‘French Fries’
Restaurants come and restaurants go. But I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a restaurant come and go as fast as TLT in Pasadena’s Playhouse District. Fortunately, there was almost no delay in replacing it with The Stand, a burger concept that already had a few locations around LA and Orange County. The burger options were pretty unique and at a reasonable price, so I had a hard time choosing.
Throughout the LA area are places called Tom’s, Tommy’s and any other variety of that name. They all specialize in chili-covered food and while Tommy’s is supposedly the original, Tom’s has done pretty well for itself. Tom’s just opened up a Pasadena outpost that is pretty much a diner, but also claims to have Greek roots. Thus, I was hoping this could be like the Coney Islands of Detroit in my youth.
Oh the park at Echo Park. While it is unquestionably a Mecca for local Hispanic family picnics, it is also unquestionably working hard to attract the local hipsters. Hence, Square One at the Boathouse exists literally in the boathouse where people can rent paddle boats and serves up some good-looking if not exciting-looking food.
Independent Brewing Company opened up in Squirrel Hill earlier this year to little fanfare. Yet, it has been on my list of places to visit for no reason other than that I love independent beer. Then, when I heard they had food to go with that beer I was sold. Then when I saw how little food was actually on the menu I was unsold. But then when I saw the menu would get expanded on Tuesdays I was sold again. It was a real roller coaster ride.
Last week, I brought you an interview with Frysmith, the newest food truck to roll out in LA. Although they were opening Friday, I didn’t think there was any chance I could make it, due to a previous commitment. At the end of a long Friday night, I decided to check Twitter to see if there were any taco trucks to be found. I was pretty sure that Frysmith had already wrapped up, but I was still in need of some mobile foodery. As I checked Twitter, though, I found that Frysmith was still at the Brig in Abbot Kinney, so I rushed over to see if I could make it in time.