion. I honestly have no idea how anyone could finish the standard serving size of three (I got one done!), let alone adding more!
You can do the whole sweet-meets-savoury thing Americans do so well by going to bacon and maple syrup, you can go chocolatey or keep it relatively simple like me with banana and lots of maple syrup (side note, I recently met someone who doesn’t like maple syrup and now I don’t like them).
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JON AND VINNYS
For your pasta and pizza fix, head to John & Vinneys. Huge portions of the best America-Italian food around. It’s super simple and quite low profile, but the food is so good that every time I’ve been there, I’ve seen an A-lister.
Arrive hungry becuase basically everything on the menu is exceptional and I fully encourage you to eat as much as you – but be ready to get very full.
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GRACIAS MADRE
For the vegans out there (and, of course the non-vegans who just like excellent food), Gracie’s Madre is phenomenal. Hearty Mexican vibe with spectacular margaritas (and some interesting little cocktails should you decide to go a little off-piste) and brilliant gauc and chips.
Special shout-out to the amazing cauliflower with nacho cheese (no idea how they make the vegan) and basically all of the deserts. I find deserts quite tough if you’re going plant-based, but everything I’ve had here surpasses expectations. Also, did I mention the margaritas? They’re great!
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SUPERBA
Back to the Venice area again, this place is just off Abbot Kinney and it might be my favourite restaurant of all time. I’ve only eaten there once, but will make a point to go back every time I visit Los Angeles. Everything from the bread to dessert is just incredible.
I was with a bunch of friends so we ordered the black kale salad, brussel sprouts, lamb ribs, cauliflower, chicken, salt and pepper pasta and the squash and everything blew my mind! (They also do a great margarita with blood orange rather than lime).
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SALT & STRAW
Not so much of restaurant but every bit as important, Salt & Straw is an ice-cream chain that is off the chain. And who doesn’t like ice-cream? They have slightly strange seasonal flavours, like pigs blood over Halloween (I gave this one a wide-birth) but the regulars have a special place in my heart. The almond brittle with salted caramel ribbons is so good that I never order anything else, even if it sounds great – I just don’t want to take the risk!
Thanks for reading and happy eating!
Jim
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