The Alcove Bakery & Cafe

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The Alcove Bakery & Cafe

1929 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027

323.644.0100

http://www.alcovecafe.com/

I love the Los Feliz / Griffith Park vicinity. There’s alot of small/quaint restaurants all stacked horizontally next to each other. Along with Pasadena, these are the two areas I would probably not go to the same restaurant on purpose, just to see what new delight I could find down the street. I’ve only heard of The Alcove from so many different people. People from different ethnicities all rave about this place, so I just had to go. And turns out, this past Saturday, I got my excuse to be up in the area. Idina Menzel was performing at the Greek Theatre (amazing show btw) and so we decided to go to the Alcove for dinner.

Atmosphere

The inside of the cafe looks like a nice quaint cafe. If you’ve been to a couple restaurants in the Los Feliz area, there’s a similar vibe from alot of these restaurants. It’s not pretentious, very warm and cozy, and just an overall lovely atmosphere. There aren’t that many seats indoors, but outdoors there’s plenty. The outdoor patio has a very nice atmosphere with all the greens and wood colors and cafe tables. A very nice atmopshere that is very versatile in that the outdoor patio has a nice feel for brunch, lunch, dinner, or even just a cup of coffee. A very great place to get brunch before heading over to the observatory, date before watching a show at the Greek, or even after dinner dessert and drinks.

The Process

So here’s how it works.. It’s pretty simple, but just for you guys before you take a girl on a date here and act clueless. No one seats you, this is still a bakery/cafe. Stand in line and order at the counter and they will give you a number and they will bring the food out to you wherever you sit. Pretty much act like you’re at a fast food restaurant and stand in line, order, get a number, and find seating. Not too hard right?

Food

Although I think I’d want to come here as a breakfast or brunch place, I went for dinner. So I’m sorry to say but I only have reviews for two of the dishes for dinner 😦

Texan Chili
I thought my sandwich order was going to be small, so I thought I’d also order a soup. As I hear the choices for the soup, I don’t know what drove me to order it, but I went with the Texan Chili (it’s not even a soup and I wanted soup!). The Texan Chili is very hearty. If you don’t like heavy food, I would advise you to stray away from this delicious dish. The Texan Chili, first of all, has no beans. It’s just packed with meat. It’s actually lean but you will feel a little heavy, especially with the pepper-jack cheese melted on top. This “cup” of chili is a meal on its own. Lots of flavors and a little on the heavy side for me, but it was still good nontheless.

Steak Sandwich
After pondering over the menu for the longest time, I decided to go with the Steak Sandwich. I don’t know why but I wanted to get something a little heavier/heartier than a panini, and then I stumbled upon this monstrosity (in a good way). It’s a open-faced Foccaccia topped with a mixed green salad, Portobella mushrooms, 9oz. New York Strip, and Fried Onion Rings. It also comes with a side of A-jou and sweet potato fries. I haven’t felt so gross after a meal in a long while from the really hearty meal. It was in no way bad, but it was definetely hearty. (the Texan Chili didn’t help at all) The foccaccia bread was very soft and acted as a great sponge to soak up the juices from the meat, mushrooms, and a-jou. The a-jou was surprisingly not salty at all, onion rings were fried just right. My only problem with this dish other than it being very hearty (but it was in the Heartier section of the menu to be fair), my New York strip that I asked for Medium Rare, came out Well-done. The meat was a little too dry for my taste because of that, but it was still good cut of meat. The mixed greens helped A LOT to make the dish from being too heavy. The sweet potato fries were fried perfectly to a crispy outside, but moist inside.

 

Overall

This is definetely a place where they are serious about their food and I’m sure has a certain pride to the quality of food they serve. Each dish, even a simple sandwich, was well thought out and balanced.

 

Portola Coffee Lab – The Scientific Method

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Portola Coffee Lab

3313 Hyland Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

http://www.portolacoffeelab.com/

 

After being inspired and getting hooked on coffee again (courtesy of my Philz Coffee experience in SF), I decided I like coffee again and realized LA/OC HAS to have something like this. We don’t seriously think Starbucks or Coffee Bean is the best down here do we?? Yes, there’s Urthe Cafe, which I love, but I wondered if there was some other place that is not well known … yet. And it would be nice to find one near my house so I don’t have to drive to the Art District in Downtown LA or Santa Monica for a cup of Joe. A few minutes on the internet and I found my solution! Portola Coffee Lab, where they take coffee to a whole new level.

If Philz Coffee in San Francisco makes coffee brewing look like an art, Portola Coffee Lab makes coffee brewing look like a science. The Barristas actually where lab coats too. (If you think about it, it’s very SF and OC, respectively) It is located in the SOCO Collection plaza, inside the OC Mart Mix (a cool area btw, they have happy hour inside the OC Mart Mix with live DJ, drinks, grill).

Unlike Philz Coffee, Portola offers three different brewing methods that you can choose from. First, you choose the beans by region that they roast every day. Second, you choose the brewing method.

Brewing methods:

• The Hario V-60 cone dripper
• Trifecta
• Siphon

I’m not going to even act like I know alot about coffee, so you can read up about it via their blog: http://portolacoffeelab.wordpress.com/

I usually choose the Hario. Just cuz it’s strong but not bitter.

So if you haven’t figured out yet, they brew by the cup. As soon as you order, they start grinding the beans for your cup. They measure exactly how much coffee ground goes in, the temperature of the water, how long it brews for. They take their coffee seriously and looks almost like a science experiment with all the glass siphons, measurer, and stop watches.

The only drink you cannot choose the beans for is the Iced Coffee. (Specifically the Hario poured over Ice coffee) I have yet to try the Kyoto Iced Coffee. (it runs out real quick from what I hear. I went at 10AM and it was already sold out) Anyways, back to the beans. What one of the barristas told me was that they don’t think all beans are good also as iced coffee so they predetermine the bean that will be best for iced coffee.

If you want good coffee and you’re a serious coffee drinker. (NO, if you drink starbucks everyday that does not make you a serious coffee drinker.) For those of you who are reading the Yelp reviews for this place. Please just ignore some of the people who say it’s the worst coffee they’ve ever had. Be warned, it’s brew by the cup. They grind and they brew one cup at a time. So please don’t say some bull about slow service. This is not a coffee on the go place. You come here to enjoy a nice cup of coffee. And if you think the coffee is not “strong” enough.. Go drink your mud coffee at home please. Or try vietnamese coffee.. WITHOUT the condensed milk or ice.

Habana – Cuban in the Anti-Mall

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Habana

2930 Bristol St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714.556.0176

 

Atmosphere

For those who have never been to the Costa Mesa Anti-Mall, it’s a really neat one-of-a-kind spot. It almost looks like it was a 5th year Architecture student’s Thesis project. Located in the far back corner of the Anti-mall is Habana. It’s a very small and quaint restaurant and has a very nice feel. The interior has earth tones, and it goes well with the whole Anti-Mall feel. Interesting thing is that, as pretty as the interior was, everyone was outside in the back patio enjoying a nice lunch in the sun. (that photo was not an arranged shot, it was lunch time and the inside was completely empty because everyone wanted to sit outside)

 

Food

What can I say? I love my Latin food, Cuban being no exception. I really wish I could have ordered everything on the menu. They all sounded amazing. Well, I know for sure this is a place I’ll be updating from time to time. It’s close by, not too pricey, and the food is damn good.

Chicken Empanadas
I love Empanadas. I’ve tried many types of Empanadas from different types of restaurants and I have to say Habana’s Empanadas are pretty up there. It comes with veggies and dressing on top, which is partly the reason why the empanadas are up there in my ranking. Most of the empanadas I’ve had were just a plate of empanadas, but this dish was boosted with the veggies and the sauce (Banana-habanero ketchup) that came on the side. It comes with four pieces of empanadas and small enough to enjoy before a meal without feeling heavy or full.

Seared Ahi Tuna
I know it sounds weird. Seared Ahi Tuna? in a Cuban restaurant? That’s what I thought too, but that’s also why I HAD to get it. First off the bat, the herbs and spices that the Tuna was covered with before searing was enough to make the dish Cuban. While I was eating the dish I did not think I was eating a fusion dish or Japanese dish at all. The herbs and spices were not overpowering but helped the Tuna from tasting bland or too fishy. The seared ahi sits on a bed of roasted-garlic mashed potatoes, made from red potatoes. The mashed potatoes had a purple color to it which made everyone look twice, but it’s just due to the skin of the red potatoes. It also comes with a side of sauteed veggies and corn, which balanced the dish well with the spices. It also comes with a bed of sauce right next to the mashed potatoes. It tasted like a very sweet chili sauce, (not spicy at all, just very sweet; almost like a sweet and sour sauce), and although it was a little too sweet for me, just a little dab of the sauce with the fish was amazing. I just wish the sauce came in a separate bowl or sauce pan so we can control how much sauce touches the mash potatoes.

 

Overall

I am so coming back here, maybe for dinner to enjoy a nice mojito with my meal. Very nice place to take a date and get away from the Los Angeles/Orange County atmosphere. I feel like I’m back in San Luis Obispo eating at a mom & pop restaurant and just enjoying my time with no worries.

 

San Francisco Chronicles

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(Pun intended for the title since that was the last building we were in before leaving SF)

So on Wednesday night, my friend Jolynn texts me wondering if I’m up for a spontaneous road trip up to SF that weekend for Rachel’s birthday. With a due date approaching and a lot of things to take care of, I was about to say no. But I decided why not? It’s rare to be asked on a random spontaneous trip with promises of seeing a bunch of people I haven’t for years. So off we were on Friday night from Pasadena at 7:30PM on our journey to San Francisco!

Random Cooking Collaboration with Ryan (02.18.2011)

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So my friend Ryan and I decided to meet at his place to eat dinner. But this time, instead of eating out, we decided we’ll cook something. I told him to think of what to make/eat as I drove up to Pasadena. (Seeing I’ll be on the road for about 40 min., I let thim decide). As I got to his house, he tells me “How about we go to the market and just wing it?”.. But he told me he knew what he wanted to try making for Dessert. He showed me his Jamie Oliver book with a couple of bookmarks on there. One for a Caesar Salad, and another for a Ice Cream with Pimms Reduction sauce. But we were without the main entree, so off we went to the market.. And so started a night of culinary adventure 🙂

M-Grill – Churrascaria

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M-Grill

3832 Wilshire Blvd
Ste 202
Los Angeles, CA 90010
213.389.2770

http://m-grill.com/

 

I know you’re thinking.. Churrascaria? seriously? in K-Town? But as a Churrascaria it’s a pretty solid restaurant. I’ll make this a quick review since I’ve already reviewed a Churrascaria before. Read my review of “Agora” if you want to learn about Churrascarias.