‘Los Angeles’
Down the street from my halfway home in Echo Park is a little spot called Trencher, serving a variety of sandwiches and salads. Normally this would sound boring, but Trencher actually has some pretty interesting options, like the Consigliere and a Fried Chicken Banh Mi. I, however, had my sights set on a different fried chicken sandwich.
Apparently in the two years that I went missing from LA, two things that had not been popular before got, well, popular. One is avocado toast, so whatever. The other is lobster rolls, which is somewhat strange considering lobster comes from the other coast, yet not because people like pricey stuff out here. One of these lobster roll spots is Knuckle and Claw in Silverlake.
Eggs Benedict is pretty well-known for being one of the greatest breakfast creations of all time. Yet, it is not without faults. After all, the English muffin is probably the worst of all muffins and not even great in the realm of breads. But M Street (a Lettuce Entertain You place) in Santa Monica has a solution for this nonsense: hash browns.
While attempting to get our bearings on food in Pasadena, we stopped in Thai place called Daisy Mint, which promised to be more than just an ordinary Thai spot based on its eclectic furnishings and somewhat unique menu. It wasn’t easy getting a stroller into the tiny place, but we made it work and set about eating.
In LA, the word Rodeo usually means one thing: a shopping street in Beverly Hills. Sometimes it means another random street on the west side and occasionally it means the thing with cowboys and stuff. Almost never does it mean dinner, unless you happen to find yourself strolling along Sunset in Echo Park and stepping into the first divey Mexican place you can find that just so happens to go by the name of Rodeo.
Having kids must be tough. You raise them, do the best you can and at some point you let them go and hope for the best. Such was the feeling I had when leaving LA, knowing that I had played a vital role in the emergence of a pretty amazing food culture in just under five years of food blogging. But when I left, I have to admit I feared at least a small amount of anarchy to foment. Upon my return, however, I learned there was nothing to fear and I had clearly done a good job of setting the city up for the future. Case in point: Top Round.
2014 is here, but my 2013 may have been the best year of eating in the history of the world, so it’s time for another Unvegan Best of. The past year included a honeymoon, an epic month-long road trip and a move from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh, so my list has broadened beyond LA and narrowing down the awesome was quite the process. Nonetheless, I encourage you all to go back through my Reviews section to see what didn’t quite make the cut. Remember that the list only includes places new to The Unvegan and bear in mind that Honorable Nods this year would probably be winners any other year. Without further ado:
Two parts of LA’s beautiful food scene are its hidden gems and its seemingly effortless connection to its past. Taylor’s Steak House is both of these. Nestled in the heart of Koreatown, Taylor’s opened up in 1953, long before most Los Angelenos had ever heard the word “kimchi.” Yet, through the last 60 years, Taylor’s has endured and maintained an old-timey Hollywood charm.
After the ill-fated sojourn to Koji BBQ Buffet, I was in need of some good Korean BBQ to wash the bad taste out of my mouth. Fortunately, my friends were more than willing to join me and we ended up at Star BBQ in Koreatown, partly because we had heard great things, but also because it was the easiest place to pronounce. Upon arrival the place was empty, which meant we got personal service that meant not only faster meat, but a waitress to help us with the cooking of it.
A lot of Latin American restaurants feel the need to include Mexican food to draw otherwise unsure customers in. For that reason, I am always excited to find ethnic restaurants sticking to their goods. One such restaurant is Peru Chix, basically a hole-in-the-wall type of place in Gardena. Peru Chix has such Peruvian favorites as Lomo Saltado, but I kinda thought chicken would be the way to go.