We had a little family vacation in Los Angeles over a long weekend in early summer. In part 1, I told you where we stayed and what we did. But of course, this being a food blog, I know you’re wondering and I need to tell you –
What we ate
We’re not into fancy restaurants, but insist on great food. In addition to the restaurants below, we hosted a backyard potluck barbecue for my daughter’s friends, one of whom is a chef, so you know the food was delicious. We had hamburgers, chilled gazpacho, salads, amazing desserts, beer and a signature lime-gin mule.
And of course, for breakfasts, I made bagels.
Here’s where we ate out.
This gem serves light, delicious, healthy soul food in a small, casual location in a strip mall on West Pico Blvd. After 10 years in the same location, James Beard nominated chef Alisa Reynolds is finally becoming nationally known, not just for her take on Southern cooking amazing food, but for the travel – documentary series she hosts on Hulu called Searching for Soul.
The shrimp and grits, enlightened with a lobster broth, was the best I’ve eaten. The oxtail tacos were phenomenal,
as was the catfish and the red beans with black rice.
We left feeling satiated but light, and knew we had eaten food that was good both for our body and for our soul.
I was determined to eat at a restaurant run by Nancy Silverton, James Beard Awarded Outstanding Chef awardee, who was at the vanguard of the sourdough artisan bread revolution in the 80’s. The only table at a Silverton establishment we could get was at Pizzeria Mozza, not infrequently said to be one of the best pizzerias in the country. This pizza lover concurs – you must try the Croque Madame pizza.
They also make a mean calamari, served with a light tomato sauce with lemon rind shavings. We loved it so much we forgot to take a pic till it was nearly gone…
I should have realized that I’d love this place – It’s owned by the same folks who run Gjusta Bakery, one of my very favorite places to eat in LA, focusing on locally-sourced and vegetable-forward cuisine. They also do a mean pizza and charcuterie. I loved the atmosphere, with unfinished plywood walls, flowers, open windows and a free standing shower in the bathroom!
The grilled Oyster Mushrooms w/ tarragon butter were a main course unto themselves.
The Nettle Buccatini Cacio e Pepe was flawless.
The grilled broccolini was served in a black garlic vinaigrette and garnished with gomashio, a Japanese sesame seed-salt condiment. (Sorry for messy presentation, we had already started serving ourselves before I took the pic)
The scallops were served in a delicious light broth with fennel that just begged for some bread to soak it up, which of course we did!
Gjelina is everything you think of when you think of LA food – light, healthy, vegetable forward, inventive.
In a strip mall in the heart of Thai Town is Sanamluang Cafe, a casual place serving delicious, authentic Thai food. Sanamluang has been noted by the Latimes to be that rare restaurant that keeps late hours (open till 1:45 am) without sacrificing quality for convenience. We had a delicious curry, pad see ew and salad. (Sorry, no pics.)
And that’s it for our visit to Los Angeles
There are so many sites left to see, so much to do. I’m going to be sure I plan my next visit to coincide with the Rose Bowl Flea Market, which I think is my favorite place in Los Angeles.
But the best part was being together in the same place at the same time with both our daughters, meeting my daughter’s wonderful friends and getting to share in her beautiful life in LaLa Land.
